Future safety concerns overshadow today's Wembley Cup Final

Impression of Wembley Stadium surrounded by flats

As fans pour into Wembley for today's Cup Final Greg Dyke, FA Chairman, has warned of the dangers posed by Quintain's plans for new tower blocks close to the stadium. The £2.5bn scheme was approved by Brent Planning Committee in  controversial circumstances. LINK

The Standard LINK said:

FA  chairman Greg Dyke has warned that a planned £2.5 billion development around Wembley Stadium will have “terrible consequences” for the safety of fans on match days.

The former Manchester United director said the attack on the team’s bus by West Ham fans was “an important reminder that ensuring public order and safety in and around football stadia requires careful planning, good preparation and partnership working between all concerned

Mr Dyke, who steps down as FA chairman this summer, said Quintain’s proposals “as currently planned ... will have some terrible consequences for the public safety and traffic management around the stadium on event days. 

“We will continue to work with Brent, the Greater London Authority and the developer to ensure the problems are addressed, but fan management should not be an afterthought.

We will not drop our responsibility for ensuring that Wembley’s ability to inspire generations with its magical moments is not damaged by a lack of care for our visiting fans and local residents. We hope others will make the same commitment.”

Previously the Standard had reported on the FA's presentation to the Planning Committee:

Julie Harrington, operations director at the FA, told the council’s planning committee the location of the car parks off South Way “created genuine public order and safety concerns which would serve as a retrograde step for the stadium.”

She said: “Tuesday night’s disturbing scenes at West Ham’s Boleyn Ground only go to show that we absolutely cannot be complacent when it comes to fan management around the stadium.”

She said developer Quintain was ”working from a position to maximise profits” rather than to “protect fan safety”.

She said: “The holding of fans, the kettling of fans, that’s a return to the 1970s in my view.

“Even a short amount of time holding people, irate fans from teams that have lost, or rival fans mixing together is too much.”

Transport consultants working for the FA presented analysis showing fans could have to wait for up to three hours to board coaches under the new layout.

Ms Harrington warned that the FA “would not be able to attract major events to Wembley if fan’s can’t leave the car park.”

She said: “If fans can’t get to their coaches and can’t get to their vehicles, if up to 9,000 fans are pooled behind the stadium with nowhere to go, if 15,000 fans are pushed down back streets to their coaches, it’s a recipe for disaster, a public order disaster, and the FA will not stand by and see fans treated in this way.

“We cannot be complacent about the huge steps forward made in stadium safety in the past two decades. No-one should believe that its acceptable to herd fans like cattle. We must learn from past mistakes.”

The FA are in the difficult position of seeking to protect both fans and the Stadium's status  and maintaining a positive long-term working relationship with Quintain and Brent Council. 

 Quintain while retaining its name has been taken over by Lone Star, a Texas based company, and has  adopted a more aggressive approach to Wembley regeneration  as a result, building  higher and more closely packed blocks to maximise profits. Eventually they will complete the development and move on, leaving the FA, football fans, Brent Council and local people to cope with the consequences.

The FA could ask Sadiq Khan, the new London mayor, to call in the plans but there may be opportunities to have further talks about their concerns with the new Brent Cabinet.

Possible bid to make Bowls Club Pavilion a community hub for Wembley

Friends of King Eddie's Park are holding a meeting to discuss making an application for a community hub at the Bowls Pavilion in King Edward VII Park, Park Lane, Wembley.

The future of the disused pavilion was the cause of consideral local controversy when the Welsh School, expelled from its Stonebridge Primary School site as a result of redevelopment proposals, applied to runs its school in the park. The bid failed.

Meeting details from Friends of King Eddies:

When: 7pm Tuesday 24th May 2016

Where: Ujima House, 388 High Road Wembley (above Honey Pot Nursery)

Why: Brent Council have put the Bowls Pavilion back on the market with end of May deadline for submissions.

This is our last chance to create a Community Hub in King Eddie's Park for park goers, the people of Wembley and Brent

We submitted a proposal in December 2015 that was rejected.

'Britain In or Out' debate Sunday Brent Cross

Click on image to enlarge

Full text of Brent Council CEO's statement on death of former councillor Tayo Oladapo

Statement about the death of former Cllr Tayo Oladapo by Carolyn Downs, Chief Executive Officer, Brent Council made at AGM of Council on May 18th 2016

As Chief Executive of Brent council, I have received numerous enquiries about the sad death of former Cllr Tayo Oladapo. The matter has also been the subject of press coverage. I feel it to be very important for me to put on record the facts as they are known to me. I do this as a matter arising from the minutes of the last meeting which recorded both Cllr Oladapo’s absence and agreed his continued absence due to his ill health.

My aim is to clarify the Council’s understanding of events surrounding his death, and specifically the timing of when the Council received official notification of his death.

To be absolutely clear, I believe that the report considered by Full Council on 22 February was written in good faith on the understanding that Cllr Oladapo’s ill health was ongoing. It was submitted to Council as the previous report received in January required that this happen. You will all remember that Cllr Oladapo, according to the report, was expected to return to his work at the Council for that meeting in January following his release from hospital. In fact, there had been a deterioration to his health which resulted in his return to hospital and by the time of the council meeting in February it was believed that he had returned to his family in Nigeria to pass away. This was not, however, confirmed and so would have been inappropriate to put in a public report. I believe, therefore, that the Full Council considered and approved Cllr Oladapo’s ongoing absence in all good faith based on what was known on that date and what was included in the report.

At the beginning of March 2016, I became aware of concerns that Cllr Oladapo had in fact passed away. I sought confirmation and despite best efforts to confirm his death, no formal confirmation was forthcoming, which would have left me able to call a by-election.

As we were unable to obtain clarification, on 8 March, I asked Registrar colleagues to make enquiries in Camden. They were unable to confirm if Cllr Oladapo had indeed died as no death had been registered.

Additionally, I wrote to his family but the only address held by the Council was an address in Harlesden and I doubt that they have ever received the letter.  We made all reasonable enquiries possible, including trying to contact family members in both Nigeria and the USA. We were not able to get official confirmation of his death. 

On 9^th March I contacted the Police to request their help.

In the early evening of 10 March 2016, I received police confirmation that Cllr Oladapo had indeed sadly passed away on 29 January 2016 but that his death had not been registered. 

On 11 March, the Council issued a statement about his death, lowered the flags and issued tributes from the Mayor of Brent and the Leader of the Council.

Just last week, on 11^th May, Mrs Oladapo, Cllr Oladapo’s mother, registered his death at Camden Council.  She subsequently came to see myself and the Leader and I was able to pass on the Council’s sincerest condolences for her tragic loss. Councillor Oladapo’s funeral will take place soon. 

Clearly this whole episode raises issues regarding the noting of absences when councillors cannot attend meetings along with the frequency of reports to Council requesting leave of absence for Council. I shall arrange for an independent person to urgently review the whole episode, going back to the start of Councillor Oladapo's illness and his absences from council meetings and will ensure that their report to me is submitted to the Constitutional Working Group for their consideration. They in turn will be able to make any relevant recommendations to full Council.  I sincerely apologise on behalf of the Council for any misunderstanding which has arisen out of our actions which I repeat I believe were undertaken in good faith.

Finally it is important to remember that this all relates to the very distressing story of a young man, elected to serve his community and who died tragically from a long illness. Although I had never met Tayo, I have only ever heard positive things about how warm, kind and conscientious he was. 

As is customary, I would encourage members to use the opportunity of the first full council meeting since his sad death, when requested by the Mayor, to pay tribute to Cllr Oladapo.

UPDATED: Labour rebellion over Principal Opposition designation

Brent Council's  CEO, Carolyn Downs, announced tonight at the Brent Council AGM that  she will be commissioning an independent person to review the whole episode of Cllr Tayo Oladapo's death going back to January 2016.  (This is not the same person as the Council's Independent Person. The reviewer's identity wil be made known in due course.) Any recommendations arising from the review would be brought to Full Council.

Downs  outlined the sequence of events that included reports earlier in the year that Cllr Oladapo had gone back to Nigeria, his country of origin.   These had not been reported to Council on February 22nd  because there was no confirmation that this was the case. There were then reports of his death that could not be confirmed as the Registrar said the death had not been registered.   Letters to his address in Harlesden got no response and attempts to contact relatives in Nigeria and the USA also drew a blank.

On the 9th March police were contacted and on 10th March they had confirmed the councillor had died on January 29th. On March  11th his death was announced by the Council. LINK  (WM note -The announcement posted by Brent Council on March 11th did not mention the earlier date of death).

Cllr Oladapo's death was not officially registered by his mother until May 11th.  Carolyn Downs had then been able to convey her and the Council's condolences.

Councillors from all sides of the chamber paid tribute to Cllr Oladapo. Cllr Stopp was not called but his tribute appears HERE .

Later in the meeting some Labour councillors abstained on a vote to recognise the Conservative Group as the official opposition. This is the group based in Kenton now led by Cllr Reg Colwill. Earlier the Brondesbury Park Brent Conservatives  had failed in a bid to occupy the front  bench seats currently occupied by the Conservative Group.

A senior councillor told me that  the Brondesbury Park Conservatives would make a better, and much needed, Opposition. Apparently some felt that it was an abuse of Labour's huge  majority to use it to install a tame opposition that would give the ruling group an easy ride. It was better to leave the seven opposition councillors to decide between themselves. That would of course have Cllr Helen Carr wielding the casting vote..

Abstainers were Cllrs Perrin, Nerva, Collier, Chan, Marquis, Stopp, Long, Thomas, Tatler, Kelcher, Duffy  and Ramesh Patel.

Cabinet posts approved were:

Butt (Leader), McLennan (Deputy). Farah (Housing) Hirani (Community Wellbeing), Mashari (Regeneration, Growth, Employment and Skills, Mitchell Murray (Children and Young People), Pavey (Stronger Communities) Southwood (Environment).

Mashari adds Regeneration to her portfolio while Pavey's post is a clear demotion after his leadership challenge.  It is not clear whether McLennan will take on the Finance and Human Resources responsibilities previously led by Pavey.

The key Planning Committee,  is still chaired by Cllr Marquis but the membership is relatively inexperienced with the exception of Cllrs Long and Moher. Other members of the Committee are Agha, Hylton, J Mitchell Murray and newly elected Kilburn councillor Pitruzzella.

Joining the controversial Cllr Allie on Standards are Collier, Kabir (former whip) and Krupa Sheth. Collier will have his work cut out to persuade his colleagues to adopt a strong stance in dealing with any referrals. Mandip Johal was recommended for appointment as an Independent Person.  The recommendation said that Mandip had over 10 years experience of dealing with professional misconduct complaints within the legal profession.

In an almost one-party Council strong Scrutiny Committees are essential and the memberships announced this evening slightly better than I feared.

The Community and Wellbeing Scrutiny Committee is chaired by Ketan Sheth and other members are Hoda-Benn, Conneely, Hector, Jones, Nerva and Shahzad.

Resources and Public Realm Scrutiny is chaired by Cllr Kelcher. Committee members are Aden, Choudhary, Ezeajughi. Miller, Tatler and M Patel.

Cllr Stopp, previously on the Scrutiny Committee has now relegated to Alcohol and Entertainment Licensing  (with Cllr Perrin) and the  Trading Standards Joint Advisory Board.  Duffy remains out in the cold.

Committee chairs going forward to Brent Council AGM tonight

Ahead of the AGM tonight the main committee chairs of Brent Council are:  General Purposes - Butt, Planning - Marquis, Community and Wellbeing Scrutiny - Ketan Sheth., Resources and Public Realm Scrutiny - Kelcher and Standards - Allie.

The membership nominatiosn have been fluid over the past few days bit it will be worth watching the fate of some of the Labour members who have been exercising some criticical judgement recently including Cllrs Pavey, Duffy and Stopp.

Recent rumours of a possible defection from Kenton Tories to Brondesbury Park Tories has been denied, so barring such an event or an agreememnt between the two groups, councillors will again be deciding who to designate the Principal Opposition Party.  The lone Lib Dem, Helen Carr, will get no substantial committee position.

The two Scrutiny Committees means that this year there are more committee places  available to share among the 56 Labour councillors and six Tories.

Deadline May 20th for appeal to save Metropolitan Open Land from Harrow School development

From Harrow Hill Trust

Metropolitan Open Land (MOL) will be lost if the Harrow School replacement Sports Hall is relocated and enlarged to include a conference suite, as proposed.

We believe that there is a better location and design that the school should consider.

Please give your support by 20 May by signing our petition on change.org. Also, help us by rejecting application P/1940/16 on the Harrow Council planning portal http://www.harrow.gov.uk.

Access to appreciate the current wonderful views is already restricted to footpaths and London's Capital Ring walking route, and they will be blocked or blighted by the proposed positioning. This includes the views of our only Grade II Listed Park which was set out by Capability Brown in 1768.

The solution is to redevelop the existing brown field site, use more subterranean construction and a green roof/ walls. Also to use a temporary sports 'Bubble' and the nearby John Lyon swimming pool, during construction.

The conditions for developing on MOL have not been met and the public have not been consulted on the MOL aspects. If we can’t protect a site which is MOL, in a Conservation Area, an Area of Special Character and alongside a Grade II listed Park then what can we protect? 

Show your support: sign our petition by 20 May

UPDATE; Newly elected Chairs of Brent Council committees and an audacious nomination for Standards Chair

Cllr Allie at Full Council  February 22nd

More appointments will be made this evening but I now have fuller information for readers on appointments to positions on Brent Council committees etc.

One nomination, if true,  is particularly audacious - that of Cllr James Allie who sat reading the Catholic Herald through much of the budget setting meeting on February 22nd, which included discussion of the impact of  cuts to services.

A complaint was made to Fiona Alderman who replied:

I have considered the complaint under the Members’ Code of Conduct complaints procedure and have consulted the Independent Person, the Chief Whip and the Chief Executive. In all the circumstances, I have decided that on this occasion your complaint does not warrant any further action under the Code of Conduct. I have, however, reported your complaint to the Chief Whip for the Labour Group and written to Councillor Allie to advise him that the conduct you complained of must not be repeated.

Cllr Butt has apparently nominated Cllr Allie to be chair of the Standards Committee which may well be charged with responding to complaints about Cllr Butt's conduct over the Tayo Oladapo case as well as the  double Planning Committee shenanigans. Sandra Kabir, the Chief Whip who managed the Cllr John Duffy case, is nominated as Vice Chair. Other members are Cllr Krupa Sheth and Cllr Tatler.

Cllr Allie has been a staunch Butt supporter following his defection from the Lib Dems and was one of the few to support Butt's bid to end elelctions for Deputy Leader.

Although Allie was never charged with any offence in a 2011 fraud case, he was referred to the borough solicitor for not declaring an interest by the then Labour leader Ann John. At the time Allie was a Lib Dem councillor for Alperton and chaired the budget scrutiny committee. LINK

Krupa Sheth is a close relative of Cllr Ketan Sheth and replaces Bernard Collier who one councillor said was known to 'ask tough questions'.

Many observers thought Cllr Liz Dixon, a woman of principle, would have been a more independent occupant of the position.

The chairs of the  two Scrutiny Committees elected on Saturday are Matt Kelcher and Ketan Sheth. Kelcher is the chair of the present single Scrutiny Committee and Sheth previously chaired Planning.

Sarah Marquis was elected as Chair of the Planning Committee.  She was interrupted mid-speech  on Saturday by applause when she promised that she would be politically independent in the role. Cllr Agha was challenged to distance himself from Cabinet pressure if he got the role but replied that it was important that all members contribute to the Planning Committee, including the Council leader.

The leadership are claimed to have ignored Marquis' plea that the process of appointing members to the Planning Committee should be opened up to reassure the public that there was not a lack of independence from councillors which would open up claims of political interference in the Committee's work.

I understand that one Cabinet candidate, who was not elected to a position, when asked which other council they admired, replied 'Tower Hamlets.'

Given Cllr Butt's narrow majority for leader and the tied vote for deputy it is not certain that his nominations will get through this evening  but doubtless considerable pressure will be applied on individual councillors.

The Green Party bids farewell to Natalie Bennett and will have new leader in September

 

A very human leader Pic: documentary.com

Announcement from the Green Party

Natalie Bennett, Leader of the Green Party of England and Wales, has announced that she will not to stand for re-election in the Leadership elections, which take place this summer and culminate at the Green Party’s Autumn Conference.

During her hugely successful two-term, four-year stint as leader, Natalie has guided the Party through a period of extraordinary growth and increasing impact.

Under Natalie’s leadership, the Party has increased its number of MEPs by 50% in the 2014 European Elections, recorded its best-ever result in a General Election in 2015 (amassing over one million votes for the first time and saving 123 deposits compared to 4 in 2010) and, most recently, recorded its best-ever performance in London elections, where Greens are now the undisputed third party.

Membership of the Green Party of England and Wales has increased five-fold under Natalie’s watch, supported enormously by her efforts to engage with and inspire local and regional parties from Stroud to Solihull, Sunderland to St Ives.

The party broke in to the televised Leaders’ Debates ahead of the May 2015 General Election and Natalie used the high-profile media opportunities to share widely Green Party values and policies.
Reflecting on her successful spell at the helm, Natalie said:

I have been proud to lead a party through a period of phenomenal expansion and increased impact. With the support of our passionate members and supporters we have been able to achieve much in a relatively short period.

The Green Party offers a genuine alternative to the tired status quo and I am proud that Greens do politics differently.

There’s greatly increased public understanding that when you want the honest, caring, committed view – one that isn’t guided by the views of the latest focus group or fear of a tabloid backlash but by fundamental principles and values – you should come to the Green Party.

Looking to the future, in which I intend to remain fully engaged in Green Party politics, I’m confident the Green Party is going to become increasingly influential on the political scene. We’re the only party with a platform that recognises the essential interrelationship between economic and environmental justice – that we must have a society in which no one fears hunger or homelessness while we collectively live within the environmental limits of our one fragile planet.

 Richard Mallender, Chair of the Green Party Executive, commented:

On behalf of everyone in the Green Party I thank Natalie for her outstanding leadership over the past four years. Without Natalie we would not have been able to achieve all that we have achieved. I am delighted that Natalie will remain active in the party - her support will be invaluable to the new Leadership team as we continue to grow.

Nominations for the Green Party Leadership elections open on 1st June 2016 and close on 30th June. A campaign period will run from 1 July until 24 July, at which point the one-month balloting period begins. The new Leadership team will be unveiled at the Green Party’s Autumn Conference in early September.

Note from Wembley Matters

The leadership of the Green Party is rather different from the more traditional leadership of other political parties.  The Greens previously did not have leaders ,but 'Spokespeople', and the leadership model was only adopted after a vigorous debate.

However in many ways the leader is still a spokesperson as policy continues to be made by the twice yearly conference, with positions in between decided by an elected committee of the party.  This means that the leader cannot make up policy on the hoof and causes problems when TV or radio interviewers expect immediate answers assuming the role is the same as that for traditional parties. The process is sometimes cumbersome but in my view more democratic.

With policy decided by Conference there is less scope for a leadership contest based on policy differences, although differences in emphasis will be significant.  In some ways, Caroline Lucas, the only Green MP, has been more free to put forward policies such as the 'progressive alliance' and this creates some tension at times with some members wary of being bounced into post facto policy.

Within the party there are different perspectives ranging from 'deep greens' very much concerned with prioritising the environment and eco-socialists who see capitalism,  by its very nature, as not being able to deal with the challenge of climate change.  A particular issue that differentiates the green left from the Labour Party is the latters emphasis on economic growth, which is also the basis of capitalism's need for ever expanding markets. The eco-socialist left looks to a socially useful economy rather than a natural resources gobbling, climate change inducing, consumerist economy.

The Party's decision to give equal weight to environmental and social justice has informed the development of policy over  last few years and contributed to the 'Green Surge' of new members in reaction to the neoliberalism of the Labour Party pre-Corbyn.  The Green Party Trade Union Group and Green Left have been reaching out to sections of the labour movement. The Green Left Facebook has nearly 8,000 members and is a lively forum for eco-socialist ideas in the movement.

Inevitably perspectives on the Labour Party under Corbyn, assessment of Labour's developing policies on the environment, economy and voting reform will inform the Green Party's summer of debate, but the unique nature of the Green Party will shape the discussion.

London Mayor's Deputy approved 'Twin Towers' two days before election

It has emerged that Sir Edward Lister, Deputy Mayor and Chief of Staff of the then London Mayor, Boris Johnson, decided not to intervene in the 'Twin Towers' development on the site of Chesterfield House, Park Lane, Wembley. just two days before the GLA election.

The borough's decision was subject to a Stage 2 referral to the Mayor's Office.

This was one of several decisions made in the last few weeks of the previous administration.

Butt narrowly retains Brent Labour Group leadership - Margaret McLennan will be his deputy - cabinet details

Despite the furore over the alleged concealment of the  death of Tayo Oladapo and the row over the  double Planning Committee to approve Quintain's Wembley development  Muhammed Butt retained the Labour Group leadership at today's AGM by just four votes.

Margaret McLennan, having stood on a platform that the role is 'non-political', was elected Butt's deputy following a re-ballot when the initial vote was a tie with Michael Pavey.

Their names now go forward as nominations to the Full Council meeting on Wednesday.

One councillor commented that there were now two factions in the Labour Group with no middle ground between them adding that strong whipping was evident.

Michael Pavey, (Barnhill ward)  who had challenged Butt, survived as a Cabinet member and others elected to Cabinet were Roxanne Mashari (Welsh Harp), Harbi Farah (Welsh Harp) Krupesh Hirani (Dudden Hill), Wilhelmina Mitchell Murray (Wembley Central) and Eleanor Southwood (Queens Park).

This means that Ruth Moher and James Denselow leave the Cabinet.

Roles will be allocated later.

Other key posts will be Chairs of the two Scrutiny Committees and Chair of Planning Committee.

Although Cllr Butt won the election, albeit by a narrow margin, he may not be out of the woods yet as there is likely to be an internal Labour Party inquiry over the Tayo Oladapo allegations and a possible reference to the Brent Council Standards Committee.

Has the time come for a People’s Forum on Planning? It surely has.

An amazingly speedy response to my  previous blog from Jaine Lunn
 

I am hoping you will publish the blog in response to final paragraph contained in your most recent post regarding how the council should operate when they own the property.

Recently Wembley Youth Centre was closed, citing that Brent Council had held a consultation on Youth Services and could no longer fund this particular centre.  As a Council owned building, Wembley Crime Prevention who were running most of the projects, quickly realised that the youth of Wembley would have nowhere to go and submitted an Expression of Interest for a Community Asset Transfer.  Whilst this was accepted and acknowledged that it met with the Borough Plan objectives, it was refused on the grounds that this land had been earmarked for a housing development (!) butthey  may consider leasing it in the short term, until the property was put up for sale/lease and planning applications and consultations were submitted. 

Contrast this will the Tokyngton Library which Labour closed in 2011.  Brent Council Officers prepared a detailed Housing Plan of up to 20 units inclusive of a Shared Community Facility for the local community.

In round one of consultations one of the highest bidders was a developer who accepted the Councils plans in full.  However, this was not to be, amazingly a second round of bidding was allowed and the former Library was sold to a party associated with Councillor Butt and his family LINK, with no housing or community centre for the local residents/public.

In King Eddies Park, only a year ago when the Bowls Club Pavilion was  was rescued from development, an Expression of Interest for Community Transfer for the Pavilion  rejected, and the interested parties were told, this is not an option and will not be listed as an asset of community value as “the council need to make money”.

This Bowling Pavillion and associated land is now up for lease at £25,000 per annum along with parking allowance and unlimited access to the Park!

And finally,  what happened to the last remaining public use Green Open Space in Wembley Central, now part of the new development of Ark Elvin Academy.  This was public land that in 1998 was transferred to the Governing Body of Copland Community High School, a grant maintained school of which the infamous Sir Alan Davies KBE was head.  No public consultation, no exchange of money for land that is worth millions and certainly in double figures.  Which now belongs to Ark Elvin Academy whom I assume also haven’t paid any money for it.  LINK

At the same time despite Brent Council receiving objections to the removal of the Public Right of Way, Footpath 87, people in the the wards of Wembley Central and Tokynton are prevented from entering or crossing the land, which they have had use of for over 50 years.  The objection has been sent to the Secretary of State for the Environment and is yet to be decided.  Keir the Constructor of the new school has chosen to ignore the rules and traffic order and quite happily sealed off the Public Right of Way, and installed a temporary footpath which is higgledy piggeldy over the field, a muggers’ paradise if ever I saw one and very unsafe.  On calling the Council regarding this I got the response “Oh well I’m afraid there is nothing I can do, but it won’t look good for them with the Secretary of State”!
 

So yes Martin, we do need a peoples’ panel to stop them running rough shod over us with regard to the planning committee decisions.  It is obvious they read little or even try to understand what is being conveyed in the committee reports,  evident when listening to the questions they ask and observing who votes for what.

Has the time come for a Brent Planning for People Forum?

The above statement was made by Brent Council in response to a discussion on the London Live TV channel on  the Lucozade Powerleague proposals for Kingsbury High School.

It has been received with some cynicism by local campaigners who have been at the receiving end of decisions made by the Planning Committee.

Reporting regularly on planning issues from Wembley Matters I have repeatedly seen residents go along to Planning Committee in the belief that their objections to applications will be taken seriously, only to come out having given their 2 minute speech, listened to the often barely audible proceedings, angered that the Committee had then tamely voted in favour of the developer.

Residents are now realising that the time has come to make links with others in the same predicament.

Recently there have been some more independent decisions by the Committee and the chair, Cllr Sarah Marquis, has stuck her neck out but this seems to have earned her the ire  of Muhammed Butt the Council leader.  The latest manifestation of that was his intervention to ensure that proposals from Quintain for the area around Wembley Stadium, in his own Tokyngton ward, were rushed through at two Planning Committees last week.

That doesn't sound as if the Planning Committee is 'separate from the Council' and appears to be an attempt to get the Planning Committee back into line.

One of the problems is the Council's policy of 'smoothing the way for developers' promoted by Andy Donald, former Director of Regeneration and Major Projects.

Brent Council is in effect a partner with Quintain in the redevelopment of the Wembley Stadium area through the Wembley Masterplan.  This presents difficulties for planning officers' and councillors' independence.

It was reported to me last week that one councillor had allegedly remarked, 'It's Quintain - we have to vote for it.'*

Last week Brent residents were by-standers as Brent Council, Quintain and the Football Association deployed all their resources and experts on a battle that will impact on residents for decades to come. Our voices were barely heard. When one particularly preposterous claim was made and I couldn't suppress a response, a Quintain suit turned round and told me to be quiet. I replied, 'No I won't - I live here.' The exchange summed up our powerlessness.

The Roe Green Village residents challenging Lucozade have found that their ward councillors offer no support and so have mounted their own public campaign while the rsidents challenging the Wembley twin Towers are appealing to Sadiq Khan, the London Mayor.

It is just not Quintain of course but a whole range of developers and multi-national companies as well as Brent Council itself that we are faced with - what they have in common is that they have the money, resources and time. Residents squeeze their research into spare time in the evenings and weekends and have to go through a rapid self-education process in planning law and procedures.

I think it is time to consider setting up an umbrella group that will bring individuals, residents associations and voluntary organisations concerned with these issues together so that experience and expertise can be shared and proposals made to reform the consultation and decision making processes in Brent Council.

In time the group could perhaps pool resources to get their own professional advice as well as hold a 'People's Panel' to consider particular planning applications.  It would be strictly non-party political.

What do people think?

* This is from a previous posting on changes to the Planning Committee Code of Conduct. The issue of pre-determination is particularly relevant:

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Members of the Planning Committee are warned:

If a member does not abide by this Code the member may put the Council at risk of proceedings on the legality or maladministration of the related decision; and the member may be at risk of either being named in a report of the Audit and Governance Committee or Council; or if the failure to abide by the Code is also likely to be a breach of the Member Code of Conduct, of a complaint made to the Monitoring Officer.

The disclosure of 'disclosable pecuniary interests' is added to the requirements and members are told that decisions should not be influenced by the interests of Councillors or because of pressure exerted by applicants, agents or third parties. A new paragraph is inserted:

Members of the Planning Committee must take decisions in the public interest and take account of only of material planning considerations. They should not allow themselves to be influenced by members of the public and applicants, agents or third parties who might approach them and they should not be influenced by party politics.

My comment: There is something rather odd about having to take decisions in the public interest but also not being influenced by the public. This is reinforced by the duty to follow the 'rules of natural justice' and give people a hearing: 

The rules of natural justice include the duty to act fairly, the duty to give all those who will be affected by a decision the opportunity of a hearing before a decision is made; and the principle that no person should be a judge in his or her own cause. That principle means that members must be and be seen to be be impartial and without bias, and that members should not take part in any decision that affects their own interests.

A section of 'Bias and Predetermination' has been added:

Members should not take a decision on a matter when they are actually biased in favour or against the application, or when it might appear to a fair and informed observer that there was real possibility of boas, or where a member has predetermined the matter by closing their mind to the merits of the decision before they come to take it.

 ...A member taking part in a decision on a planning matters must be open to any new arguments about the matters up until the moment of a decision. A member should not comment or make any commitment in advance as to how they intend to vote which might indicate that they have closed their mind. Any planning decision made by a member who can be shown to have approached the decision with a closed mind will still expose the council to the risk of legal challenge.

The section on Interests has been amended to allow a member with a disclosable pecuniary interest to have a right to attend a meeting:

...where a member of the public has the right to attend the meeting, make representations, answer questions, or give evidence, then a member will have the same right. Once the member has exercised that right then they must withdraw from the room for the rest of that item and play no further part in the discussion or vote,

At present many planning decisions are made by officers alone but Council members have the power to 'call-in' decisions so that they will be decided by Committee. The Code is amended:

A member considering using the 'call-in' power should consider whether their objective could be achieved by an alternative means, for example by discussing the matter further with the relevant officer or facilitating a meeting between the objector and an officers, bearing in mind the additional cost to the council when a matter has to be considered by Committee. 

The key issue of planning submissions where the council is the applicant or landowner is covered by this paragraph:

Where the council itself is the landowner or planning applicant then a Planning member should consider whether he or she has had such a significant personal involvement in advocating or preparing or submitting the planning proposal that the member would be likely to be perceived as longer able to act impartially or to determine the proposal purely on its planning merits. A member would not be required to withdraw simply because they were, for example, a member of both the Cabinet, or a proposing committee, as well as the planning committee, However a member with a relevant portfolio or individual  responsibility for implementing a particular policy should carefully consider whether that role makes it inappropriate for them to participate in a particular planning decision.

My comment: Does this sufficiently deal with the wider conflict of interest over the Planning Committee being the  judge of the Council's own development schemes?

Barham Community Library volunteers meeting this afternoon

From Barham Community Library
 

We are making progress in getting our new building at 660 Harrow Road Wembley HA0 2HB ready to open as a community library in Barham Park.

Our negotiations with Brent Council are progressing and we hope to sign the Lease for the building before the end of May.

We are keen to organise our volunteer rotas and agree on our initial opening hours and activities. We will therefore hold a meeting for volunteers on Saturday 14 May at 2:30 in the afternoon at our new premises in Harrow Road. Please come along and bring anyone else you know who might be interested in getting involved.

If you cannot make it on the 14th please let me know as we plan to have other meeting days for our volunteers.

We also have some events at the Library that you may be interested in:

Tuesday 31 May - 7:15p.m. - Shakespeare's Hamlet

The Librarian Theatre are coming back to perform their 80 minute version of Hamlet. tickets are just £7 (or £4 concessions for students, children and senior citizens). Please let me know if you are interested.

Saturday 4 June at 2:30 - there will be a 60 minute talk about the 150 years of Fire Brigade in Wembley.

Philip grant from Wembley History Society will present the history of the fire brigade in Wembley. The event is free (although Philip would welcome small donations to support our Library Charity). Please let me know if you are interested ion coming.

Sunday 12 June - BIG Lunch - a picnic in Barham Park - from 11am 

We are encouraging local people to have a picnic lunch (you bring your own and share) with your friends and neighbours. we plan to open the Library and to have a stalls selling books, records, CDs and other stuff to raise some much needed cash.

What Brent's Chief Executive said about the death of Cllr Oladapo

Following a series of comments on the blog on the situation regarding the death of Cllr Tayo Oladapo  I reprint below an article I posted on April 28th  LINK which first made public the doubts about the Council's announcement.  After publication I was contacted by insiders alleging that the delay was an attempt to put off the by-election.  I could not find any evidence for this and at the same time could not see how a by-election delay would be of political benefit to Muhammed Butt. I also thought that such an action would have been so beyond the pale as to be unbelievable.

This is what I wrote to Carolyn Downs, Brent CEO:

I have been contacted by a number of people who expressed concern that the true picture regarding the death of Cllr Oladapo has not been given by Brent Council.

The claims are:

1. Cllr Oladapo actually died in January 2016 (January 29th has been given as the date).
2. That almost a month later Full Council on 22nd February agreed to approve his continued absence from meetings on the grounds of ill health.
3. That his death was not publicly announced  by the Council until March 11th
4. That his body is still in a morgue.

2 and 3 are a matter of public record.

Could you confirm the facts and explain the misinformation of February 22nd and the delay in the death announcement. In particular what checks had been carried out by officers/Brent Council with the hospital or Cllr Oladapo's family before seeking approval for continued absence on 22nd February?

 I recognise that there may be family reasons for 4.

Many thanks,

Martin Francis, Wembley Matters

This is Ms Down's response:

 Dear Mr Francis,

Thank you for your email.

In response to the point you have raised:

1. I have not received any formal documentation to confirm the death of Cllr Oladapo but understand that he died in late January.

2. The report which went to the Full Council meeting on 22nd February was drafted as the Full Council report which went in January 2016 stated that Councillor Oladapo's absence would be reviewed at Full Council in February if required. We believed Councillor Oladapo to be alive as we had not been informed of his death and therefore required a further exemption on this basis.

3.  I can confirm that Cllr Oladapo's death was announced by the council on 11th March which was as soon as I had been able to obtain certainty as to Councillor Oladapo's state of health.

4. The arrangements in relation to Cllr Oladapo's remains are a matter for his family as you suggest and I don't think it would be appropriate for me to comment on this.

Kind regards,

Carolyn Downs

Brent Council hails Wednesday's Planning Committee decisions

This is Brent Council's press release which I am sure everyone will find really reassuring.

Plans for 4,850 new homes, a new school and student accommodation around Wembley Stadium have been given the green light.

The creation of 7,000 new jobs, new retail and leisure space as well as new community facilities and parking spaces around the national stadium all formed part of the planning applications, which were submitted by property developer Quintain. More than £80million will also be provided by Quintain to improve local infrastructure.

After listening to a number of representations about the proposals, including hearing speakers from The FA, the council's Planning Committee granted approval to the applications yesterday evening (May 11).

During the three and a half hour meeting, Members discussed in detail matters relating to transport, safety and design and found that, on balance, the plans should be granted approval subject to a number of conditions including ones to improve transport, safety and the exit of fans from the stadium.

A council spokesperson said:

"These plans mark the next phase in the regeneration of Wembley and will create much needed new homes, jobs, leisure and educational facilities around the iconic home of football.

"While these plans will help accelerate the transformation of Wembley, the committee did consider all representations in detail and these concerns have been taken on board with the series of additional conditions which were imposed."

"Safety always comes first and we are confident that the plans will ensure that fans and other visitors to the national stadium can continue to enjoy these facilities while providing the significant regeneration which the area needs."

Quintain's plans will now be subject to consideration by the Mayor of London.

To view details of the planning applications, see the Planning Committee report.

Roe Green Village resident puts case against Lucozade Powerleague in TV interview

The email behind tonight's Evening Standard story on Tayo Oladapo

I am now in possesion of the full email sent to members of the Brent Labour Executive  on the 8th May on which today's Evening Standard article is based.  It was leaked because the person concerned was disturbed by the claim that Cllr Butt involved a junior member of staff in investigating a councillor's death, rather than because they throught Muhammed Butt was trying to avoid a by-election. The leaker says that neither Michael Pavey nor Bobby Thomas (apparently another possible leadership challenger tomorrow) passed on the email.

THE EMAIL

-->Although I very much enjoyed my time in Brent, there has been one serious incident which troubled me immensely. I felt very under-supported throughout this incident and am writing in the hope that systems can be improved so that my successors will not be exposed in the same way.
I find it extremely inappropriate that Cllr Butt involved myself - a junior member of staff - in investigating Cllr Oladapo’s death and deeply concerning that he appears to have misled both Brent Council and Labour Party staff regarding his knowledge of this sad occurrence. I am also disturbed that no investigation has been launched into this issue, despite my having raised these concerns with relevant party officials in early March.

My involvement in investigating Cllr Oladapo’s death

Cllr Tayo Oladapo died on 29 January 2016.  But this was not reported publicly until 11 March 2016. 
It was me who discovered that Tayo had died. I visited the Royal Free Hospital on 4 March 2016 to check on Tayo’s condition. I was informed that he died on 29 January 2016. I reported this to the London Regional Labour Party, who notified Cllr Butt on 7 March. 

The reason I visited the hospital (4 March, evening) was because on 2 March Cllr Muhammed Butt told me that he believed Tayo was dead, and that he had been dead for a month. 

Cllr Butt said that Tayo’s mother had taken Tayo back to Nigeria because she didn’t want any treatment for her son in the UK.

Cllr Butt told me that he had been in contact with Tayo’s family - but that they would no longer take his calls and had blocked his number. Cllr Butt asked me to call Tayo’s sister because he believed Tayo had been dead for a month. He urged me not to tell London Region if Tayo’s sister confirmed her brother had passed away. 

I was new to Brent and had only been working here for 5 weeks. I didn’t understand why Cllr Butt was asking me who had never even met Tayo to make such sensitive inquiries? 

I was shocked that Cllr Butt didn’t ask the Labour Group Whip or Brent Council’s electoral services department to investigate a matter of this level of seriousness. Cllr Butt told me that he didn’t want a by-election to take place in Kilburn, but I didn’t understand why this was the case.
 
I didn’t understand why he asked me to investigate at the Civic Centre, I was there to discuss how campaigning was going and how he could whip Councillors. 

The thought of calling Tayo’s sister (a complete stranger) out of the blue to ask her whether her brother had died made me extraordinarily uncomfortable. 

But because Cllr Butt is the Leader of the Council I felt obliged to do something, so I went to the hospital. On reflection I deeply regret this.

Once I found out that Tayo had indeed been dead for over a month I became even more uncomfortable. 

2 March 
I reported my concerns to Mark Walker, Regional Organiser for Brent & Harrow at London Region on 2 March. (After I saw Cllr Butt) I was told that this matter would be taken extremely seriously. Mark told me to speak to the sister and said ‘anything the sister tells me is the gospel’ 
I tried to contact Tayo’s sister several times but got no response. 

4 March 
I visited the Royal Free Hospital at around 8pm and was told Tayo had passed away on 29^th January. 

7 March 
On 7 March in the morning, I had a conversation with Mark and he said that Cllr Butt said he had no idea. 

I informed both Mark and Pat Harrison, Secretary of the Brent Council Labour Group at a meeting in Pavitt Hall that I was concerned that Cllr Butt may have known that Tayo had past away over a month ago. 

On 7 March I was told by London Region that Cllr Butt had been ordered to report this matter to the Brent Labour Group meeting on the 7 March. But Cllr Butt did not even mention Tayo at this meeting. At this point I started to become seriously concerned that this extremely serious issue was not being handled appropriately. 

These feelings were confirmed when I found out that in the Labour Group Executive premeeting on the evening of 7 March, Cllr Butt stated that when Region called to tell him that a Brent Cllr had died, he claimed he didn’t know which Cllr. 

But Region only knew Tayo was dead because Cllr Butt himself had asked me to investigate because he himself believed Tayo had been dead for a month.

I was told by Mark that Cllr Butt would contact the Borough Commander, as there needed to be evidence to call a by-election on 5 May. 

8 March 
On 8 March at a GLA Task force meeting, Cllr Butt at the end mentioned that Tayo was not dead and that I had got the details wrong. I immediately said that he should speak directly to Mark Walker. 

10 March 
On 10 March I was at the London Region office and Mark mentioned that Cllr Butt had not spoken to the Borough Commander, I made it clear that I felt very uncomfortable and said that Tayo’s death needs to be announced. 

In the end Mark Walker had to contact the Borough Commander to get confirmation of Tayo’s death.

11 March 
Tayo’s death was finally announced publicly on 11 March from this point onwards I have solely focused on the by-election. But I have become more and more troubled by the fact that there has been no investigation into these events.

I informed Pat Harrison and Mark Walker at London Region that Cllr Butt told me on 2 March that he believed Tayo had been dead for a month. This is an extremely serious allegation - not least because it means that the Full Council meeting on 22^nd February was knowingly misled. But there has been absolutely no investigation. 

Instead, I have been left to carry this immense burden. As someone who is completely new to Brent I think this is extremely inappropriate. I have been left alone to try and deal with the fact that a young man’s death may well have been covered-up by a senior politician and continue to work with him. 
Of course I recognise that an election campaign is an extremely charged political atmosphere, but on a matter of this seriousness there really should have been a formal investigation. 
Because I have been so determined to secure a Labour victory on May 5^th I have kept my mouth shut now for two months. This has been extremely uncomfortable. Now that the election is out of the way and I am leaving I feel it would be inappropriate not to raise these concerns.

I never met Tayo, but from everything I’ve heard of him he was an honourable and decent man. His memory deserves better than this.

Best,

Evening Standard alleges Cllr Butt concealed Tayo Oladapo's death to avoid by-election

The London Evening Standard LINK today said that it had seen e-mails that showed  a 'former Labour staffer' had been told to conceal Cllr Oladapo''s death because Cllr Butt did not want a by-election in Kilburn.  The article quotes 'Labour insiders' as saying Butt did not want a by-election in case an 'unsupportive' candidate was elected affecting his chances in the leadership election.

Cllr Michael Pavey, who is contesting the leadership, has called for a full investigation into these 'very serious allegations'.

The Kilburn Times has published a story on the Standard story which includes comment by Muhammed Butt and Cllr John Duffy LINK