Brent Tories and Lib Dems Call for Extraordinary Council Meeting on Library Closures

Fast on the heels of Zadie Smith's denounciation of the Conservative-Liberal Democrat Coalition over library closures, Conservatives and Liberal Democrats on Brent Council have have today written to the Mayor of Brent to request an Extraordinary Meeting of the Full Council in order to debate the Library Closures in Brent fully.

The wording of the letter is as follows:

We must note the massive support from local people across Brent for the campaign to save local libraries, as evidenced by local activities and the petitions presented to Brent Council. It is also only fair that the Council debates the alternative proposals made by local groups to save local libraries in response to the limited options agreed by the Executive as part of their ‘Library Transformation’ proposals.

We therefore request an Extraordinary Meeting.

Council threatens to remove equipment from Charteris Sports Centre

Brent Council has threatened to remove sports equipment from Charteris Sports Centre in Kilburn  for  'health and safety' reasons just as campaigners push for serious consideration of their business plan to save the Centre from closure.

The community struggle to keep the centre open was covered by  BBC London earlier this week - LINK

Zadie Smith Attacks Government Over Library Closures

Local author Zadie Smith launched a scathing attack on the Coalition government over library closures this morning in a 'radio essay' on Radio 4's today programme. She describes the importance of books in her childhood home 100 yards yards from Willesden Green library, many of which bore the imprint of the library and were returned in two black bags when the library held an amnesty!  She concludes that perhaps the government is happy to see libraries close because in the future people will be unable to read about their attack on public services.

The essay launches a debate about the issue which will carry on during the week.  To listen to the essay follow this LINK

Moazzam Begg to speak in Wembley next week

The Islamic Human Rights Commission has opened a new bookshop, gallery and information centre at 202 Preston Road, Wembley.

Moazzam Begg, former Guantanamo Bay detainee will be talking talking about his book Enemy Combatant, at the bookshop on Thursday 6th April at 6.30pm.

Nafeez Mosaddeq Ahmed  will be talking about his book The Crisis of Civilization, on Wednesday11thMay at 6.30pm.

For more about the IHRC follow this LINK

6,000 petition on library closure

Samantha Warrington (left), Peter Goss-Brent Council (centre) and Geraldine Cook (right)

The Save Preston Library Campaign yesterday handed over a combined petition of 6,000 signatories to Brent Council. The campaign was aiming to reach the target of 5,000 signatures by Monday's deadline. This enables the campaign to demand a full council debate before a final decision is made on April 11th.

Samantha Warrington of the Save Preston Library Campaign said:  

This sends a resounding message to Brent councillors that the people of Brent do not want their local libraries to close. Communities that lose libraries will not forget who it was that closed them at the next election.

This is particularly true since Tim Coates, former CEO of Waterstone’s, last week made a public presentation at Kensal Green Library  on how Brent Council can save enough money to retain the six libraries and also improve the service through operational efficiencies.

Cllr Ann John, leader of Brent Council, Cllr James Powney, lead member for libraries and Susan MacKenzie, head of Brent Library Service, were all invited to Tim Coates' talk but none of them attended.

Poorest Children Hit by Library Closures

Brent library campaigners have accused Brent Council of making service cuts without calculating the impact on the borough's poorest children.  Figures based on the Free School Meals (FSM) figures for the three schools nearest each library show that all but one are above the national FSM average of 21%:

Kensal Rise - 41%
Tokyngton -   40%
Neasden   -   38%
Cricklewood -31%
Barham Park 28%
Preston Park  27%
In contrast Kingsbury library,which is to remain open, serves a population with 21% FSM.



Graham Durham, of the Save Cricklewood Library Campaign commented:

' Councillors need to consider the impact on the poorest families of the library closures. It is the poorest families who cannot afford a car or the cost of public transport and who will be denied access to libraries when their local library closes.The council claims to be protecting the poor from the cuts but this is simply not happening. Alongside the government cuts in Educational Maintenance Allowance and student grant fee rises, education will be closed to the poorest children.

The Council agrees that there are an additional 250 children in each 5 year old cohort in Brent meaning an additional 3,000 children by 2020.It seems that, unless the Council changes course, this will be the generation that does not have the means to read books or have a quiet space to study.'

Will New Waste Sites Will Make A Bad Situation Worse?

The consultation on the West London Waste Strategy which will see new waste facilities in West London ended on Friday.  This is Brent Green Party's submission:

1. The consultation suffers from a major weakness in that it  concentrates on selection of sites and not on the processes that will  take place on them. We submit that the type of process is a major aspect of the choice of sites, especially if some form of incineration is planned. We are being sold a pig in a poke.
2. A further weakness is the separation of the process of site selection  from the SA Objective to 'minimise the production of waste and increase  reuse, recycling, composting and recovery rates' . Urgent action on this
objective as a priority must surely have an impact on the need for sites and the type of processes that will take place on them.
3. There is already a concentration of waste facilities in the Park Royal (Ealing/Brent) area and the new sites suggested will increase this concentration and associated traffic.
4. The Sustainability Assessment shows that Brent is already the most densely populated West London borough (6,278 people per square kilometre against the London average of 4,779 and Hillingdon's 2,161) - yet new waste facilities are to be sited in the borough or on its borders. The SA states,  rather obviously,  that 'In general terms it can be expected that the greater the population density, the more people that are likely
to be affected by the waste facility'.  We are against choosing sites that will have a potentially detrimental impact on larger numbers of people.
5. Brent is ranked as the most deprived borough in West London and is in the 20% of the most deprived boroughs in England. Will the quality of life of its inhabitants be improved by more waste facilities, and will the trade-off of increased employment opportunities be sufficient to make up for the negative impact on health and the local environment?
6. Brent has the lowest average age of all the West London boroughs and has a growing child population as demonstrated by the increased demand for school places. Young bodies are much more susceptible to damage caused by pollutants and poor air-quality. There is a danger that more waste sites with increased levels of heavy traffic, alongside as yet unknown emissions from as yet undecided processes, could severely damage young people's health.
7.  In conclusion although the  Sustainability Appraisal report admits, 'Waste facilities have the potential to negatively impact on human health through increased noise or worsened air quality'  the proposed sites are in an area of high population density with large numbers of young people, and with a population already suffering from the poor health and other problems associated with economic deprivation. Siting the facilities here has the potential to make what is already bad, worse.

Scenes from Saturday's Demonstration