Willesden Green Cultural Centre space to be let for 'income generation' rather than One Stop service for residents

When residents opposed the redevelopment of Willesden Green Library and the consequent loss of the Willesden Bookshop, cinema, cafe, museum, art gallery and meeting rooms they were assured that the community would gain not only a Cultural Centre but a Brent Council customer service that would mirror that on offer at the new Civic Centre in Wembley. LINK

The Future Customer Service Project aims to improve efficiency and clarity of the services offered to citizens. The strategy is dependent on developing a new customer contact centre at WGLC providing a service for the south of the borough, an area where many of the Council‟s high need customers reside.

Now a report from Andy Donald to be considered by the Cabinet tomorrow will recommend as part of a new  'Customer Access Strategy' that this be ditched.  The new strategy will rely mainly on Internet access where library staff might help residents get on to the system and a replacement for the telephone system that was installed at the Civic Centre just two years ago.

The report LINK states:

There are other implications for this approach in respect of the new Library at Willesden, including the opportunity to make use of the surplus space in the new building for alternative uses that are of public benefit and in keeping with the ethos of the building. It is proposed that the Council enter into a local dialogue about options for alternative uses in the space. Any use of the space will need to be income generating and as a minimum will need to cover the proportionate running costs such as Business Rates, heating, lighting, cleaning and maintenance.

This news comes on top of the controversy over the  development's luxury apartments, which have already been onward sold twice by property companies before completion, and which have been marketed abroad as investment opportunities with the 'benefit' of  no affordable or key worker housing on site.

Latest prices included £450,000 for a one bedroom flat.

The new strategy will also include changes at the Civic Centre:

The Civic Centre Service Centre includes dedicated self service space on the ground floor which has proved to be very popular with visitors. Members of staff are available within this area to assist visitors to use the self service facilities and also to encourage use of on line services where these are available. The current configuration of the Service Centre will need to be adapted to meet the increasing demand for self service with a concurrent reduction to the numbers of visitors requiring a more traditional face to face interview. Proposals are therefore being drawn up to change the layout of the service centre at the Civic Centre to reflect the need for greater self service provision in the future and to relocate the reception from the mezzanine floor to the ground floor to ensure that visitors’ needs can be quickly assessed when they approach the ground floor area.

It sounds like one of those supermarkets where you find all the tills are self-service.

The report states (original English in the report retained):

Face to face interview will continue to be available for residents who need a more help and assistance in resolving their enquiry.

But it appears that these are likely to be only available on a weekly basis and by appointment:

.        An equality impact assessment for the new community access strategy is attached as Appendix C. The overall impact assessment indicates that the extension of on line access to services could benefit many protected groups providing easy and convenient access on a 24/7 basis. As all channels of contact will remain available, the strategy offers all residents, including those in protected groups enhanced and improved access arrangements. The reconfiguration of the Services centre at Willesden will reduce the availability of face to face interviews with officers, however these will still be available at the Civic Centre and at Willesden by way of a weekly surgery. Residents using self service computers located in the library at Willesden will also be able to speak to an officer using free phones to assist them with any enquiries or to support them through the self service process. During the early stages of the opening of the new Willesden library, staff will be available to provide details about the options available for face to face enquiries from both the Civic Centre and Willesden.

How the Hands Off Hove Park campaign successfully opposed academisation

Natasha Steel of the Hands Off Hove Park campaign told the Anti Academies Alliance yesterday how a group of parents, teachers and community activists successfully opposed the academy conversion of their school.

Brent Council to expand & merge schools & seek free school partners to tackle places crisis

The Brent Cabinet will tomorrow consider the School Place Planning Strategy 2014-18. It includes the above actions and the following schemes:

Expansion of the following schools in 2015 at a cost of £19.5m:

• Byron Court Primary to increase by two forms of entry (2 additional classes in each age group)
• Leopold Primary school to increase by two forms of entry on the site of the Gwenneth Rickus Building in Brentfield Road (2 additional classes in each age group)
• Oakington Manor Primary to increase by one form of entry (one additional class in each age group)

Amalgamations of the following separate infant and junior schools into all-through primary schools. It should be noted that the second two  involve expansion as well as amalgamation and in the Kilburn case a new building. This is a significant challenge to headteachers in terms of disruption.:

• Lyon Park Infants and Juniors (currently operating under one  headteacher)
• Carlton Vale Infants and Kilburn Park Juniors (subject to agreement on a suitable shared site for an expanded school in the South Kilburn regeneration area)
• Malorees Infants and Malorees Junior  (subject to agreement by the governing bodies of both schools to amalgamation and expansion)

 The Cabinet will also consider the use of a former school site in The Avenue, Brondesbury for educational use. The site is currently owned by a developer. The site could potentially be used for SEN provision.

The report notes that proposed free schools in the borough will potentially provided a total of 10 forms of entry for primary pupils and 9.3 for secondary pupils in the 2014-18 period.

The report notes:

....to be funded directly by the Education Funding Agency (EVA) at no cost to the council. There is a risk to the council that if all of these places are not provided via this route that the council will need to provide places  and fund the associated expenditure.

This September both Gateway and Gladstone secondary free schools failed to open despite recruiting pupils.

The council's policy to seek free school partners (Action 5 above) will be controversial in the light of problems associated with free schools not opening on time, having fewer pupils than designated so provided at considerable expense, and often without the backers having a proven track.

The report can be found HERE and the full Strategy HERE

Natalie Bennett explains Green Party policy on education

Natalie Bennett, leader of the Green party, spoke yesterday at a meeting of the Anti Academies Alliance on Green Party policy. My apologies for the jerkiness of the video at the beginning.