New cemetery asbestos public meeting

The Friends of Paddington Cemetery have arranged a new public meeting on Wednesday evening (March 15th)  at the Kilburn Housing Co-op, Kilburn Square, NW6 at 6.45pm.

The meeting will  deal with issues around the discovery of asbestos in the cemetery, how it arrived there and whether Brent Council responded in a transparent way.

Unlike the last meeting, where the chair was Amar Dave, head of Brent Regeneration, this meeting will have an independent chair.

Cllr Duffy, who has been pursuing the issue for months,  has requested that at least one of the panel from the previous meeting takes part, and is also asking for a trade union representative to be present.

Why is Brent Council fixing a South Kilburn council property rent at 'up to' 80% of the market rent?

Click on image to enlarge

I've been banging on about the meaninglessness of  'affordable housing' when used by the planning officers in the 'London Borough of Brent and Quintain' for some time and you're probably bored with it.

However, the term is used again in LocataHome, the free sheet of council and housing association homers available in five West London boroughs. Locata guidance says:

At the moment Housing Associations rent most of their homes out at Social Rents. Housing Associations will now be allowed to offer some tenancies at higher rents which could be up to 80% of a market rent. This is called “Affordable Rent”. 

Housing Associations will be able to charge the “Affordable Rent” on new build homes and will also be allowed to let some of their existing properties to new tenants at Affordable Rents. Tenants will still be able to claim housing benefit to help with their rent.

The 2 bedroomed flat advertised in the March 12 edition of LocataHomes (No 529) advertises a two bedroomed flat in Gorefield House, South Kilburn at a weekly rent of  £249.23 per week and adds 'Only applicants in employment should bid for this property.' The landlord is NOT a Housing Association - it is Brent Council. It is NOT new build.

As you can see in the above advertisement a similar property at social rent is just under £100 cheaper.

Brent's Draft Housing Strategy of 2017 had an appendix LINK which looked at what people in Brent could afford.  This table shows the gross income required to pay rent at a level of 40% of income.

So at 80% of market rent for a 2 bedroom flat the family would require an income of £54,971 per year. Incidentally 'up to 80%' in rent terms is the reverse of the 'up to' used for broadband speeds. For housing 80% is most likely while the broadband speed is rarely, if ever, reached!

The London Mayor is quoted in the draft strategy document as giving these figures for the London Affordable Rent and you will see that for a 2 bedroomed property is £152.73, around the same level as the Leighton Gardens flat above.

So I have three questions for Brent Council:

Why are you advertising council housing property on South Kilburn at a rent which does not meet the Mayor's affordability criterion and clearly envisages the tenant has an income well above the Brent median income?

On what basis are you charging a so-called 'affordable rent' for a property which is not new build and where you are the landlord?

What Council policy allows you to stipulate that the prospective tenant must be in employment?

Caroline Lucas challenged the whole concept of 'affordable' on Channel 4 News last night:

"The idea that affordable should mean 80% of market rent is nothing less than obscene."

Green MP Caroline Lucas gives her view on what she calls the UK's “housing crisis”. pic.twitter.com/D3KfBVfoim

— Channel 4 News (@Channel4News) March 6, 2018

Green Party champions children's right to access to nature

Since I became ill about a year ago I have suspended my work with primary school pupils engaging with nature in Fryent Country Park LINK but was very pleased when the Green Party passed a motion at last weekend's conference asserting children's right to access to nature.

I have seen for myself how children can become enthralled by contact with nature. I remember one child emerging from the woodland and gazing over the meadows and exclaiming, 'This is like Paradise!'  On another occasion a child was chatting happlily to me as we walked through a meadow and a teacher ran up to ask, 'Was she talking to you?' I replied that we had been having a chat about all the things she had seen. The teacher drew me aside later and told me that the child was an elective mute and had never spoken to an adult in school. 

Natalie Bennett, former leader of the Green Party, moved the motion at Conference and has written about it in the Ecologist LINK. This is part of what she had to say.  I think it fits in very well with the move I have been supporting over recent weeks to make London a National Park City.

--> When I was a small child, five or so, I first went blackberrying in Australia. At the same time, I was taught to find yabbies (freshwater crayfish) in the streams around my grandparents’ house in a national park near Sydney with a piece of meat tied on a string. (A few years later all the yabbies’ disappeared – pesticides, it was said.)

I also collected the shed shells of cicadas, and learnt about metamorphosis. It was also where I learnt to use a crosscut saw, built childish dams across a muddy stream, and to shower under a waterfall.
These are the kinds of experiences that the Texas City of Austin - perhaps a politically unlikely location - has decided should be the right of every child. In 2016, its council, with not a Green Party member on it, unanimously adopted a Children’s Outdoor Bill of Rights, guaranteeing its young people the right to many of those activities I so enjoyed as a child.

We’re increasingly understanding that these activities aren’t just fun, aren’t just educational, but are essential for human wellbeing – will develop skills, knowledge and expectations that will take people through a lifetime of better health and wellbeing.

And of course they’ll prepare people for physical activities – develop the practical skills that equip people to be active in a society where many are suffering from obesity, diabetes and other health issues arising from inactivity.

Lack of opportunities and exercise of these activities has been identified as “Nature Deficit Disorder”. It’s something that many children now suffer from. 

The International Union for the Conservation of Nature has prepared a major report on children’s need for access to nature, pointing out that as well as the health, wellbeing and skills that time spent in nature provides, its essential that if we are to care for our natural world in the future, coming generations have knowledge of and love for it.

Acknowledging this research, and reality, Green Party members before its spring conference, held in Bournemouth, made a motion on the issue their top policy priority for conference.
In it the party backed the call for access to nature to be recognised as a human right, operating at the international level, but also acknowledged that this is something that cities and local government can implement at a local level.

In many parts of the country Green councillors are already fighting to save local parks and green spaces, from the Sefton Park Meadows and Rimrose Valley Park, to Sunderland and Stoneham.

But the framework of a children’s right to nature, something that’s particularly likely to be denied to those in the poorest communities, that acknowledges also that barriers can be lack of knowledge and opportunity as well as lack of access, is an important additional tool, that you can expect to see wielded for the benefit of our children, and our world.

Strike planned at Leopold Primary School over bullying allegations

National Education Union (NEU) members at Leopold Primary School in Brent have voted by a clear margin to take strike action over alleged bullying and harassment by the Headteacher. The first strike action is scheduled for 20^th to 22^nd March.

Last Autumn 13 members of staff, the majority NEU member,  submitted formal grievances against the Head. An independent investigator was appointed who submitted his report to the Governing Body and the London Borough of Brent in December. 

 The NEU claim that the complainants have still not been informed of the outcome of the investigation, in clear breach of the Grievance Procedure. Meanwhile they allege that several of those members have been subject to disciplinary allegations, at the instigation of the Headteacher.

The NEU have asked that the Head be suspended on full pay, and have no involvement in any disciplinary procedures until the issues arising from the grievances have been resolved. The NEU say that Brent  Council and the Governing Body have failed to respond.

Phil Pardoe NEU Regional officer said:

This is outrageous. The allegations are very serious. It is completely unacceptable for the Governors and Brent to sit on the report, and refuse to take any action to protect our members. We still hope to find a negotiated solution, but our members have reluctantly decided that they have no option but to take strike action in the face of the unacceptable behaviour of the Head and the seeming indifference of the Governors and Brent. 

Queens Parade planning application to be heard on March 14th

Queen's Parade now

Proposed new student accommodation building

New building in townscape

A planning application that will transform the Walm Lane, Willesden Lane and High Road junction in Willesden Green comes up for decision by Brent Planning Committee on Wednesday March 14th.

Planning Officers recommend granting of planning permission for 1-12 Queens Parade, Walm Lane, for demolition of the existing one storey shopping parade and its replacement by a part 6, 7 and 8 storey building housing 117 student accommodation units with 5 retail units on the ground floor and a basement retail warehouse space.

The shops are currently let on a 'meanwhile' basis pending redevelopment.

The officers' report LINK states:

-->

The key planning issues for Members to consider are set out below. Members will need to balance all of the planning issues and the objectives of relevant planning policies when making a decision on the application:

Principle of use: There is no objection in principle to the redevelopment of the site to provide student accommodation and five retail units. The site is considered to accord with Council policy in relation to the provision of student accommodation due to its location within a town centre and good transport links. The submission demonstrates a need for the student accommodation in line with Brent and London Plan policy. The retail units would contribute to the viability and vitality of the Willesden Town Centre. The principle of development is therefore considered to be acceptable.

Representations received: Objections were received from 20 local residents and one Councillor raising concerns regarding the loss of the retail units; harm to the high street; suitability of student accommodation at the site; parking/servicing, overdevelopment; impact on conservation the area and impact on neighbouring amenity. In addition to this 50 letters of support were received from local residents who stated that the existing buildings do not make best use of the site; the proposal will boost the local economy; the new units will improve the town centre; and the height is considered to be suitable.

Demolition of existing building: There is no objection in principle to the demolition of the existing retail units. While they are in a Conservation Area, the existing buildings do not share the distinctive characteristics which define the Willesden Green Conservation Area. The Site Specific Allocation encourages redevelopment of the site with a more intensive and better use of land. The loss of these buildings is considered to accord with policy provided the replacement building is of an acceptable design.

Character and Appearance: The proposal is considered to have a high quality design that has regard to the character of its surroundings including the conservation area and to not inappropriately challenge or dominate surrounding development.

Impact on Neighbouring Amenity: The development has been assessed against loss of light and sense of enclosure on all neighbouring properties. It has been found that the relationship between the proposed development and all surrounding properties is considered to be acceptable, according with relevant Brent standards and BRE guidance.

Parking & Servicing: It is considered that the use of a ‘permit free’ agreement secured by condition would mitigate against parking concerns in the area. It is considered that the proposed servicing arrangements would be suitable for the site and would not materially harm the surrounding area.

'A turnkey solution on a hardware-as-a-service basis' (Uh?) announced by Quintain and Samsung for Wembley Park

Tipi 'social kitchen'

Any possibility of truly affordable family housing in the Quintain development seems to be disappearing fast as the 'build to rent' scheme clearly has a different market in mind. Products will be 'refreshed' every few years which is not good news for the environment.

Here's the latest press release from Quintain's public relations company:

Leading property developer Quintain and Samsung Electronics have today announced a multimillion pound deal to provide the most innovative digital appliances in the market to over 3,000 rental apartments at Wembley Park. This deal marks Samsung's first hardware subscription deal within the build to rent market. The deal has been constructed using Samsung Capital to fund the appliances as well as on-going maintenance and provides a turnkey solution on a hardware-as-a-service basis.
   

Quintain is delivering the UK's largest build to rent development at Wembley Park with over 5,000 homes managed by their residential management company, Tipi. The deal will see over 3,000 apartments kitted out with the latest "connected" appliances including smart fridge freezers, ovens, hobs, dishwashers and washer dryers.

Samsung is one of the world's leading companies in the digital appliance industry and the stand-out leaders in innovation. Samsung invests heavily in research and development to bring the most advanced products to market with the aim of improving the lives of its customers.

As part of the rollout, Samsung will install its state-of-the-art appliances not only in the apartments but also in the shared social spaces, which are part of Tipi's all-inclusive lifestyle offering. Samsung connected devices include Family Hub fridges, which have built-in cameras allowing residents to see exactly what is inside their fridge from their mobile phone, and track the freshness of food items.

Angus Dodd, Chief Executive of Quintain, commented:

"We are delighted to be working with Samsung who are widely known as the global industry leaders in innovation. This deal is an important step forward to creating a smart city at Wembley Park and ensuring it remains one the most connected places in London."

"Tipi is an industry leader in operating professionally managed rental homes and the deal with Samsung Electronics really makes Tipi stand head and shoulders above our competitors." 

Robert King, Vice President of Consumer Electronics, Samsung Electronics UK and Ireland, commented:

"Samsung is delighted to be a partner on this key regeneration project at Wembley Park. It identifies with our purpose of building communities, enriching experiences with technology and delighting our customers. Using Samsung Capital allows Quintain to refresh models every few years, ensuring their residents have the best, up-to-date experience at Tipi."

Barry Gardiner among the speakers at Jobs and Climate Conference on Saturday

Tickets are still available for this important conference in central London. Go to LINK.

Tackling the climate crisis needs workers to build a world fit for the future. Yet the narrative of 'jobs versus environment' is still heard across the political spectrum, derailing the action we urgently need.

This conference, organised by the Campaign against Climate Change Trade Union Group, aims to challenge the false choice of good jobs versus the environment. Instead of settling for this, there is both an urgent need for action on climate change and a real opportunity for trade unionists to be at the forefront of campaigning for a transition. One which puts the needs of the planet, decent jobs and social justice at the top of the political agenda.

The conference, for trade unionists and others interested in the issues, will be an opportunity to hear from trade unionists, scientists, environmental activists and others about the issues; and to learn from grassroots action today as well as debating a vision for the future.

Speakers include:

Barry Gardiner - Shadow Secretary of State for International Trade and Shadow Minister for International Climate Change, Chris Baugh - Dep Gen Sec PCS , Sarah Woolley - BFAWU, Caroline Russell - Green Party London Assembly Member, Liz Hutchins - FOE, Professor Joanna Haigh - Grantham Institute, Suzanne Jeffery - Chair CACC, Asad Rehman - Executive Director War on Want, Mika Minio-Paluello - Platform, Wilf Sullivan - Race Equality Officer TUC, Tahir Latif - (Aviation group PCS), Duncan Law - Biofuelwatch, Kim Hunter - Frack Free Scarborough, Tina Louise Rothery - Lancashire Anti-Fracking Nanas, Graham Petersen - Greener Jobs Alliance, Sam Mason - PCS, Allison Roche - UNISON, ACTS Unite, Jonathan Neale - Global Climate Jobs, Dave King - New Lucas Plan Group, Lauren Jones - Sheffield Climate Alliance, Paul Allen - Centre for Alternative Technology, Sarah Pearce, UNISON

Registration: 10am-10.45am, conference start 10.45, conference finish 5pm

Two Plenary Sessions:
1. Jobs versus the Environment, challenging a false choice.
2. Planning for a just transition - a future which doesn't cost the earth

Workshops include:

• Climate Change: What's happening to our climate and why this is an issue
• One Million Climate Jobs: Planning for a national Climate Service
• Climate Refugees: Campaigning within the trade unions
• Just Transition: Challenging the Government's Clean Growth Strategy
• A New Lucas Plan: Popular Planning for Social Need
• Jobs and Climate: Debates in the movement
• Food and agriculture: Planning for a healthy sustainable future
• Women and Climate: In the frontline
• Workplace Environmental Reps: Organising in the workplace
• Energy Democracy: How can trade unions 'resist, reclaim, restructure' the energy system?

Olympic Way Story - Illustrated talk March 23rd

Wembley History Society presents:-

Visitors Welcome (£3 charge, students £1)

At: English Martyrs’ Hall,
Chalkhill Road (top of Blackbird Hill), Wembley, HA9 9EW.

Car park at rear, and buses 83, 182, 245, 297 & 302 stop nearby.

For further information, please contact:
            Philgrant69@aol.com