McDonald's seeks restaurant licence for period when Asda isn't open!

Extract from the licence application

Wembley Asda opening hours

Asda today confirmed to Wembley Matters that McDonald's restaurant would be open for the same hours as the store (above). McDonald's application form LINK (above) lists late night refreshments on Saturday and Sunday when Asda is closed overnight.

Brent Planners seek further information from McDonalds on McDelivery service at Wembley Asda - cafe now closed and gutted

The Planning Officer dealing with the application for a McDonald's restaurant in Wembley Asda has replied to Wembley Matters' query regarding the McDelivery facility:

I had previously requested further information from the applicants regarding how the proposed McDelivery window would operate and the impact the proposals would have on transport movements, pedestrian flow and parking, including the disabled parking provision and parking associated with the operation of the window.  I have contacted the applicants again today regarding the further information required, including the noise impact.   

I will keep you informed with regard to further information received and how we intend to take this forward.  We will ensure that further information relevant to the determination of the proposals is made public and that the public have the opportunity to comment further.

Meanwhile today the existing cafe has been closed and is boarded off inside the store and outside, and the interior gutted.

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CONFIRMATION: McDonalds to open in Wembley Asda

An existing McDonalds in an Asda store

McDonalds and Asda today confirmed that they are to open an in-store McDonalds at Asda Wembley Park.

An Asda spokesperson said:

We’re always looking for new ways to innovate and we work with a number of partners across our stores and online to enhance our offering for customers. We are pleased that plans for a McDonald’s in our Wembley store have been confirmed and customers can expect to see this open towards the end of the year.

A McDonald’s spokesperson:

We can confirm that plans have been submitted for a new restaurant at the Asda in Wembley. We look forward to progressing with this application and hope to invest in the local community as well as creating at least 45 new jobs.

Neither answered questions on the proposed opening hours of the restaurant or the hours of a McDelivery service that would operate from the site but McDonald's licence application  LINK is for 'late night refreshments' between 11pm and 5am both indoors and outdoors.

The plan submitted with the licence application shows an extensive operation: (Click on image to enlarge);

Brent Council Planning Department is still to answer questions from Wembley Matters on the application which has not been welcomed by residents living close to the store who are already bothered by noise from the store's home delivery service. The planning application on the Council website refers only to the positioning of a McDelivery window on the store's frontage. LINK

However an investigation by Wembley Matters has found that a Certificate of Lawfulness for an 'ancillary restaurant' within Asda (replacing the present restaurant)  was issued by Brent Council planners in January 2019 LINK on the grounds that:

The proposed café/restaurant is lawful in that it does not constitute a material change of use within the definitions set out in Section 55A of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990.Therefore, planning permission is not required.

This means that the application did not go to Planning Committee and neither neighbours nor councillors were consulted.

You can make a comment on the licence application HERE The application number is 16965 Deadline August 30th 2019.

It is unclear how another McDonalds in the vicinity (there are McDonalds on Blackbird Hill and at the Stadium Retail Park, Wembley Park) fits in with the Council's desire to tackle Brent's high child obesity rate as well as the need to tackle littering and noise nuisance.

Green Jobs for Now and for Tomorrow - Public Meeting at Bridge Park September 11th

Please note that the meeting will be subject to a change of format if it falls within a General Election purdah period. Register for the meeting HERE

Dawn Butler launches campaign against the overnight closure of Central Middlesex Hospital Urgent Care Centre

Wembley Matters reported on July 2nd that Brent Clinical Commissioing Group was proposing to Close the Central Middlesex Urgent Care Centre overnight (Midnight to 8am) citing lack of use. LINK

Dawn Butler  MP (Brent Central) has now launched a Central Middlesex Hospital Campaign with a petition aimed at preventing the overnight closure LINK

Butler writes

News has broken in recent weeks that Brent Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) are now intending to cut the hours of operation for the Urgent Care Centre at Central Middlesex Hospital entirely from midnight to 8am, making potential savings in the region of £450,000 per annum.

I have used the Urgent Care Centre late at night and know first-hand that there is an absolute need for this 24 hour service in Brent. I am entirely opposed to cutting the hours of operation and call on the CCG to think again and to put any future proposals to a full public consultation.

If the Urgent Care Centre were to close at night local residents without access to a car will have to travel for anywhere between 45 minutes and 1 hour 20 minutes on public transport in the dead of night.

I therefore call on you to join me in condemning the proposed closure by signing my petition below. I will also continue to keep you updated on the petition and my campaign to put a stop to this proposed closure.

The above link takes you to the petition.

 

Public meeting: making Brent a safer place to live - August 22nd 7-9pm

From Brent Council Neighbourhood Watch

We are writing to invite you to join Police and Council leaders for a community conversation about violent crime. It will be held at Roundwood Youth Centre in Harlesden on Thursday 22 August, 7-9pm.

Sadly, like many London boroughs, Brent has had its share of headlines for street violence in recent months.

In response to these events, we are hosting a Time to Talk event focused on making Brent safer. By attending, you will have the chance to talk about your concerns, put your questions to Police and Councillors, hear from young people in the borough, and work together to find solutions.

The event will also highlight the reality behind some of the headlines and tackle misconceptions. Despite a number of high profile incidents, police figures show knife crime incidents in Brent are far less frequent than they were 12 months ago. The number of crimes involving knives has dropped 31%.

Cllr Muhammed Butt, Leader of Brent Council, had this to say: 

We’re working hard, with the Police, to address violence on our streets and make Brent an even safer place to live. But just as it takes a village to raise a child, we need the whole community to work together to put a stop to this behaviour.

Headlines don’t always tell the full story, but they do focus minds. We want to harness the strong emotions people rightly feel about street violence and see if we can find solutions together.

So, we hope to see you at Roundwood Youth Centre in Harlesden on Thursday 22 August. The free event will run 7-9pm and light refreshments will be provided. To register your interest, please go to https://www.facebook.com/events/670868150045602/. Registration is not essential, but it will help us to make sure that everybody is catered for. 

If you need to reply regarding this message, click on this email address: owl@brent.gov.uk

Campaigners call for a 'NO' vote in South Kilburn regeneration ballot

There was a mixed reception at a consultation on South Kilburn regeneration for the leaflet below. Residents generally welcomed it but some leading councillors were not at all pleased with campaigners.

Residents of 17 blocks  will have a Yes/No vote on whether the regeneration should go ahead.

Vote NO in the South Kilburn Ballot!

Fix these problems first!

·      Many of the new flats have had major problems, with flammable cladding, leaking roofs, mould and much more.

·      Rents will be higher in new flats and rise more quickly than Council rents.

·      Most people won’t remain Council tenants but be transferred to a Housing Association (HA), which already have higher rents. There have been many complaints about how unresponsive HAs are.

·       Service charges have gone up considerably for HA tenants.

·      Not all new flats are as large as current flats.

·      Temporary tenants (some of whom have been temporary for as long as 10 years) in South Kilburn, but they are being offered worse tenancy agreements than those who are already secure tenants.

The ballot asks if regeneration should continue, without addressing any of these problems. Balloting 17 blocks at the same time means residents whose blocks only need refurbishing are pitched against residents whose blocks should be demolished and replaced by better housing.

Both the local (Kilburn) Labour Party and the borough-wide Brent Labour Party have called on the Council to suspend regeneration while these issues are sorted out.

Vote NO and call on Brent Council to come back with proposals which really address our housing problems.

This leaflet is produced by local residents and activists. For information, contact theotherwiseclub@gmail.com

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Join the Conservation Day at the Welsh Harp Centre on Saturday August 17th

From Thames 21

Each month a great group of individuals come together to do extremely useful conservation and maintenance work around the Centre using basic gardening tools, to gain skills and meet new people. This work supports the activities of the Welsh Harp Environmental Education Centre including over 3000 school children that attend the Centre each year and improves the biodiversity of the woodland habitat. What will be the tasks at the next event? (August 17th 10am-12.30pm) Clear algae from the pond Cut back vegetation around pond area Other tasks as they come up What else do you need to know? All welcome! Young people aged 17 years and under need to be accompanied by a responsible adult, each individual child under 11 years old will need an adult with them at all times as we are using sharp tools.  Tasks can be adapted or alternative tasks available for all levels of involvement. Tea, coffee and snacks, steel toe cap wellington boots, tools and gloves are all provided.  Wear comfortable outdoor clothing suitable for gardening. Please meet inside the Education Centre. We have achieved a lot since these events have started and we will continue to address many other aspects of the WHEEC Habitat Management Plan that need attending to. If you would like a copy of the management plan or information about the group, please email me - Deb Frankiewicz: welshharpcentre@thames21.org.uk. Hope to see as many of you as possible at the next event!