Voting today on the Harlesden Area Plan - polling closes 10pm

From Harlesden Area Action

TODAY IS THE DAY for the VOTE on the Neighbourhood Plan!

HAA supports the Neighbourhood Plan - for more info please see this link

Eligible polling stations: John Keble Primary, Harlesden Primary, Furness Primary, Newman Catholic College (Holland Rd), All Souls Church Hall (Station Rd).

Open TODAY 30th May 7am-10pm.

You do not need to bring your polling card. If you have voted in the past local or EU elections, you are likely eligible to vote for the neighbourhood plan. If you do not live within HNF boundaries, (above) you are not. Please go to your local polling station to ask. 

The Plan (Click bottom right corner for full page version)

Angry residents knock on Muhammed Butt's door to complain after weekend of football ends in mayhem

 


Residents angered by the behaviour of football fans at the weekend contacted Brent Council calling for action and some residents even turned up on Council Leader Muhammed Butt's doorstep to complain.

There were three matches, one on each day of the bank holiday, but it was theAston Villa v Derby County match on Bank Holiday Monday that was the main focus of complaints.

Photo: Blog on the Block

 Wembley Park Residents Association, in a widely circulated email said:

Yesterday’s football match was one that generated a number of complaints, worries and concerns amongst residents in both Forum House and Quadrant Court.

WPRA have received a multitude of videos and pictures as well as concerning messages but residents sent it via our WhatsApp group so we have tried to compile a list of the evidence for your perusal as it shows a lot needs to be done during such match days.

Please note that fans began arriving in the area at around 8/9am yesterday morning and the noise levels were ever increasing nearing hours before kick off so residents were extremely disturbed and felt the effects of this especially since our local Tesco remained closed for a number of hours before the match even began and Police were also called to the area but through what we have attached you can see there’s a need for a strategy that can look into local policing during match days.  

In addition, it further adds to the Wembley Park Estate charges for residents feel this should not be covered by residents on such match days as the litter and antisocial behaviour during yesterday’s Bank Holiday Monday shows why residents feel Quintain should recoup such payments directly from the FA and or Brent should subsidise our council tax (as per discussions during our meeting last week).

May you please get back to us with your thoughts on how best to address this as residents are seeking direction on how best this will be resolved so that it is not repeated in the future.

Brent Council leader Muhammed Butt responded:

I had residents calling me and knocking on my door because of the issues you mention. 

I can assure you we are looking at what happened on Monday. 

The behaviour of the fans was not acceptable and will make sure that all the relevant stakeholders are involved in trying to get to the bottom of this.  

I was sent some of the pictures and videos. 

Let us look into this and will keep you informed. 

This morning Brent Council tweeted:

To which another resident replied

Apply by June 5th for Wembley Park Community Fund grants

The Wembley Park Community Fund is led by Quintain in partnership with the London Borough of Brent, Wates, McLaren, John Sisk and Son, and McAleer and Rushe. The Fund aims to make a real difference to Brent residents by encouraging community engagement, participation and place-making through funding a variety of community-led activities.

Themes

Funding is available for projects delivering within the London Borough of Brent to help address local needs under the following themes:

• Better Places – making Brent a great place to live, work and visit
• Better Lives – creating opportunities for and supporting education, employment and good health
• Better Locally – ensuring local networks and services work effectively, are accessible for all and directly engage with local communities to make a Better Brent

Eligibility 

Applicants must be locally based in the London Borough of Brent or be working with Brent residents and have an annual income of under £500,000. Organisations with an annual income of less than £100,000 will be prioritised.

Grant size

Applicants may apply for grants between £1,000 and £10,000.

How to apply

To apply to this fund, please take a look at the fund guidelines and application form guidance by clicking  below

Deadline for applications

The fund closes at midday on Monday 3rd June 2019.

Contact details

Please contact The Programmes Team at The London Community Foundation if you have any questions about your application or any queries about the Fund at applications@londoncf.org.uk or 020 7582 5117.

 

Fund guidelines (PDF) 

 

 Online application form guidance 

(PDF)  

Apply now (online form

BREAKING: Brent European Election Result

The Brent result that will contribute to the overall London result at City Hall tonight was:

Party	Vote	%	%2014	%Change 2019/14
Animal Welfare	782	1%	!%	=
Change UK	2859	4%	-	-
Conservative	7037	10%	18%	-8%
Green Party	6398	9%	7%	+2%
Labour Party	25565	37%	47%	-10%
Liberal Democrats	16141	23%	10%	+13%
Brexit Party	8014	11%	-	-
UK European Union	720	1%	-	-
UKIP	1337	2%	9%	-7%
Women’s Equality	801	1%	-	-

-->Note percentage calculations are my own as not yet published by Brent Council
The 11 independent votes ranged from 7 to42

Total number of votes cast 69,894 (2014 72,564)

813 votes spoilt or rejected of which 595 were casting more than one vote, 215 uncertain markings and 3 voters who identified themselves.

Commentary

The ward breadown will be published later but I understand Greens came second in Kensal Green and Queens Park.

In  Alperton and Sudbury there were significant nymbers of people who voted twice, once for a political party and again for one of the independent candidates.  Some people, perhaps confused with local election voting, voted for three parties.

Brent Council cabinet member Cllr Krupesh Hirani, a prospective candidate for Brent and Harrow constituency in the forthcoming GLA election, claimed on social media that Labour's performance in Brent was the best in the country.

The London-wide result:

Animal Welfare Party	25,232
Change UK – The Independent Group	117,635
Conservative and Unionist Party	177,964
Green Party	278,957
Labour Party	536,810
Liberal Democrats	608,725
The Brexit Party	400,257
UK European Union Party (UKEUP)	18,806
UK Independence Party (UKIP)	46,497
Women’s Equality Party	23,766

Sufra appeal for three Iraqi asylum seeking families in desperate need

Three Iraqi families seeking asylum turned up at Sufra this week, desperate for help. Two of the mothers are pregnant and one has just given birth prematurely.

They fled Iraq together to avoid persecution. As Asylum Seekers, they get almost no support from the government. They have nowhere safe to stay and no money to buy food – let alone nappies.

Here’s what we urgently need until they get housed (2 months) and are granted refugee status (1 year minimum):

• Emergency Accommodation (x60 nights) = £1,200 per family
• Baby Clothes, Blankets and Bottles (x3) = £100 per family
• Baby Cot (x3) = £90 each
• Pram (x3) = £120 each
• Household Basics (x3) = £200 per family
  (Including bedding, cooking/cleaning equipment, crockery, etc.)
• Other Essentials (x3): £300 per family
  (Including a small grant, oyster cards, a mobile phone and top-up, food parcels, etc.)

That’s about £2010 per family.

You’re welcome to donate directly to Sufra NW London here so that we can buy exactly what they need. 

Welsh Harp Half-Term Activity Day - Thursday May 30th

Join us at the Welsh Harp Environmental Education Centre for Holiday Activities!

Thursday 30th May
Pond Dipping and Mini-beast Hunt, 10.30am – 12pm
Dip in the pond to see what swims below and hunt for mini-beasts to find what creatures live in the woodland.

Shelter Building and Fire Lighting Demonstration, 1pm – 2.30pm
Build yourself a shelter in the woodland and see a fire lighting demonstration using a flint and steel.

£3 per child per activity session.

Limited spaces so book now!

What you need to know for this activity:

• An adult must attend & supervise children throughout activities.
• Places are limited and booking is essential, please contact us to book and also let us know if you need to cancel your booking.
• Please pay in cash on the day. £3 per child per activity session.
• Activities suitable for children aged 5-11 years. Children aged 4 and under who are not participating in activities are free of charge.
• Children and adults should wear comfortable outdoor clothing that may get dirty.
  

To book, contact Deb Frankiewicz on:
Phone: 07711 701 694
Email: welshharpcentre@thames21.org.uk

Future of HS2 project uncertain amidst Tory turmoil

Construction News often sends me well informed articles and I think this one, received yesterday, is of particular interest:

The government confirmed earlier this week that HS2 would continue, despite a damning House of Lords economic committee report. However, as I write this, rumours abound that the prime minister's position is uncertain once again, in the wake of another attempt to sell her EU withdrawal deal to MPs.

Unfavourable results for the Conservatives in tomorrow's European Union parliamentary elections, where the party is polling fourth according to some surveys, will just add to the pressure. And the implications on construction could be profound. A YouGov poll for The Times found that 57 per cent of Conservative Party members believed HS2 should be scrapped, with 32 per cent believing it should continue.

Given that these voters will likely choose the next prime minister, the future for the largest infrastructure scheme in Europe doesn’t look positive. At least £5.5bn has already been spent on the project and firms involved have lined up workers and equipment for the works. Bookies' favourite Boris Johnson, who announced last week he would put his name in the hat for a Tory leadership vote, is openly against HS2. Last year Mr Johnson told The Times: “There are transport projects we should have in the north of the country that ought to take precedence over HS2. “It’s crazy how long it takes to get east-west across the country.” Another potential Tory leader, Andrea Leadsom, told the cabinet last year that HS2 presented poor value for money and the funding would be better spent elsewhere. But not all leadership front-runners are opposed to the £56bn scheme. Secretary of state for health and social care Matt Hancock is understood to have given his backing to the delivery of HS2 on the condition that there is investment in east-west transport links in addition to high-speed line. Former Brexit minister Dominic Raab, whilst not clearly for or against HS2, is believed to want to assess if the project is value for money for the taxpayer. And with the rumours swirling against the prime minister, the prospect of another Tory leadership contest is rising. What's certain is that the next inhabitant of Number 10 will have immense power over HS2's future. Last week, Balfour Beatty said the workforce they had setup for its Old Oak Common station contract would be redeployed or made redundant if works didn't start soon. If the next leader re-establishes confidence in the project, support should be parallel with a clear start date to the main civil works.  If it were cancelled, it would be a huge blow for this industry but the money set aside for HS2 must be used on alternative infrastructure projects, which would allow the firms investing time into HS2 the ability to win work elsewhere.

Caroline Wadham, reporter, Construction News

Brent Council did not formally consult with secondary headteachers on alternative free school provision...

...Or that it what an FoI response from Brent Council to the National Education Union (NEU) seems to indicate.

At the Scrutiny Committee meeting on the free school proposal Gail Tolley, Strategic Director for Children and Young People was asked about consultation with secondary schools about the proposal and whether they were interested in running such provision themselves (extract from Wembley Matters report of the meeting LINK):

Strategic Director of Children and Young People, Gail Tolley, told Cllr Jumbo Chan that she had raised with secondary school heads the possibility of them taking on the alternative provision but they had not been interested. Those recognised by the DfE as able to set up a free school could still apply during the procurement process. Cllr Chan said that an informal discussion was not sufficient and requested evidence of a formal consultation.  Union representatives protested that they had not been consulted as educational professionals on the Council's proposal.

The NEU made the following Freedom of Information request:

We understand that local Headteachers are opposed to a Free School, and that they had initially been approached to take on Roundwood as an extension of their own school. We formally request, under FOI, copies of any correspondence relating to this.

Brent Council responded:

There has been no correspondence between the Local Authority and local Headteachers in relation to whether they had been approached to take on Roundwood as an extension of their own school. This point was confirmed at the Scrutiny Committee meeting on 9^th May 2019.

 The response is ambiguously worded but suggests that the local authority did not consult on what is a far reaching proposal for both local schools and the young people concerned.