UPDATE: McDelivery at Wembley Asda: residents need more information to respond to planning application

McDelivery is common in some other countries and now spreading here. A planning application has been submitted for alterations to the Wembley Asda store which suggests such a service will be opening there. Unfortunately there is very little information on the application to enable residents to make a comment.

This is what I have written to Brent Council's Head of Planning, Amar Dave.

Dear Mr Dave,

I have been approached by residents regarding the above application. The information on the Planning Portal is very sparse referring only to ‘installation of a new sliding window with overhead glass canopy and associated works’ LINK .

The application is from McDonalds and the drawing features McDeliveries - a motorcycle courier delivery service  that is often 24/7.

There is no information on changes in the current Asda restaurant but it appears the delivery service will be run from these premises. The collection window is labelled ’Non-public’ so this is presumably where couriers will collect food to be delivered.

Residents are concerned that if this is indeed a 24/7 service that they will be subject to a noise nuisance from the motorbikes/scooters. You will recall that the Council had to issue a noise-abatement order on Asda previously LINK   and there were regular complaints about noise from the delivery service.

In addition concerns were raised over road safety when a child was knocked down and killed on the crossing at the store entrance LINK.

Could you please point me to any additional information about this application including proposed hours of operation and noise and traffic impact assessments.

The dearth of information means that residents cannot make any meaningful comment on the proposals.

UPDATE This afternoon I received this prompt response from the North Area Development Management Team:

This application is currently under consideration by the Council, and the case officer is currently on annual leave, and will be back in the office on Monday. I am copying her into this email so she is aware of your correspondence, and logs it accordingly on the application file so that it is properly considered as part of her appraisal of the proposals.

The information on the public access system is all that has been submitted by the applicants for consideration – which constitutes a site location plan, elevations and an application form. However, I am aware that we have already sought additional information from the applicants with regard how the proposed alterations would be operated and what impact this would have on the overall operation of the superstore, and how this would impact the road and pedestrian access network (including pedestrian flow and disabled parking provision).

I can see the case officer  has made a note on the application file that an email was sent to the applicants on the 1^st of August. I will put a note in my diary to speak with her upon her return from leave, and will ask her to update you directly at the start of next week

Earlier today Blog on the Block reponded via Twitter:

Update on the Bobby Moore mural as fans pour into Wembley for the FA Community Shield

 Guest update post by Philip Grant

Because of the crowds coming to the F.A. Community Shield match at Wembley Stadium this week-end (Sunday 4^th August), the barriers around the work being carried out in the Bobby Moore Bridge subway have been removed. It was possible to get a closer look at the work in progress, to cover up most of the tile murals with illuminated advertising panels.

First, the good news! For the first time since October 2013, residents and visitors can see the mural scene showing England footballers and the old “twin towers” Wembley Stadium, including the plaque unveiled by Bobby Moore’s widow, when the subway and murals were opened in September 1993.

This mural scene will continue to be on view in future. That was the only concession which Quintain were willing to make, in response to the call made jointly to them and Brent Council, by Wembley History Society in April 2018 LINK, to put ALL of the tile murals back on permanent public display.

The work on the west wall of the subway has already put a permanent covering over two thirds of the mural scenes, but two were visible on Saturday. The scene of a pianist accompanying a concert singer, had already been partly covered, so that it is difficult to identify who the female vocalist is (possibly Shirley Bassey or Whitney Houston?). If anyone knows the answer, or has another idea, please share it in a comment below!

At the south end of the subway’s west wall, the mural shows another scene from the Olympic torch relay, this time with the flame which burned at the Stadium throughout the 1948 Games. Together with the torchbearer and Olympic flag scene at the entrance to the subway, they were designed to welcome visitors to Olympic Way, the great “processional route” to the “Venue of Legends” that is Wembley. Both scenes will soon be covered over with illuminated advertising panels, perhaps never to be seen again.

As shown in the previous post (Wembley Park’s tile murals – now you see them – soon you won’t! LINK), the work to fix the illuminated panels was not meant to cause any damage to the tile murals. However, some of the electrical equipment already fixed over the 1948 Olympic show jumping mural scene appears to have damaged the tiles beneath. How much more of this heritage asset are we going to lose, before Quintain have finished their work on OUR Bobby Moore Bridge tile murals?

Philip Grant.

St Raphael's Edible Garden - the transformative power of community gardening revealed

The site May 2015

August 2015

Pride after planting seeds September 2015

Constructing the pond September 2015

It was lovely to visit the St Raphael's Edible Garden, one of Sufra NW London's amazing projects today. The garden not only provides vegetables and fruits for the food bank and Sufra's cooking activities, but is itself a therapeutic oasis for the local community.

I have included the images above  that I took on a visit early in the projectso you can judge what has been achieved in just four years by the workers, hundreds of volunteers and local community.  This is how the Edible Garden looked today - from a piece of derelict land to this!

The teaching tipi

Inside the polytunnel

Social Space The garden is open to the public Wednesday to Friday 10am to 4pm where you can go and relax and have a free cup of tea.

There is a Growing Club  taster-session every Wednesday from 10am-4pm where you can try your hand at a range of gardening activities.

Regular Gardening Volunteering takes place Monday to Friday with morning and afternoon sessions. Free but registration required,

Artisanal Workshops are held on the first Thursday of every month during term time and run from 4.30pm to 6.30pm - creative projects for all the family. Registration required,

Growing Academy - various dates. Accredited horticultural course that teaches young people about plants, soil, flowers, vegetables and growing. Free but registration required.

Corporate Volunteering and Team Building  Companies/organisations can come and volunteer for the day helping to maintain  the garden through DIY projects. Enquiry for details and fees.

More information on these activities:

admin@sufra-nwlondon.org.uk
020 3441 1335
160 Pitfield Way NW10 0PW


EDITOR'S NOTE: The St Raphael's Estate is due to be either refurbished or demolished and re-developed with some private housing. I hope Brent Council will recognise the need to preserve the Edible Garden whatever the eventual decision on the future of the estate.

Children's holiday nature activities at the Welsh Harp Centre

From Thames 21
 
Join us at the Welsh Harp Environmental Education Centre for Summer Holiday Activities on 14^th, 15^th, 21^st and 22^nd August. Each day we will run fun filled activities for children:

Pond Dipping and Butterfly Hunt, 10.30am – 12pm
Dip in the pond to see what swims below and hunt for the large variety of butterflies that live in the meadow.

Shelter Building, Mini-beast Hunt, 1pm – 2.30pm
Build yourself a shelter in the woodland to hide out and hunt for mini-beasts to see what creeps under logs!

£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

St Raphael's Edible Gardem - Opening Ceremony Saturday August 3rd

Act NOW to save Rumi's Cave

From Rumi's Cave

1 Aug 2019 —

The Brent Council Planning site is down for maintenance today, Thursday 1st August and Friday 2nd August. This will not stop us from trying to save Rumi's Cave at the Carlton Centre.

So please visit the link below and fill in your reasons for objecting.

Save Rumi's Cave

Time is short and the deadline of 16th August is fast approaching, so please do object NOW.

High rent forces Brent disabled advocacy service to close its doors as Kilburn Times story spotlights why it is needed now more than ever

Who will advocate and offer support to the disabled people 

across Brent when we close down later this year?

On the same day that the Kilburn Times revealed that a Neasden man with epilepsy has been left with £16 a month to live on under the Universal Credit scheme LINK, a Brent charity, Brent Advocacy Concerns, that has  operated in Brent for 30 years, has been forced to adopt an exit strategy for its operation. The charity is unable to afford the increased rent demanded by its landlord.

John Healy of Brent Advocacy Concerns told Wembley Matters:

Last Monday afternoon, July 29^th,  I had to turn down 6 disabled people, requesting advocacy from us.  This is no longer unusual, as we seem to be getting requests covering various issues but we do not have the resources to meet the ever increasing demand any longer.

So Martin you may wish to ask your readers including the council, as to who will advocate and offer support to the disabled people across Brent when we close down later this year?
Even today there is a sad story about a disabled man in Neasden (on Twitter & KT) forced to live on £16 a month.  Once upon a time we might have contacted him, to see if we could help him but not anymore...

Advocacy Concerns plight has been covered before on Wembley Matters and various promises and assurances have come to nothing.

John continued:

You may remember when WM reported back in November 2016 on the Health & Wellbeing Scrutiny meeting where the chair reported that they and the CCG would do everything they could to support us, by finding us reasonable accommodation when we were to move from our office at the time to a new office within the centre.

This week our NHS Property Services landlord informed us that from Dec.2019 we will have to pay over £5K a quarter to remain in our small office in the Willesden Centre for Health & Care.   We have managed to stay afloat for the last 7 years by only using volunteers with no paid staff and living off our reserves. But we are now facing an annual rent of over £20K from next year, as well as covering our overheads, including phone, broadband,insurance etc.

And in all of those past 7 years we have not had any new funding from any source but now we have to accept, our time is up.

Even at this late stage I call upon Brent councillors to meet with council officers and Brent NHS Clinical Commissioning Group to see if a solution can be found so that disabled people in Brent get the advocacy service they sorely need in today’s callous environment.

Brent, London Borough of Culture 2020, covers up historic Wembley Mural with advertising