The surprising wildlife of Wembley

One of the benefits of getting around the borough leafleting at election time is the accidental discoveries that take place in an area that is full of surprises.

In a corner of Wembley I bumped into Jay Patel who told me about the muntjac deer he sees from his garden close to the River Brent.

Jay says:

It highlights that it is important to look after the river and also not allow developers to build on the small conservation area. The deer come quite often individually however, I managed to see two together once. I see them most days, they graze there in the open space, eating the leaves on the trees and also the dandelions. 

The deer probably come along the 'green corridors' which provide a route from the home counties into London via rivers and railway lines.

The population is believed by some to have spread from Woburn Park in Bedfordshire LINK

Photo: Jay Patel

Photo: Jay Patel

Photo: Jay Patel

Greens set to beat Lib Dems in London

• Latest polls put Green Party on 11% in London, 4 points ahead of Liberal Democrats
• Support for Green Party is surging just before election day
• Big swing from Labour and Liberal Democrats over to the Greens

With just four days to go until the general election, polls suggest the Green Party could be about to make history in London by beating the Liberal Democrats into third place.

Polling by IpsosMORI gives the Green Party 11% amongst those certain to vote in the capital with the Liberal Democrats trailing on 7%.

The poll demonstrates a huge rise in support for the Greens in London since 2010 and cements their position as the third biggest party in the capital following their strong performance in the 2012 Mayoral and London Assembly elections.

The surge is being driven by the movement of former Labour and Liberal Democrat voters over to the party. Of those respondents who said they would be voting Green in Thursday’s election, one in six had voted for the Liberal Democrats in 2010 and one in ten had voted for Labour.

Tom Chance, Co-Chair of the London Green Party and candidate for Lewisham West and Penge, said:

Of course this is exactly the news we want to be hearing just before the election but it reflects the feeling we’ve been getting on the ground throughout this campaign when our members have been out and about meeting voters. People are feeling let-down by politics in Britain and they’re hungry for an alternative to the austerity message being served-up on a daily basis by the “established” parties.

What is so exciting is that here in London we already have a great basis from which to deliver that change for voters. We finished third in the last Mayoral election. We have two assembly members, an MEP, and four councillors. This is giving us the base we need to build our influence and our presence.

Voters can go out to the polls on May 7^th knowing that by voting Green, they’re contributing to a rapidly growing movement in London. We really are on the verge of making history.

Support for the Green Party in London has surged in the past year. Membership of the party has more than trebled and now stands at over 11,000. The party recently announced that they will be standing candidates in every seat in the capital and that they have achieved a 50-50 gender split amongst their candidates.

Cricklewood Library meeting tonight (Tuesday)

Message from Friends of Cricklewood Library:

A new library is going to be open in Spring next year in Olive Road! It has taken around five years, but it's going to happen. There is a meeting at 7.30 tomorrow in Cricklewood Library for all interested residents and supporters of the library. The new library will be completely self-funding and run by the community.

A new developer has taken over the project and building of four storey mixed development will start soon. The developer will present the plans and explain the building process.

Friends of Cricklewood Library have been named tenants of the 2000ft2 library/community space which will occupy the majority of the ground floor, and they will talk about how the space will be used and all suggestions regarding use of the space are welcome.

In order to set up the library FOCL need to raise a substantial amount of money, and this will be the start of an ongoing fundraising appeal needed to make sure the library is a success.

Hampstead & Kilburn UKIP candidate attacks Islam and admires former EDL leader

Magnus Nielsen, the UKIP candidate in Hampstead and Kilburn, is up to his neck in controversy again this weekend.

The Camden New Journal LINK yesterday published extracts from an 'address to voters'in which Nielsen says:

Although, I am not 'a Prophet', I can see from the trends of the past 25 years show that Britain is slowly but inexorably falling under the domination of Islam - or, I should say, to the self-appointed 'community leaders' who represent Islam - with the silent and invisible certainty of carbon monoxide poisoning.

In a further comment on the EDL he says his repsonse...

....has been equivocal, largely on account of the poor tactics, lack of self-discipline and their failure of its organisers to exclude a publicity-seeking hooligan element from their ranks. However, I applaud the aims and intentions of its former leader, the young man calling himself 'Tommy Robinson', his personal courage in the face of repeated threats to his safety and the safety of his family, and his perseverance against the ill-informed, biased and distorted criticism that he continuously receives from the media. Whether I succeed or fail in my bid to win this seat, I also shall be ready to join with those who are organising ( by peaceful and law-abiding methods) to raise awareness of the menace that Islam poses to the future of our society.

As the CNJ points out Nielsen has been silent on these views at the many H&K hustings.  This means that they have not been open to public scrutiny and debate.

Yet another example of the UKIP mask slipping.

St Raphael's 'Edible Garden' needs your vote

Sufra NW London is supporting a bid for Aviva Community Funds for an 'Edible Garden' on St Raphael's Estate in Brent.

St. Raphael’s Estate is the most deprived neighbourhood in Brent, with a notorious reputation for gang-related crime and anti-social behaviour. Levels of unemployment are high, and with no permanent facilities or activities on the estate, ethnic tensions occasionally erupt in violence. Health inequalities on the estate exacerbate deprivation in the local community. 11% of residents suffer from diabetes whereas the borough average is 7% and 24% of children in Year 6 are classified as obese. Apart from a lack of physical exercise, local residents simply cannot afford a balanced and healthy diet. The cost of fruit and vegetables at the local supermarket makes fresh produce a luxury rather than an essential part of every meal.

After 3 years of campaigning, local residents on the estate have finally secured a lease on a derelict plot in the middle of the estate measuring over 400 square metres to setup a food growing project. The aim of the project is to promote healthy eating and physical exercise by encouraging local people to manage the site, grow their own fruit and vegetables at no cost, understand the provenance of food and familiarise themselves with eating fresh ingredients.

Over the last few months, the community has cleared much of the site of rubble, fly-tipping and other waste and we are now looking to develop a land-mark site that improves the appearance of the estate, gives local people the opportunity to take part in alternative physical exercise by growing their own produce and promotes conservation and recycling of food waste.

St. Raphael’s Edible Garden will strengthen this grassroots initiative by bringing together more residents to build raised beds and growing structures using recycled materials, learn to grow a variety of fruit and vegetables using both traditional and innovative techniques like hydrophonic and aquaphonic farming and benefit from seasonal produce throughout the year. Without any regular social or cultural activities on the estate, the new space will also allow residents to organise outdoor events celebrating national and cultural festivals.

Alongside a programme of food growing and social events, the Edible Garden will offer accredited learning opportunities; young people will learn practical skills in growing and gardening, families will take part in cookery classes to learn about nutrition and healthy eating and resident ambassadors will learn to promote environmental awareness and encourage local conservation on the estate. Through regular social activities, local volunteering and skills development opportunities, the project will improve health and well-being as part of a wider programme to contribute towards the economic prosperity of our neglected community.

We hope that you will support this project by helping us to fund equipment and materials to make our vision a reality.

To register with AVIVA and vote for this project go to LINK

Latest on Brent Chief Executive appointment

Following various rumours circulating about the appointment of the new Chief Executive of Brent Council last week I sought clarification from the Brent Council Press Office.  This is their statement:

The (CEO) interview process has not yet taken place therefore no appointment has been made.   The new Chief Executive will be appointed by a panel of elected members later this month and this appointment will be subject to ratification by Full Council on 22 June 2015.  As yet Christine Gilbert has not agreed a leaving date.

I can confirm that Lorraine Langham, Chief Operating Officer, has not applied for the role.

The Council will make a public statement once an appointment has been confirmed.

Parents and politicians support fight against forced academisation of St Andrew and St Francis CofE Primary

 Compiled from a press release from Brent ATL and NUT

Mr Gorsia, a parent, addressing the meeting

Staff at St Andrew and St Francis CofE Primary in Belton Rd, Willesden, Brent took their fifth day of strike action  on Thursday in protest at their school being forced to become an academy. The theme on the picket line was ‘Democracy denied: IEB refuses parents’ ballot’. After the picket line staff and parents went along the Willesden High Rd asking shopkeepers to display no academy notices which they were very happy to do. These notices are also being displayed in parents’ front windows and some are putting them in their cars to make sure the message is spread – no academy.

At the meeting yesterday evening in St Andrew’s Church attended by staff and parents Bridget Chapman, a speaker from the Anti Academies Alliance, said she had seen all the notices in the shops as she came from the tube station. It made a real impact. She fully supported the parents’ ballot. She said, “What are they so afraid of? She praised staff and parents for their stand against the privatisation of our education. “This is just giving away land and buildings to businesses,” she expalined.

Dawn Butler, Labour candidate for Brent Central, told parents that if Labour won the general election then she would do her utmost to get the decision to force the school into an academy reversal. She said that whatever happens on Thursday she would give full support to the campaign to have a parents’ ballot. “I say this because I believe in it. You are pushing at an open door”, she said.

Irene Scorer, parent, then handed over a petition against the academy to Dawn signed by 200 parents accounting for 290 children out of the 400 at the school. This is clearly a large majority and outstrips the 32 who said they supported the academy in the sham consultation. Many of these parents have since learning about academies changed their minds and signed the petition.

Three parents gave their views.  

Hamid El Hadi said:

I support everyone who is against this academy. This is affecting our children and the teachers are stressed. All we want is a ballot. We’re not asking for the earth.

 Bharat Gorsia said: 

We are being lied to by the school. We are told nothing will change. If it isn’t broken why fix it.

Syed Karrar told the audience that his daughter has had five teachers since Easter and that all this move to an academy had unsettled everyone. 

Hank Roberts, Brent ATL secretary also spoke and praised the commitment of staff and parents and said there was still all to win. Others who spoke from the audience agreed and there was an overall enthusiasm to continue the fight until justice prevails. Parents were informed that there would be two further days of strike action on Tuesday 12^th May and Thursday 14^th May. The unions had called off one of the strike days this week in an act of goodwill to try and reach agreement with the IEB on a ballot and TUPE negotiations. They heard on Wednesday that nothing had been agreed on any of the issues. Parents agreed that two days had to go ahead as the pressure needed to be kept up.

The unions, staff and parents have been trying to meet with key people from Brent and the LDBS to discuss things. The Bishop of Willesden declined a meeting but did say that the HMI inspection last Thursday and Friday, “they [the school] received a very favourable outcome indeed”. So, as the parents and staff say, why change the school into an academy if it has made significant improvements and likely to come out of special measures?

Messages of support from around the country were relayed to the meeting including this statement from Martin Francis, Brent Green party spokesperson on children and families.

Please convey the support of Brent Green Party for the staff and parents in their fight against forced academisation. We see academies and free schools as a form of privatisation that removes democratic accountability and prepares the way for profit making from education. Green Party policy is to integrate academies and free schools into the local authority school system.

Muhammed Butt did not attend and did not send any statement about his position with regards a ballot as he had been asked to, much to everyone’s disapproval.

Skip lorry demolishes tree in Salmon Street, Kingsbury

A tree felled by a storm is always a sad sight, it is even sadder when it has been uprooted by human agency.

This morning around 10.30 a skip lorry, driving out of a building site on Salmon Street, Kingsbury, collided with an ornamental cherry which had stood on the street's grass verge. The tree which was in full blossom, was wrenched from the ground and blocked the north bound lane for some time.