Scrutiny to examine alleged flaws in South Kilburn Granville consultation

There is to be a Special Meeting of the Brent Council Resources and Public Realm Scrutiny Committee on Wednesday 30th November LINK to examine the situation around the proposals on the redevelopment of the Granville and Carlton Centres in South Kilburn. The issues has been covered extensively on Wembley Matters and the Cabinet discussion was reported HERE

The published reasons for the call-in are:

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·      That the process has been flawed with mistakes, warnings not heeded and lack of early consultation. 


·      That insufficient notice has been given to the views of the two Centres, local Councillors and other interested parties.

 
A member who has supported the call-in has provided further reasons for the call-in: 


·      The failure of the Cabinet to ensure that consultation took place with the users of the Granville Centre including the Granville Plus Nursery School.

·      The failure of the Cabinet to consider (ignored) warnings from a local councillor, that no consultation had taken place with the local community the Head of a popular local school and the parents who use it. Therefore putting valuable community assets under the unnecessary threat of closure and demolition.

·      The failure of the cabinet to adequately question the officer (consultant) who prepare the report on whether proper consultation had taken place, as it seem likely the consultant ever (sic) visited The Granville /Carlton centres or spoke to stakeholders.

·      The failure of the cabinet to engage with the South Kilburn Trust putting £2 Million at risk for a local employment Hub.

·      The failure of the Lead member for Regeneration to visit Kilburn or talk to stakeholders from May to the present day to re-assure local residents that there would be adequate consultation.

·      The failure of the Lead Member for regeneration to response to email requests for a meeting between Local councillors the Leader and CEO, between July and November.

Another blow to Brent and Kilburn Times

I wrote previously LINK about the decision of Archant, owners of the Brent and Kilburn Times, to make redundacies through doing away with News Editor posts on its papers, instead merging web and paper roles and centralising news gathering.

I now understand that the three sports writers on the newspaper are to be made redundant and a new post created which will essentially mean one person doing the job of three.  As the sports page, reporting on local fixtures, are probably one of the more popular features of the paper, this seems rather short-sighted.

It saddens me as someone who values the contribution of local newspapers to democratic accountability and building a sense of local community to see their gradual demise.

With few staff they are likely to rely on lightly edited press releases and shared copy rather than original stories.

At present local newspapers are helped to keep afloat by local government advertising in the form of statutory notices (see above). This ensures a steady income independent of the ups and downs of the local economy. However there have been reports that the government is thinking of removing the requirement for such advertising, allowing councils to put the information on-line only.  Given councils' budget constraints they are likely to go along with the proposal and withdraw such local newspaper advertising, dealing another, possibly fatal, blow to the local press.

Frolicking dog exposes King Eddie's Park drainage failure

A Wembley Matters reader has supplied this footage of flooding earlier this week in King Edward VII Park, Wembley.

A large area of the park was out of use for a long time when Brent Council spent more than £350,000 on drainage and other works. LINK

 

Last Lib Dem on Brent Council explains why she has become an Independent

Cllr Helen Carr has issued the following statement explaining why she has opted to become an Independent councillor having been elected on a Lib Dem ticket:

Political parties are not reflecting the full range of interests – in fact, some serve to obscure them. The system is degenerating into the preservation of a status quo and a political elite. We all need to put an end to that political and social exclusivenessjavascript:;. The principles on which the parties nominally divide and were formed are increasingly blurred. A group of people, however powerful, without political principles is not a party, but a faction.

Inevitably, the public is furious – interest groups are focused too often on private ends, and we have seen this last six months how popular improvement is lost sight of in particular aggrandisement, and politics and politicians, local, regional and national, are increasingly viewed with contempt. There is a lack of interest in democracy and democratic processes. The public know exactly why they voted for Brexit and it is not because they do not like foreigners, but because they do not like smug, superior and self-regarding career politicians of all persuasion who are contemptuous of the decisions of the people they purport to serve, telling them they did not know what they were voting for.  The public do not like political parties filling the Lords with the unelected whose sole purpose seems to be to sabotage the decisions of elected MPs. They do not like political parties that exploit the ambitions of the young, the fears of the fragile and the vulnerable for votes.

The residents of Brent pay my salary. I look forward as an Independent Councillor to representing and promoting democracy in my ward, and the Borough, in particular to those groups who are an under/ unrepresented socio-economic demographic in the political process because they tend to be excluded and avoid participation. 

I look forward as an Independent Councillor to continuing my human rights work and protection of minority groups, especially important in the current toxic climate because historically, groups I work with such as Gypsies, Irish Travellers and Roma have suffered deprivation, discrimination and in the Roma case especially, persecution and genocide. Those times are upon us again.

This documentary was aired on my birthday the year I was asked to stand as a Councillor. I am involved in similar activities at the moment. It is 10 minutes of your time.

Brent disabled charity threatened as NHS increases rent to market rates

My article on plans for the 'NHS Estate' elicited a comment about the future of Brent Advocacy Concerns LINK who are faced with a possible increase in their rent at Willesden Centre for Health and Care  LINK to market rates as part of the monetisation of NHS property.

BAC is a charity run by disabled people themselves.

John Healy, a South Kilburn resident and volunteer at Brent Advocacy Concerns, has provided further detail about the situation BAC faces:

Today at 12.30pm our landlords have called another 'building users meeting' (5 previous ones so far) but we have never been invited to attend any of them, including that meeting.  I intend to attend it as we have been there since the centre opened and on the previous site in Harlesden Road since 1991 and we are tenants of sorts.  The problem is we were tenants of BADP, a limited company who were dissolved on the 1st March this year. 

We have been surviving on our reserves and without knowing if we can stay in our office, it has been impossible to plan anything.  We are still solvent but have not received any income since the 2011/12 financial year.  We have no waged staff any more and now only use volunteers including myself.  We decided a couple of years ago to have a 'new' website which we now have and we are able to give advice and information to people who email or phone us.  We can no longer provide advocacy itself so we are only a shadow of our former selves.  But if we lose the office, it is more than likely that we will close down.

Both the council and the NHS have both been saying they are finding it difficult to reach 'marginalised groups' like disabled people but they have never contacted us, even though we are in the council's own directory.  We also help people with The Care Act 2014 in providing some disabled people with information they may need to understand it. Now our work is limited by the uncertainty about our future.

Just to conclude, there are approximately 50,000 disabled and people with a long term illness in Brent (refer to borough's diversity plan 2015-19 which is in The Wellbeing & Scrutiny Committee and the 2011 census) but we are the only disabled charity left.  The council might argue that is not the case but all the other services are companies first, with a charitable part to their business.  There are other charities as well but they cater for specific ethnic groups.

Lib Dems down to zero on Brent Council and Tories play political musical chairs

Lib Dem councillor Helen Carr introduces herself to Tim Farron

Tonight's Brent Council meeting began with an announcement that the only Lib Dem councillor had decided to become an Independent - ending Lib Dem representation on a Council where they were once senior partner in a Coalition with Paul Lorber as their leader. Carr gave no explanation to the meeting but celebrated her independence by abstaining on most of the votes that took place tonight.

My prediction before the meeting

Joel Davidson after his recent attack on Tory Leader John Warren announced that he was moving to the Kenton Tory Group who now (for how long?) have 4 members to Brondesbury Park's 2. At one point the Kenton Tories were split 2-2 on a vote so three Tory groups may not be faraway.

Tories Kansagra, Davidson, Colwill and Maurice

I am not clear who is now the leader of the opposition, if wonder if the Tories are?

Davidson, the only person who comes close to a Brent Council version of Hugh Grant, was in his element making drawling contributions to the meeting but Cllr Warren once more provided the only real opposition.

Warren raised the fact that the Brent Development Plan hadn't been legally compliant at the time of its approval by the Council and had only been saved by suggested modifications from the Planning Inspector.   He cited the Auditor's acceptance of 5 objections to Brent Council's accounts for further investigation as extremely unusual with most local authority accounts sailing through through the process without challenge.

Perhaps his most powerful intervention was in a motion calling for the CEO to prepare a report on the possibility of Brent returning to a Committee system of governance for consideration by the Full Council. He explained that only eight people, the Cabinet, were really involved in decision making and the other 55, of all parties, excluded.

Warren suggested that the South Kilburn Granville debacle would not have happened if a cross-party committee had examined the proposal.

Rather than actually debating the merits of the proposal Cllr Butt, Labour leader, denounced it as a political ploy to 'take us back to the 80s' and his councillors duly voted it down.

Cllr Warren during the debate had said he had heard that the Labour Group held 'votes on whether to vote' but one of their number told me afterwards that they seldom had votes at all - 'everything is decided by acclamation'...

Now Brent CCG gets into NHS estate management and development to further the STP

Last week Chris Hopson, Chief Executive of NHS Providers, warned that poor consultation over the NHS  Sustainability and Transformation plans could cause mass opposition on the streets that would scupper the plans LINK while Diane Abbott has referred to the STPs, quotuing that for NW London, as a 'dagger pointed at the heart of the NHS LINK.

One area that has not received much press coverage or comment is the management of the sites and buildings belonging to various parts of the NHS (see table above).

A report LINK going before the Community and Wellbeing Scrutiny Committee on Wednesday from the Brent Clinical Commissioing Group and NHS Propery Services, entitled the NHS Estate in Brent,  puts forward plans for various parts of the estate. They see the management of property as an 'enabler' to 'delivering' the STP and Shaping a Healthier Future. In particular they look at increasing the use of void space in the Willesden Centre and Monks Park Centre but also have far reaching plans elsewhere:

The CCG estates strategy identifies three site locations to be developed to support the local hospital and hub strategy. In order to maximise the use of the existing estate the CCG estates plans focus on creating out of hospital Hubs at Wembley Centre for Health and Care, Willesden Centre for Health and Care and Central Middlesex Hospital.

The three Hub locations were identified following an assessment of the main areas of deprivation and service demand across the borough. The CCG also took into account the forecast population growth.

The map below shows the forecast population growth in Brent to 2025.

Brent Population Growth 2015-25

This indicates the greatest population growth density to be forecast in the south west of the borough, suggesting the greatest health care demand in the areas are around the intended Hub locations at Wembley Centre for Health and Care and Central Middlesex Hospital

Wembley is the area with the second biggest capacity for new homes within North West London (11,500 new homes).

The Park Royal development on the border with Ealing has the potential for 1,500 new homes and new development proposals in Alperton will impact on south Brent and north Ealing, creating an increased need for primary care provision around Central Middlesex Hospital.

The majority of out of hospital services will be delivered from the Central Middlesex Hospital site which will become a Hub+. The Hub+ will offer specialist services commissioned for the whole borough alongside standard Hub services such as primary care, community services, one stop assessments and treatments and access to more complex diagnostics for the local population.

The Hubs at Wembley Centre for Health and Care and Willesden Centre for Health and Care will offer the standard Hub services for the local population.

The CCG is working with London North West Hospital Trust to develop a business case for the future configuration of Central Middlesex Hospital which will include the provision of a GP practice. The business case is due to be completed in summer 2017 and will then be submitted to NHS England for approval. It is anticipated that the GP practice (subject to commercial arrangements being in place) will be in occupation late 2017.

The business cases for Willesden Centre for Health and Care and Wembley Centre for Health and Care will follow after Central Middlesex Hospital. The aim is to maximise utilisation of both sites to deliver local services to the population in the area.

The CCG is working in collaboration with Brent Council to commission a property consultant to further their plans:  

  The One Public Estate (OPE) initiative is being delivered in partnership by the Cabinet Office Government Property Unit and the Local Government Association. The initiative provides practical and technical support and funding to Councils to deliver ambitious property-focused programmes in collaboration with central government and other public sector partners.

Brent Council, in partnership with the CCG, has made an application for funding towards the co-ordination of a data capture exercise and to undertake the public sector and health review. In working together to deliver a common local public sector estates vision, Brent Council officers working with the CCG have developed a project brief to be used for the purposes of commissioning a professional property consultant if the application is successful.

The projects identified are:

1.     Northwick Park Hospital Brent in partnership with the London North West Hospitals Trust, the University of Westminster and Network Homes, aims to rationalise services and resource and unlock development land to facilitate hospital redevelopment, new homes and improved services for the community. 


2.     Church End Growth Area Brent’s bid aims to enable the creation of a community hub that will attract public services and businesses to the local area, the key emphasis is ensuring that the public services and businesses provide positive services that will build capacity and benefit the local community. 


3.     Wembley The reduction in staff numbers and more efficient use of office space in Brent’s Civic Centre in Wembley Park, provides an opportunity to look more closely at how local public services may better work together, including a review of the area surround the Wembley Centre for Health and Care. 


Vale Farm area

4.     Vale Farm, Brent’s aim is to deliver a new multi-purpose leisure centre, new homes and possibly a new secondary school in an area that is primarily public open space and metropolitan open land, a feasibility study is proposed to identify opportunities for integration between local public sector services, particularly the Metropolitan Police, Brent CCG and the Council. 


A further bid will be brought forward for:

Brondesbury Road (including the Kilburn Square Clinic). These premises comprise 11-15 Brondesbury Road; which provides a home for community mental health teams. The site is Brent owned, but subject to shared usage with Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust, (CNWL), (although current occupation circa 90% CNWL, 10% Brent). The model for the delivery of such services is under review, and is likely to result in a relocation of staff from the building.

The report states:

The CCG will build on the plans already in place to increase patient, user and carer engagement, which is essential for success as it makes the changes outlined in this paper. The CCG will do this in conjunction with the Council where this is appropriate.

Given widespread dissatisfaction with consultation on Shaping a Healthier Future and the NW London Sustainability Transformation Plan the Brent public may need quite a lot of persuading that these plans are in their interest.

Climate Jobs - Not Bombs Lucas Plan Conference Nov 26th

Leading figures from the left, trade union, environmental and peace movements are coming together at a conference on November 26th with a fresh perspective on tackling current crises, using the ideas of socially useful production pioneered in the Lucas Plan. The Plan, produced by workers at the Lucas Aerospace arms company, showed how jobs could be saved by converting to make socially useful products, rather than weapons. See www.lucasplan.org.uk, or the notes below for more information on the Lucas Plan.

The conference will focus on 5 key themes:

The Lucas Plan and socially useful production.
Arms conversion and peace.
Climate change and a socially just transition to sustainability.
The threat to skills and livelihoods from automation.
Local/community economic and industrial planning.
Linking all these issues is the need to rethink how we can produce what people and society actually need and overcome corporate domination through their control of technology.

Highlights of the conference will include:

Talks by Phil Asquith, Brian Salisbury and Mick Cooney (Lucas Aerospace Shop Stewards Combine).

Screening of a new film on the Lucas Plan by Steve Sprung.

Contributions from: Chris Baugh (PCS), Suzanne Jeffery (Million Climate Jobs Campaign), Hilary Wainwright (Red Pepper), Natalie Bennett, Molly Scott-Cato and Jonathan Essex (Green Party), Philip Pearson (Greener Jobs Alliance), Romayne Phoenix (People’s Assembly Against Austerity), Mary Pearson (Birmingham Trades Council), Tony Kearns (CWU), Mika Minio-Paluello (Platform), Philippa Hands (UNISON), Stuart Parkinson (Scientists for Global Responsibility), Dave Elliott (Open University), Liz Corbin (Institute of Making), Tony Simpson (Bertrand Russell Foundation), Dave King (Breaking the Frame), Simon Fairlie (The Land magazine), Karen Leach (Localise West Midlands), Marisol Sandoval (City University), Tom Unterrainer (Bertrand Russell Foundation), John Middleton (Medact), Gail Chester (Feminist Library), Julie Ward (Labour Party), David Cullen (Nuclear Information Service) and Richard Lee (Just Space).

The conference on the Lucas Plan 40th anniversary will be held at Birmingham Voluntary Service Council (138 Digbeth, Birmingham, B5 6DR) on November 26, 2016.

See www.lucasplan.org.uk.

The conference is being organised and sponsored by: former members of the Lucas Aerospace Shop Stewards Combine, Breaking the Frame, PCS, UCU, Million Climate Jobs Campaign, Green Party, Scientists for Global Responsibility, Campaign Against Arms Trade, CND, Left Unity, Quaker Peace and Social Witness, Red Pepper, War on Want, Conference of Socialist Economists, Fellowship of Reconciliation, Newcastle TUC, Medact, and Momentum.

Tickets are £10/£5 concessions: To book for the conference, visit www.lucasplan.org.uk/tickets. For more information, email info@breakingtheframe.org.uk

BACKGROUND INFO: The Lucas Aerospace Shop Stewards Combine’s Alternative Corporate Plan (‘The Lucas Plan’) was launched in 1976 and became famous worldwide, sparking an international movement for socially useful production and workers’ plans. Facing the threat of redundancies, the Combine collected 150 ideas from shop floor workers about alternative socially useful products that could be produced by the company, instead of relying on military orders. Many of the innovations in the plan, such as hybrid car engines, heat pumps and wind turbines were commercially viable and are now in widespread use. Although the Alternative Plan was rejected by Lucas Aerospace managers, it was instrumental in protecting jobs at Lucas in the 1970s. The Combine was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979 and Mike Cooley received the Right Livelihood Award in 1982. More information about the Plan, including the 53-page summary of the five 200 page volumes, can be found on the conference website, www.lucasplan.org.uk.

Getting to the Conference

The conference venue, Birmingham Voluntary Service Council at 138 Digbeth B5 6DR, is very close to central Birmingham stations, click here for map. We'll be starting at 10am sharp and we have a packed programme, so please be on time.

How NOT to be scammed - 'The Little Book of Big Scams'

Years ago the Pupil Council at Park Lane Primary School asked if there could be lessons about 'scams'. They reported that their parents, particularly those not yet fluent in English, had been tricked. They went on to discuss 'legal' scams such as those where computer printers were sold cheap only for the customer to discover that replacement ink was extremely expensive and cartridges machine specific.  Now of course some printers have software that prevents cheaper compatible cartridges being used.

The variety of scams has increased since then so the publication of 'The Little Book of Big Scams' published by the Metropolitan Police and the Mayor's Office is very welcome.

My only criticism would be that it is very wordy and so may not be accessible to the parents children spoke.  I am not sure if it is available in languages other than English - a video version would also be useful.

The 'Little Book of Big Scams' can be viewed and downloaded HERE

CORRECTION: Brent Council to debate the West London Alliance on MONDAY

Brent Council is to debate the West London Alliance at its meeting on November 21st. The WLA brinngs the above boroughs together, in various combination, to deliver services.The combined population is nearly twice the size of Birmingham.

Introducing the debate Cllr Butt, Leader of Brent Council states:

The West London Alliance plays a central role in improving the collaborative approach of seven London councils, facilitating a communal approach to the challenges facing the residents and businesses of West London.

In housing, children’s services, in health and wellbeing, in employment and skills – the WLA has been at the forefront of offering innovative, forward-thinking approaches to the issues that matter to us all.

With ongoing central government cuts to local council funding and further reductions expected in the coming years, it is more important than ever that we work in partnership with our neighbouring boroughs. To share best practice and improve our ways of working, to find solutions the challenges that face us all.

Brent Council pledges to continue to work closely with the WLA and our neighbouring boroughs to deliver the best outcomes for the residents and businesses of West London.

Below you can find the presentation to be made at Council by the WLA which is unlikely to be visible to  people watching on Livestream or from the public gallery.


Click bottom right to enlarge the docuement.

Brent Council opens consultation on 2017-18 budget: including cuts and council tax rise

Brent Council has issued the following press release on its budget consultation - printed here unedited.

 Six years of cuts by central government to local authority budgets across the UK has meant Brent Council has needed to find new ways to maintain services, with some difficult decisions made along the way.

Despite growing demand for local services from an increasing and ageing population, the funding that Brent Council receives from the Government is set to fall even further.

Rather than cut vital services, which residents rely on, the council is conducting a ten-week consultation on its budget proposals which includes a rise in council tax by 3.99 percent to help plug the gap left by the government's cuts.

"Imagine your household bills went up every year, but your salary kept being cut. You would have to make some tough choices and find new ways to make your money go further," says Cllr Muhammed Butt, Leader of Brent Council.

As well as showing how the council plans to raise income to balance the books the budget details spending plans for 2017/18.

Key areas include everything from investment in making Brent cleaner and safer, rubbish and recycling collection, boosting jobs and skills to protecting the vulnerable, increasing council housing, maintaining parks and open spaces and giving every child the best start in life.

"In recent years, we've taken steps to make sure that Brent Council is as efficient and cost-effective as possible. At the same time, we've worked hard to ensure the services that our residents rely on are protected.

"It is vital that the work we do as a Council reflects the priorities of our residents. That's we are asking the people of Brent to tell us what matters to them. I would encourage as many people as possible to visit the website, or join us at their local Brent Connects meetings taking place at the start of next year."

Have your say online by 1 February 2017 or come along to one of the Brent Connects public meetings in January or February 2017.

Views taken at the Willesden and the Kingsbury and Kenton Brent Connects meetings, after the consultation portal has closed, will be added as an appendix to the Cabinet report and considered on Monday 13 February 2017 at the Cabinet meeting.

Full Council will then make a decision on the final budget for 2017/18 on Monday 27 February 2017.

Tory turmoil is bad for Brent democracy

No, I am not remotely sympathetic to the Tory party.

However, I do believe that with 56 of Brent's 63 councillors being Labour we need an effective opposition to provide proper scrutiny of council policy and in particular its multi-million budget. Instead we have 6 Tories who currently have split into two opposing groups and an ineffective lone Lib Dem.

The Kilburn Times LINK reported this week on a claim by Brondesbury Park Tory John Warren that the three Kenton Tories have been de-selected and then followed that up with a claim by Warren's colleague, Joel Davidson, LINK that Warren had publicly sabotaged a deal that could have seen the two Tory groups come together again.

Doubtless Labour will make the most of this at Monday's Council meeting (you can see it from 7pm on livestreaming HERE)

Brent CEO Carolyn Downs  recently warned the Labout Group at an awayday that their internal squabbles were making it very difficult for Council officers to work effectively and there are reports that even within the Cabinet two camps are developing.

Disagreements are inevitable and a little 'creative tension' over policy can be beneficial but disputes in both camps seem to be more about personalities than policy - Brent residents deserve better.

The Cara Davani Saga - objections to Brent’s 2015/16 Accounts to be investigated

Guest blog by Philip Grant
 

In August 2016, Wembley Matters reported that Cllr. John Warren (as a local elector, not as a councillor) had asked Brent’s Auditor to make a Public Interest report about items of expenditure in the Council’s 2015/16 accounts relating to Cara Davani and the Rosemarie Clarke Employment Tribunal case. LINK  I added a comment to that blog, saying that I had also exercised my right to object to those accounts, and I understand that there were four other Brent electors who objected, with five of the six objections relating to Brent’s £157,610 pay-off in June 2015 to its former HR Director, Cara Davani, and related matters.

I know that a number of interested readers may be wondering “what has happened about this?” Until a few days ago, the answer appeared to be “not very much”, but in the past few days I have received a letter from the Auditor at Messrs KPMG, so can now give you an update. The letter was marked “Private and Confidential”, so I will not attach a copy, but as some of the points are already in the public domain, and others are just an outline of procedure, I am happy that I can share the following information with you.

The Auditor wrote on 14 November to formally accept that my objection of 10 August was validly made under section 27 of the Local Audit and Accountability Act 2014. The letter confirmed that I had set out a case which could give grounds for the Auditor to apply to the Court for a declaration that Brent Council made unlawful payments during 2015/16 in respect of: 

a) A proportion of the total amount paid by the Council in the out-of-court settlement of the Rosemarie Clarke case, which should have been the personal liability of the second respondent in that case, Cara Davani (the Council’s former HR Director). 

b) A proportion of the Council’s legal costs (both external and internal) in the Rosemarie Clarke case which should have been recharged to, and paid by, Cara Davani personally, as a separate respondent in that case. 

c) The whole of the £157,610 “compensation for loss of office” paid to Cara Davani, and shown as part of the Senior Employees’ Remuneration to ‘Human Resources Director (to June 2015)’ at Note 30 to the Council’s draft accounts. 

d) The whole of any amount paid around June 2015 as an “Exit Package” to Andrew Potts, the Council’s former Principal Lawyer (Employment and Education) or similar title, which is included in the amounts for either ‘compulsory redundancies’ or ‘other departures agreed’ at Note 32 to the Council’s draft accounts.

The Auditor also accepted that, if his enquiries led him to the view that these payments were not unlawful, I had validly requested that he should issue a public interest report in relation to matters a) and c) above.

The Auditor’s letter also set out how his firm’s enquiries would proceed, in respect of my objection (and other valid objections) to Brent’s 2015/16 accounts, saying they would now:

■ ask the Council for their response to the objection;

■ ask the Council for documents relevant to the objection;

■ collect the documents that we think will help me make a decision about the objection; 

■ give you and the Council the opportunity to make further comments on the objection;

■ make any further enquiries we consider to be appropriate;

■ if appropriate, tell you and the Council our provisional findings and views; and

■ decide the objection.

The letter concludes by saying:

‘While this marks the start of the formal objection process, we encourage you and the Council to discuss the issues raised to see whether you can come to an agreement. Please also note that you are free to withdraw your objection at any time.’

Readers who have followed this saga will realise that I am unlikely to withdraw my objection without seeing convincing evidence that the payments involved were properly made. I would, however, be willing to discuss these issues with the Chief Executive / Chief Finance Officer of Brent Council, if they are willing to make available (“in confidence”, if necessary) the information and documents needed to ensure that any such discussion could be meaningful.

I am aware that Cllr. Warren has received a similar letter from the Auditor in respect of his objection, but I do not know whether any of the other three local electors who also sent objections to payments made by Brent to, or on behalf of, Cara Davani have also heard from Messrs KPMG. It would make sense if the local residents involved could co-ordinate their dealings with Brent Council (if there are to be discussions). If you are one of those objectors, please contact me (via Martin, if necessary, see email address under “Guest Blogs” in right-hand column), or at least put a comment with your views below. Thank you.

Philip Grant

Refinancing agreed for Quintain for further development of Wembley Park

From the Financial Times
 

London developer Quintain has agreed a new £800m corporate development facility following its acquisition by Lone Star Real Estate Fund IV in September last year.

Wells Fargo, AIG and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) three of the biggest global, institutional lenders, have agreed to provide a five-year corporate development facility to Quintain to support the transformation and further development of Wembley Park.

The loan also refinances the existing £425m facility provided by Wells Fargo to support the acquisition of Quintain by Lone Star.

The revolving senior loan, led by Wells Fargo as Agent, and AIG and Wells Fargo as Co-Arrangers, combined with a 36-month availability period under the junior facility, provided by CPPIB, is innovatively structured to offer operational flexibility for Quintain to recycle capital efficiently from non-core assets into the Wembley Park Masterplan.

The refinancing follows approval in May from Brent Council for a new Masterplan for Wembley Park, which aims to transform Wembley Park from a world class events destination into a thriving London neighbourhood, with an exciting combination of new homes, iconic venues, great shops, public spaces and workspaces. 

Quintain’s plans will deliver almost half of Brent Council’s target for new homes delivery as well as 1 million sq ft of new, high quality offices and workspaces which will create the opportunity for more than 7,000 new jobs. The development also features a significant upgrade to the famous Olympic Way (known as “Wembley Way” to football fans) and a new seven‐acre park, equivalent in size to four Wembley football pitches.

London MPs' Expenses revealed

Last minute deferral of Harrow School's application to build on Metropolitan Open Land

At yesterday's Harrow Planning Committee it at first appeared that the Harrow School's Planning Application to build on Metropolitan Open Land had been successful.

The Committee was tied 3-3 on a motion refusing the planning application and then the Chair, Keith Ferry, used his casting vote against the motion.  The Committee had received a petition from Harrow Hill Trust of 1,500 signatories against the proposal and a letter from Gareth Thomas MP.

Then in a surprise move Labour councillor Barry Kendler, who had opposed aspects of this particular build but was not against building on Metropolitan Open Land as such, moved a motion to defer.

Kendler had not liked the design and raised issues including the colour scheme of bricks, style, position (ie red brick, not grey slabs, on to brown site or slightly moved to see more of skyline views, etc).  The chair had indicated that would be a matter of negotiation later and not part of this decision.  Cllr Kendler said that if resolution of these planning aspects were not included in the planning decision he was not certain he could rely on Harrow School's goodwill.  He moved the motion to defer and all six councillors voted for it with the Chair against.

The Harrow School representatives, who were by far the biggest group at the meeting, conferred outside and were described by one onlooker as 'looking very serious'.

An opponent of the scheme said after the meeting:

So we live to partly fight another day, especially if Sadiq Khan makes more of the fact that Metropolitan Open Land (ie like green belt) is still allowed to be exchanged for a piece of school land they don't want to use!  The large new build will certainly make a major difference to the historic view of Harrow Church/School. 

A spokesperson for Harrow Hill Trust said:

The Harrow Hill Trust was not happy with the content of the planning officer's report on the scheme and they will continue to fight the case and to promote a brownfield option instead. Interested parties can go to www.harrowhilltrust.org.uk and click through to the petition where a wealth of information is provided including contact emails and phone numbers for the Labour Councillors who are all that is stopping this application from being refused. Lobbying would be appreciated.

Author's talk 'Are my roots showing?' Friday at Preston Community Library

Further response from Brent Council on Ealing Road Library consultation complaints

The proposed design

Alice Lester, Brent Council's Head of Planning, Transport and Licensing, Regeneration and Environment, has responded to the resident's request for wider consultation posted earlier LINK

I can see that this application is generating a lot of local interest. We do want people to have the chance to comment, so although we have already written to 35 properties around the library about the proposals, we will send out more letters to the streets outlined in your email. This date on the site notice has also been amended (although as I said, comments will be taken into account and reported to committee if they are received beforehand).

My colleagues who are responsible for submitting the planning application are going to arrange a local meeting to explain the proposals. A date is just being arranged; if the details aren’t included in the notification letter mentioned above, then you will be notified separately.

The impact of the proposal on parking/traffic will be part of the assessment of the application but clearly any comments you and others have on this as part of your responses will be helpful.

DEMO FRIDAY EVENING: 'Trump wrecking global climate action' US Embassy 6pm

From Climate Defence

Date: THIS FRIDAY, 18th November
Time: 6:00pm
Location: US Embassy, Grosvenor Square, Mayfair, London, W1A 2LQ. Map HERE

As the UN COP22 climate talks in Marrakesh draw to a close, a new dawn for climate policy is breaking with the election of Donald Trump as the President of the USA.

Environmental campaigners' worst fears look to be justified, as Presdent-elect Trump has already announced the appointment of Myron Ebell, a prominent climate change denier with strong links to the fossil fuel industry, as the head of the Environmental Protection Agency.

Earlier this week, the World Meteorological Organization predicted that 2016 is almost certainly going to be the hottest year on record, surpassing last year's record. Trump has called climate change a "hoax". The disconnect between the climate crisis and those holding power has never been starker. Now only the most wildly optimistic have any hope that the world won't pass 2°C.

This time last year the world's leaders came together in Paris to agree the historic Paris Climate Agreement, which aims to limit the increase in temperature to no more than 2°C above pre-industrial levels. It came into earlier at the beginning of the month. America is responsible for almost 20% of global carbon emissions and is the world's highest per capita polluter.

Trump has made it clear that he wants to withdraw from the Paris Agreement as soon as possible and his staff are already looking for ways to do so. There are real fears that this could pave the way for similar moves from other countries looking for a way to appease those with vested interests.

So, join us outside the American Embassy in Mayfair at 6pm on Friday to send a clear message: Trump's climate policies are nothing short of genocidal and will seal the fate of the millions, if not billions of people who are set to lose their lives as the planet warms irreversibly.

Please join and share our Facebook event with all the latest information:
https://www.facebook.com/events/333429317036859

Residents not happy with Brent Council's response to complaint about Ealing Road Library consultation process

Brent Council has responded to residents' complaints about the lack of consultation on the plans for the Ealing Road Library site. LINK

They have put up a second site notice which they claim should be more visible to passers by and a set of plans have been left in the library.

The planning application is due to go to the Planning Committee on December 14th and the Council have said that comments receievd up tp the day before the meeting will be taken int account when the decision is made.  The Council say that this gives more than 21 days for people to comment but advise that comments should be submitted as early as possible.

Furthermore they say that, within the normal rules, members iof the public can apply to speak at the Planning Committee meeting.

A resident has responded,

Thank you for confirming this though I believe Brent Council have a ‘duty of care’ to properly and fairly consult local residents so I’m afraid I do not think your response is really acceptable.

Can you please confirm that you will be altering the planning notice(s) to advise that comments can be made up until 13th December with the name and address of who residents can write to in Brent Council’s Planning Department if they do not have internet access?

Can you please confirm that you will be fully publicising this planning application to local residents by leafleting all houses in the roads surrounding Ealing Road Library (Ealing Road, Lyon Park Avenue, The Close, Union Road, Park Road, Copland Road, Station Grove, Montrose Crescent, Chaplin Road, Swinderby Road, Ranelagh Road) with the relevant information and confirming in those leaflets that residents can view plans at Ealing Road Library and that they have until 13th December to comment, again with the name and address of who they should write to in Brent Council’s Planning Department if they do not have internet access?

This is a major alteration to our area and we deserve to be properly consulted and with full details of how to respond - some properties in Park Road, Lyon Park Avenue and Union Road back onto the library/or are adjacent to the side boundary of the library and will potentially be most affected by noise pollution from a ‘performance space’ or an ‘outdoor cinema’ yet they have not received letters re the consultation for this development.

Any development of the Ealing Road Library space should have been drawn up in full conjunction with neighbouring residents before detailed planning applications were submitted.   The Brent Council planning department used to advise that you talked to your neighbours before applying for any planning permission to try and iron out any issues/disagreements beforehand yet local council tax-paying residents have heard nothing from their council re this matter.

So that we can fully consider the pros and cons of this planning application can you please advise what exact plans have been drafted by Brent Council for easing traffic congestion in Ealing Road, which is usually grid locked both ways at the weekend, and where all the extra visitors you want to attract to Ealing Road going to park?  Shoppers coming to buy in bulk, buy gold or buy expensive clothing will want to come by car, they will not want to come by bus or train, yet the larger Montrose Crescent Car Park is being closed to build flats and you plan to close the small Ealing Road library car park and also remove around 10 parking bays from the street/slip road outside the library?

Whether residents are in favour or against this plan a proper consultation needs to be carried out and further information re the traffic issues and parking problems needs to be supplied.

Brent Council celebrates itself in 'Our Day' tweetathon

Never let it be said that I am unfair to Brent Council! 'Our Day' is an annual tweetathon showcasing local government. This is a window into how Brent Council sees itself:

Brent Carers Rights Day event November 25th

Resistance Against Tarmac launches 38 Degrees petition

Residents campaigning against Brent Council's polict of replacing  paved footways with tarmac  have launched a petition opposing the policy on the 38 Degrees website HERE.

They state:

In this (Chandos Road) instance it wastes £129,000 of Brent residents money - on our street it would have cost about £3,000 to repair the paving stones after many decades of use. This type of project is taking place across the UK under the guise of making economies under austerity and health and safety implications both of which can easily be refuted. There has been no consultation and Brent and other councils need to be challenged. 

Tarmac is a pollutant to our environment and aesthetically pollutes our urban landscapes where most people live. It is sad that the contractors are taking up paving stones that are fit for purpose and allowing them to be crunched up for aggregate which flies in the face of reuse and sustainable practices. Trees have been damaged and others removed with little justification.

Tarmac adds nothing positive to the public realm package and will require more upkeep than our existing pavement. 

The money could be spent where it really is needed.

 Supporting the petition local resident Mike Baker comments:

The initial and ongoing environmental and financial costs of replacing perfectly good pavement by tarmac are shocking. While making savage cuts elsewhere, Brent Council is forcing through this wasteful and destructive policy againt the vocal opposition of the majority of residents affected. It must be stopped.

Stop Funding Hate

Granville & Carlton Centre users assured that they will be included in plans for the future of site

I was unable to make tonight's Cabinet meeting where the Granville and Carlton Centre plans  were on the agenda.  However an observer tells me that Cllrs Conneely, Duffy, Jones and Warren spoke for the occupants of the buildings. Lesley Benson, head of Granville Nursery Plus amd Momata from Granville Kitchen also spoke.

Several contributors said that it has been the worse decision making process that they had every seen.

Apparently the Cabinet was contrite and Cllr Butt and Cllr Mashari said that they wanted to reassure the Granville and Carlton users that they would be included as contributers in the future, rather than just consulted.

The Cabinet approved the report. LINK