The Tricycle Theatre: 'Keep the Name!' Protest tomorrow (Monday) 11am

There will be a Bank Holiday Monday protest outside the Tricycle Theatre in Kilburn High Road against the proposal to change its name to The Kiln.

People who wish to see the Tricycle’s name retained are urged to bring placards, banners etc outside the theatre at 11am. The TV programme London Tonight is expected to be there unless a more important London story breaks.

The organisers say they are protesting for two main reasons. This is what they told me.:

Firstly, there was no consultation: See this comment from one of over 100 people on nextdoor.co.uk who have voiced their opposition: 

Just went to the jazz evening at Willesden library cafe. There were 29 people there. Every single one of them signed the petition! All angered at the name change. All wanted the ‘Tricycle’ name to be retained. Most spoke of their annoyance at the change. They were a mixed group of young and mature people, men and women, 14 black people, six of whom were men and one of whom a Rastafarian young man was vociferous in his criticism of the change. The other signatures were white and also of mix gender. I am pointing this out only to show that the theatre and its name is loved by Brent residents of every ilk and to prove that there really is a whole-hearted rejection of the name change! I did not have to even try to persuade a single person to sign the petition.

Secondly, there is no support for it - literally none.  Not one person. It’s a sad case of groupthink by the management of the theatre because we’ve been speaking to hundreds of people for the last three weeks and NOT ONE has voiced support - 1083 have signed an online petition LINK 750 have signed paper petitions outside the Tricycle cinema. 

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Muhammed Butt re-elected as Brent Leader

Muhammed Butt was re-elected leader of the Labour Group on Brent Council at their Annual General Meeting. As Labour have 57 out of 60 seats on the Council (three to come at the delayed Willesden Green ward election) this makes him Leader of Brent Council to be rubber-stamped at the first Full Council meeting.

Butt told the assembled councillors, including 19 or so new ones, 'The terrible decisions are yet to come.' Not terribly reassuring and it is a pity he didn't tell the electorate that.

Butt defeated Roxanne Mashari comfortably but there was praise for her speech on the importance of transparency and the need to allow debate.

The Standing Orders were adopted, but not after some objections and a promise to keep them under review. As I understand it this means that Muhammed Butt will nominate members of the Cabinet and the main committees himself, rather than allocate roles from a list elected by the whole group. There may be a hustings.

I have not yet heard whether their terms of office and that of the leader will be extended.

Petition: No more one-party councils: We demand a fair voting system for local elections

I had a number of chats overnight with people from all the parties (except Ukip) at the local elections count at the Civic Centre about the voting system for local elections. Even some Labour activists, despite their euphoria over the results, recognised that the final result (excluding the three councilors still to be elected in Willesden Green) of 50 Labour and three Tories did not match the proportion of the vote each party gained.

The  Electoral Reform Soicety has an on-line petition which may interest readers. You can sign it HERE

This is the commentary on the petition:

England’s voting system is bust. Millions of votes are cast aside, while people feel forced to vote for a ‘lesser evil’ and parties are handed huge, unwarranted majorities.

We demand a change in the voting system for local elections in England and Wales – so that results reflect how people actually vote. Scottish local elections use a proportional voting system.

Northern Ireland has used a fair and proportional system for local elections for decades – and in 2007 Scotland joined them.Wales will soon be giving councils the right to choose. Now it's time England caught up.

It’s time for a proportional system where no one has to ‘hold their nose’ at the ballot box, and where there is healthy competition – rather than a politics of ‘one-party states’ and uncontested fiefdoms.

We call on party leaders to back real reform. Britain deserves a democracy where votes aren’t thrown on the electoral scrapheap – but where there is real choice and where our voices are always heard.

Unmissable 'Stand Up for Gaza!' May 18th

Brent Friends of Palestine have done amazingly well to secure such a top group of comedians for this event for a really worthwhile cause. Do please buy a ticket.

STAND  UP  FOR  GAZA

4 comedians, Alexie Sayle, Francesca Martinez, Jeremy Hardy and Sarah Pascoe, will be providing the entertainment for this fundraising event.

When:  Friday May 18th; doors open 7.15 and comedy starts at 7.45.

Compere: Ian Saville, the socialist magician. 

Venue: YAA Centre, 1, Chippenham Mews, Marylands Rd, London W9 2AN ( Nearest tube; Westbourne Pk or Warwick Avenue 10 mins walk: Buses; 18,36, 6 187 all stop nearby; Street parking after 6.30. step free access )

Tickets: £17.50; £14 concessions; Available from https://www.wegottickets.com/event/435208  NOT available on the door

Wine/ Beer/ Soft drinks and Light snacks will be available from 7.15 pm

ALL PROFITS will go to the Palestine Trauma Centre's Fridays of Joy Project in Gaza: See info@ptcuk.org

Labour tightens its grip on Brent, Tories reduced to 3, Lib Dems wiped out

With all election results in Labour has 57 seats on Brent Council, Conservatives three and Liberal Democrats and Greens none. Three more seats will be contested in the postponed Willesden Green election.

Labour took Brondesbury Park from the Conservatives but the Tories managed to hold on to Kenton.The Brondesbury Park result was keenly awaited because of the controversy over false rumours about the death of one of the Conservative candidates.  In the event the lowest Labour vote was 1660 and the highest Tory vote, for Carol Shaw, was 1567. John Warren, the leader of the Conservative Group lost his seat.

The Dollis Hill election was expected to be close between Labour and the Lib Dems but the highest Liberal Democrat, Alison Hopkins, at 1,355 was substantially behind the lowest Labour candidate who collected 2,100 votes.

In Kilburn John Duffy only managed 412 votes with the top Labour candidate gathering almost six times as many votes.

In Queens Park  the Women's Equality candidate had 626 votes against the top Labour vote of 1,862. Of the three Green candidates, PoppyStockbridge was top at 519 votes.

The result is likely to have an impact on the contest for the Labour Party leadership due to take place at tomorrow's Annual General Meeting.  I was unable to make much of a dent in Muhammed Butt's vote in Tokyngton but the turnout was the lowest in the borough.

FULL RESULTS HERE

Social cleansing? Somali women protest at being forced out of Brent

Against the background of the new blocks being built by Quintain, unaffordable for local families, Somali women protested outside Brent Civic Centre this week. Their message was clear: Somali families as a result of the housing crisis are being forced out of Brent by the Council disrupting family links and the education of their children.

@Selina_Bakkar tweeted Cllr Butt from the demonstration and asked him to come out and meet the women, saying 'Can you come out and speak to the women. They are fighting for their children not to be displaced':

Modern day ethnic cleansing? The claim- Somali families are being pushed out of Brent. Some families are being forced to pay thousands to stay or children are being moved whilst studying for their GCSE's.

Brent Council tweeted back:

Brent Council takes every household’s needs into consideration with every housing offer made. We give priority to homeless applicants with children taking GCSEs to be rehoused in Brent. But when this is not possible due to a lack of affordable accommodation, we offer homeless households the opportunity to move out of unsatisfactory b&b accommodation and into good quality, permanent accommodation within reasonable travelling distance to their priorities.

Selina responded with the evidence below of a family being moved to Hatfield:

She claimed this was breaching the Council's statement regarding priority being given to GCSE students and said,  'This is causing the family distress at a crucial time especially for the young girls sitting exams. Has the regeneration accommodated for existing residence or is the solution to push them out?'

Police asked to probe Brent Tory candidate death rumours

Richard Osley LINK is reporting that Brent Conservatives have asked police to investigate rumours being spread that one of their candidates in tomorrow's council election has died.

Unfortunately this comes after the death of Labour candidate Lesley Jones resulting in a delay in the Willesden Green election.

The Brent Returning Officer has asked election agents to remind candidates that the spreading of false statements about a candidate is an illegal practice. 

In addition alleged malpractice in the filling in of postal votes has been reported to police in Dollis Hill ward.

Brent Council turns down Queensbury Pub plans

In a damning decision notice Brent Council has thrown out the developer's plans for the Queensbury pub in Willesden Green. They cite massing, poor design, inadequate standard of accommodation, failure to provide maximum reasonable amount of affordable housing,  lack of control of carbon dioxide emissions and impact on parking and transport infrastructure.

The decision notice states:


The scheme does not comply with guidance and the pre-application advice received has not been adhered to:
 

The proposed development, by reason of its massing, poorly designed front elevation and lack of articulation, would appear unduly prominent and out of character in the street scene and in the wider locality. The development would fail to preserve or enhance the character or appearance of the Mapesbury Conservation Area in which the site is located. As a result, the proposal fails to comply with the National Planning Policy Framework 2012; Policies 3.4, 3.5 and 7.4 of the London Plan consolidated with alterations since 2011 (March 2016); Core Strategy (2010) policy CP17, Development Management Policies (2016) DMP1 and DMP7; Supplementary Planning Guidance 17 “Design Guide for New Development”, October 2001; and the Mapesbury Conservation Area Design Guide.

The proposed development would not provide an adequate overall standard of accommodation for future occupiers, by virtue of the lack of amenity space for all units, the undersized nature of units AF3, AF5, AF8, AF11 and AF15, the poor outlook of units 2.06, 3.06 and 4.05 and the poor layouts, narrow widths and usability of the units which would be contrary to Developmen Management Policy (2016) DMP1 and DMP19, Policy 3.5 of the London Plan consolidated with alterations since 2011 (March 2016) and the Technical Housing Standards – Nationally Described Space Standards (2015). 

The proposal would fail to provide the maximum reasonable amount of affordable housing which would be contrary to Core Strategy (2010) policy CP2 and Development Management Policy (2016) DMP15, policy 3.12 of the London Plan consolidated with alterations since 2011 (March  2016) and policies H5 and H6 of the draft London Plan. 

 In the absence of a legal agreement to control the matter the proposal would result in additional carbon dioxide emissions within the borough in an Air Quality Management Area, without any contribution to carbon reduction measures in the area. The proposal would also fail to demonstrate that a BREEAM rating of at least ‘Very Good’ could be achieved. As a result the proposal would be contrary to London Plan  consolidated with alterations since 2011 (March 2016) policy 5.2, 5.3 and 7.14, Core Strategy (2010) policy CP19, Development Management Policy (2016) DMP1 and the Mayors Sustainable Design and Construction SPG (2014).

In the absence of a legal agreement to control the matter, the development would result in additional pressure on servicing, parking demand and transport infrastructure to the detriment of the free and safe flow of traffic and pedestrians which would be contrary to Development Management Policies (2016) DMP1 and DMP12.

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