STOP PRESS: Harrow School Sports Hall Planning Application deferred tonight

WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 16TH I UNDERSTAND VIA TWITTER THAT THIS ITEM WAS DEFERRED THIS EVENING


From Harrow Hill Trust

11 Nov 2016 — The planning meeting is set for 6.30pm Wednesday 16th and the planning officer is recommending approval. Please contact the Councillors below, especially those of you who live in a Ward represented by them and especially the Labour Councillors as they hold the vote via the Chairman. Please remember they only hold their position of representing you by a few hundred votes. We just want the Sports Hall built approximately 60 metres to the North using a brownfield option which has never been shown or debated with residents. It is a clear fudge of planning policy and the Metropolitan Open Land ‘openness being maintained’ is pure spin. Please ask them to listen to 1,450 voices and come along to the Harrow Civic Centre to show your concern. Many thanks.

Click on image to enlarge

Background:

Quality open 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.  Residents and visitors access to appreciate the current wonderful views is 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?

THE RIGHTS OF EU NATIONALS IN THE UK - FACT SHEET HERE

With EU nationals' rights considered a legitimate bargaining chip by the Government in the Brexit negotiations, JeanLamber MEP  and other Greens are showing we are firmly on the side of EU nationals and will stand up for their rights and for freedom of movement.

Written with a barrister, the factsheet contains important information about existing rights (see below)

Please note that this factsheet is designed to provide information only. The law may have changed since this was produced in November 2016 and you should always seek up-to-date legal advice. The author and publisher cannot accept responsibility for any reliance placed on the information contained in this factsheet.

Click on bottom right corner for full view

Developer withdraws presentation of 27 storey Dollis Hill tower block development for later scheduling

The Kilburn Times reveals today that Brent Council has told them that the developer has withdrawn the pre-planning presentation for the 27 storey tower block in Dollis Hill from Wednesday's Planning Committee agenda. LINK

It will be rescheduled for a later date.

This follows a posting about the plans on Wembley Matters on Wednesday LINK  and subsequent comments on The View from Dollis Hill Facebook LINK

The block along witha banqueting hall and swimming pool would replace the historic Admiralty Chart House.

Residents call for wider and extended consultation on controversial Ealing Road Library plans

Ealing Road Library (centre) set back from Ealing Road

Residents around Ealing Road Library, Wembley, are calling for the consultation plans on the development of the Ealing Road Library site in Ealing Road to be extended on the grounds that few residents knew about the plans and the very limited circulation of letters asking for views on the plans.  In addition the notice of the planning  application posted near the library was obscured.

 The plans envisage bringing forward the boundary of the library to the pavement edge by building a community enterprise hub on one side and a 'tea house' cafe on the other  with a courtyard between the two that could be used for community events, a market or an outdoor cinema.

According to the application the aim is to bring more outside visitors into an area that residents advise is already congested.

As with many such developments residents feel that the application has been hidden from them and now that they have found out about it there is too little time to respond. They question whether the Council has fulfilled its statutory responsibilities in terms of consultation.

One of the application documents found on-line states:

The investment will deliver a new cafe, a new public space and a community and enterprise hub which will be used for gathering, extended library activities, performance, market days and other events that will attract local and London wide visitors.  The project is the first element in the wider series of Gem Chain projects which aim to attract visitors London-wide to Ealing Road and reinstate the place’s status as a premier high street place.

 Local residents concerns  are as follows:

The poorly promoted consultation with poorly sited planning notice dated 27th October which states deadline for comments on the application is 17th November - just three weeks?  Also the planning notice states docs would only available to view on line from 2nd November – so not even the full three weeks to study the docs and comment if you are able to access them on line, a lot of older residents are not?  Why such a short amount of time for local people to comment? When pushed the library finally had hard copies to view on from 11th November, over two weeks already into the consultation period.

Developing the library space and re-promoting Ealing Road as a major shopping destination could have a further serious impact on the environment for local residents who are concerned about the potential of even more traffic in grid locked Ealing Road, more pollution, more noise pollution and more rubbish on local streets.  Ealing Road is already gridlocked most weekends.  If shoppers are coming to buy in bulk or buy gold or buy expensive clothes they will want to come by car – they will not want to come by bus or tube!  Yet Montrose Crescent car park is being closed to build flats, so if they also close the small library car park and also loose around 10 spaces from the slip road outside the library due to the forecourt being extended what other parking provision is going to be offered – will they take away resident only parking bays and allow shoppers to use them?

These plans have clearly been drawn up and put together over a considerable period of time and considerable expense with no apparent consideration for these issues and their impact on local council tax-paying residents who believe the consultation needs to be re-promoted and the deadline for comments extended:

(a)       there are lot of local people who would not have seen the planning notice due to the poor location of the planning notice;
(b)      there are lot of local people who would not have heard anything about this development due to lack of information locally;
(c)       there are lot of local people who do not have Internet access to view the plans on line - if they do go to the library to view them on-line it is very time consuming to try and look through the 42 individual documents on your website, these should be printed out and put on display in Ealing Road Library;
(d)      there are lot of local people who are not able to get up to the Civic Centre to view the plans at all (lack of mobility, traffic problems, parking restrictions, etc);
(e)       there are lot of local people who are not able to get to the Civic Centre to view the plans between 9-5pm during weekdays (people who work, have childcare or family commitments etc);
(f)       some local residents don’t even know how to use a computer yet there is no address on the planning notice for people to write to should they wish to comment on the application.

The Planning Application(Ref 16/4527) can be found HERE

This is one of the main documents supporting the application:

Click bottom right for full view

Action on school funding and staffing crisis needs your support

Slide from presentation at Brent governors' meeting with Brent senior officers

 Brent schools, which out-perform other schools nationally, are going to have to fight to maintain their position in the future as a result of cuts to their budgets and a crisis in the recruitment and retention of teachers and senior staff including headteachers.

Although changes to the national funding formula have been delayed, the eventual changes will be to the detriment of urban areas, unless the whole national education budget is increased. This seems unlikely as there is zero growth at the moment which means a cut in real terms as funding does not make up for rises in national insurance payments, pension contributions, price inflation and an increase in pupil numbers.  Increasingly schools have to 'buy in' services that were previously supplied by the council.

The crisis in recruitment and retention is due to  number of factors of which the main ones are the constant changes in curriculum and assessment introduced by the government and the high cost of housing in London LINK. The latter means that when young teachers start a family they have to move out of London to find an affordable place to live.

One way Brent Council could tackle this is by planning more affordable social housing for key workers such as teachers and national health workers.

School governing bodies are finding it very difficult to recruit headteachers in the present climate as the job becomes harder as a result of high stakes expectations from Ofsted and the government. Primary schools have expanded in size as a result of the government not allowing local authorities to build new schools where they are needed.  Managing a large school is more akin to being a chief executive of a large organisation and many prospective heads see this as moving away from the 'leading educator' role that was their impetus to join the profession.

Most Brent primary schools have remained with the local authority rather than be tempted by the false delights of academisation but that means Brent Council has a job to do in championing its own schools as well as trying to positively change the context in which they work.  This was the subject of a recent motion at Brent Central Labour Party.

On Tuesday the London NUT will be holding a march and lobby on these issues and more and would welcome parents, carers and others concerned to join them.Assemble for March: 17:00, Whitehall, (Opposite Downing Street) Rally: 18:30, Emmanuel Centre, Marsham Street, SW1P 3DW

If you are interested in how your school will be impacted by cuts, which usually hit teaching assistants first, type the name of the school into the map below. Teacher assistants play a vital part in the progress of London primary school children and these days are often trained to teach small groups of children in intervention projects, enabling them to catch up with their peers. They are under-paid and sometimes under-valued. Nevertheless, they are a vital ingredient of Brent's success story.

EDUCATION - INVEST, DON'T CUT March & Rally Nov 17th

The cuts being implemented by the Conservative Government put education at risk. Increased funding is desperately needed to safeguard our children’s education. We are asking the Government to change course and invest, not cut.

What the NUT wants:

• School funding – Extra money in the system to support reform of the funding system – and more money for all schools to fund higher costs and the impact of inflation.
• Post 16 funding – Restoration of cuts already made – and real support for sixth form colleges.
• Send and early years funding – fair funding for these vital areas of education
• Funding in Wales – an end to the funding gap.

Invest Don’t Cut Education Funding Rallies

The rallies are an opportunity to make policy makers listen to our concerns about the impact of education funding cuts, and act on our demands to increase education funding. Spread the word and encourage colleagues, friends, family and neighbours to attend and support our aims.

London NUT March and Rally - Thursday 17 November 2016
Assemble for March: 17:00, Whitehall, (Opposite Downing Street)
Rally: 18:30, Emmanuel Centre, Marsham Street, SW1P 3DW

Farm Terrace Allotment Campaign 'disappointed' by National Allotment Society's press statement on their case

From Farm Terrace Campaign LINK

We are extremely disappointed by the National Allotment Society 's recent press release regarding the result of our Judicial Review regarding the deregulation of Farm Terrace.

The press release stated:

Although the decision itself went against Farm Terrace there are many useful comments within the Judgment that the National Society can rely on to protect allotment sites in the future. Within this judgment we now have a legal definition for ‘exceptional’. This judgment has also confirmed that the underlying purpose of the Allotments Act 1925 is to control the disposal of allotment land and that the guidance affords greater safeguards against the appropriation of land because of the value placed on allotments by the Secretary of State.

Unfortunately, we do not agree that there is now a legal definition for 'exceptional' circumstances' and we do not believe that the guidance affords greater safeguards against the appropriation of allotment land because of the value placed on allotments by the Secretary of State. In fact we think it increasingly weakens the law regarding it.

It is saddening that although the National Allotment Society supported our case they have not been in contact with us since the ruling to discuss how we could work together in the future. In addition the statement makes no reference to the continued threat that urban allotments are under from property development.

We are also aware of a recent freedom of information request that has asked in those cases where the government deregulated under exceptional circumstances if the local authority made a case for an exception.

This is important as this is referenced in The National Allotment Society's statement and if the local authority hadn't made a case for exceptional circumstances the deregulation decision could have been made on unsafe grounds.

Who was really responsible for the Granville Centre debacle?

Last week I published Cllr Duffy's interchange with Cllr Mashari in which he called for her resignation over the Granville and Carlton Centres in South Kilburn. LINK

Cllr Mashari claimed that the proposals for regeneration  of the sites came under the Property portfolio which Cllr Butt, leader of the council, holds, rather than Regeneration. Property covers council ownership of buildings and sites and Brent Council has a policy to realise the value of these assets to address their financial plight.

The Granville proposal was put to the Cabinet by Margaret McLennan, deputy leader, rather than Butt who chairs the Cabinet.  Other South Kilburn proposals on the agenda at that meeting, Phase 3a and Site 18,  were put by Cllr Mashari.

It has not been possible to find the full list of responsibilities of each portfolio holder including the leader and deputy, as up to date details do not appear to be available on the Council website.

The report about Granville was written jointly by the Strategic Directors for Resources, and Regeneration and Environment.

Philip Grant points out in a comment on the earlier post:

However, both of those Directors, Althea Loderick (Resources) and Amar Dave (Regeneration and Environment) were new to Brent, having taken up their posts in June 2016, having previously been in Waltham Forest and Essex respectively. So they probably knew very little about Kilburn, and may not even have visited the area from their new offices in the Civic Centre before they put their names to the report.

The contact officers for the report were:

Althea Loderick
 Strategic Director of Resources

Sarah Chaudhry
 Head of Property

Tanveer Ghani
 Project Manager

Dale Thomson
 Regeneration Manager

There is only a cursory reference to the Granville Nursery Plus (and not by name) in the report and none to the Granville Kitchen.

 Given the economic deprivation found on the South Kilburn Estate  and the presence of many protected groups the Equality Analysis attached to the report is clearly deficient - particularly the last sentence:

Appendix 4: Equality Analysis Stage 1 Screening Data

What are the objectives and expected outcomes of your proposal? Why is it needed?

The proposal covers the phased redevelopment the Carlton & Granville Centres, Granville Road, London, NW6 5RA to deliver new homes, an Enterprise Hub and additional community use space.

Who is affected by the proposal?

The proposal is relevant to residents in South Kilburn, small businesses in the area and the South Kilburn Trust. As the premises proposed for re- development are largely unoccupied and will shortly be vacated by the remaining users, there is no impact for existing users.

Could the proposal impact on people in different ways because of their equality characteristics?

The proposal will deliver new workspace accommodation for up to 30 small businesses as well as new housing for households in housing need. To the extent that some protected groups are over-represented among households in housing need or seeking employment opportunities, the positive impacts of the proposal may offer particular benefits to these groups.

Could the proposal have a disproportionate impact on some equality groups?
If yes, indicate which equality characteristic(s) are impacted

No, other than as noted above.

Would the proposal change or remove services used by vulnerable groups of people?

The proposal will provide new or improved services that may be used by vulnerable groups.

Does the proposal relate to an area with known inequalities?

Yes.

Is the proposal likely to be sensitive or important for some people because of their equality characteristics?

Yes – although the proposal is not seen as sensitive, it may offer important new opportunities for some protected groups and more generally.

Does the proposal relate to one of Brent's equality objectives?

The proposal relates to the following objectives:

            To know and understand all our communities 


            To ensure that local public services are responsive to different needs 
and treat users with dignity and respect 


Recommend this EA for Full Analysis?

No.

Although according to Cllr Duffy, recently  Cllr Butt and Cllr McLennan have met up with him, Kilburn councillors and  Granville and Carlton users, to discuss the situation,  some of the responsibility may rest with them for the original failure to recognise the needs of the community. The potential confusion between the Property and Regeneration roles of Cllr Butt and Mashari, and the involvement of recent Strategic Director appointees, may mean that the resulting consultation failure and furore, may have been more cock-up than conspiracy.

For reference here are the Minutes of the July 25th Cabinet Meeting:

Brent Tories call for Brent Council to return to committee governance rather than Cabinet

Brent Conservatives have tabled a motion for the Council meeting on November 21st calling for Carolyn Downs, CEO, to formulate a commitee meeting of local government for Brent Council.

They claim that the Cabinet system, where most decisions are made by just 8 of 63 councillors, 56 of them Labour, is not working.

It is likely that many of the Labour Group, who feel excluded from key decision making, will be sympathetic but reluctant to publicly support the call.

Model of decision making in Brent 
 

This Council believes that the Cabinet system in Brent is not working. 

The Local Government Act 2000 allowed Councils to adopt different models of government - Brent chose the cabinet model - but we believe it is time for a change. 

We instruct the Chief Executive to formulate a "committee model " of government, whereby all main committees make their own decisions, which are then put to Full Council for approval. 

We believe that this model gives much greater involvement for more members and is a more open and transparent method of running the Council. 

The Chief Executive should present this report to the January Council meeting. 

Brent Conservative Group

Brent Council poised to lease out 8th floor of Civic Centre to HMRC agency

Civic Centre office floors

Brent Council appears to be likely to lease the 8th floor of the Civic Centre to the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) and Executive Agency of Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC).   The 7th floor is already occupied by Air France.

The space has been marketed by Colliers International who were also agents for the Brent Town Hall. Their advertisement can be view HERE.

Potential occupation has been limited by the fact that there is no public access to these floors and any access change would require additional expenditure.  A report going before Cabinet notes that interest in leasing the space has also been expressed by Job Centre Plus and the Brent Clinical Commissioning Group.  The latter would have advantages in terms of developing the working relationship with the Council. The VOA would be a back office operation with no 'public facing' role.

It is proposed that the space be leased for 10 years with a 5 year rent review and tenant break option.

Meanwhile Job Centre Plus has expressed an interest in property at 6 St Johns Road Wembley.

The report LINK notes:

3. Letting to the VOA also should significantly contribute to that [Property] savings target. It is not commercially sensitive to note that it should save £80k annually based on 2016/17 business rate figures, as these become the responsibility of the VOA. However, it is important to note that these savings are predicated on the 2016/17 valuations and not the 2017/18 revaluation. Therefore, these savings would likely be offset by a probable increase in rates.
   

The likely revenue from the lease has been deemed commercially sensitive and is available to Cabinet members but not the public.

Cllr Butt admits wrong doing in the 'tarmucking' of local street. What now?

Nine Chandos Road (or nearby) residents attended the Brent Connects-Willesden meeting at the Willesden Green Library last night and five of them spoke against the council's policy to replace paving stones on walkways with tarmac.

Points made included:

• an overview of the reasons why residents were upset about the loss of paving and the destruction of trees
• the failure of councillors to answer emails about the issue from their residents 
• a question on why the council were wasting £129,000 on one street when funds were needed elsewhere
• complete replacement of the whole footway was unnecessary and spoilt the character of the area
• claims that there had been consultation with residents were false. The single meeting that had taken place was at the instigation of residents.

Cllr Long was personally addressed and admonished by a resident who said she had been particularly adversarial to the community in her emails making her view clear that urban landscaping is unimportant given the crisis in social care and the election of Trump. Reflecting on Cllr Long's attitude a resident called for the council to work with them not against them.

A resident brought up the Willesden Green Library debacle and the residue monies collected from that project and asked why those monies couldn't be given back now in the form of paving repairs as a goodwill gesture for the the asset stripping that occurred then.

Mohammed Butt met with the group after the meeting for about 10 minutes and according to residents accepted that the council had indeed gone about this very badly and apologised.

A resident told Wembley Matters:

He appeared to accept the point that we were angry, that this was a waste of money and that it could be better used elsewhere. When pressed about halting the decimation of our street, he spoke of legal obligations though this was vague I think he meant people tripping and couldn't provide any evidence on figures for people claiming for tripping in Chandos Road. He then said it was more or less impossible to interrupt the process that was taking place as he would be seen to renege on the council's own decisions - I put it to him he could interrupt and someone (probably him) has the power to put a stop to it and send the contractors to another site. He wouldn't give any concrete assurances. When he left I think the general consensus was he took our points on board and whilst it may not stop the ruination of our street it may stop them bulldozing over the needs of other residents' streets.

The residents Facebook RAT-Resistance Against Tarmac is HERE

Young Eco-Warriors: New 'Cleaner Streets' App for primary schools

Bapchild & Tonge School 'Eco-warriors' using the app to report litter

Brent Council already operates the Cleaner Brent Phone App for reporting flytipping and much else.  Could we see Brent schools using something similar in the future?

Primary schools across the country are invited to join a national clean-up mission, using the latest technology to help make the area around their school cleaner.

Environmental reporting app, Love Clean Streets, was successfully used by Eco-Schools across England in July this year. The successful pilot study took place with 11 primary schools from Rochdale to Kent and has resulted in the Love Clean Streets Board committing to develop the app further for use within the curriculum.

Year 5&6 Woolmore Primary School Students making a report of a vehicle part on the pavement

The modified app, developed specifically for primary school children to use, will be launched in schools throughout the UK in early 2017 and will be fully functional as a tool for both learning and taking action on local environmental issues in school catchment areas. Teachers involved in the pilot study reported considerable learning skills and educational value across the curriculum, positively mentioning benefits to Personal Social Health Economic, litter education, use of technology and demonstrating relevance to our everyday lives, encouraging pupils to be active citizens.

Max, aged 9, a pupil from Middleton Parish C of E Primary School in Middleton, North of Manchester, took part in the pilot study in the summer term which involved looking around the school grounds for environmental issues to report. He said: "The app is good as you can inform people of the areas you don't like and they will then make the environment a better place to live in."

Susannah Butcher, Eco- School leader at Bapchild & Tonge School, said: "The children had a lot of fun taking part in the project. It was an excellent chance for us to do some real work in trying to combat the problem of litter in the school area. " Pupils liked that they could take a picture, detail the problem and send it off themselves. They liked it even more when an overflowing bin outside the school as reported at lunchtime and by end of school at 3.15 it had been emptied!

"This project highlighted a variety of local environmental issues and raised questions with the children, which ensured they were fully engaged and motivated by the task. Smart phones and tablets are big part of children's lives, so showing them how these can be used in a positive way made the lesson really enjoyable for them," said Susannah.

Sophie, aged 11, a pupil from Bapchild & Tonge School in Kent, said: "I hate seeing litter on the way to school. With the app I can let someone know there is litter and it is cleaned up." Love Clean Streets Founder, Ian Blackburn, said: "We believe that educating the next generation on the importance of keeping our environment clean is a step in the right direction to ensure our world is a cleaner, happier place to live for generations to come. By getting involved with the LCS Education Project, children will ensure the issues do not go unnoticed and will inspire their peers to follow their lead."

Primary schools across the UK are invited to register their interest in taking part next summer by contacting Ian Blackburn on +44 203 126 4885 or emailing ian@bbits.co.uk. A further announcement will be made next spring when the revised app for primary schools has been tested and is ready for UK roll-out.

Benefit Cap starts this week - some helpful resources

More than 120 parents attended this morning's Parents' Forum at Chalkhill Primary School.  The agenda included a presentation by Neil Gann, Welfare Reform Project Manager on the benefit cap which comes into force in Brent this week.

To help people affected by the cap I am publishing the presentation here as well as videos and documents that may be of help to those affected.

Click on lower right hand corner to view

CLICK HERE TO SEE BENEFIT CAP TOOLKIT

Cllr Mashari rejects call for her resignation over Granville redevelopment

Kilburn Times story

Cllr John Duffy (Labour, Kilburn) took the unusual step yesterday of circulating an email to all councillors calling for the resignation of Cllr Roxanne Mashari (Labour, Welsh Harp) who is the Cabinet member leading on Regeneration and Employment.

Cllr Mashari promptly rejected the call which was based on alleged incompetence over the redevelopment of the Granville and Carlton Centres in South Kilburn.  After a campaign by residents and users new proposals are to be put to the Cabinet on Tuesday November 15th which include, in Phase 2, proposals for the Granville Kitchen, Granville Nursery Plus and Otherwise Club. These were covered in an earlier post on Wembley Matters LINK.

Duffy wrote after coverage of the issue in the Kilburn Times which reported Zadie Smith's support for campaigners LINK: (Duffy's email appear to have been written in some haste and I have corrected typos)

All Councillors, 

This scandal attached came about because the cabinet agree to knock down a school  in Kilburn  they did not know was there . I know that is hard to believe particularly because it is a Brent school. How could anybody miss a school is beyond me.

Cllr Mashari in true cabinet style, failed to consult the school , the local community centres or local Kilburn Councillors. Her incompetency  put £2million investment in local employment from the  Soth Kilburn Trust and £750k from the GLA at risk. The incompetency also put the school and community  through unnecessary anguish . During the cabinet meeting to knock down the school not one question was raised by the cabinet about the lack of communication and consultation with users of the community centres and Kilburn Councillors.

It was only after the intervention of the local Councillors Rita Conneely, Barbara (Pitruzzella) and myself , where we demanded  a meeting  with the Leader and the CEO, did the leader agree to reconsider change the decision and consider options to ensure the future of the user groups and school.

This is not the first time the cabinet have have put funding at risk , due to their previous incompetence  , they previous nearly gave the street cleansing contractor up to £400k by failing to notice the report said all extra revenue from the green bins should go to the contractor (Veolia) and not the Brent council.

I believe Cllr Mashari should apologies  to the residents of Kilburn for  her breathtaking incompetence and resign  from the regelation portfolio .

Cllr Mashari replied:

Thank you for your email.

The decision on the future use of Granville that went through cabinet earlier this year did not come from Regeneration, but rather through property, which now sits under the Leader's portfolio. I understand that this may be confusing, but I have taken the time to sit down with Cllr Conneely to explain the division of responsibility here.

I understand that the leader has met and spoken about this matter with you on a number of occasions.

As far as the future of the building is concerned, I am now taking forward a paper through regeneration which outlines the next phase of the project in the context of the South Kilburn Regeneration scheme and I assure you that the process will be collaborative going forward.  I am happy to further discuss the upcoming cabinet paper with you and your ward colleagues.

I had also asked that Richard Barrett from our Regeneration team meet individually with each of the tenants and local stakeholders to capture their feedback and concerns. This has been done in addition to several other consultative meetings and exercises.

While I agree that the original decision could have been undertaken more collaboratively with councillors and community stakeholders, you will appreciate that I was not the lead member on this and that myself and Regeneration staff are working hard to establish a more consultative approach to make this project a success now it has passed from Property to Regeneration.

With regards to your assertion that I should resign, I feel this is a wholly inappropriate response on the back of a Kilburn Times article and clearly before you had taken the trouble to check which cabinet member led on the original decision.  

Nonetheless, I am determined to find a way forward for Granville that means all local stakeholders are at the heart of the design and function of the new enterprise hub and I hope that you will continue to work closely with Richard Barrett and myself to ensure that happens.

Cllr Duffy responded thanking Cllr Mashari for her clarification but went on to list the reasons she should resign: (typos and minor corrections)

There are four reasons I think you should  resign and apologise.

(1) It is not about the issue of who made original decision, it's the fact you left the parents and governors of the school  and users of the community centre in limbo , not knowing if the school and community centre would  close.They were left not knowing for over 3 months.During that time  there were many meetings  concerning  the centres both in Kilburn and the CC  (Civic Centre) since the July 25th meeting. You have not even attempted  to visit the school you have not visited the community centre you have not attended SKT or to my knowledge you have not even set foot in Kilburn since you were elected or since the meeting of the 25 July.

(2)Your action to ignore my plea to start consultation put £2.75 million much needed  investment in Kilburn at risk and it was only the actions and pressure of the local community and Rita, Barbara and myself that secured the funding.

(3) You say you have asked officers from the generation team to meet with local stake holders,this is true. Unfortunately you only asked officers to meet with stakeholder this week which is 105 Days after the meeting of the July 25th and 115 Days after I sent you the email outlining the lack of consultation.I find it quite disingenuous for you to  pretend  you have taken actions , when you ignored Kilburn residents for over 3 months. 

(4) I do believe you even bother to read the reports (sic) on the demolition of the Granville and Carlton on the 25th May This is borne out  by your confusion with the dates and believing you were not the lead member at the time.

Cllr Mashari you can try and blame Cllr Butt and Cllr McLennan (Deputy Leader) , but both of those along with Cllr W. Mitchell- Murray  have come to Kilburn to reassure residents while you have ignored them.

I  say again you should resign  as I believe  the residents of Kilburn will not have any confidence in you to deliver regeneration which reflects the needs of their community.