Bid to change use of Mahatma Gandhi House to accommodation as giant high rise development goes to planning committee

Prior approval is being sought to change the use of Mahatma Gandhi  House, which used to house the offices of Brent Council Housing Service, to  accommodation. LINK

It would comprise 37 studios, 48 one bedroom flats and 4 two bedroom flats. The initial drawings appear to show high density accommodation.  The building is 8 storeys high.

Ground floor

Meanwhile the much large Yellow Car Park Scheme behind Quality Inn and Dexion House  (now demolished) and beside the Civic Centre,  comes before the Planning Committee on February 11th.

This is part of an enormous development including retail, professional, food and drink units; business accommodation, housing units, community use space and student accommodation has been covered before on this blog.

The amount of affordable housing for this site remains small (18 out of 370):

The planners express concern about a short-fall in three bedroom accommodation...

However, this could easily be addressed through internal alterations to the building, amending the size of flats within the element of the building adjacent to the park. This would involve changing a number of groups of two flats which currently comprise two 2-bedroom 4-person flats into one 1-bedroom flat and one 3-bedroom flat. The total number of units would not change. However, the proportion of 3-bedroom flats would increase to meet the minimum level specified within the Development Specification. It is recommended that a condition is attached requiring details of these changes. This is considered to be sound as the proposal would primarily require internal changes and any external changes would be non-material

The site outlined in red

The nearby Fountain Studios (top centre) sent in an objection concerned that the building works (which also include an access road and a park) would disrupt its activities in terms of noise, reverberations and building vehicle traffic. The Council make it a condition that there is engagement to limit the amount of noise and disturbance.

The planners also suggest that the proposed aluminium cladding  with white framing should be softer with greater contrast between the materials.

There are no 'poor doors' (separate entry for affordable and market accommodation)

The officers recommend approval.

Summary

The three applications that are being considered concurrently look to deliver 370 homes together with some key elements of social and physical infrastructure including the 0.4 Ha park and the 300 square metre community hall. The homes meet or exceed London Plan unit size standards and almost all units benefit from good sized balconies. All units within this building benefit from immediate access to the park. The incorporation of a large lobby serving all units helps to demonstrate an inclusive approach to all residents, including those who reside within the Affordable units. Conditions are recommended to address some shortfalls or alterations that are necessary, such as the number of 3-bedroom units, the potential efficiency improvements to the layout of Affordable units and the layout of the community hall. A condition is also recommended to ensure that noise and disturbance from construction is minimised.

As Quintain rapidly fill in the various plots it is hard to keep track of the various planning applications and the stages they have reached, I think it would be useful for the public to have a document and images updating information.

It is hard to get an overall impression of what the area will eventually look like, the amount of retail, food and office space and the different types of housing, including student accommodation.  The amount and type of open space is also an important consideration. However, most important for local people is the lack of affordable housing. The planners argue that using the floor space measure =10% but in terms of the number of units it is just 5%.

Green's rallying speech at London March for Homes

Brent's Austerity Cuts - a Disaster for the Environment

Brent FoE and Brent Campaign Against Climate Change outside Energy Solutions, Welsh Harp

This joint letter from Brent Friends of the Earth and Brent Campaign Against Climate Change was published in the Brent and Kilburn Times today:

Imagine our neighbourhoods and parks strewn with litter, fly-tipped with bulky waste, and green wheely bins being fought over. A borough where our children are deprived of the chance to learn about nature, and where vulnerable residents needing advice on fuel poverty have nowhere to turn. This is what Brent's austerity agenda will mean if the Council's budget proposals go ahead.

The proposed cuts will mean no street sweeping in residential roads, no litter collected in parks at weekends, charging us £15 to collect bulky items, and £40 a year for our green wheely bins. It will close two valuable institutions – the Welsh Harp Education Centre (a unique resource that inspires our kids to learn about the natural environment) and Energy Solutions (who help residents, landlords, schools and businesses reduce fuel bills - cutting Brent's carbon footprint and helping fight climate change.) The grants for these, a mere £30,000 and £50,000, are a fraction of the £54 million cuts overall.

Brent's own “Green Charter” will also be scrapped and, apart from statutory monitoring, all Council work on sustainability and climate change will go. All this a time when we need more than ever to build local resilience for an uncertain future.

Whilst we acknowledge the Council's difficulties, and other vital services are also at stake, these cuts are short-sighted easy targets for which we all will pay a heavy price.

Viv Stein

on behalf of Brent Friends of the Earth and Brent Campaign against Climate Change

Teacher organisations, schools and pupils have been taking up the issue of the Welsh Harp Environmental Education Centre Closure.

There is a petition to save Energy Solutions HERE  It needs many, many more signatures.

Meeting: Floods, coming to a High Street near you...?

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Climate change campaigner Guy Shrubsole will be giving a talk about floods at Brent Friends of the Earth's (Brent FoE) monthly meeting at Watling Gardens Community Meeting Room, in Kilburn on Tuesday February 10th at 7.30pm.

Guy Shrubsole, Climate Campaigner from Friends of the Earth will be asking are we at risk, and what can we do to tackle floods and climate change in Brent.

Ian Saville, a Co-ordinator of Brent Friends of the Earth says:

Floods and extreme weather events are becoming more frequent as a result of climate change. In Brent we have a large reservoir and the River Brent, and many people now find when they renew their insurance that they are considered at risk of flooding. There is a real danger of serious flooding in some areas. We'll be discussing how all this might affect us in Brent and what we can all do to lessen the risk.

Everyone is welcome to attend this free event, and stay for the rest of the group meeting. Light refreshments will be available.

The talk will start at at 7.30pm till approximately 9pm, and will be followed by Brent FoE's monthly meeting. The meeting will be at Watling Gardens Community Meeting Room, 97/135 Watling Gardens, Shoot Up Hill, NW2 3UB (5 mins. from Kilburn tube/buses on Shoot up Hill). For more information see http://www.brentfoe.com or email info@brentfoe.com.

Will 'cronyism' allegations re-emerge after new Brent Council appointment?

I heard yesterday that Lorraine Langham had been offered one of the newly created Corporate Management Team jobs at Brent Council after interview.  The job of Chief Operating Officer is part of the senior management restructuring carried out by Christine Gilbert and Cara Davani. It is a one year fixed term appointment at salary of £125-142k. LINK

The restructuring saw the departure, with compensation, of Fiona Ledden, Head of Legal and Procurement and Ben Spinks, Assistant Chief Executive Officer, over the Christmas holiday.

I sought confirmation of the appointment from Brent Council press office at 9.30am this morning but they have still not got back to me at 2,15pm. However, I do think the appointment, if it has been made, is important background to the deliberations of the General Purposes Committee which will be discussing Michael Pavey's HR review at 6pm this evening.

Lorraine Langham, like several of the present CMT, has previouslly worked for Tower Hamlets Council and Ofsted. (See table below). Like Gilbert and Davani she also has her own private company. She is no stranger to controversy over her alleged friendship with Christine Gilbert as this hit the headlines in 2007 and again in February last year. LINK

The Daily Express reported:

In 2006 the wife of Labour minister Tony McNulty, Christine Gilbert, was appointed as Chief Inspector of Schools at the watchdog.

Within a year, Ms Gilbert had appointed a number of former colleagues to key positions within Ofsted.

Ms Gilbert - the former chief executive of Tower Hamlets council - recruited her friend Lorraine Langham to be Ofsted's £120,000-a-year director of corporate services.

Ms Langham had worked for Ms Gilbert at Tower Hamlets as communications chief through a company she ran called Verve Communications.

That company was paid £923,000 from Tower Hamlets over a two-year period.

The then-MP for Bethnal Green and Bow, George Galloway, said at the time:  "You have a situation where this woman is a propagandist for probably the worst council in Britain and, lo and behold, she gets a job with her best pal.

"There is not a whiff of cronyism, there is a stench of cronyism.

"You would have thought Labour would have learned something but, clearly, they believe they are above scrutiny."

Ms Gilbert and Ofsted denied the allegation at the time, saying Ms Langham had been appointed after a thorough and transparent recruitment process.

Ms Langham remains Ofsted’s chief operating officer.

I am sure that this was also a 'thorough and transparent recruitment process' and that Brent HR made sure any connections and associations were declared.

Tony McNulty is a Labour Party activist working hard for a Labour General Election victory in Brent and Christine Gilbert is Brent's neutral Returning Officer.

For those losing track of Brent Council's version of 'Only Connect' here is a useful table:

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Name	Brent Position	Tower Hamlets position	Ofsted Position	Private companies
Christine Gilbert	Acting Chief Executive (current)	Chief Executive	Chief Inspector	Christine Gilbert Associates
Cara Davani	Director of Human Resources (current) Drew up Gilbert’s contract Second respondent in Employment Tribunal Case	Director Human Resources	Organisation change and HR Consultant	Cara Davani Ltd
Clive Heaphy	Director of Finance (left Brent after Gross Misconduct charges withdrawn.) Drew up Cara Davani’s contract, Now at HS2. His treatment was contrasted with that of Rosemarie Clarke in  the Employment Tribunal Judgment and was the basis of the Racial Discrimination finding		Interim Director of Finance
Thomas Cattermole	Head of Executive and Members’ Service (current)		Christine Gilbert’s Executive Assistant
Lorraine Langham	Chief Operating Officer (Current TBC)	Various interim roles	Director of Corporate Services	Verve Communications

The membership of the General Purposes Committee (if there are no substitutions) is exactly the same as the Cabinet except that Cllr Mashari is not a member of GP. Cllr Suresh Kansagara, leader of the Kenton Conservatives joins his Labour colleagues on GP.

Labour backbench disquiet over Brent Council cuts proposals

Hitherto, much of the opposition to Councillor Butt's leadership has been more about personal style and character, rather than politics, with opponents not sharing a political anaylsis of the Labour adminstration's shortcomings.

Now, with public reaction againsts the cuts building up, as evidenced by the atmosphere at the Harlesden Connects meeting, some Labour backbenchers are looking askance at the way the cuts package is being presented and want to see some modifications.

It does not appear to be a great revolt and does not involve a huge number of councillors but surely welcome. It is clear that despite the mantra of 'It's the coalition's fault' and 'We have no choice' some councillors are finding it hard to defend some of the more extreme proposals to their constituents.

The Cabinet will approve the cuts package on February 23rd so time is short.

Brent Council to out-source leaks service

I understand that the Cabinet will be discussing a proposal to out-source the Council's Leak Service at its next meeting.

Brent Council leader Muhammed Butt consulted widely with his cabinet colleagues who all felt that the service was far too efficient.

Cllr Butt said:

Going forward we must learn from the inefficiency gains we have made when out-sourcing other services such as street cleaning and parks maintenance.  The problem with the current in-house service is that it is far too effective and producing more leaks that Affinity.  We owe it to the residents of Brent, especially those who don't know what is going on, to protect them and  make things as opaque as possible.

A public consultation event will be held on February 29th in the Dalliance Suite at the Civic Centre.

Kenton by-election to be held on Thursday March 5th

There will be a Brent  by-election in Kenton ward on Thurday March 5th following the death of Conservative councillor Bhiku Patel.

The Kenton ward result in the  May 2014 local elections was:

Suresh Laxmidas Kansagra	Conservative	1798	19%	Elected
Reg Colwill	Conservative	1796	19%	Elected
Bhiku Mani Patel	Conservative	1669	18%	Elected
Syed Alam	Labour	1139	12%	Not elected
Lewis Hodgetts	Labour	1040	11%	Not elected
Nadhim Ahmed	Labour	946	10%	Not elected
Graham Allen	Green Party	348	4%	Not elected
Violet Margaret Steele	Liberal Democrats	221	2%	Not elected
Vivienne Rosamond Williamson	Liberal Democrats	153	2%	Not elected
Ieva Tomsone	Liberal Democrats	125	1%	Not elected

Anyone wishing to stand as a candidate at the election may submit their nomination between Thursday 29 January and 4.00pm on Friday 6 February.
Nomination forms and assistance can be provided by emailing Electoral Services or call 020 8937 1372

Rumours are circulating that Brondesbury Conservatives may stand a candidate so that in the event of beating a Kenton Conservative  they could claim recognition as the Official Opposition. Cllr John Warren of Brondesbury Conservatives has not responded to Twitter requests for clarification.