Brent Parks Review in progress

Fryent Country Park last winter

Cllr James Powney, lead member for Environment,  has now replied to my request asking if rumours of Brent Council proposals for privatisation or part-privatisation of Brent Parks Service are true:

Ground maintenance, including parks, is subject to a review which has yet to report.  The results of the review are likely to be published in the first part of next year.

We will know more when the report is published but it is likely given the Council's budgetary situation that all possible options are being considered at the review stage, which may have given rise to the rumours. I will be watching developments closely and will report any new information here.

Lib Dems select Brent and Harrow GLA candidate

The Liberal Democrats have selected a young business woman and former vice-chairman of Liberal Youth as their candidate for the 2012 GLA Elections in Brent and Harrow. Charlotte Henry joins Sachin Rajput (Conservative) a barrister and former martial arts instructor and Shahrar Ali (Green Party) philosophy lecturer and community activist in challenging the Labour incumbent Navin Shah. More minority party candidates are likely to stand.

The election will take place on May 3rd 2012

The 2008 Result was as follows:

ALI, Shahrar, Green Party 10,129 6.54%
ALLIE, James Liberal Democrats 19,299 12.46%
BLACKMAN, Bob Conservative Party 56,067 36.21%
MCManus,Pat The Left List 2,287 1.48%
SHAH, Navin The Labour Party Candidate 57,716 37.27%
SHERMAN, Zena Christian Peoples Alliance and Christian Party 4,180 2.70%
TAILOR,Arvind English Democrats “Matt O’Connor for Mayor! 2,150 1.39%
WEBB, Sunita UK Independence Party 3,021 1.95%

Video of yesterday's Preston Library seizure

Campaigners protest as Brent Council removes resources from Preston Library

Preston Library campaigners expressed disappointment this morning after Brent Council's  removal of books and other resources from the library yesterday. However they insisted that the situation was not irretrievable and they would press on with both the legal process and the mass appeal to the Culture Secretary for a public inquiry into the closure of half the borough's libraries. The latter appeal has been backed by Sarah Teather MP (Brent Central) in a letter to Jeremy Hunt.

Kensal Rise campaigners 'on watch' after emptying of Preston Library

From the Bookseller website LINK

Library campaigners on watch outside Brent's Preston Library cried "Shame on you" as books and computers were cleared from the building by council workers today (29th December), with police in attendance.

Vans arrived at 9.30am to begin clearing the library of its contents. Local campaigners had been on intermittent vigil outside the library building over the Christmas holiday, with a Christmas tree on display decorated with children's book characters.

"We campaigners are still standing here with our signs, which say, 'Children need to read,' and 'Save our libraries,'" said local campaigner and literary agent Geraldine Cooke, today. "We don't think any library should be closed."

Fellow campaigner Samantha Warrington told the Harrow Observer: "We have put an application in to the Supreme Court so while that is happening Brent should not be taking any further action to decommission the libraries. We are trying to obstruct the way but the police are moving us. I feel that Brent Council is showing contempt to the legal process and the community who have shown how much they need their local library by doing this."

Protesters are "on watch" today outside Kensal Rise Library, now the last remaining closed Brent library, which still has its books in place.

Brent council had undertaken not to clear the libraries, or board them up further, until after judgment was given in the Court of Appeal about the lawfulness of the closures. Judgment was given in the council's favour shortly before Christmas. Lawyers acting for the campaigners have now approached the Supreme Court for leave to bring a last appeal against the closures.

Christmas images from Preston Library Wall of Shame

Coverage of Brent Council's emptying of Preston Library by Max Walters of the Brent and Kilburn Times can be found HERE

Police protect Council as it seizes library stock

The following was posted by Jessica Thompson of the Willesden and Wembley Observer at 11am this morning. When I visited the library this afternoon there was no one outside and the gate in the hoardings was closed.

PROTESTERS who have fought tooth and nail in a bid to save 50 per cent of Brent's libraries are being held back by police today as council workers begin clearing books.

Around ten members of the Brent SOS campaign group are gathered outside Preston Library and have no choice but to stand and watch as staff begin emptying the building.


Preston Library is one of six in the borough to close, due to Brent Council cost cutting measures.
The campaigners say the council should not be clearing the library as they have started legal proceedings to take the case to the Supreme Court.

Around seven police officers are at the building to prevent a breach of the peace, and campaigners say they have been moved as they tried to stop council vehicles from entering or leaving the site to remove its books and contents.

Campaigner Samantha Warrington said: "We have put an application in to the Supreme Court so while that is happening Brent should not be taking any further action to decommission the libraries.

"We are trying to obstruct the way but the police are moving us. I feel that Brent Council is showing contempt to the legal process and the community who have shown how much they need their local library by doing this."

A Brent Council spokesperson said: "On 19 December the Court of Appeal found unequivocally in favour of Brent Council. All three judges in the Court of Appeal agreed that Mr Justice Ouseley's decision was correct and that Brent had made a lawful decision in closing six libraries. The Court of Appeal refused to give the campaigners leave to appeal to the Supreme Court. In spite of this the protester's have approached the Supreme Court directly for leave to appeal.

"As a result, there is no injunction against the council to restrict implementing our library transformation plans, which has already delivered a service that is open seven days a week. The closed libraries are now being emptied of stock and equipment to allow it to be reallocated to Brent libraries for the use of all residents."

Protests as Council remove books from Preston Library

Brent Council is attempting to remove books from Preston Library while police hold back library campaigners.

Brent Council: 'Philistines of the year 2011'?

This letter was published in the current edition of the Brent and Kilburn Times:

I was dismayed to hear that  the Willesden Bookshop has been given notice to quit by the Council ahead of the redevelopment of Willesden Green Library. No retail space has been set aside for the bookshop in the new development and they are unlikely to be able to afford the rents demanded elsewhere on the High Road.

Half our libraries have already been closed, Willesden Green Library will be closed from July 2012 until March 2014, and the lease on  Kingsbury Plus expires in September 2013 - and now we are likely to lose our excellent local bookshop in April next year. Kilburn High Road is a poorer place following the closure of the Kilburn Bookshop in March 2010 - is Willesden High Road going to be similarly deprived?

It seems extraordinary that we have to remind a Labour Council of the importance of books to a community such as that of Brent where the hunger for education and self-improvement unites people across the spectrum of social class and ethnicity. The Willesden Bookshop offers a nationally renowned service to local schools through its expertise in the provision of children's books for a diverse community. Teachers are able to browse the collection and hand-pick books matched to the needs of the children and curriculum of their particularly schools - and get a 10% discount in the process.

For the adult  customer Amazon may be cheaper but nothing beats the sheer pleasure of handling a real book, sampling a paragraph or two and the serendipity of spotting other attractive books nearby when browsing. In addition there is a knowledgeable person behind the counter who has an affinity with books that your keyboard lacks!

The Willesden Bookshop has always supported local authors and thus makes a contribution to the intellectual and cultural life of the borough. They make an economic contribution through creating local jobs, bring money into the local economy and contribute to the diversity of our high street. Labour seems ready to see all this wiped out, leaving us with high streets dominated by betting shops and take-aways, and of course the much lauded 'designer outlets' they are building near Wembley Stadium.

If Brent Council is to escape the title of 'Philistines of the Year 2011' it must make sure that it finds a way of safeguarding Willesden Bookshop  for future generations.


Martin Francis
Brent Green Party spokesperson on children and families