Remembering Bernie Grant on the day Thatcher died by Patrick Vernon

Apart from the death of Margaret Thatcher, today also marks the 13th anniversary of the death of Bernie Grant one of her greatest enemies. In this guest blog first published on The Voice website, potential Labour candidate for Brent Central, Patrick Vernon, asks what would Bernie make of the current political climate:

TODAY IS the 13th anniversary of the death of the late Bernie Grant, MP for Tottenham between 1987 to 2000 and former leader of Haringey Council.


In the 1980s and 1990s Bernie often spoke the truth, real feelings and passions on behalf of every one which meant he became a thorn in the side of Thatcherism and New Labour.


However, he was still respected and revered as the elder statesman and father of the house for black parliamentary representation.


People today still talk about Bernie’s life, achievements and legacy at times in a present tense which reflects his impact but also the gap in current black leadership and the question of more elected representatives.
Just imagine if Bernie were still alive today. What would he have made of this period of austerity and the coalition government with increasing inequality facing BME communities; the introduction of bedroom tax; welfare reform, immigration policy, and massive cuts to public services?


How would Bernie make the case today for all black Parliamentary short list, social justice and reparations?


I believe that Bernie would be turning in his grave to see how the coalition government has no or very little regard to race equality policy and legislation which he and many others made this a life and at times a death struggle over the last 50 years.


The issue of black representation and self-organising groups like the development of Black Sections in the Labour Party (now BAME Labour) and black workers groups in trade union movement was one of his strategies for empowerment and developing a black-led perspective on Democratic Socialism.


Bernie today would be supporting and sustaining a new breed of candidates based on following policy and campaigning areas: climate change; defending public sector services; fighting for all equalities; stopping the privatisation of health and social care; affordable and more social housing; tackling education inequality; open government; regulation of financial services /taxing the bankers; tackling poverty and social inequality; police accountability, foreign affairs, international development, heritage and the arts.


One way of taking forward the legacy of Bernie Grant is developing a political education programme around his vision and principles to attract and identity the next generation of potential councillors, MPs, MEPs and community activists.

Bernie supporting a traffic protest

Bernie believed in the community and the community believed in him.


That is why he is still popular and an iconic figure which was reflected in Bernie being in the top ten of 100 Great Black Britons back in 2002.


So let us use this opportunity to reflect on his legacy in politics, the trade union movement and grass roots activism.


I know many of us are trying to do capture and follow his vision today. That is why his political legacy, The Bernie Grant Arts Centre, The Bernie Grant Trust and his archives at the Bishopsgate Institute are essential resources for political education, learning for young people, aspiring, seasoned politicians and campaigners.


‘The Importance of the Black Vote’ will be held at Dalston CLR James Library, Dalston Square, Hackney, London, E8 3BQ on Friday April 12th 2013 at 18:30- 21:00. Speakers include Simon Woolley of OBV, MP Diane Abbott, Jules Pipe Mayor of Hackney, Ngoma Bishop of BEMA and Pauline Pearce from the Hackney Liberal Democrats. The event will be chaired by Andrea Enisuoh of BEMA & Hackney Unites.

Vernon explains why he wants to represent Brent Central at the beginning of this video LINK

Teather denounces 'Grubby Osborne's crude opportunism'

By coincidence, following my Saturday post calling for Sarah Teather and Brent Lib Dem's to disown the Coalition, this article by Sarah Teather was published in the Independent on Sunday. It makes a more unequivocal stand against scapegoating than the Opposition has yet managed. 'Divide and Rule' was one of Margaret Thatcher's favourite weapons and its use will live on well after her death unless decent people across the political spectrum take it on.

By the time this column is published, I expect that the commentary on the grubby little intervention by George Osborne on the Philpott case will have moved on. We should be well into post-match analysis of tactics and strategy.


Political dividing lines are de rigueur for modern politics – no one actually pauses to ask whether something is right. We ask instead whether this gamble was an astute reading of the public mood. Somewhere in all the excitement of keeping score we forget entirely that those caught up in the middle of the debate are human beings with real lives and concerns.

There is nothing like insecurity to bring out the temptation to scapegoat. Instead of offering a bit of statesmanlike leadership, Conservative ministers have engaged repeatedly in crude opportunism, capitalising on fear. And so the battle is drawn: good against evil. Those without benefits against those who claim. Strivers against shirkers. The deserving against the undeserving.

Then, just before Easter, all parties chose to reignite that old flame: the immigrant against the local. Demonising successive groups of people makes us less empathetic, less cohesive – a vision, to me, that is the very definition of "Broken Britain". And what of the subjects instrumentalised by this political game? They are placed further and further outside society, less able to change their own lot.

To demonstrate a tough stance against that most hated of groups, so-called "failed asylum seekers", ministers in the last Labour government introduced a series of cards and vouchers to control what they could buy with the meagre rations we gave them. I know, from my work as a constituency MP, the humiliation, shame and practical barriers such schemes impose on those who are unable to return home for a whole host of reasons.

Now local councils are using similar voucher and card-based schemes for today's hate-group, the British poor.

If your empathetic instincts have been too dulled to feel a common humanity with those at the bottom of the hierarchy of public approval, remember this: the abuse that is hurled on to those on the bottom eventually infects us all. Privations imposed on one group quickly become acceptable for others. The marginalisation of immigrants and the poorest is tangible. Silence will only entrench that still further.

Government is an ephemeral business. Whichever party you are in, you have but a brief period to make a difference. This Government needs to decide what kind of country it wants to leave behind. One more cohesive, more sympathetic, more neighbourly? Or one more divided, more brutal and more selfish? That is the responsibility and the privilege of power. Ministers should use it wisely.

Planners recommend approval for relocation of Harlesden's Jubilee Clock

Brent planning officers in a report to the April 17th Planning Committee have recommended approval for the proposed relocation of the landmark Jubilee Clock as part of the new road layout. The new site will be outside numbers 53-55 Harlesden High Street and about 5 metres from its current site.

THE JUBILEE CLOCK THROUGH THE AGES

The report LINK states:

Although the clock is statutorily listed feature it is not in its original location which by definition makes the specific location less important as a criteria for listing. At the time of the clocks origin (1887) there was far less traffic than there would be a few decades later. At least two trams derailed and collided with the clock in the first half of the twentieth century, one of them tearing off one of its four decorative arms. In 1938 the Clock Tower was relocated to a location 3m from its original position. It was hoped that in relocating the Clock Tower, motorist would find it easier to navigate the area. As explained above, the relocation of the Clock is required to bring about a better traffic management scheme here also.

The proposals do not call for any alteration or changes to the clock itself which therefore means it will retain the architectural quality and character that instigated its listing. The Clock is to be moved (5m) from its present location which by definition would mean that the setting of the Clock would not change significantly.

The clock will not be quite as prominent in the streetscape given that it is currently located in a traffic island in the centre of a road junction as before but will however still be visible along the High Street. The new location will make the clock less susceptible to damage from passing vehicles, thereby protecting the listed feature.

 

The Planning Service is not committed to this new location ahead of any others and whilst there may a range of locations that might be acceptable, particularly given that the current location is not original as mentioned above, no objection is raised in principle to the new location in listed building terms. 

AND IT WILL TELL THE TIME!

As part of the proposals the clock will be repaired and will tell the time, which is a welcomed addition to its listed status.

New threat to Welsh Harp - time to act quickly

The view today from the west bank of the Welsh Harp

The view in the future if the development goes ahead

Four years  ago a united campaign of local political activists and environmentalists saw off proposals for housing developments in both Barnet and Brent areas of Brent Reservoir, popularly known as the Welsh Harp.

Those proposals are dwarfed by the enormous West Hendon development proposed by Barratts which is soon to be considered by Barnet Council.

The development is adjacent to an SSSI (site of Special Scientific Interest) on the Welsh Harp which is home to nesting birds and used by over-wintering birds.  It draws visitors from all over London and beyond. The footpath is well used by many Brent residents who start their walk at the Birchen Grove end of the Welsh Harp.

The development will include tower blocks of up to 26 storeys high - double the height of the one in the photograph.The existing 597 homes will be demolished and replaced by 2,000 houses and flats including 4 tower blocks. There are proposals to build footbridges over the Silk Stream and beside Cool Oak Bridge which are likely to cause water pollution during construction. The area is already one designated as having poor air quality and the development is likely to increase traffic in the area.

Barratts have already built a 12 storey block next to Cool Oak Bridge which gives an indication of the overbearing nature of such blocks and the extent to which they rise above tree height. The new blocks will be twice as high.

There is some confusion about the date by which letters have to be received by Barnet Planning Officers, the safest assumption is that the deadline is April 30th. The Planning Reference is H/01054/13 and the Barnet Planing contacts is: Thomas.Wyld@barnet.gov.uk 

Full documentation can be found HERE

I reproduce below a submission on the development that sums up the issues very well:

Comments on West Hendon re-development Proposals

Significance of Northern Reservoir/Refuge/Marsh and associated woodland.

The Northern reservoir is an important refuge used by wildfowl when there is disturbance on the main reservoir from sailing. It functions this way throughout the year but especially during the winter months when the normal numbers of birds increase by several hundred displaced ducks and other wildfowl. The area most used by these birds is along the bank next to the estate. It is a SSSI which should afford a high level of protection under wildlife legislation. An important screen of trees currently separates the water from the estate. The marshy northern end of the water is also important for breeding wildfowl in the sheltered pools and channels. Finally at the northern end is a quiet area of wet woodland in which a number of shy woodland birds breed (owls, woodpeckers, warblers). The area of the re-development abuts the whole of the edge of the waterway, marsh and woodland.

Proposed re-development- key features

The proposal involves a huge increase in the density of housing and greatly exceeds the GLA recommended level for a site of this size increasing from 7-800 housing units to over 2000. A key feature of the proposal is the construction of a number of extremely high tower blocks, up to 26 stories in height; these are sited immediately adjacent to the Water and the SSSI boundary. The excessive height of these towers seems more appropriate for a central financial district than a North London suburb. The development will have a major impact on the surrounding area and put a huge strain on local health, education and road infrastructure.

Impact on the SSSI, reservoir and local area

• There will be a major increase in disturbance of the wildfowl refuge both during construction and when occupied, both due to the excessive height of the buildings and the tripling of the number of occupants
• The developers would like to remove tree screening to open up sight lines. This will make matters worse and increase disturbance. We can expect that this will have a major impact on roosting and nesting birds. The existing tree buffer hides all but the single 15 storey tower that currently exists and in addition to increased disturbance any reduction in the tree cover will have a major and detrimental landscape effect when viewed from the bridge or the footpath to the west of the north reservoir. The tree screen needs to be effectively managed and maintained.
• There will be a large increase in the amount of night-time light pollution in what is currently a dark area. This will affect birds and mammals such as bats. External night-time lighting of the towers must be kept to a minimum. Brightly lit towers have been shown to have a detrimental effect on night flying and migrating birds
• The extreme height of the tower blocks will interfere with flight lines for birds trying to get away from sailing disturbance on the main reservoir. There could also be an increased risk of bird strikes made worse by the large number of high level glass windows.
•  A proposed bridge and circular route crossing the river further upstream will disturb and damage the wet woodland where shy woodland birds such as woodpeckers, owls and warblers breed. This woodland forms part of the SSSI buffer and Local Nature Reserve.
• This proposed bridge will also disturb scarce breeding wildfowl such as Gadwall, Pochard and others which breed in the pools and reed-beds at the end of the reservoir next to the woodland.
• The proposed location of the towers next to the SSSI boundary appears to be mainly for commercial and marketing reasons and has little regard for the nature reserve. They should be lower and further back.
• Due to the huge increase in occupancy of the estate there will be many more people visiting the lake and therefore greatly increasing the disturbance. The planned occupancy level greatly exceeds the level proposed for the site by the GLA.
• The provision of car parking, schools and health centres appears inadequate for the level of occupancy. This will put great strain on local infrastructure, facilities and roads.
• The two reservoirs have an important secondary function as a flood buffer. The huge increase in the local built footprint and areas covered by concrete will have an adverse effect on the carrying capacity in times of heavy rain. Flood events seem to be on the increase at the site from my own observations over a period of 30 years.
• The SSSI boundary with York Park has long been a dumping ground for domestic appliances and waste. The huge increase in occupancy will clearly make this much worse.

Summary

This development will have a major and detrimental impact on both the Reservoir Nature Reserve and the local community. It is inevitable that the SSSI will be adversely affected.  The planned occupancy level needs to be greatly reduced to a level more appropriate to the area and the setting. The tower blocks should be reduced in height and placed back from the margins of the reservoir. The part of the development already completed shows the overbearing and inappropriate nature of the building design next to one of London’s most important sites for recreation and natural history. 

The local council, the owners (of the reservoir) and the developers have a legal duty under existing wildlife legislation to conserve and improve the SSSI. As the proposals stand it is impossible for them to achieve this aim and we can only expect deterioration in the standard of the SSSI.

 

Little comfort after a wet and cold start to Spring 2013

It was so good to feel warm sun on my skin this afternoon when I walked in Fryent Country Park in preparation for a Brent School Without Walls LINK visit by three classes next week.

The city from Barn Hill

What a contrast to this time last year during the mini-heatwave when the blossom was out and ponds were drying up in the drought. Today there was just a small amount of blackthorn blossom in bloom and the first leaf buds of hawthorn were hardly evident.

Blackthorn

 Last year much of the frogspawn shriveled up in the sun as the ponds dried up. I was optimistic that this year with ponds over-flowing the amphibian population would have a chance to recover. Alas, many spawned before the severe cold spell and the spawn's jelly does not appear to have protected them from sub-zero temperatures and frozen ponds Much of the spawn is discoloured and tell-tale flies hover over it. The pictures below contrast the damaged with a rare clump of healthy spawn.

Today's sun did bring out the Lesser Celandines which are always a bright relief after a grey winter:

 

There is a chance that some frogs, toads and newts have not spawned yet and the presence of heron at several of the ponds may indicate activity.

 

Overall, I reckon Spring is 4-6 weeks behind last year. Back on my Birchen Grove allotment the soil is waterlogged. Autumn sown onion sets, garlic and shallots have been squeezed out of the wet clay like pus from an adolescent's spots. Many seeds will have to be started off inside given the cold and wet soil conditions. With such a poor start and the weather unpredictable it is likely to be another poor harvest this year with a further rise in food prices.

Still, enjoy the view across Fryent Country Park to Edgware on a sunny afternoon...

1,000 Mothers March for Justice next Saturday

From Taxpayers Against Poverty - your support will be welcomed

At 11am on Saturday April 13th, 2013, London Mothers and their supporting friends and family will march for justice in opposition to the economic hardship being forced upon them by the government’s decision to make low income mothers the prime target for cuts, and they will march for a change to fair and just polices. 

The march is organised by Taxpayers Against Poverty with the support of the Haringey Trades Council, Unions, the  Anglican, Methodist, Roman Catholic Justice and Peace, United Reformed Church, the National Pensioners Convention, the Turkish, Kurdish and Congalese communities and many local organisations,  

“Mothers claiming benefits suffer for their children. They go without food to feed them and struggle with the misery of rent, council tax and utility arrears. The coalition has added to their financial hardship. There is nothing fair about the current welfare policies. " said the Rev Paul Nicolson

A high proportion of people affected by coalition's welfare policies in Haringey and other parts of London are from black and ethnic minority communities. The policies could lead to greater feelings of powerlessness, alienation and greater social tension which were some of the underlying reasons for the 2011 riots. 

Mothers on the march will be campaigning for justice. It is part of a continuing unrelenting campaign to inject economic justice into the policies of political parties by demanding affordable housing, rent controls, the living wage, benefits linked to prices, full benefits and rights for disabled people, and the recognition of mothering and caring as work. 

No one can understand why families are under attack in this way at the same time as millionaires and corporations are getting tax cuts.

BAR say goodbye to Willesden Green Gallery with a party

From Brent Artist's Resource (BAR):

WE LIKE A GOOD PARTY AT BAR GALLERY!  

You are invited to celebrate the past and future of BAR, through light and shadow, with Kevin Vincenzo Keating who will be curating:

CLOSING PARTY: GHOSTS
Thursday April 18th 6-8PM
BAR gallery Willesden, 95 High Road, LONDON, NW10 2SF

TO MAKE THE SHOW, WE NEED YOUR HELP!

COME ALONG ON 16TH AND 17TH APRIL BETWEEN 2-7PM
WHEN WE WILL PAINT YOUR SILHOUETTE IN THE SPACE!
OPEN TO ALL TO TAKE PART! 

 The Gallery has been home to both local and international artists, who've contributed to the creative scene in Brent, through its social impact and strong community. This event will be a recognition of the invaluable achievements of Bar and; the memories that have been created and the bright future yet to come!

This unique conceptual show, curated by Kevin, will involve the results of projecting and painting the Ghosts of resident artists onto the gallery walls. The event will offer an opportunity to interact in a new way with the gallery space, and make a mark on what has long been the home of many local artists'. 

Kevin says "Ghosts is an expression of what I, and other artists feel is an abrupt end to an exciting gallery.  A feeling of not wanting to leave and leaving something of ourselves attached onto the walls of our past.  But this closure will enable us to look forward, face new challenges, using the uncertainty of space and funding to our advantage by making work that is reactive and pushing new boundaries.  And as we work under this new light, we ask our selves is it possible that our best work is yet to be created?'

BAR are looking for a new space which will become the new home for the now Nomadic Artists' of BAR gallery. The non-profit organisation is presently in negotiations with Brent council who've supported the organisation for the last several years. 

Ghosts will also be hosting poetry and music. Everyone is welcome!

 For more info contact info@brentartistsresource.org.uk

'Sickened' Sarah Teather and Brent Lib Dems should disown the Coalition

Sarah Teather has said that is is 'appalled and sickened' by George Osborne's statement on the Philpott case and welfare benefits and today's papers report 'deep unease' amongst senior Lib Dems.

Sarah Teather MP, when in opposition and before she joined the Coalition government, had great respect among leftwingers in Brent but forfeited that by her actions and statements when in government. Since her sacking she has distanced herself from some of the Coalition policies, some would say she has rediscovered her conscience, others, more cynical, claim she is worried about losing her Brent Central seat. Whichever is the case the Coalition's policies are now so extreme and damaging that if she is really to stand up for her constituents she should be arguing for Lib Dem withdrawal from the Coalition.

So what of our local Lib Dem councillors? Where do they stand? There have been rumours that a Lib Dem councillor was preparing to defect to Labour but I have been unable to get any confirmation. Despite my political disagreements with Brent Lib Dems I do think that they include people of principle who must be sickened by their party's role in the Coalition.

I cannot deny that Paul Lorber has shown real commitment to the libraries campaign in the Save Barham Library group where he has been unstinting of his time and energy. Similarly I have respect for Ann Hunter's decision to leave the Labour Party over the war in Iraq. Recently Barry Cheese has been a passionate campaigner for keeping Central Middlesex A&E open and opposing privatisation of the NHS. Alison Hopkins has impeccable credentials a s a community campaigner.

So far Brent Lib Dems locally have been remarkably untainted by the party's role in the Coalition and they have been helped by Brent Labour's supine approach to making council cuts. The Lib Dems have been able to oppose cuts at the local level but avoid the electorate making a link with the Coalition's austerity measures. Although they have entered local government ostensibly with a view to making life better for people  Brent they have failed to challenge the Coalition's attack on local government.

 However as Teather increasingly distances herself from the government positioning herself for the fight of her political life at the General Election, chickens will start to come home to roost.

Brent Lib Dems though should go beyond electoral manoeuvrings and consider the principles and practicalities involved. Can they, as liberals, standby while major sectors of the population are stereotyped, maligned and scapegoated? Can they remain silent while families are disrupted, pulled up by their roots and made to move outside of Brent away from their family and friends. Are they going  to tolerate more children falling into poverty? Can they tolerate the poor being made to pay for the economic crisis while the rich get richer?

 Does the argument that by participating in the Coalition the Lib Dems are restraining the more extreme elements of the Conservatives hold water any more when anyone can see the extremism of current policies?

Surely Sarah Teather and her colleagues in the local party must now call on their party to leave the Coalition.

Natalie Bennett delivers a dose of reality on welfare

 Natalie Bennett, Green Party leader, posted this article on the Huffington Post yesterday:

The government's stated aim in introducing the bedroom tax, in slashing of council tax benefit that forms a new poll tax, in ending of Disability Living Allowance and making a host of other benefit cuts is to 'make work pay'. That's utterly detached from the reality of the lives of the people that this cabinet of millionaires is airily playing with - and it's time to end this fantasy land politics.

Just start with the fact that the smaller social homes that the bedroom tax sufferers are supposed to move into simply don't exist. And as many have pointed out, the jobs that the government is telling benefit recipients to 'go out and get' also don't exist - 2.5 million people, 7.8% of the workforce, are looking for jobs, and there are about half a million vacancies.

In gross terms there are around five people chasing each job. Of course on the ground it is often much worse than that - when a new Tesco opened in Tynemouth there were more than 70 applicants for each of a handful of posts; when a new Costa opened in Nottingham, there were 1,700 applications for about eight jobs.
But even for those lucky enough to beat odds like these, the government is undercutting its stated aim - for it emerged yesterday that it is considering cutting the already seriously inadequate minimum wage. This at a time when inflation is again continuing to slash away at the already limited spending power of those at the bottom of society.

That's not 'making work pay'. In fact it's making living even less viable for millions.

And of course lots of those jobs being advertised are only part-time - not enough hours to satisfy Iain Duncan-Smith, who is pushing on with plans to 'force' low-paid workers to work more hours, ignoring the fact that one in 10 workers want more hours, but are unable to get them.

More than that, many of the jobs, particularly with larger companies, don't even offer regular hours. The cancer of zero-hours contracts is spreading fast - workers being treated like robots on a production line - machines to be switched on and off at the convenience of corporate profits. But robots don't need to pay the rent, to buy food, to heat their homes - and zero-hours contracts offer no guarantee of the ability to do any of those essential things - to make work liveable, let alone make it pay.

It's past time to say enough. To point out that, after Hans Christian, this is a Cabinet that is wearing no clothes. (Apologies to anyone eating while reading for that image.) David Cameron, George Osborne and Iain Duncan-Smith seem determined to ignore reality. In their fantasy world the economy is recovering, a few handfuls of multi-national companies, mostly employing minimum-wage workers on zero-hours contracts, can be the basis of a healthy economy around which communities can be built, people with severe long-term disabilities and illnesses can find jobs and live without public support.

It's time to deliver a dose of reality. A good start's been made by the more than 350,000 people who have told Iain Duncan Smith to try living on £53 a week. UK Uncut is also planning action on April 13 that will bring home to reality of eviction to more Cabinet ministers. But we need to go further. We need to deliver a message to every Cabinet member, every member of this fantasy land government. These are real lives they are playing with - real lives they are destroying.

We do need to make work pay, but we need to do that by ensuring every job pays at least a living wage, is stable and secure - is a job that you can build a life on, a job you can pay the rent and pay the bills on. And we need to provide benefits - decent benefits - that allow those who don't have their jobs to have a decent life.

James Powney: Catherine West 'very inspiring'

Catherine West

As the contest for Labour's nomination for Brent Central heats up Cllr James Powney posted this about one of the possible candidates on his blog yesterday.LINK  He didn't mention the Brent Central contest but Catherine West seems to have gained a fan.

I went to hear the very inspiring Catherine West, Leader of Islington Council, speak last night at a meeting in Kensal Green.  Although Islington is very different to Brent (for instance, in the amount of social housing), I am sure we could learn much from both their policies and campaign techniques.

West was recently awarded 'Council Leader of the Year' by the Local Government Information Unit and praised as a 'doer and thinker'.

Jeremy Corbyn MP (Islington North)  congratulated her:

Congratulations Catherine on your prorities of social justice and making our borough a better place. Well deserved award for your wonderfully inclusive approach to dealing with all the issues that face us!

(Another) Open Letter to Fairview Homes: When is enough enough?

Guest Blog from Save The Queensbury Group. The Queensbury Pub in Willesden Green has been bought by developers who plan to demolish it and build flats.

 Dear Fairview Homes: when is enough enough?
 
When 3000 people petition against your plans, is that enough for you to think you may have underestimated local feeling?

When the Leader of Brent council waxes lyrical about the services The Queensbury offers is that enough to realise you didn’t appreciate what you bought a year ago – i.e. not just a pub?

When the area’s biggest resident association surveys its members, meets to hear your changes in response to criticism, but still objects formally to Brent council - isn’t that enough to realise you do not have any community support?

When The Wanted, DJ Sara Cox, the local MP, the local GLA member, local Councillors and the former Mayor of London all oppose your plans do you not think you may struggle to get these accepted?

When 450 thoughtful, eloquent objections are lodged on Brent’s planning site isn’t that enough to appreciate The Queensbury is a valued amenity?

When other pubs in London and England have been saved by recent changes to legislation didn’t your experts suggest The Queensbury would not be so straightforward?

When you decided not to consult pub users or Busy Rascals on your plans last summer did you really not know they existed? Or were you reluctant to hear their views?

When you fuel rumours about the viability of a pub on the site, but when challenged (and the pub clarifies it is thriving) you cannot offer any information to substantiate your claims, isn’t that enough to appreciate the community is not stupid?

When you claim community support for your scheme (based on 22 comments at your consultation) but when challenged you hide behind “Data Protection Legislation” as a reason to not publish these comments, isn’t that just a bit weird?

When you lodge a plan with Brent Council but stall a decision for 6 months because you know it will be refused, isn’t that enough to go back to the drawing board and devise a scheme that keeps the pub but perhaps makes you less profit?

When you attempt to pacify the locals by offering a broom cupboard as a replacement community space did you really think this would be accepted as a substitute for the potential loss of The Queensbury? And did you seriously think that your lack of profit would be accepted by locals as a reason to demolish the pub?

When is enough negative media coverage, which continually damages your company’s reputation, enough to work with the community rather than against it?

Fairview Homes: tell us, when is enough enough?


http://savethequeensbury.info

Butt vows to go full-out on Central Middlesex A&E campaign

Cllr Muhammed Butt, leader of Brent Council, has told Labour Group members that he is determined to get behind the campaign to Save Central Middlesex Accident and Emergency.

Butt and some of his colleagues took part in the Brent Fightback march against the closure but they cited lack of Liberal Democrat and Conservative support as the reason they could not take an official Brent Council stand on the issue. They claimed this  meant that they could not mount a campaign such as that by Ealing Council that mobilised thousands of the local population.

In addition Brent Council's Health and Overview Scrutiny Committee failed to take a strong stand in defence of the A&E, accepting many of the arguments for closure, and then defeated a motion to join Ealing Council to refer back the reorganisation.

Butt now wants to take a much stronger position and has challenged his colleagues to give him full backing.The issue has already been mentioned by several of the candidates for the Brent Central parliamentary candidate nomination.

The leadership of Brent Labour will again be up for challenge at the May Annual General Meeting. A challenge to Butt's leadership fizzled out in February when his opponents were unable to muster enough support to table a no confidence vote.

Cllr Revd Clues must resign after attending only one meeting in 6 months

Rev David Cues, Liberal Democrat councillor for Dudden Hill, now resident in Brighton, has attended just one council meeting or committee in the last six months out of eight that he was supposed to attend.

Councillor Gavin Sneddon, another Liberal Democrat, who has also moved out of the borough -  albeit not so far, attended 5 out of 8 meetings.

The best attender was Cllr Pat Harrison (Labour) with 19 out of 19, closely followed by Cllr Lesley Jones (18/18) and Cllr Janice Long (17/17).

Former Labour leader Ann John managed only 8 out of 13 meetings. However Pat Harrison attended 19/19 with one extra meeting, closely followed by Lesley Jones 18/18 and Janice Long 17/17. Ketan Sheth appears to have over-stretched himself managing only 16 of 3 expected attendances.

Liberal Democrats Paul Lorber and Barry Cheese both attended 8 additional meetings out of personal interest or to represent their constituents.

Obviously the number of meetings is not necessarily a guide to how effective a councillor is. If they sit there like a bag of potatoes and make no contribution except to rubber stamp decisions and do little case work they are not doing a good job.

However, Clues' 12.5% attendance rate is an insult to democracy and a betrayal of the electorate, and must reinforce the call from Brent Green Party that he should resign with still a year to go before the next council election.

Full attendance details for all councillors can be found HERE

'A breath of fresh air' and 'a real person' to fight it out with Dawn

The fight for Labour's nomination for Brent Central looks set to gain national prominence as The Voice LINK profiles the three front runners: Patrick Vernon ('a breath of fresh air'), Amina Ali  ('a real person') and Dawn Butler for whom The Voice gives no details except that she is a former MP.  An indication perhaps of the paper's assessment of the candidates.

Neither of the local candidates, Cllr Zaffar Van Kalwala or Sabina Khan are mentioned, nor the leader of Islington Council, Catherine West LINK said to have been approached by some local Labour Party activists.

The Voice quotes a local Labour source as suggesting the selection process could begin as early a September which could see the selection process for Labour council candidates running concurrently. A number of veteran councillors are expected to stand down.

What might be an excellent testing ground for the parlaimentary as well as the council candidates would be getting out on the street for a by-election and seeing how they go down with the electorate.

With a year to go before the council election won't the Reverend David Clues currently enjoying life in Brighton do us all a favour and resign, opening the way for a mini-contest in Dudden Hill?

Brent Cyclists propose an achievable cycling revolution in the borough

Crossing the Welsh Harp

Brent Cyclists have issued an incredibly  thorough and imaginative 'Draft Cycling Plan for Brent' which aims to improve cycling across the borough and cycling links with central London, as well as tackle the major barriers to cycling in Central and North Brent. If their vision is realised it would not just be a cycling 'improvement' but a cycling revolution.

They argue that a 'mini Holland' is required in Central Brent:

The plan required to tackle these barriers to link the communities of mid-Brent with practical cycling and walking routes will be a major piece of work in itself. Brent Cyclists’ suggestions for priority changes needed for the mini-Holland in Wembley and Neasden are as follows:

A)

Alterations to the Neasden north and south roundabouts, to the cycle / pedestrian underpass at Neasden (or complete replacement) and to Dudden Hill Lane, Neasden Lane North and Blackbird Hill to create a viable cycle route to Wembley Park and the north of the borough, from the south and from central London. This will be discussed later under the heading “Jubilee Line Quietway”. This will be a completion of a Quietway using main roads and needs to be entirely segregated. This is a very large scheme in itself.

B)

A new link between Wembley park and Neasden spanning, or going under, the Metropolitan Line to fill in the long gap between the North Circular Road and Bridge Road crossings. This already features in the Wembley area Masterplan, but needs to be a priority step, before extensive redevelopment.

C)

A new link across the Chiltern Line between Wembley Park and the Harrow Road area, at Sherrans Farm Open Space

D)

Extension and improvement of the cycle route on the Brent River Path in both directions. At the north end, quality links to both new crossing A) above and to Bridge Road via North Road. At the south end, an improved, more efficient crossing of Harrow Road and an improved, safer linkage to the Stonebridge/ Abbey Road cycle bridge.

E)

Segregated cycle tracks along Forty Avenue and East Lane, or, where there is insufficient width, mandatory cycle lanes with removal of all parking.

F)

Prioritisation of cycling, walking and buses on Ealing road by removing the north-south through route for cars, forcing them to use Bridgewater Road instead, which is a more suitable route.

G)

Closing the through-route via St Johns Road and Llanover Road to cars to create a bike priority route parallel to the West Coast Main Line and opening up a route through the North Wembley Industrial Estate from there to Windermere Avenue, with appropriate crossing facilities at East Lane, to extend this route northwards.

H)

Linking Neasden Recreation Ground with Welsh Harp Open Space with a new path built in collaboration with the Canal and River Trust (who control the reservoir) which would either use the dam or a new bridge across the Brent. This should also, with the cooperation in addition of Barnet council, become part of a circular leisure cycling and walking route all round the reservoir. Brent Cyclists have already suggested several detailed options for this scheme.

I)

Replacing one or both of the spiral pedestrian footbridges across the North Circular Road at Kenwyn Avenue and the St Raphaels Estate with wide cycling and walking bridges with long, straight ramps. There is enough space in both these locations for this. These bridges must be connected with good, wide paths to the minor roads at either end.

Extensive proposals are also made for North Brent:

A)
A N-S route from Blackbird Cross on the A4140 via Salmon Street, Fryent Way, and
Honeypot Lane. Segregated cycle tracks or mandatory cycle lanes with no parking all the way are needed. On Fryent Way where there is the obvious opportunity to create cycle paths between the existing road and footpaths, and this could be the first part of the scheme. This route requires the collaboration of Harrow in Honeypot Lane, and it should be taken by Harrow all the way to Stanmore. Kingsbury Circle is currently a dangerous interruption on this route and needs either signalising or replacing with a Dutch-style roundabout (which TfL is currently experimenting with at the Transport Research laboratory in Berkshire).
B)
An E-W route on the A4006 (Kingsbury road and Kenton Road). These roads are wide enough for general segregation if the whole width of the road is redesigned. This requires the co-operation of Harrow on Kenton Road, and the route should link to Harrow town centre. Radical changes to the very dangerous Northwick Park roundabout (shared with Harrow) would be necessary, with cycle tracks on the roundabout, and signalisation.
C)
A new cycle path through West Hendon Playing Fields, N-S, along the Brent-Barnet boundary (to link with B) above) and with the existing path through Welsh Harp Open Space and to Birchen Grove, linking with the Jubilee Line route (see later).
D)
The LCN route on Draycott Avenue, Windermere Avenue and Grasmere Avenue needs cutting as a through-route for cars.
E)
A N-S route from Burnt Oak to Wembley is needed. Slough Lane /Salmon Street is already low-traffic due to aggressive traffic-calming, it being easier for cars to use Church Lane for that stretch, but the northern continuation in Roe Green and Stag Lane is too busy. The Stag Lane / Roe Green route needs cutting for motor through-traffic (buses could be allowed). The general traffic on this route should be on the A5 and A4006
F)
An route E-W route from Colindale to Queensbury via Holmstall Avenue and Beverley Drive is needed. Beverley Drive is wide enough for segregated cycle tracks,
G)
Cycling in Roe Green Park needs regularising, with widened paths and a proper link to the road at the Roe Green / Kingsbury Road junction.
H)
Church Lane (B454) is an important link road between Kingsbury and Neasden, but is  hostile to cycling because of high vehicle speeds combined with chicaines created by traffic islands and intermittent parking. The islands and hatching should be removed and replaced by zebra crossings, and on-street parking should be removed and replaced with cycle lanes or tracks.
I)
Old Church Lane (which has one of the better cycle facilities in Brent, a two-way track at its western end already) serves no function in the traffic system and should be closed to motor traffic. It is a cut-through for traffic turning left on to Blackbird Hill, but traffic can make that turn from Tudor Gardens 

These proposals merit serious consideration and would contribute enormously to Brent's Climate Change Strategy by encouraging more people to leave their cars behind and take to their bikes, secure in the knowledge that safe and secure routes are in place. As well as making commuting cycling more attractive it would also increase leisure cycling improving health and tackling obesity.

Brent Cyclists deserve congratulation and thanks for this far-sighted and thorough report which must have required an enormous amount of work by a small voluntary organisation.

It has not been possible to do the full 25 page report full justice in this summary. The full report can be found HERE

Teather: 'Some families are being targeted over and over again' by welfare changes

This article by Patrick Wintour appears in the Guardian today:

Almost 440,000 families will see their income cut by £16.90 a week as they are hit by both the “bedroom tax” and the changes to council tax benefit, according to research by the New Policy Institute.

The cumulative impact of the welfare changes prompted a former Lib Dem minister, Sarah Teather, to urge the coalition to review its reforms. She said: “My concern is that some families are being targeted over and over again.”

The MP for Brent Central added: “Hitting the same people repeatedly means it adds up to a very significant cut in income. I am not sure how they are supposed to manage, where they are supposed to live, or whether the government has looked at the cumulative impact.”

Her warning came as the chief executive of a leading social housing provider warned some tenants were panicking as the reality of the bedroom tax began to bite.

Research by the New Policy Institute reveals that of the 660,000 families hit by the bedroom tax, or spare room subsidy in ministers’ parlance, 440,000 will have their council tax discount reduced as well. It adds that, on average, this group will be £16.90 worse off a week.

The three main reforms introduced this week are:
• The replacement of council tax benefit by council tax support, estimated to cost 2.4 million families in England an average of £2.60 per week. The coalition says the council tax benefit bill rose by 50% under the last government.
• An under-occupation penalty (commonly known as the bedroom tax) is expected to cost 660,000 families an average of £14 per week. The government says 1.8 million people are on council house waiting lists.
• An overall household benefit cap, set at £500 for a family with children, is expected to affect 56,000 households with an average cut of £93 per week.

In addition there has been a below-inflation rise for those on tax credits and benefits. The NPI estimates a total of 1.3 million families will be affected by the lower-than-inflation benefit uprating, council tax changes and the bedroom tax. It said it had been impossible to calculate precisely which categories of people will also be hit by the absolute cap on housing benefit, due to be introduced later this month in four pilot areas and then phased in nationwide in the autumn.

Teather says the benefit cap is the single reform that worries her most in her north London constituency, adding that larger families are already preparing to move out of the area.
The NPI estimates that around 63% of families affected by one of the cuts are already in poverty. This rises to 67% for those affected by both council tax benefit and the bedroom tax. In total 1.6 million families already in poverty – as officially defined by the government – now have to cope with further reductions in income.

The NPI said: “Three-quarters of those affected are out of work. When their benefits are cut, they do not have other sources of income to fall back on. To someone receiving jobseeker’s allowance of £71.70 a week, even the smallest of these cuts (for council tax) represents a 3.5% drop in disposable income.”
Just under two-thirds of families affected by the bedroom tax include a disabled adult. It has been argued that the bedroom tax is particularly unfair on disabled people who require adapted accommodation. While not all disabled people will require specialised accommodation, the NPI says its figures suggests that the dilemma facing the disabled will not be uncommon.

Meanwhile, the chief executive of social housing provider Riverside – which owns or runs more than 50,000 homes – has also warned of the fear felt by some of its 7,000 tenants affected by the bedroom tax.
In an open letter to David Cameron and Nick Clegg, Carol Matthews warns that “most of those affected are precisely the people government should be helping ‘get on’ rather than ‘get out’”.

Matthews goes on to say that those who will be worst hit are: “Families with teenage children who need their own bedrooms to enable them to study; fathers who have split from their partners and are trying to do the right thing by sharing responsibility for bringing up their children; grandparents who are helping their own children to work by providing low cost childcare for their grandchildren.

“In addition there are the thousands of tenants who are now deemed to be able to share, when the reality is that they need to sleep in separate rooms as a result of disability or illness.

“These are not minor exceptions that can be regulated away, or helped with small amounts of discretionary payments. Rather they illustrate that the line has been drawn in the wrong place.”

R4's Any Questions? Brent broadcast will include Caroline Lucas

 Caroline Flint, Sir Menzies Campbell and Caroline Lucas

Radio 4's Any Questions? is coming to Brent on Friday 26th April. The show will be broadcast from Claremont High School and panellists include Caroline Flint MP (Labour Shadow Secretary for Energy and Climate Change) Sir Menzies Campbell (Liberal Democrat) and Caroline Lucas MP (Green Party).

Questions are picked on the evening of the broadcast but with the two Carolines on the panel are likely to include issues relating to energy policy and climate change including the issue of nuclear power.

The programme follows the 8pm News on Friday and is rebroadcast after the 1pm News on Saturday followed by Any Answers at 2pm.

For FREE ticket ring Box Office 0844 850 0093