Something moving on Chalkhill Park?

A little over a week since Chalkhill Primary Pupil Council lobbied their ward councillors over the failure of work to start on the much needed new local park,  a bull-dozer has moved on to the site and has been levelling the mountains of top soil dumped there six weeks ago.

Is this a sign that work has finally begun? Local people are still cynical and rumours that it will be used for housing persist on the estate. We need a definitive statement from the Council about start and finish dates to allay suspicion.

Commerce, educational prospectors and political pressure groups take note

There has been a campaign in Brighton against the possibility of Varndean school becoming an academy.  The headteacher and chair of governors have now posted the following notice on the school website:

Varndean school is not about to become an Academy now or in the near future.

Over the next year, we will be sharply focussed on the needs of our students by continuing to develop our excellent classroom practice. We will be sharply focused on standing shoulder to shoulder with our secondary partners to improve learning across the city as a state funded, comprehensive and inclusive school. We will continue to keep abreast of changes in the educational landscape.

In the event that governors foresee national and local changes as having a significant impact on our ability to deliver high quality education for our students suggesting a change of status, there would be a consultative process with staff, students and parents, prospective parents and other interested parties.

In the meantime, we request that staff, students and governors, be allowed to get on with business as usual, free from some of the unpleasantness that we have experienced as a result of this political activity. Our school is run by skilled professionals, ably supported by governors and educational expertise both locally and nationally.  With regards to commerce, educational prospectors or political pressure groups:

Varndean school is not for sale.

Brent secondary schools take note.

Taxi Cards: "Don't take our freedom away"

Brent New Company TV

Libraries Judicial Review on July 19th and 20th

The date for the Judicial Review of Brent Council's decision to close six of our 12 libraries has been fixed for July 19th and 20th at the Royal Courts of Justice in the Strand. When times are available for the hearings I will publish them on Wembley Matters so that as many people as possible can attend to show their support.

The Brent SOS Libraries case can be read HERE
and Brent Council's case is HERE

The Brent SOS Libraries Campaign is continuing to hold events to fund-raise for their legal costs:

Wed 13 July - An Evening with the famous actress Harriet Walter and author Deborah Moggach at the North London Tavern, Kilburn 

Wed 20 July - An evening with Philip Pullman, best-selling writer of His Dark Materials - Oueen's Park Community School 

Sat 30 July - The Preston Old Skool Dance 

All details available here: http://brentlibraries.wordpress.com/events/

Brent SOS T-shirts are also available as is signed merchandise by the likes of JLS, Nick Cave and Erasure at the Kensal Rise Library Campaign Shop

The 'Power of Community' Comes to Willesden

Click on image to enlarge

Pupils press for work to start on new park

Plan for the new park (March 2011) Click on image to enlarge

Chalkhill Primary's Pupil School Council lobbied ward councillors recently when they held a walk-about on the estate.

The children presented councillors with a letter that asked when work would start on the park and when it would be finished. They stressed that local children needed a park and how awful the site looks at present. They finished by asking if the Council really did want to build the park.

Cllr Shafique Choudhary, on behalf of the three Labour councillors, promised to keep writing to the Council until something was done.

The new park will be built on the site of the old Chalkhill Health Centre between the ASDA car park and the Metropolitan railway line. Work was expected to start last Autumn but was delayed, according to the parks department, because of severe weather. A Spring start didn't take place, this time because of 'staff shortage'. Top soil was recently brought to the site, raising the hopes of local residents, but no further work has taken place.

Grabbing ears helps local children

Parachute games at last year's Festival

I spent a very pleasant day at Queensbury Eco-Cultural Festival on Sunday running the Brent School Without Walls stall and organising parachute games. Brent green groups were well represented with Friends of the Earth, Brent Sustainability and Brent Cyclists running stalls. As usual there was amazing dancing from various local groups.

The event is organised by the Friends of Eton Grove Park who have been extremely effective at, as they state writing a few letters and grabbing a few ears, to make improvements to a park that was run down: 'cracked walking paths, no tennis courts anymore, no football posts, no cricket crease and no flowers!'.  The group was formed in 2008 to 'bring back life, energy and security to the park'.

Since then they have managed to get:

• New fencing up along segments of the park boundary
• The children's playground has been revamped
• The reintroduction of tennis courts and a new multi-use games area

They have worked with local local schools and the community in a number of projects to improve safety in the park and local area. They have spread the environmental message working with Roe Green Junior School and Kingsbury High School.

In many ways this is an excellent example of community action which has succeeded in making real improvements in the quality of life for local people, especially the children.

There are more projects in the pipeline including a cricket pitch and facilities for older residents. I wish them well.

Michael Rosen takes on Portillo in Pensions Debate