Warning: Strong language but it is about the Tories...
WEMBLEY MATTERS News and views on local politics, the environment, climate change, culture and local history
Saturday, 31 March 2012
Friday, 30 March 2012
Make your voice heard at Consultation Forums starting next week
The Spring Area Consultative Forums start next week. The complete list with agenda is:
WEMBLEY - Tuesday April 3rd, 7pm at Patidar House, 22 London Road, (off Wembley High Road)
KILBURN AND KENSAL - Wednesday April 4th,7pm at Kensal Rise Primary School, Harvist Road, NW6 (note change of venue to that previously advertised)
WILLESDEN - Wednesday April 18th, 7pm College of North West London, Denzil Road, NW10
WEMBLEY - Tuesday April 3rd, 7pm at Patidar House, 22 London Road, (off Wembley High Road)
- Establishing ward working priorities for 2012/13
- Olympic Route Network (ORN) - update from TfL and LOCOG
- A consultation on Allotments and Food Growing Strategy - have your say!
- Brent celebrates the Diamond Jubilee
KILBURN AND KENSAL - Wednesday April 4th,7pm at Kensal Rise Primary School, Harvist Road, NW6 (note change of venue to that previously advertised)
- Brent Council agreed budget for 2012/13
- Olympic Route Network (ORN) - update from TfL and LOCOG
- Establishing ward working priorities for 2012/13
- Site within Albert Road, South Kilburn - a proposed redevelopment
- Brent celebrates the Diamond Jubilee
- Establishing ward working priorities for 2012/13
- Next steps for Harlesden Town Centre
- A consultation on Allotments and Food Growing Strategy - have your say!
- Brent celebrates the Diamond Jubilee
WILLESDEN - Wednesday April 18th, 7pm College of North West London, Denzil Road, NW10
- Agenda not yet published
Five candidates to fight Brent and Harrow GLA seat
The complete list of nominations for the Brent and Harrow GLA constituency has now been published on the London Elects website. LINK
The candidates are:
2008 Result
The candidates are:
- ALI Shahrar - Green Party
- HENRY Charlotte Alexandra - London Liberal Democrats
- McGOUGH Michael Jack - Fresh Choice for London
- RAJPUT Sachin - The Conservative Party Candidate
- SHAH Navin - Labour Party Candidate
2008 Result
| Election Candidate | Party | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Navin Shah | Labour | 57716 | 37% | Elected |
 Bob Blackman | Conservative | 56067 | 36% | Not elected |
 James Allie | Liberal Democrats | 19299 | 12% | Not elected |
 Shahrar Ali | Green Party | 10129 | 7% | Not elected |
 Zena Sherman | Christian Party | 4180 | 3% | Not elected |
 Sunita Webb | UK Independence Party | 3021 | 2% | Not elected |
 Pat McManus | Left List | 2287 | 1% | Not elected |
 Avind Tailor | English Democrats | 2150 | 1% | Not elected |
Drought impacts on Brent's country park
In the West End last night the pavement cafes were crowded with people enjoying the balmy evening - t-shirts and sleeveless dresses abounded. However, my companion voiced an unease that is becoming more common as the unseasonal weather continues: 'This is lovely but it's not right in March is it?"
Meanwhile, on my doorstep in Fryent Country Park, the impact of the drought is increasingly evident. Some of the clay paths are already dried and creviced and some ponds are completely dry.
I have seen no necklaces of toad spawn at all in the Fryent ponds this year. Newts will also be affected because they wrap their single eggs in the leaf of a water plant and these are lacking in the residual water left in the centre of the pond.
The Fryent ponds are clay lined and it is possible that some garden ponds which have rubber liners will not have lost so much water, and of course their owners are able to top them up (until the hose pipe ban comes in) The 'amphibian crisis' this year means that it is important that those of us with our own ponds make a special effort to support any tadpole populations that we have.
Pond insect life will also suffer and it will be interesting to see if we have a reduction in the dragonfly and damselfly population, for example, this summer.. The Lombardy poplar trees on the crest of Barn Hill, a local landmark, have been looking sickly for some time, with one falling last year, and I would expect further casualties if the drought continues.
Meanwhile down on the allotment my fellow gardeners are preparing for the worse, installing additional additional water butts and other rain home made rain capturing devices (eg old baths!), and thinking about drought resistance plants.
Sod's law probably means that having written this by Monday the heavens will have opened and the conduited hidden waterways of Brent will have over-flowed.
Meanwhile, on my doorstep in Fryent Country Park, the impact of the drought is increasingly evident. Some of the clay paths are already dried and creviced and some ponds are completely dry.
Corresponding with an officer in the Parks Department I was told:
The immediate impact is on the amphibian life cycle with doubts over whether some will complete their life cycles this season. The photograph below shows the edge of the pond (above top) where some recently hatched frog tadpoles have already died after the water in which the frogs spawned receded. The black areas are masses of tadpoles stranded in shallow water. Some tadpoles are stranded in tiny pools of water created by the paw prints of dogs and foxes which will dry up quickly without rain. Tadpoles in shallow water are easy prey for predators and crows have been very active on the fringes of the ponds.It is generally reckoned that normally out of 2,000 eggs only 5 adults will survive to breed - the odds this year must be much lower.Many of the ponds are at their lowest winter water level on record. In a typical year the ponds will fill with water once the ground has saturated: depending upon the autumn and winter rainfall that can be any time between summer and December. However, ponds are invariably full of water by late January and remain so for several months. This year several ponds have not re-filled and many are below their typical summer water levels. There have been a few relatively dry winters since local records commenced in 1983, but this winter fewer ponds are holding water than in the previous driest.
I have seen no necklaces of toad spawn at all in the Fryent ponds this year. Newts will also be affected because they wrap their single eggs in the leaf of a water plant and these are lacking in the residual water left in the centre of the pond.
The Fryent ponds are clay lined and it is possible that some garden ponds which have rubber liners will not have lost so much water, and of course their owners are able to top them up (until the hose pipe ban comes in) The 'amphibian crisis' this year means that it is important that those of us with our own ponds make a special effort to support any tadpole populations that we have.
Pond insect life will also suffer and it will be interesting to see if we have a reduction in the dragonfly and damselfly population, for example, this summer.. The Lombardy poplar trees on the crest of Barn Hill, a local landmark, have been looking sickly for some time, with one falling last year, and I would expect further casualties if the drought continues.
Meanwhile down on the allotment my fellow gardeners are preparing for the worse, installing additional additional water butts and other rain home made rain capturing devices (eg old baths!), and thinking about drought resistance plants.
Sod's law probably means that having written this by Monday the heavens will have opened and the conduited hidden waterways of Brent will have over-flowed.
Thursday, 29 March 2012
Quintain and Brent Council unwilling to help Wembley visitors to spend a penny so residents suffer
Local residents have sent this letter to Brent Council and call on other residents to support them:
Wembley Stadium, our national treasure and home of football (probably better known around the world than the Taj Mahal!) has no public toilet facilities in the area surrounding it. So what do people do when they need the toilet?
A recent residents meeting with the Met. Police revealed that local residents whose houses are near the Stadium have to suffer people urinating and defecating in their front gardens and also on the streets. This disgusting practice has been going on for a long time and no-one has done anything about it, despite constant complaints.
The Met Police have done their best by apparently first contacting Brent Council, who claimed it was not their responsibility, as the land is privately owned by Quintain. They are a large company which is undertaking the building of Wembley City, which will be a whole new town around the Stadium.
The Police then apparently approached Quintain themselves, who flatly refused to put any toilets on the grounds around the stadium as they claim they needed the space for more vending kiosks, which of course will bring them extra revenue, (at the expense of the residents). The few existing toilets have been damaged and are now closed. Quintain are always claiming they want to work with the residents, so this is hardly an example of their good intent.
Finally, the Police went to the London 2012 Committee, who said they would be pleased to fund the cost of the toilets, as they obviously have a vested interest. Quintain was informed that London 2012 would fund the cost of these toilets, but they still refused to have them on their land!
This is a ridiculous and intolerable situation and as residents of Brent, we feel it is incumbent on the Council to take action and mediate between the parties, so that this matter can be resolved immediately, as it is a mere 4 months before the Games begin.
It is also an Health and Safety issue and it is the duty of the Council to care for and to protect its residents from contamination and infection due to a lack of hygiene. Children play in these self same gardens and on the streets, which people have used as a toilet. Also residents and the many visitors we have, walk on these streets, which have been contaminated with urine and faeces and worst of all, the council workers actually have to clean up the mess, which also puts them at risk.
Surely it is a basic human right for residents to expect to be provided with an adequate number of public toilets, especially as some of the thousands of visitors who so often descend on this world famous venue, are the main cause of this revolting behaviour. Dog fouling is against the law and yet the Council is willing to turn a blind eye when humans do the same! What will the visitors to the 2012 Olympics, (who come from all over the world) think if there are no public toilets provided for them once they leave the Stadium?
Quintain and Brent Council have a very close and long-standing partnership and we have no doubt that the Council can persuade Quintain to do the right thing and allow London 2012 to put as many toilets as necessary on their land for the Games, at least as a temporary measure. As time is short, installing an adequate number of portable toilets is a possible solution.
Once the Games are over, it is Brent Council's duty to ensure that some permanent solution to this unacceptable problem is found. Some residents are very angry for having to put up with this for so long and still be ignored. Consequently, they have been forced to consult a solicitor with a view to suing the Council for compensation, if a permanent solution to this problem is not found.
Residents who live around the Stadium have been very patient and tolerant for years. Our lives are blighted in some way almost every day, as there are also many events at the Arena and now at the Fountain Studios. We are greatly inconvenienced and have to plan our lives around Stadium events and we certainly do not get any Council tax rebate for all this disruption! To add insult to injury, we are also expected to put up with the results of a lack of public toilet facilities.
I have been asked to contact you by residents of Empire Way, Dagmar Avenue, Linden Avenue and Mostyn Avenue, who are the most affected. Many have lived in Wembley most of their lives and some are elderly and infirm and are very distressed and ashamed by this, as we all should be. I ask you, would you put up with people urinating and defecating in your front garden?
We look forward to hearing from Brent Council and expect the Council to accept our reasonable request for adequate and permanent toilet facilities around the Stadium area, to cope with all the visitors.
Zerine Tata
On behalf of the residents who live around the Stadium.
If you agree write to the following with a short note saying that you endorse the above letter:
gareth.daniel@brent.gov.uk
comms@quintain.co.uk
info@gamesmaker.london2012.com
Wembley Stadium, our national treasure and home of football (probably better known around the world than the Taj Mahal!) has no public toilet facilities in the area surrounding it. So what do people do when they need the toilet?
A recent residents meeting with the Met. Police revealed that local residents whose houses are near the Stadium have to suffer people urinating and defecating in their front gardens and also on the streets. This disgusting practice has been going on for a long time and no-one has done anything about it, despite constant complaints.
The Met Police have done their best by apparently first contacting Brent Council, who claimed it was not their responsibility, as the land is privately owned by Quintain. They are a large company which is undertaking the building of Wembley City, which will be a whole new town around the Stadium.
The Police then apparently approached Quintain themselves, who flatly refused to put any toilets on the grounds around the stadium as they claim they needed the space for more vending kiosks, which of course will bring them extra revenue, (at the expense of the residents). The few existing toilets have been damaged and are now closed. Quintain are always claiming they want to work with the residents, so this is hardly an example of their good intent.
Finally, the Police went to the London 2012 Committee, who said they would be pleased to fund the cost of the toilets, as they obviously have a vested interest. Quintain was informed that London 2012 would fund the cost of these toilets, but they still refused to have them on their land!
This is a ridiculous and intolerable situation and as residents of Brent, we feel it is incumbent on the Council to take action and mediate between the parties, so that this matter can be resolved immediately, as it is a mere 4 months before the Games begin.
It is also an Health and Safety issue and it is the duty of the Council to care for and to protect its residents from contamination and infection due to a lack of hygiene. Children play in these self same gardens and on the streets, which people have used as a toilet. Also residents and the many visitors we have, walk on these streets, which have been contaminated with urine and faeces and worst of all, the council workers actually have to clean up the mess, which also puts them at risk.
Surely it is a basic human right for residents to expect to be provided with an adequate number of public toilets, especially as some of the thousands of visitors who so often descend on this world famous venue, are the main cause of this revolting behaviour. Dog fouling is against the law and yet the Council is willing to turn a blind eye when humans do the same! What will the visitors to the 2012 Olympics, (who come from all over the world) think if there are no public toilets provided for them once they leave the Stadium?
Quintain and Brent Council have a very close and long-standing partnership and we have no doubt that the Council can persuade Quintain to do the right thing and allow London 2012 to put as many toilets as necessary on their land for the Games, at least as a temporary measure. As time is short, installing an adequate number of portable toilets is a possible solution.
Once the Games are over, it is Brent Council's duty to ensure that some permanent solution to this unacceptable problem is found. Some residents are very angry for having to put up with this for so long and still be ignored. Consequently, they have been forced to consult a solicitor with a view to suing the Council for compensation, if a permanent solution to this problem is not found.
Residents who live around the Stadium have been very patient and tolerant for years. Our lives are blighted in some way almost every day, as there are also many events at the Arena and now at the Fountain Studios. We are greatly inconvenienced and have to plan our lives around Stadium events and we certainly do not get any Council tax rebate for all this disruption! To add insult to injury, we are also expected to put up with the results of a lack of public toilet facilities.
I have been asked to contact you by residents of Empire Way, Dagmar Avenue, Linden Avenue and Mostyn Avenue, who are the most affected. Many have lived in Wembley most of their lives and some are elderly and infirm and are very distressed and ashamed by this, as we all should be. I ask you, would you put up with people urinating and defecating in your front garden?
We look forward to hearing from Brent Council and expect the Council to accept our reasonable request for adequate and permanent toilet facilities around the Stadium area, to cope with all the visitors.
Zerine Tata
On behalf of the residents who live around the Stadium.
If you agree write to the following with a short note saying that you endorse the above letter:
gareth.daniel@brent.gov.uk
comms@quintain.co.uk
info@gamesmaker.london2012.com
Consultation: Kilburn Times hits nail on the head
Hats off to the editorial team at the Brent and Kilburn Times. This editorial sums up what many Brent residents are feeling at the moment:
Livingstone supports fight to keep Cricklewood Library Open
This is an extract from the Q and A session at the London Federation of Green Parties meeting on Monday when we discussed whether to urge voters to give Ken Livingstone their second preference mayoral vote. At 14.00 mins I ask Ken, noting Brent Council's library closures, whether he will provide leadership to London councils, and particularly Labour London councils, on the cuts issue:
All the videos from that meeting can be found HERE
All the videos from that meeting can be found HERE
Wednesday, 28 March 2012
Ann John to meet with Keep Willesden Green campaigners
The Keep Willesden Green campaign, which has been very successful in gaining broad public support over its opposition to the Willesden Green Redevelopment has arranged a meeting with Cllr Ann John, leader of Brent Council on Wednesday April 4th. The campaign will be represented by members of its committee.
Campaigners are opposed to the loss of the Old Willesden Green Library building and the loss of the open space in front of the current library, want to see the Willesden Bookshop relocated in the proposed Cultural Centre and most importantly want the Council to call a halt to the development while a full consultation, involving the full participation of local people, takes place.
Campaigners are opposed to the loss of the Old Willesden Green Library building and the loss of the open space in front of the current library, want to see the Willesden Bookshop relocated in the proposed Cultural Centre and most importantly want the Council to call a halt to the development while a full consultation, involving the full participation of local people, takes place.
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