Lib Dems challenge Brent Council: 'Whose side are you on?'

Councillor Paul Lorber, leader of the Liberal Democrat group on Brent Council, has protested to Christine Gilbert, Acting Chief Executive, over a Brent Council leaflet that uses the same political slogan, 'On Your Side', as a Labour Party leaflet distributed in the Tokyngton ward.

I have criticised the Liberal Democrats in the past for what I saw as 'dodgy leaflets'  LINK and they are no angels in this regard, but this connection between the Council itself and a pre-election party campaign is something new.
 
Paul Lorber wrote:

I did think it very odd that so much of Council Staff  time was being spent on the week of action in Tokyngton Ward just over 2 months before the local elections.

The Sudbury ward working officer seemed to be taken off normal duties to concentrate preparing for the event. Clearly Council Officers could not possibly afford to get things wrong in the Council Leaders’ ward.

I am sure that you will have a very  logical explanation as to why thousands of pounds of officer time and Council resources are used in this way.

However I do not believe that you will have a valid explanation as to why Labour election slogan then get used in Council paid for publicity for this event.

Needless to say the Labour Party could not miss the opportunity to put out their own leaflets at the same time taking advantage of the thousands spent by the Council.

Please confirm the total cost in officer time and all direct costs on this ‘political’ week of action and explain why it was allowed to be hijacked in this obvious and unacceptable way.

Then please explain the action you will take with the individuals responsible for this abuse.

Thanks

Paul

The earlier 'Willesden Green Week of Action' also encountered criticism and led to a FoI request about costs but officer time was excluded from the information  provided by the Council LINK

'Give us space to cycle' demand Brent Cyclists ahead of the election

Brent Cyclists, the local group of the London Cycling Campaign  launches its Space for Cycling campaign this Sunday (23 March) with a short ride round the borough, meeting at 10:30am at Gladstone Park railway bridge (at the foot of Parkside), and at 11:00am at the café in Roundwood Park, then riding through Willesden and Harlesden to the Grand Union Canal in Park Royal, and back again. Anyone with a working bike is welcome to join in.

The Space for Cycling campaign is timed to coincide with the run-up to the local elections in May, to bring home to local politicians the changes that need to be made to Brent’s roads to make them cycle-friendly. It is part of a London-wide Space for Cycling Campaign being run by the London Cycling Campaign.

Brent Cyclists coordinator David Arditti said: 

Brent has great potential as a cycling borough but is held back by the poor routes and infrastructure for cycling compared with other parts of London. We need a network of safe routes on minor roads and protected cycle tracks on bigger roads, which would allow everybody to make daily journeys by bike and especially allow children to cycle to school, but these can only come about if there are more restrictions placed on where motor traffic can go. 

We’ll be cycling along Park Avenue North, which is a road which, if it ceased to be a through-route for cars, would make an excellent way to access Gladstone Park by bike. In other places, to get a safe network, we need bikes to be excepted from one-way systems. This is what we would like built into the new design for Harlesden Town Centre, but Brent doesn’t seem to have considered this need. 

Our ride will draw attention to these measures that would make cycling in Brent so much better, in advance of the local elections, and we will be asking the candidates to pledge support for our specific demands, ward by ward.

Declaration of Interest: I am a member of the London Cycling Campaign.

Another free school makes its pitch in Brent

Another free school has emerged in Brent. The One Degree Academy  wants to set up an all through school in the borough. Like most free schools its website is short on detail including staffing and site. It is derived from the One Degree charity that offers 1:1 mentoring to underachieving GCSE students and claims to have helped 200 in the past 6 years based on 'personalised support and inspirational role models'.

Clearly it is a big step to running a school for ages 5-19 and it is not clear from the website LINK how many of the staff will be qualified teachers,  They are having an Open Day on Saturday from 12-3pm at Harlesden Methodist Church.

Gladstone secondary free school has still not got a permanent site although they are having discussions with the Education Funding Agency and the DfE on a Foundation site.

It has emerged that the 'innovative' writing method promised by Gladstone, 'Do it WRITE'  LINK is the product of a company LINK owned by Jim Gatten, Gladstone's Project Director, a governor of the school and partner of vice chair of governors Marie Evans. They are both directors of the Gladstone school company. So far, according to the records, the company has yet to make a profit.

Vital Brent health issues to be discussed tomorrow

Brent Council's Health Partnerships Overview and Scrutiny Committee meets tomorrow, Tuesday 18th March 7.00 pm in the Boardroom at the Civic Centre. The agenda can be found HERE:

Among the items on the agenda are: Mental Health Services in Brent; a report from the working group on Violence Against Women and Girls especially FGM, domestic violence and forced marriage; the Future of Central Middlesex Hospital and Willesden Centre for Health and Care and Diabetes Services.

Library closures: how will you vote in May?

Alert after fatal dog poisoning in Fryent Country Park

Police are alerting the public, and particularly pet owners, of a poisoning danger in Fryent Country Park, Kingsbury.  Three dogs have died after ingesting organophosphates in what appears to be intentional poisoning.

Pet owners and parents should be aware of any foodstuffs which contain blue colouring or any tablets or pellets left on the roadside, paths or in undergrowth.

If you suspect your dog of eating the poison immediately seek veterinary assistance.

Contacts: Peter Rowntree at Harlesden police Station 0208 733 3804
Brent Council Animal Welfare Officer 0208 937 1234

Demonstrate for a People's Budget: Downing Street Wednesday

The Queensbury Pub planning commitee voting record

Readers have asked for details of the Planning Committee vote which saves the Queensbury Pub in Willesden Green from development for the time being. I am grateful to the Kilburn Times for this list:

Voted for the plans: Cllr Ann John (Stonebridge) and Sandra Kabir (Queensbury).

Against: Cllr Abdi Aden (Barnhill), Michael Adeyeye (Queens Park), Mark Cummins (Brondesbury Park), Sami Hashmi (Mapesbury), Dhiraj Kataria (Welsh Harp) and James Powney (Kensal Green).
Abstained: Cllr Ketan Sheth (Tokyngton).

Cllr Powney has written a comment about his vote against the plans on his blog LINK which mentions his participation in many planning decisions regarding the Mapebury Conservation Area. The selection of a new Labour candidate for Mapesbury Ward is taking place after the withdrawal of one of the three candidates for personal reasons. Cllr Powney was not reselected for his present Kensal Green seat.