Bobby Moore Wembley mural may be shown in the future 'should the Council choose to do this.'

 

Brent Council leader Muhammed Butt

Brent Council Planning Department has responded to a resident’s query about the Bobby Moore Bridge murals stating that the historic murals ‘may be shown in the future should the Council choose to do this.’  The resident was unhappy with Brent Council's decision to allow most of the mural to be covered up by advertising. 

I don’t think I am going to put my money on a reappearance any time soon based on that comment!

Brent Council response:

This relates to the advertising on the side walls of the Bobby Moore Bridge underpass that covers the tile murals that are on those walls.

By way of background, the bridge itself, including the tile murals and the walls upon which the murals are located are owned by the Council.  The Bobby Moore Bridge subway was constructed between 1991 and 1993 as part of the pedestrianisation of Olympic Way by Brent Council. The tile murals were erected at the same time and depict a range of sporting and entertainment events from the history of Wembley Stadium and Wembley Arena.

The Council owns the structure and its walls, but The Council has leased the walls to Quintain for the installation of advertising.  Vinyl adverts have been displayed on these walls for several years.

Following a request to the Council from the Wembley History Society, Quintain engaged with the society to working up the proposals to uncover an element of the murals.  This resulted in the current proposals which included uncovering a portion of the mural which depicts football at the original stadium.  The chair of the society confirmed that they were in support of the proposals.

Applications were submitted by Quintain to change the advertisements and uncover this section of the mural.  Light boxes and advertisements were proposed to be affixed to the bridge in a way that would not damage the tile murals, allowing them to be uncovered in the future.  The application for advertisement consent together with an advertisement for the approval of details pursuant to a planning condition were considered by the Planning Committee on 16 July.  The merits of the proposal were set out in the reports for that committee meeting and were debated at length by Planning Committee members.  The applications were approved at that meeting.

The tiles are not to be ‘obliterated’ as suggested in the e-mail, but rather, the new advertisements are to be fixed in a way that does not damage the mural.  This was a key part of the proposals to put up the light boxes and advertising.  The Council’s heritage officer has checked the works regularly to ensure that they are being undertaken in an appropriate way.  The current proposals result in more of the tile mural being visible within the underpass and ensures that the mural is protected.  Parts of the mural will still remain under advertising, but they will be protected so that they may be shown in the future should the Council choose to do this.

Previous posts on this subject:

Tile murals –Wembley Park’s heritage in the balance

Wembley Park’s tilemurals – now you see them … soon you won’t! 

'Gateway toWembley' mural to be covered by advertising

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

Let's build a 24* storey housing block on a flood plain close to Brent's most polluted road...

The proposed 28 storey block with nearby terraced houses and Wembley Point for comparison (revisd image of 24 storeys awaited)

Argenta House on Argenta Way, opposite Stonebridge Park Station where the new block will be built. 
Wembley Point in the background.

© Copyright Jaggery  Creative Commons Licence

Following on from Wembley Central's 'Twin Towers', the tower blocks around Wembley Stadium and those approved in Alperton, a 24 (*the developer's PR agency informs me that 4 storeys have been knocked off the original proposed 28 storeys) storey tower block proposal is going to Brent Planning Committee at its next meeting on Wednesday September 21st.

What is particularly worrying about this proposal is that the 28 storeys (which replace a two storey building) will be built on a flood plain where both Wembley Brook and the River Brent flow and next to the heavily polluted North Circular Road.

Not an ideal site for housing one would think but it is close to Wembley Point which is being converted to accommodation and across the road from he long empty Unisys building which is part of the larger Brent Council supported development which includes Bridge Park complex. Housing and a hotel are planned there as well as a smaller sports centre. Currently Stonebridge residents are in dispute over the plans.

As always Brent planning officers  find reasons to support the plans despite the obvious drawbacks. This is a breakdown of the flats planned for the block. The definition of 'affordable' used is'no more than 80%  of open market rents' (ie unaffordable for the most needy Brent residents):

The wording of a petition and a submission against the development is not available on the Brent Planning Portal. 

Officers argue that the'maximun reasonable amount [of affordable and intermediate housing] has been provided on a near policy compliant tenure split.' It will be subject to further viability assessments as the development proceeds.

While recognising the flood risk and the worsening situation as a result of climate change, and taking into ac count that the first three storeys of the development will not include residential accommodation, the officers state:

At face value on the basis of evidence provided by the applicants it appears, notwithstanding that some of the site is within functional floodplain, from a technical perspective there is the ability to create betterment over the current situation through new development. This is in relation to flood risk onsite and elsewhere (though reducing footprint/obstructions within the channel), improving the aesthetic, recreational and environmental/ bio-diversity performance of the river channel/ environs and also the appearance/ perception of this gateway site whilst meeting the very real issue of meeting housing needs.

 I would hope committee members investigate that statement a little more.

The section on pollution from traffic is even more opaque with officers concentrating on how the new development would add to traffic pollution rather than on existing levels of pollution, but go on to say:

Related to the above, air quality at the lowest levels of the building (levels 6 and below), especially on the eastern elevation closer to the North Circular, would not meet the air quality objections for Nitrogen Oxide, although particulate matter objectives would be met at all levels. This shows that the emissions from the North Circular have a major effect on air quality at the site, albeit that the impact is predicated greatest at the lower elevations and the effect decreases with height. 

However officers assure Planning Committee members that:

Officers have questioned the effectiveness of NOx filtration systems in these flats, since the flats will have opening windows and doors onto balconies. Opening of such doors and windows would result in untreated air entering the internal habitable rooms (depending on air pressure differences). The applicant's air quality consultant has carried out further testing to clarify that the efficiencies of the NOx filters are such that the NO2 levels in the internal air will be 80-90% lower than the incident air, meaning that the affected flats' windows would need to be open for at least 88-89% of the time for internal parts of the flats to exceed the annual mean Air Quality Objective levels that are considered safe. Similarly, it has been confirmed that the use of the balconies on these levels by occupants, even for extended periods, will not result in occupants' air exposure exceeding the annual mean air quality objectives for NO2. As such, it would be necessary for an occupant to live on the balcony (including at night) for such objectives to be exceeded.

Regular readers will not be surprised at the report's conclusion:

Officers consider that the scheme meets planning policy objectives and is in general conformitywith local, regional and national policy. The proposal would make a positive contribution to the area,whilst having an acceptable impact on and relationship with the existing surrounding development.Officers recommend the application for approval subject to the conditions and obligations set out in this report

The full report has much more detail including comments from the owners of Wembley Point regarding a possible bridge between the two buildings which will now occupty the site and potential improvements to Stonebridge Park Station. Available HERE

Residents can apply to the chair of the Planning Committee for leave to make representations at the meeting before a decision is made. Contact the Governance Officer
Email: joe.kwateng@brent.gov.uk; 020 8937 1354

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