Kensal Rise campaigners leave meeting with new council leader empty handed

Kensal Rise Library campaigners emerged from their meeting with Cllr Muhammed Butt, new leaders of Brent Council and Ruth Moher, his deputy, pleased to have had a meeting but disappointed by the result.

Cllr Butt did not give any practical assurance to the campaigners but instead really just restated the John-Powney position.

He said that the ownership of the library had already reverted to All Souls College and the relevant deeds will soon be signed. Campaigners said they had indications that All Souls, even at this late stage, would be content to see the library remain in Brent's hands and be run by the campaign group. However, if it does revert it will be put on the market within weeks, probably at commercial rates.

Butt said he hoped that the council would be able to persuade All Souls to come to a compromise agreement with campaigners. However, they feel that with the current frosty relations an apparent attempt to shift responsibility from the Brent Council to the college will not be well received.  Campaigners said, "Brent seem to think they can give the building back to All Souls and then ask All Souls to let us have it, instead of just letting us have it themselves. All Souls have always said they would be happy if we reached agreement with Brent, so from where we are standing the problem at the moment is with Brent, not All Souls".

Cllr Butt said the council would be reluctant to freeze the transfer of ownership back to All Souls because it would go against their current policy of reducing the council's property portfolio. If that wasn't enough he then claimed that having a community library in a council building would undermine the whole Libraries Transformation Project to which he remains committed.  Kensal Rise campaigners said their proposal was for taking a long lease on the building with no expenditure commitment or administration burden on the council. If the community library failed the building could revert to All Souls anyway. The idea that the whole Libraries Transformation Project would be undermined by a small, volunteer run community library, in an area not otherwise served, was described as 'verging on the pathetic'.

Finally Muhammed Butt said that he couldn't promise the books currently in the library would not be removed as 'the council needs them' (despite removing book shelving from many of the remaining libraries) and All Souls' solicitors had asked for the building's contents to be cleared. Campaigners made it clear that books remaining was legally significant. If the building had no books it would make it harder to argue that the reverter clause had not been triggered. Campaigners offered to move their donated books in at the same time as the council moved their books out.

Refusing to give way on these and other issues Muhammed Butt said he would need to consult Brent's legal team and others to see if  the campaigns suggestions were viable and if he had any room for manoeuvre. He has not yet got back to the Kensal Rise community library campaigners.

They said:

Obviously, we are concerned about the extent of Cllr Butt's goodwill. He may hope to fob us off with bland reassurances while offering nothing concrete. He may also hope he can shift blame for the loss of the library onto All Souls if they refuse a meeting, or if they resist a compromise arrangement. Clearly his main concern is to take the political heat out of an issue that has caused the Council huge problems and a lot of bad publicity. 

Cllr Butt and other councillors may now regret how the library closures and community aspirations have been handled, and they are  obviously nervous about the pubic perception of the council and would like to change that, but if this new 'support' for us is simply a devious attempt to achieve 'good press' we will not be happy about being used in this way and this community will be very angry if this is the case.

 

So we do wonder if this is what the meeting with councillors was all about - damage limitation for the very bad public image that they have created for themselves and an attempt at co-opting us to help with its restoration, because, after all, we left that meeting empty handed.

The campaign will continue to keep on the pressure and will be vigilant at defending the building and preventing the removal of books.

Butt: A seventh library would undermine Transformation Project

There a report on BNCTV of a meeting between Kensal Rise Community Library campaigners and the Council LINK.

In his  interview Muhammed Butt, leader of Brent Council,says that  if the freehold of the Kensal Rise building remained with Brent Council, despite being run by volunteers,  as the campaigners had requested,  it would be a problem. It would be adding a seventh library to the six remaining in Brent and open the way for Preston and other campaigners to make a similar request. .He goes on to say that as the Libraries Transformation Project is based on six libraries this would undermine the  whole Project.

For the campaigners  a sticking point is the removal of books from the library. If they are removed by the Council could it lose its designation as  a library?

Have a look at the video and see what you think.

The Queen is dead! Long live the King!

Outside Brent Town Hall tonight

In fact Muhammad Butt's first Executive meeting as leader was a muted affair - no fanfares, cheers or even a 'well done, chum' from his colleagues. Instead a few mumbles about the order of business, a murmured exchange or two with Anne Reid, and we were away.

If there was any tension in the Executive after it was split by the leadership election it didn't show in any obvious way. Perhaps more councillors than usual arrived at the last minute to take their seats and there was little social interchange, but it was heads down and on with the agenda.

It was left to the public to inject a bit of life and passion into the proceedings and this they did through making representations on the Progress Report on the Library Transformation Project. All the contributors congratulated Muhammed Butt on his election win  and called on him to engage with the community.

Philip Bromberg for Brent SOS Libraries Campaign said the report reminded him of the saying 'the operation was a complete success but the patient died'. He had figures to show a huge drop in the number of visits and book issues at the remaining libraries and queried the escalation in the cost of the Kilburn Library refurbishment from £117,000 to £650.000.  He showed the audience and Executive a leaflet produced by Brent Labour Party asking people to 'Join Labour Campaign for Our Libraries' with a quote from Dan Jarvis shadow Culture Secretary. Bromberg reported that earlier in conversation Jarvis had express 'serious concern about what is happening in Brent over libraries'.

Martin Redston, speaking for the Keep Willesden Green Campaign urged Butt to be proactive, engage with the community and see the issue of the Willesden Green regeneration with fresh eyes. He pointed out that the only increased space int he new building would be for council offices and that the actual library would be smaller. English Heritage had recognised the community's valuing of the 'meaning of space' provided by the 1894 building. Redston pointed out the contradictions between the flowery words of the planning brief and the actual plan, which included a small door as an entrance to the new building, in contrast to the substantial entrance of the 1980s building. He urged Muhammed Butt and the Executive to 'stop, listen and reflect', because the majority of the local community did not want the scheme.

A speaker from Cricklewood Library spoke for how local nurseries and schools had been deprived of their library and older students of their study space.  She urged Muhammed Butt to restore good relations with the community by keeping the building open,

Cllr Paul Lorber said that the Executive had not been provided with proper financial information and said that the suggested 'savings' had not factored in the cost of rent and business rates for the closed buildings. He asked regarding Cricklewood and Kensal Rise's reversion to All Souls, 'Why give away buildings with £1.5m'. He claimed it was the Executive's responsibility to safeguard local assets. Speaking about the Barham pop-up library he said that most of the people who were using it were precisely those most affected by the closures: children brought along by their parents and mainly from an Asian of African Caribbean background.

A Conservative councillor urged that ward working money should instead be spent on keeping libraries open.

In response Cllr Powney said that most of the people who had spoken were just saying that they disagreed with the decision to close libraries that was taken last year. That decisions was to keep six 'excellent' libraries (one of which his Executive has since declared unfit for purpose and scheduled for demolition'  and develop those. He claimed that he had always said the the increase in the number of visitors and borrowers would not happen until 2014 when the refurbishments had finished and the new Wembley Library at the Civic Centre had been opened. He said, to heckling, that by 2014  the figures would be 'higher than now'. He confirmed that reversion of Cricklewood and Kensal Rise to All Souls had been completed, and that was the opinion of both council officers and All Souls.  In response to the questions about the increase in Kilburn refurbishment costs he said that the £117,000 had just been minor repairs and redecoration and the £650,000  was for a more extensive refurbishment.

At the end of the item, Muhammed Butt said he was meeting with Kensal Rise campaigners tomorrow and promised to meet with the Preston and Keep Willesden Green campaigns.

All other items on the agenda, including the Air Quality Action Plan, Animals at Events policy, and the provision of a Brent Carers' Hub were approved without discussion.

Still time to have your say on allotments and food growing strategy

The above poster was issued by the Friends Allotment Committee in the 1930a. The Quakers set up the Committee to assist the unemployed during the 1930s depression. It continued its work until 1951.

In our current recession  once  again allotments have a role to play and Brent Council is consulting on its Allotments and Food Growing Strategy. Its report acknowledges that allotment rents in Brent are the third highest in London. It proposes to deal with the large number of people on the waiting list by halving or further reducing the average size of plots when they come up for renewal.

There are some imaginative ideas in the document on extedning food growing opportunities other than in allotments including putting temporary vegetable growing beds on sites awaiting development.

The consultation closes on May 31st. Details HERE

167,004 fewer library visits concealed by Brent Council

Ahead of a meeting tonight at Brent Town Hall, at which a “progress” report will present what SOS Libraries claim is misleading and incorrect information on the so-called “Libraries Transformation Project” to the new Labour executive, Brent SOS Libraries has submitted its own report on the library closures (LINK). It shows:

• There have been 167,004 fewer library visits since half of the borough’s libraries were closed in October compared with the same period year on year.
• 158,809 fewer books have been issued.
•  Library visits and lending have fallen 20% will continue to fall with the imminent closure of Kilburn and demolition of Willesden Green libraries.
• This has been a net loss of 191 opening hours per week.
•  Most of the users of the closed libraries ARE NOT USING the remaining libraries, as the council claims.

The report that will go before the council on Monday will fail to mention these key indicators and will misrepresent a failing, wasteful service as a success. 

Brent SOS (Save Our Seven) Libraries will present the true picture to the executive on Monday night. Representatives of the six closed libraries (Barham, Cricklewood, Neasden, Kensal Rise, Preston and Tokyngton), and of Willesden Green, which is due to be demolished this summer, will also make presentations.

This data will also be considered by Jeremy Hunt’s Department of Media, Culture and Sport (DCMS), which is investigating whether Brent Council has breached its statutory duties.

Brent SOS Libraries was asked last month to give evidence to the DCMS of Brent Council’s use of misleading and incorrect data, and of the effects of the withdrawal of the library service on local communities.

Brent SOS Libraries campaigner Samantha Warrington said: "Young people in Brent are working hard to pass their GCSEs and A levels, and the loss of study space and facilities in the local libraries closed by this administration will only make their lives harder."

Brent SOS Libraries campaigner Samantha Warrington said: "Young people in Brent are working hard to pass their GCSEs and A levels, and the loss of study space and facilities in the local libraries closed by this administration will only make their lives harder."

Act tonight to Save Our Libraries

Have they learnt anything post AJ?

Tonight is the first meeting of the Brent Executive under the new leadership of Muhammed Butt. It is a chance to impress on him that the library campaigns remain as vociferous as ever and will not go away. He needs to make a fresh start on the issue.

The Executive will consider a report on the progress of the Libraries Transformation Project which glosses overs its failings and especially the fall in the total number of visitors and book issues since the 6 libraries closed.

Brent SOS Libraries has prepared a response to the report which is available HERE

Library campaigners will be outside the Brent Town Hall from 6pm. The Executive meeting starts at 7pm.

New plan to attack Brent's air pollution problem

The Green Party tried to make air pollution an issue at the GLA election with limited success - perhaps because it is what is often called an ' invisible menace'. Its impact on health occurs at an individual level and over the long-term so it is often not seen as an urgent issue. More visibly air quality and air pollution became a worry as a result of several big fires recently in the borough that released noxious smoke.

However, Brent Council recognises the seriousness of the problem and an Air Quality Action Plan 2012-2015 is on the agenda for Monday's Executive.

The accompanying report notes that levels of nitrogen dioxide and particulates continue to exceed national air quality objectives in some areas of the borough and will not meet future targets. The aim of the new AQAP is to reduce levels of Nitrogen Dioxide and fine particulate matters (smaller than 10 microns) which are the key pollutants in Brent.

It is proposed that the Council should lobby the government over the relationship between licensing of waste sites and the achievement of air quality improvements reflecting the air pollution association with waste sites around Neasden Goods Yard. Air quality there breaches the daily mean air quality objectives and as one of the few in the country reporting such excesses could lead to sanctions from the European Union.  Brent has worked with waste operators and the Environment Agency to enclose the majority of dust generating activities on the site but they admit that a significant proportion of waste handling and transfer operations there still take place in the open air.

The Council estimate that fine particles have an impact equivalent to 133 premature deaths across the whole of Brent. They are unable to estimate the local impact around the Goods Yard as the standard estimating methods are not applicable to smaller populations.

The report notes that the most economically and socially deprived areas in the borough, the south of the borough as well as Stonebridge, Neasden and St Raphaels suffer the poorest air quality.

Worryingly DEFRA will no longer fund air quality monitoring and as a result Brent has reduced the number of its monitoring stations from six to three. The Council warn that there is a significant risk that DEFRA may not fund the costs of intensive cleaning and application of dust suppressants at Neasden Lane once the Olympic Games is over.

The 2012-15 Plan lists 15 actions and can be found HERE .  It includes integrating air quality improvements into local health plans, increasing the planting of trees in new developments, reviewing planing policies to safeguard against environmental impacts of new and existing waste facilities, reducing car use and congestion, a 10% reduction in business energy use, a 20% decrease in energy use in council housing stock and 25% in council emissions and a 10% reduction in emissions from major commercial fleet operations in the borough.

The aim is to have a holistic approach that fits with the framework of Brent's Climate Change Strategy.

I welcome these measures and hope that national and local government cuts will not prevent their effective implementation.  Air pollution apart from causing premature deaths also condemn some of the young and the vulnerable to regular occurrences of respiratory illnesses.

Children at Risk

• Children are more susceptible to the effects of air pollution for several reasons related to their physical development and behaviour.
• Children’s respiratory organs are not fully developed and thus are more vulnerable to toxic substances in the air.
• Children have narrower airways that are more severely affected by the tissue inflammation that occurs due to air pollution.
• Children have weaker immune systems that are more vulnerable to the foreign substances found in air pollution.
• Children inhale more air (and more air pollution) per pound of body weight than adults.
• Children often breathe through their mouths, rather than their noses. This route bypasses the cilia and mucous found in the nose that trap foreign particles in the air and stop them from entering the lungs.
• Children do not recognize or acknowledge the effects of air pollution as quickly as adults. This may exacerbate the effects of air pollution, because symptoms are not treated as quickly.

Dollis Hill-Lib Dem, Barnhill-Labour, Dudden Hill?

A game of cat and mouse between Labour and Lib Dems over a possible by-election in Dudden Hill seems to be developing. The Rev David Clues holds the seat for the Lib Dems at present but he has been living in Brighton for 6 months and the Brent and Kilburn Times hinted last week that he might resign soon.  Seems a bit of a waste of money when the by-election could have been held earlier this month alongside the GLA and Barnhill by-elections.

New Executive member Krupesh Hirani tweeted earlier today that he was off door-stepping in the ward for Labour and according to his blog LINK he saw Sarah Teather there and a couple of residents said they had been canvassed by Lib Dems.  I suspect the Lib Dems are just testing the temperature and will make a decision on whether Clues should hold on for the time being based on their canvassing returns.

With their current poor position in the polls and their failure to stand in the Barnhill by-election they are likely to be ultra-cautious and willing to endure the embarrassment of having a semi-detached councillor rather than face losing the seat.

Poor David Clues must be longing to be able to get on with his new life in Brighton....