Brent Greens Back Brent Cross Public Inquiry Call

Coalition members, including Tim Storer of Brent Green Party,

 outside the Departmentr before handing in petitions and letters

Yesterday the Coalition for a Sustainable Brent Cross Regeneration, supported by Navin Shah AM for Brent and Harrow and Sarah Teather MP handed in petitions and letters to John Denham, Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, to ask him to call-in the Brent Cross Regeneration Application for a Public Inquiry.

Brent Green Party's letter requested a call-in based on the following grounds:

1. The residents of the London boroughs of Brent and Camden were not consulted on this matter despite the scheme having major impact on residents of the two boroughs. Our own council, Brent, remain opposed to this development despite suggestions to the contrary at the Barnet Planning Committee.

2. This development will have a major impact on North West London in terms of traffic, increased pollution and the destruction of local shopping areas in surrounding localities. These issues were not considered by the Barnet Planning Committee which had a Barnet-centric approach to the application. A wider assessment of the application is vital and would be provided by a Public Inquiry.

3. The application does not conform to the Government’s Climate Change Law to reduce Co2 by 80% by 2050. The scheme will generate thousands more car journeys per day and become a net contributor of greenhouse gases and global warming.

4. The lack of clarity in evidence presented at the Planning Committee on the proposed waste handling plant and incinerator. In the face of expert opinion by a visiting US professor on the potential health hazards of the proposed gasification process we believe that the Secretary of State should institute a Public Inquiry to ensure that the health and safety of the local population, and particularly that of young children who are particularly vulnerable to the impact of toxic substances, is safeguarded.

5. The major thrust of the application is to extend the Brent Cross Shopping Centre and other components of Phase One of the scheme, such as affordable housing, have been cut back. A proposal to increase the size of the Shopping Centre was rejected by a Public Inquiry in 1999 and a Judicial Review and High Court judgement in 2003. The proposal represents the developers’ second bite at the cherry in much changed and less favourable economic circumstances.

6. Although the Planning Committee is supposed to make an independent judgement, the application was compromised by the fact that the Barnet Borough Council are major supporters of the scheme and have helped facilitate the process for the applicants. Importantly they are also major landowners in the development area.

Conservatives select Brent North Candidate - now it's 'Two Tory' Brent

Last night Brent Conservatives selected Cllr Harshadbhai Patel (Preston ward) to fight Brent North. His opponents will include former Conservative councillor colleague Atiq Malik (now a 'Democratic Conservative' councillor) who is standing as an Independent.

Cllr Patel was Mayor of Brent in 2007-8 and is associated with the Federation of Patidar Associations, Brent Indian Association and the Hindu Council. Atiq Malik is actively blogging about the election on UK Polling and Conservative Home to the annoyance of many fellow bloggers. On one blog he claims that at the selection meeting 2 rows of seats were filled with 'up to 30+' new party recruits but doesn't follow with any specific allegation. He claims that Patel has stated that he has 300 'foot soldiers' ready to go out and campaign in the election.

Another contributor asks if the Democratic Conservatives (Malik and Cllr Robert Dunwell) have 'gone into bed with the Greens or the Lib Dems?'As Green Party Candidate for Brent North I can answer that from our perspective with a resounding 'No'!

With a Labour candidate who, in calling for his resignation, demonstrated that he had no faith in Gordon Brown; and two Conservative candidates, Brent North is shaping up to be an interesting (and possibly bewildering) contest.

Coalition: Why John Denham Must Call in Brent Cross Plans

The Coalition opposing the 4.5 billion development for a Brent Cross Cricklewood new town is urging Secretary of State John Denham to call the development in to Public Inquiry, in view of Barnet sending the papers to the Government Office for London and the Mayor of London.
The Coalition for a Sustainable Brent Cross Cricklewood Plan believe the development clearly meets the criteria to merit a call-in as set out in section 77 of the Town and Country planning Act1990[1]. The Secretary of State’s powers to call this in are very general and discretionary. Barnet should have referred this to the Secretary of State prior to the planning meeting on the grounds that Barnet owns some of the land.

 Some other grounds for call-in are :
- significant effects beyond the immediate locality
- giving rise to substantial regional or national controversy or where issues are of more than local importance
- raise significant architectural and urban design issues
- and in 2008 the sustainability of the proposed development was specifically added as a criterion.

Lia Colacicco, Coalition Co-ordinator and Mapesbury resident says, “ This scheme could be called in on several criteria but in particular because its effects go far beyond the immediate area, Brent and Camden councils object to it, local people don’t want it in this form, and because it is completely unsustainable in terms of traffic, housing, and the environment. There was no meaningful public consultation so we are now calling on John Denham to call it in immediately so that these disastrous plans can undergo full public scrutiny….”

Darren Johnson (Green Party London Assembly Member) says “given Boris Johnson’s manifesto commitment to cut London carbon emissions 60% by 2025 and build more environmentally friendly homes the Mayor must refuse this development. From 2016 all new homes are required to be carbon zero whereas this development falls far short of that.”

Shahrar Ali, Green candidate for Brent Central, Steffi Gray of Brent Friends of the Earth, and other activists at the Brent Campaign Against Climate Change Meeting Photo: Jan Nevill

The campaign was strongly backed at Tuesday's meeting on Fighting Climate Change after Copenhagen. People were clear that the regeneration proposals represented a reckless disregard for issues of over-consuption, sustainability and consultation.

The Mayor and Secretary of State John Denham have until just March 12th to call in the plans for Public Inquiry.

Criteria for a Call-in.
Petition Calling for a Public Inquiry
Coalition Website

Malik makes it messy for Tories in Brent North

Click on image to enlarge

I did a double take when I saw this poster in a local shop - at first I thought it was something from the BNP! It turns out to be a campaign poster for Cllr Atiq Malik who was elected to Brent Council as a Conservative but after falling out with Cllr Blackman, leader of the Brent Conservative Group, formed the Brent Democratic Conservative Group with Cllr Robert Dunwell.

Malik has aroused controversy for his comments on Sharia law and women (Cllr James Powney is engaged in a spat with him on this subject at the moment), was accused of using an assumed name to praise himself as a potential parliamentary candidate for the Tories on a Conservative website, and is carrying out a bitter campaign against Barry Gardiner on expenses.

Malik has jumped in as an Independent candidate before the official Tory selection which takes place at the Pattidar Centre on March 4th. The Tories will be choosing from Madhuri Davda, Louise Hall, Tim Lines, Anjana Patel, Blaine Robin and former mayor Harshadbhai Patel. On the Conservative Home website Malik tells the party that no Tory could beat Barry Gardiner in Alperton, Wembley Central, Sudbury, Fryent and Queensbury wards. Look closely at the poster and you can see Malik lists all these wards as places where he is working for 'all communities' and throws in Barnhill, Kenton and Northwick Parek for good measure - the full set!

Elsewhere on Conservative Home he claims Tories will need a 10% swing to unseat Gardiner but doesn't discuss the impact of his own candidature. The Odds Checker website gives a clue: Labour (Barry Gardiner) is quoted at 1/3, Conservatives at 9/4, Lib Dems (James Allie) at 25/1, Malik at 40/1 and I bring up the rear at 100/1. No odds are quoted for the English Democrats (Arvind Taylor).

Wembley Observer salutes Dan Viesnik

PEACENIK VIESNIK: LIFE IN THE NICK

Comment is free but libel could be expensive!

The story about the Youth Parliament elicited many comments which showed a heartfelt antipathy towards the Council from many local people. Amongst those comments are some which I have not published because they contained allegations about individuals which could have resulted in legal action.  To quote Tony Benn, it is issues that are important, rather than personalities.

I am happy to publish comments about local issues, including those which take up matters such as the extent of local democracy, accountability, consultation (or lack of it), neglect of some communities and the key Council areas of education, social care, libraries, parks, transport, planning and housing - but not personal attacks on individuals. These policy areas are of fundamental importance as we approach the local elections in May.

For those who want to air more personal concerns there is the option of setting up a blog of your own and it is easily done - follow this LINK.

Martin Francis

Dan out of prison and fighting on

Dan Viesnik was released from Pentonville last week after serving four days imprisonment for refusing to pay his fine. He is now busy helping with the Aldermaston Big Blockade which is happening tomorrow.

This video shows Dan setting out his reasons for not paying the fine and his background in anti-nuclear weapons activity. It also contains footage of Caroline Lucas, Green Party leader, speaking on the nuclear weapons issue.