Our West Hendon takes on pan-London gentrification this Saturday

Readers will remember Save The Welsh Harp, the campaign to stop Barratts building tower bocks on the banks of the Welsh Harp which had been occupied by the West Hendon Social Housing Estate. LINK

Barnet Coucil and Boris Johnson approved the scheme despite widespread oppositon and now tenants are being forced out.

This message is from Our West Hendon:

Our West Hendon are running out of time. Non-secure tenants are rapidly being forced out of their communities and Barratts has refused to negotiate 'like for like' settlements with the leaseholders.

Private tenants face yet another move and secure tenants are reluctantly due to be moved into the new but massively inferior builds. It appears the only way to deal with the council and the developers is now to take direct action. Please join us in solidarity this Saturday 13th from 7am-1pm at Marsh Drive Community Centre NW9 7QE.

We know the only way to stop this pan-London gentrification is if all affected communities now come together. Alone we are few, together we are many!

Rugby statue to be erected at Wembley Stadium to match Bobby Moore

Association football has Bobby Moore, so who will rugby have?   Brent Council has given planning permission for a  Rugby Football League statute to be erected at Wembley Stadium:

The application proposes the erection of a statue, to the north-eastern side of the outer stadium pedestrian concourse. This is a joint venture between Wembley National Stadium Limited (WNSL) and Rugby Football League (RFL).

The application seeks consent for a statue of a certain size at this stage. The detailed design is to be unveiled at a later date, though the submission does specify this to be a bronze statue place on a steel base, also that it is to be Rugby Football League themed and a tribute to the sport

The plinth would be 1.5m high and the statue itself 3.3m, making a total 4.8m from ground level. 

London Assembly backs Generation Rent manifesto

The world is their Oyster - publicity for  MIPIM

From Generation Rent LINK

London Assembly members voted this afternoon to back Generation Rent's Manifesto. This is a fantastic endorsement of the work we are doing from politicians in the heart of the country's housing crisis.

Two million people - a quarter of the London population - rents from a private landlord, and the unaffordability, poor conditions and insecurity of tenure are all high on the agenda. A poll from the Association of Residential Letting Agents today said that 43% of London's renters have had reservations about their landlord or letting agent on day one of their tenancy.

Darren Johnson AM, Green Party chairman of the housing committee, proposed the motion, which was seconded by Labour's Tom Copley AM, and passed after a debate in City Hall (available on this link).

“This Assembly welcomes the 'Renters manifesto' published by Generation Rent, which would bring considerable improvements to the lives of one in four households in London living in the private rented sector.

“The Assembly reaffirms its support for a number of Generation Rent's recommendations, which the Assembly put forward in its 'Rent reform' report in June 2013, including policies to stabilise rents, introduce longer tenancies and end retaliatory evictions.

“This Assembly supports further measures proposed by Generation Rent, including:

• longer notice periods for tenants who have lived in a home for a number of years
• banning letting agent fees
• closing loopholes on deposit protection schemes
• increasing the Rent a Room tax allowance
• scaling up the Community Land Trust model to create a large, secondary housing market affordable to Londoners

This Assembly also notes with regret the Mayor’s continued involvement with international property fairs such as MIPIM. His support for rich investors to build expensive flats for rich owners and landlords, who in turn let homes on insecure contracts in a dysfunctional rental market, is not providing for the needs of ordinary Londoners.

This Assembly therefore calls on the Mayor to set out his response to the 'Renters manifesto', to consider piloting some of the recommendations in his Housing Zones, and to require its implementation in any deals made at MIPIM.”

We'll be looking forward to Boris Johnson's response. 

Comment from Wembley Matters.  The  next four day MIPIM will be held in Cannes in March and costs 1490 Euros for each delegate plus accommodation. Brent's Director of Regeneration and Major Projects, Andy Donald, has been an attender in the past. LINK

STOP PRESS: Michaela Free School announces 'Umbrellas are acceptable' but watch out for the shoes and haircuts

The Michaela Free School still looked like a building site today but the school's website, in a not terribly friendly announcement, says pupils will start on Monday:

School Starts at 11am Monday 15^th September

Parents’ Evening is at 5pm Wednesday 17^th September

Parental Interviews Cancelled

1.School uniform: All pupils are expected in full school uniform on the first day of school: Monday 15 September at 11am.

2.Shoes should be plain, black, flat and logo-free. Be very traditional in your choice of shoe. Please avoid anything that looks like a black trainer. If in doubt send us a photograph of the shoes BEFORE buying.

3.Boots are not acceptable for school. Sturdy traditional school shoes with a good tread, suitable for winter, are advised.

4.PE Trainers, the colour and style are up to you. And yes, inevitably, trainers will have logos. They must be suitable for indoor and outdoor use.

5.Umbrellas are acceptable. These should be plain, in black or navy blue and in a telescopic style. Umbrellas must be small enough that, when closed and collapsed, they fit into the standard school bag.

6.Haircuts & Jewellery: All haircuts must comply with school policy for Monday 15th September. No make-up or jewellery is allowed. This includes stud earrings.

7.Free School Meals: If you’re already registered with Brent as eligible for free school meals that should automatically continue. If concerned contact us and we’ll check on our list.

8.Food: High quality food is prepared on site. There will be a range of options, including fish and vegetarian choices so all religious groups are treated fairly and equally.

9.Paying for food: Please send your child to school on Monday 15th with a cheque for either £159.50 for the term or £77 for the half term, made payable to Michaela Community School. Please write your child’s FULL NAME and DATE OF BIRTH on the back of your cheque.

10.Oyster Zip cards: All parents should apply for these as soon as possible. The application says that a stamp or signature from the school is required. We have checked with TFL and we are advised that this is NOT essential.

Yuppification is the name of the game, Brent Regeneration's aim is the same

OK, I go on about Quintain's failure to build the much needed and much promised affordable housing in their regeneration project around Wembley Stadium, but this really is a slap in the face for local residents.

Vulnerable children may be shipped out of Brent for schooling as Council closes Primary PRU at 3 week's notice

As the Scrutiny Committee discussed setting up a Task Group to investigate how the Pupil Premium, ear-marked funds for disadvantaged children, are used in Brent schools last night, they were leafleted by staff who care passionately for an arguably even more disadvantaged group who are about to be shipped out of the borough.

The Primary Pupil Referral Unit currently housed at Ashley Gardens is for children excluded from mainstream school.  The classrooms were previously used as temporary accommodation for the primary unit of Preston Manor All-through School.

The Primary Unit came about after the Key Stage 2 (7-11 year olds)  PRU in Stonebridge was closed down at the end of Spring Term 2014 as no longer necessary. Within weeks, there were already 6 excluded children at Key Stage 1 (5-7 year olds) and Key Stage 2 in need of education. The Ashley Gardens facility was set up for them and high quality, experienced staff were recruited on the understanding that the unit would continue through the current academic year.

Brent's Primary EBD(Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties) school, Vernon House, closed some time ago and a new school opened in its place for chidlren on the autistic spectrum.

The authority has said that the classrooms are needed for children without a school place, despite Preston Park Primary having expanded, the new primary school at Preston Manor and a four form entry primary school being built at Wembley High.

Most of the Ashley Gardens children will be placed at the Family School London, in Kings Cross. This is a free school being opened by the Anna Freud Centre, with home to school transport provided for each child.

On Thursday of last week Ashley Gardens staff were told that the Unit would close by the end of this month.

Staff have major concerns about the closure decision and the way it is being implemented. This is what they said:

1. The time scale for closure is extremely rushed and risks causing unnecessary distress to children and their families.

These are amongst the most vulnerable and emotionally challenged children within our education system. Three weeks does not give us proper time to prepare them for this major change. we have an excellent team who have worked very hard to build up relationships of trust with the children and their families and the children are now settled and beginning to thrive in the unit.

We are concerned that this hasty decision, driven it seems more by the borough's need for our accommodation than by the needs of the children, will cause unnecessary emotional trauma to children who have already had more than their fair share.

2. There has been no consultation on this decision with the staff of the unit, including the Teacher-In-Charge, nor more senior staff within the Inclusion Service, and no individual case-by-case review to assess whether the provision at the Anna Freud Family School is appropriate for all the children who will be placed there.

3. We understand the longer term policy is to provide support for chidlren at risk of exclusion with the Brent School's Partnership, with the aim of preventing exclusions. This provision is still not in place. Where will any excluded chidlren be taught and supported in the meantime? This is exactly the situation that led to the formation of the unit at Ashley Gardens.

4. What about children who are excluded in spite of all the best efforts of the new provision? The Family School has only 4 places available this year in each key stage, and 4 more available next year and demand could come from anywhere across London.

The Ashley Gardens staff make a strong and professional case which clearly has the interests of vulnerable chidlren at its heart.

Brent Council's commitment to social inclusion means that there should be proper consultation with teachers, parents and professional agencies in such a situation, and at the very least a thorough Equalities Impact Assessment should be carried out.

None of this has happened and until it does, and the resulting report has been discussed and adopted by Cabinet, the closure should be suspended.

I would add a further concern about children being bussed out of the borough. They are already excluded from mainstream schools and will be further excluded by being educated far away from their home community.

I get to speak to a Brent Council meeting!

For the record. after the Full Council deputation debacle that required 5 full working days notice for a deputation, I emailed Brent Council last night at 2 minutes to 5 asking to speak at Scrutiny Committee that evening.  Scrutiny begins at 7pm.

I was granted permission by the Chair  and spoke to the Committee about the Task Force being set up to investigate the use of the Pupil Premium in Brent schools.

All a bit mystifying.

Central Middlesex closes its doors for the last time and the community loses yet another amenity

It was significant that last night on Twitter someone reacted with shock to the news that Central Middlesex A&E will be closed today saying 'but that's my local hospital. I've it used since I was a kid!'

The remark indicates both our failure to get the message out in time to more people and thus moblise them, and also the sense of ownership that local people have for what many call 'Park Royal'.

Photo Sarah Cox

Symbolic protests took place this morning at  Hammersmith and Cen tral Middlesex A&Es to mark their closure.

On Monday the Council called for the closure to be delayed until Northwick Park A&E was in a fit state to take over Central Middlesex's role.

Yesterday evening at the Brent Council Scrutiny Committee, Cllr Mary Daly tore into the 'men in suits' behind the closure accusing them of failing in their 'duty of candour'.

Today the Central Middlesex A&E is closed.

In truth Brent Council was very slow to recognise the negative impact of the closure and while Ealing Councl was leafleting residents and advertising on buses, it was left to Brent Fightback and other campaigners to get the word out in Brent  with street leafleting and public meetings.

Campaigners attended consultations and  repeatedly pointed out the degree of deprivation of the population that used Central Middlesex; the health statistics for the area; low car ownership and poor transport links to Northwick Park; the presence of the large industrial estate at Park Royal with a high risk of industrial accidents; Wembley Stadium and major railway lines with the potential for major incidents (remember the Harrow train crash of1952 which killed 85 people?) and the strain on the ambulance service when, with only an Urgent Care Centre on the Central Middlesex site, needy patients will have to be transferred to Northwick Park.

After months of consultations and meetings none of these issues have been satisfactorily addressed and the Care Quality Commission's (CQC) report on Northwick Park and Centrasl Midddlesex Hospitals has added further doubt. Northwick Park was given a 'requires improvement rating' and Central Middlesex A&E a 'good'.

The 'men in suits' quickly moved into PR mode following that report, and before the closure, with a 'feel good' story about the new Northwick Park A&E, faithfully carried by the Kilburn Times LINK.

In fact the new unit will not be ready until November at the earliest and full operational changes until 2015.  There are concerns about the intervening period and Scrutiny called for further reports from the Hospital Trust.  Meanwhile some members of the Clinical Commissioning Group, with interests in  out-sourced services, are keen to bad mouth the hospitals and claim that they can offer something better.

Unfortunately the privatisation of health means that doctors and other staff often have private interests in health provision and there were calls from the public gallery last night for these interests to be declared at such meetings. 

I agree. 

Hospital Trust officials claimed at Scrutiny that the CQC's concerns were being addressed and that 20 new beds at Northwick Park would come into use today and help clear the backlog at Northwick Park A&E.  It would improve bed capacity by 20%.  They claimed that a new clinical and medical leadership team was now in place and would result in improvement.

In remarks that were not fully explored Scrutiny were told that the Trust would improve capacity at Northwick Park for the winter by looking for additional beds outside the hospital on other sites. This raises the prospects of the elderly being sent further afield during the peak illness periods which coincide with severe weather.