Figures put need for new Ark primary academy in doubt

Consultation takes place Thursday morning and evening at Ark Wembley on their plans for a new 630 pupil primary school at the junction of Empire Way and the Royal Route LINK

New light is thrown on the proposal by figures obtained by FoI request for the number of vacancies in Reception for September 2017.

The figures show that some of the recently expanded schools are not filling up. A number of these expansions have involved controversy including Stonebridge (closure of the adventure playground) and Byron Court (vociferous opposition from residents).

The figures in the final waiting list column represent children who will have a school place in Septepmber but not their parents' first choice. Parents will waiting for a vacancy to arise to place them in the school of their choice, perhaps to join siblings or because it is more convenient for transport. Children can be on several waiting lists so the figures are of limited value.

When a school has vacant spaces and no waiting list the parents of children moving into the borough between now and September will be offered places there, which may involve a journey across the borough.

When children settle into a school, albeit not their first choice, make friends and settle into the routine, the parents desire for transfer is sometimes reduced: 'She is doing well, I dont think I want to move her now'

The 'churn' of pupils moving between schools creates instability and affects progress and achievement.  A new school could have a destabilising effect on other esrtablished local schools.

A considerable amount of money has been invested in the expansion of schools. If they are not filling up the additional places then there is a question of value for money.

School places planning and school expansion seems a ripe topic for s Scrutiny Committeee investigation.

Brent Council to borrow to invest £10m for firesafety

Brent Full Council will be asked to vote for a plan to raise £10m to address fire safety concerns in the borough.

The officers' recommendation states:


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1.     Full Council to agree a £10m increase to the 2017/18 Capital Programme to meet the cost of enhancing the fire safety measures in the Council’s housing stock, to be financed initially by additional borrowing. 


2.     Full Council asks the Chief Executive to write to the Government as a matter of urgency:

.        2.1  If recommendation 1 is agreed to request that Government provide direct financial support to meet the costs incurred. 


.        2.2  If recommendation 1 is agreed, and if government does not agree to fund the works directly to request an increase to the housing revenue account borrowing cap to enable Brent Council to retain its existing headroom as well as undertaking the urgent retrofitting work required on existing housing stock to bring them up to best practice fire safety standards. 


.        2.3  To request that the government urgently consider revocation of the permitted development rights for office to residential conversions to ensure that such proposals go through the proper planning process to enable full consideration of all relevant planning considerations. 


3.     Full Council to note that a report proposing an outline programme of works will be taken to the Cabinet meeting on 24 July, with a full itemised and costed programme of work being prepared for Cabinet consideration and approval by October 2017 and its implementation monitored by the Housing Scrutiny Committee. 


4.     Full Council to ask the Director of Community Wellbeing to write to Registered Providers in the borough to request that they keep the Council updated as to the status of their Fire Risk Assessments for high rise blocks that they are responsible for within the borough. 


The full report (item 15 on a 17 item agenda, how is that for PR?) is below:

It is clear that some parts of the report ar weaker than others.

The meeting starts at 7pm and can be viewed LIVE HERE

Roe Green Picnic today afternoon and evening activities

Petition launched to ban fracking in Brent and Dawn Butler MP gets behind campaign

Cllr Lia Colacicco (Labour, Mapesbury) has started a petition to Parliament to prevent exploration for gas in Artesian Close, Hrlesden.

The petition LINK states:

The people of Brent do not want Fracking because it poses unacceptable risks to people, the climate and the environment.

We the residents refuse to put up with seismic testing and the contamination of our drinking water in order for large corporations to make profits at our expense. This is not about house prices. Our children’s health is not for sale.

The proposal was revealed on Wembley Matters on June 26th LINK

Dawn Butler MP for Brent Central told the Kilburn Times LINK

They [London Local Energy] will need more than PR and spin to get this round me and the residents of Brent. These proposals would place the facilities right next to hundreds of homes in Harlesden and just a stone’s throw away from a local primary school. “I won’t let any company put the health of my residents and students at risk, not on my watch. I am urging Brent Council to throw this laughable proposal out immediately.

Bleak future for Brent Council finances and our services

The Scrutiny Committee on July 11th will be discussing this presentation on Brent Council's financial position and future prospects.Further cuts in services and increases in charges can be anticipated as well as a Council Tax rise.

Waiting for action after South Kilburn meeting on fire safety

Tuesday's meeting in fire safety held in South Kilburn was well attended by residents despite the awkward time of 4pm. One attendee described it as understandably emotional at times. Phil Porter, Brent Council lead officer, said that every block on the estate would have their own meeting (although some blocks don't have a meeting room of their own) within the next 6 - 8 weeks.

The panel chaired by Tulip Siddiq consisted of Brent Council officers and representatives from BHP, housing associations and the London Fire Brigade. Councillors sat in the audience  with one attendee remarking that this seemed to absolve them from direct democratic accountability. Catalyst Housing had been invited but sent apologies.

Brent Housing Partnership were asked to change policy on any bicycles and push-chairs etc that blocked stairwells. Rather than give 7 days notice of their removal they should be removed immediately as they constitute a fire risk.

Cllr Duffy has been chasing up the issue of large bins filled with combustible material (see above) stored beneath balconies and netting used to keep out pigeons fixed along balconies which could act as a fire bridge. This is of particular concern as a tenant was found yesterday to be trying to store tyres on his balcony.

Duffy  told other councillors about the issues today as the CEO, Carolyn Downs, had failed to reply:

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The council looks neglectful  having a public fire -risk meeting in a block that is in the opinion of the LFB  has unsafe aspects.

The problem is the same old problem with Brent, do a lot of good work but fall at the last hurdle. One resident has agreed to help me move the bins  from under the balcony this afternoon into a safer location.

Picnic in Barham Park on Sunday to celebrate the life of Titus Barham

From Friends of Barham Library

To celebrate the life of Titus Barham 80 years ago and his gift of his home & gardens (which formed Barham Park) for "the enjoyment of local people" in Wembley, Friends of Barham Library are encouraging local people to come and have a picnic in Barham Park on Sunday July 9th in the company of their friends and neighbours. Just bring your friends and some food and enjoy our beautiful park.

We are recommending the use of the areas near the play area and the outdoor gym for the picnic (behind the building housing Barham Community Library) as another event is taking place in the main part of the Park.

We will open the Library from around 12 midday to show people around. We will also display recently painted art from the Art Group who used our Library for art classes recently. From around 1:30pm we hope to have a 'Kino Van' on site showing short films from the 1930s of local and other history.

AND from round 2:30 p.m. we will be serving afternoon tea in our Library on a 1st come 1st served basis - free of charge.

In between all of this we hope also to give short talks on the history of the Barhams and the local area.

Please come along for a bit of relaxation in Barham Park, see our Community Library (if you have not done so yet) and join us for some afternoon tea.

Ark plan new primary school in Wembley but is it needed?

Ark appears to be about to expand its schools empire in Brent adding a new primary free school at Wembley Ark, Ark Elvin and Ark Franklin Primary.

The new school would be on a site at the corner of Empire Way/Wembley Hill Road and the Royal Route with a form entry of 90 (3 classes in each year group) making a total when it is full of 630 pupils with perhaps a 60 place nursery.

The Ark Somerville Primary School would be on a busy main road which is of concern given the impact of air pollution on children and it will be important to see how much open play space will be available to the pupils.

The most important concern though is whether a new school, and such a large one, is actually required. In the immediate vicinity of the proposed school are Elsley Primary which is currently doubling in size to four forms of entry, Park Lane Primary, Oakington Manor Primary and Wembley Primary.

An important factor is the impact of Brexit and the declining value of the pound in the number of European citizens working in Brent.  There is anecdotal evidence of a reduction in numbers which affects the number of  EU pupils in local schools. Alongside this is the continuing issue of families affected by the benefit cap being forced to move out of London.

Quintain is of course building new housing in the area but this is generally not affordable to local people and unlikely to accommodate families. Brent Council will need to provide robust projections of future demand to justify a new school.

I understand that several of the primary schools that have been expanded recently are not attracting sufficient pupils to fill the new places and that some may apply to reduce their form of entry.  I am awaiting the outcome of an FoI request to see the evidence on unfilled vacancies and waiting lists.

If there is not an overall increase in demand a new school would create a 'churn' of pupil movement as parents move their children between schools. Brent Council is committed to supporting 'parent choice' by running schools with some spare capacity but the downside of this is that pupil mobility can be disruptive to the continuity of learning and undermine pupil progress. Schools with high mobility may find it very hard to meet the target thresholds set by the government for Year 6 children when perhaps only 20% of them attended the schoool in Year 2.

Local public transport is already under strain with pupils from Ark Elvin, Wembley Ark, Michaela, Preston Manor and the Lycee converging at home time and the proposed new primary would be on the same routes although one would hope that they lived within walking distance of the school.

Ark's announcement is below.

In September 2014 Ark submitted a free school application to the Department for Education to open a new primary academy in Wembley to help meet the growing demand for school places.

Following the approval of the application, Ark is now consulting on the proposal to open Ark Somerville Primary Academy, serving 2-11 year olds in Brent. It is proposed that Ark Somerville would open in September 2019 and admit 90 Reception age children each year until it reached its full capacity of 630 in September 2025; there is the potential that the school’s 60 FTE nursery might also open at the same time.

Ark Somerville will be located on the corner of Royal Route and Empire Way, next to the London Designer Outlet and will be a newly constructed building completed ready for September 2019 opening. The building is being designed and built by Bowmer and Kirkland, who will lead on a planning consultation later in the summer.

Ark Somerville Primary will be non-denominational, non-selective and mixed, serving local children. The admissions criteria will prioritise those living closest to the school. The school will have particularly strong links with Ark Academy (an all-through school), Ark Elvin Academy (a secondary school) and Ark Franklin Primary, all located in Brent. Ark Somerville will also become part of the wider Brent family of schools.

Please let us know what you think

If you would like to hear more about the schools, please join us at one of our drop-in events which will be held at Ark Academy, Bridge Rd, Wembley, HA9 9JP

There will be two events held on 13th July at:

•  9:30 - 11:00
•  17:30 - 19:00

The consultation period will run from 29 June to 15 September 2017.
If you have any questions or comments, please do get in touch through our feedback form on Somerville S10 Consultation Feedback Form