South Kilburn residents exposed to demolition risk

I had a look around South Kilburn Estate earlier this week with a resident. The estate is being regenerated which means demolition of tower blocks and their replacement by  low rise high density blocks and a consequent loss of some of the estate's green spaces.

What concerned me most was what  appeared to be little thought on the part of the developers of the health risk posed to developers by the demolition of the Wells Court tower block.

The well used Coventry Close link between Kilburn High Road and the estate was covered in a thick layer of dust from the demolition.  There was no safety netting up to stop debris landing on the roadway or hitting pedestrians, On the other, posher,  Cambridge Avenue, side of  Wells Court, there was a 6 foot hoarding up and a much higher mesh netting fence on the north side of the Avenue.

With Health and Safety under attack from the Daily Mail and its Tory allies this is a clear example of the importance of health and safety and the need for local authorities to enforce the rules. This development, funded by Brent Council, is clearly their responsibility and they need to take swift action to ensure residents' safety.

At the very least safety  fencing and regular washing down of dust covered surfaces should be measures required of the contractors by the Council.

Clive Heaphy leaves Brent Council voluntarily after gross misconduct allegations withdrawn

Clive Heaphy, former Brent Director of Finance, has written to me to draw my attention to the fact that he is no longer suspended. I am happy to put the record straight.

Brent Council has issued the following statement:

The Council wishes to announce that the allegations of gross misconduct against its Director of Finance and Corporate Service, Clive Heaphy, have been withdrawn.

Mr Heaphy has decided, however, to voluntarily leave the Council's employment to pursue other career opportunities.

 

Powney opposes Harlesden waste plant

Cllr James Powney has blogged his opposition to the Harlesden Waste Plant LINK on grounds very similar to those submitted by Brent planning officers to Ealing Council:

Having gone into more detail on the proposed waste plant to the south of Harlesden, I have now written to Ealing Planners objecting to the plans.  The objections that I consider valid on planning grounds are:

1) the proposal ignores zoning of waste activities outlined in the West London Waste Plan
2) the proposal claims reduced vehicle movements, but this is very implausible, and Harlesden Town Centre suffers from this to an extreme in any case
3) there are significant odour pollution issues that are not clearly deat with
4) there are also noise pollution issues yet to be addressed
5) air quality is likely to suffer.

I encourage all other  Kensal Green and Harlesden residents to object.  The Ealing officer responsible is Peter Lee at leeP@ealing.gov.uk.

Labour councillors attack out-sourcing and call for in-house services

No, not Brent Laboiur councillors I'm afraid but there colleagues in Barnet at an Extraordinary Council Meeting last night in a lively debate on a No Confidence motion tabled by the Labour opposition regarding the Council's  One Barnet  programme that will see 70% of services out-sourced.

One after another Labour councillors made the case against out-sourcing and privatisation. They pointed to the inadequacy of private providers, the dangers of bankruptcy that had already hit some providers and therefore the uselessness of 'guarantees' provided by such companies, the use of Council Tax to fund private profit,  the concealment of financial details of deals and the lack of direct democratic accountability via councillors when services are out-sourced. They pointed to the decision to move waste management 'in-house with a stretch' as an example of the right way to go.

Tory Leader Richard Cornelius, who replaced the suspended Brian Coleman, defended the policy and pointed out the number of Labour boroughs, including Brent, who were also out-sourcing.

Despite the absence of some Tory councillors the No Confidence vote was lost, but the arguments in the motion deserve consideration elsewhere:

‘No confidence’ in Barnet’s Conservative Leader and Cabinet

Council believes that this Conservative administration has completely lost its way over the One Barnet Programme.

Council believes the process to outsource 70% of council services in two large contracts under One Barnet has been dogged by a lack of transparency. Scrutiny of One Barnet by elected councillors has been severely compromised by the administration scrapping the dedicated One Barnet Scrutiny Panel, and by preventing administration and opposition councillors outside the Cabinet from having sufficient time to scrutinise detailed financial information for the project – information which has been presented to elected members on blue exempt papers at the beginning of committee meetings, and then taken away at the end of the agenda item. 

Council notes that the One Barnet Programme has so far not made any net savings, and that we are now in the third year of the programme. In fact the One Barnet Programme has actually incurred a net cost for the Council of at least £663,000.

Council further notes that the Leader and Deputy Leader seem to disagree over the appropriateness of the preferred model for the Development and Regulatory Services contract – Joint Venture – and that therefore the project seems to be in complete disarray.

Given the level of risk involved in the procurement of these two enormous One Barnet contracts, NSCSO and DRS, and the gambling of £1 billion of council tax payers’ money that is involved, Council resolves that the Executive Leader be removed from office and that a vote be taken on electing a new Leader who can propose a new way forward for Barnet Council and appoint a new Cabinet.

It was interesting to see an Opposition group instigating a passionate and informed debate, something that is missing in Brent with the Lib Dems often caught out on not doing their homework and lying low as they delay two by-election,   waiting for more popular times. The Tories are of course invisible for months at a time. It is too often left to community groups and campaigns to provide the real opposition.

First public discussion of Brent's 2013-14 budget on November 15th

Brent Council  will be holding its first reading debate for the 2013/14 budget at its  meeting on 19th November 2012.

The Deputy Director of Finance will set out the budget and finance issues that will form the background to the debate at the Budget and Finance Overview and Scrutiny Committee on Thursday November 15th 7.30pm at Brent Town Hall. This will give residents some idea of the extent of cuts to be expected in the budget and whether a rise in Council Tax is on the cards. The impact of changes in Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit and the rise in demand for Adult Social Care are likely to be major issues.

Muhammed Butt, Brent Council leader and Ruth Moher, Lead Member for Finance and Corporate Resources will attend the meeting to answer questions from Members

The meeting is open to the public and there is space on the agenda for delegations to be heard.

Contact: Lisa Weaver, Democratic Services Officer  020 8937 1358, Email: lisa.weaver@brent.gov.uk

LINK: http://democracy.brent.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?MId=1794&x=1&

Brent fight for NHS moves up a gear

The fight to preserve and enhance the NHS in Brent and prevent privatisation took a step forward on Saturday when campaigners met up on the initiative of the 38 Degrees Campaign and planned their next steps.

The 38 Degrees petition asks the Brent Clinical Commissioning Group to protect the NHS from privatisation by including a clause in their constitution affirming that they will commission services from the NHS in preference to private companies. Hackney CCG has already agreed to this

The petition will be presented at the Shadow Brent  CCG at their consultation meeting on 14th November at the Wembley Centre for Health and Care, 116 Chaplin Road, Wembley, HA0 4UZ. The meeting is from 6pm until 8pm.The services currently being commissioned can be found HERE

The meeting will be discussing the Brent Integrated Plan which is a 3 year strategy  that outlines financial planning and details health care services the CCG plans to buy,


On Friday afternoon of this week pressure will be exerted on Sarah Teather, MP for Brent Central, when campaigners present her with a petition against the proposals in 'Shaping a Healthier Future' which includes the closure of Central Middlesex A&E. This petition also opposes privatisation of the NHS. Campaigners will meet at The Nest cafe at Willesden Green Station at 2pm on Friday 9th November and present the petition at Ms Teather's office in Walm Lane at 2.30pm.

When she left her government post Sarah Teather said that she wanted to devote more time to serving her constituents and this meeting will give her the chance to do just that.

On Wednesaday 28th November NHS NWL will be providing feedback on their 'Shaping  Healthier Future' consultation at the Hilton Metrropole in Edgware Road (opposite the tube station) from 5.30-7pm followed by a workshop for the public, patient representatives, clinicians and voluntary sector organisation working in groups on issues raised in the consultation. To attend register HERE

Galliford Try submit revised planning application to Council for Willesden Green Cultural Centre

Brent Council has issued the following press release:

A revised planning application to redevelop Willesden Library and replace it with a state of the art cultural centre was submitted last Wednesday (31 October).

The application, which was submitted by developer Galliford Try, details proposals to deliver a brand new library and cultural centre that will act as the main service delivery hub for the south of the borough.

The proposed revised design is a result of extended consultation with the local community which took place over August and September and includes the old Victorian library as part of the plans.

Brent has secured a self-financing scheme which involves working with developer partner, Galliford Try, to deliver the new cultural centre in return for developing homes on the remainder of the current site for market sale.

For the past few month residents have met with council officers and Galliford Try to revisit the original design and discuss alternative proposals for the new centre and its design.

In response to the recent extended period of consultation Brent has made several changes to the design, including;

• completely redesigning the scheme to include the old library
• increasing the size of the new library within the centre
• creating room for more study spaces and computers
• changing the brief for the building so that it could, potentially, include a bookshop.

The proposals for the centre also include a children's library,  IT provision, museum, community gallery, archive, archive store, three community spaces (which will provide an array of programmed creative events), café/ bookshop, multi faith contemplation room and high quality public spaces designed for markets and events.

Cllr George Crane Lead Member for Regeneration and Major Projects said: "Thank you to the many residents who got involved in consultation and gave up their time to help us develop plans for this new centre."

If the project gets the green light the council hopes to build on its close working with stakeholders to develop the building proposals including how it is may be used and managed.

 Link to Brent  Planning site: 12./2924 LINK   12/2925  LINK

London Living Wage increased but 1 in 5 Londoners on poverty wages

Thanks to Brent BASIS for this:

New analysis funded by Trust for London shows that there has been a 100,000 increase in the number of London jobs paying below the London Living Wage (LLW) - taking the total to 580,000. This means that 1 in 5 Londoners working in the capital are now paid poverty wages.

This is despite a new piece of research by Queen Mary, University of London (commissioned by Trust for London) showing that paying the Living Wage has big benefits for business, workers and the Treasury.

The research is the first to provide data showing the Living Wage increases the happiness of workers; it shows:

• Over half of employees (54%) felt more positive about their workplace once the LW was introduced and 52% felt more loyal.
• Staff leaving rates fell by 25%.
• Almost a third (32%) of workers felt it benefitted their family life by allowing them to do things like spend more time with family.

·         Almost 4 in 10 (38%) workers reported financial benefits such as being able to buy more goods and save more.

In addition companies interviewed said the reputational benefits of paying the LW helped them attract new business and customers. Employers also reported HR benefits at all levels with high calibre graduates at one employer citing paying the living wage as one of the top 3 reasons for applying as it demonstrates corporate social responsibility.

The Living Wage rate for workers in London is to increase by 25p an hour to £8.55, the capital's mayor has announced. Boris Johnson said the new rate will be worth £4.5 million a year for lower-paid workers. The Living Wage rate outside London will also rise by 25p to £7.45, benefiting thousands of workers.