The Green's Emma Wallace tops GLA Hustings straw poll after Brent Friends of the Earth hustings

 

Emma Wallace of Harrow Green Party, and out GLA constituency candidate for Brent and Harrow, convinced many environmentalists yesterday evening at the hustings organised by Brent Friends of the Earth.

Labour's Krupesh Hirani slumped to 26% after the hustings compared with 54% before he had spoken.  Emma Wallace gained 11% to take the lead and  Liberal Democrat Anton Georgiou quadrapled his vote from a meagre 4% to 17%.

The Conservative  candidate was invited but did not attend.

Brent commits to work with Brent Friends of the Earth/Divest Brent towards divesting its Pension Fund from fossil fuels

 

 

From Divest Brent/Brent Friends of the Earth

For over 3 years campaign group Divest Brent have been working to persuade the Council to divest its Pension Fund from fossil fuels. On April 6 Councillor Matt Kelcher presented the 1,400-signature petition (including 1,200 Brent residents) to the Cabinet on behalf of Divest Brent.  

 

Coming as it did immediately before the Cabinet discussed its 10-year climate strategy Councillor Kelcher’s hard-hitting presentation carried added weight. Following campaigning by Divest Brent the draft strategy, which was agreed at the meeting, included a section on the Pension Fund’s investments.

 

Responding to the presentation, Council Leader Muhammad Butt, Deputy Leader Margaret McLennan and Environment lead, Krupa Sheth all spoke positively and in particular Councillor McLennan looked forward to working with Divest Brent and Brent Friends of the Earth to take the agenda forward.

 

In 2019 the Council declared a Climate and Ecological Emergency and specifically agreed to redirect investments to renewable, sustainable and low carbon funds. Indeed some investments have been made in this area but the majority of the Pension Fund is still invested in funds which include fossil fuels.

 

Simon Erskine, Co-ordinator of Divest Brent, said “We welcome any moves by the Pension Fund to invest sustainably and to help with the transition to renewable energy – but the fact is that whatever green investments the Fund may have, while it continues to invest in fossil fuels it is part of the problem. We therefore look forward to working with the Council to develop a road-map for divestment in the short term.”

 

The presentation of the petition comes hot on the heels of a report entitled “Divesting to protect our pensions and the planet” which gave a comprehensive breakdown of the extent that UK Councils were invested in fossil fuels. 3% of Brent’s Pension Fund is thought to be invested in fossil fuels - £26 million. Compared to the £40 million invested in 2017 this looks like an improvement – until it is realised that much of the reduction is due to a fall in value of fossil fuel investments.

 

The Council has admitted that, while much of the Stock Market has suffered from Covid 19, they have lost £8 million by failing to divest from fossil fuels before the pandemic. They are not alone in this – with UK Councils having lost £2 billion altogether over the last 4 years – but £8 million is still a serious loss compared to the Pension Fund total of £800 million.

 

With the outlook for fossil fuels never worse as the electric vehicle revolution starts to kick in and governments look to move away from gas as a means of heating our homes, Pension Fund committee members could find themselves in breach of their duties to protect the value of the Fund if they do not start to move seriously towards divestment. Said Mr Erskine, “We look forward to Brent joining Lambeth, Southwark and Islington Councils (to name just a few) in committing to divest its pension fund from fossil fuels.”

 

 

UPDATE: Join the Mayoral Environment Debate. Let's speak out for London's parks! Re-scheduled to Wednesday April 21st

 

Fryent Country Park, Kingsbury

 

 From London Friends of Green Spaces Network

Update from the organisers: *CHANGE OF DATE* Due to the pause in political campaigning following the sad death of Prince Philip we have had to postpone the Mayoral Environment Debate. The debate will now take place from 7pm to 9pm on Wednesday 21st April: https://www.wcl.org.uk/mayoral-environment-debate.asp

 
Wednesday 21st April, 7pm – 9pm
Chaired by presenter & environmentalist Julia Bradbury 

The debate will allow Mayoral candidates to forward their policies on nature and climate to London’s voters. If you want cleaner air, thriving parks, more abundant wildlife and new foot paths and cycle ways, this is your chance to ask the next Mayor for them. 

To attend, please register through this link [No need to re-register if you already have done so].

The More Natural Capital Coalition are a group of environmental charities who share a common vision for a greener London. 

We are joining forces with climate and transport groups in London to host the Mayoral Environment Debate. Organisations supporting the Environment Debate include:  RSPB, Open Spaces Society, The Orchard Project, CPRE London, Woodland Trust, Butterfly Conservation, London Friends of Greenspaces Network, WWT, WCL, London Gardens Trust, Ramblers, Trees for Cities, London National Park City, Living Streets Group, London Wildlife Trust, Sustain, The Conservation Volunteers, Amphibian and Reptile Conservation, A Rocha UK, Badger Trust, Born Free Foundation, British Mountaineering Council, Institute of Fisheries Management, Four Paws UK, Tranquil City, Wildlife Gardening Forum, London Greenpeace groups, London Friends of the Earth Groups, Haringey Clean Air Group

All the best, 
Dave Morris, Chair LFGN
Alice Roberts and Laura Collins at CPRE London 
CPRE London is working with LFGN to bring more support to London's friends groups

 

Brent Planning Committee approves 9 additional non-sporting events at Wembley Stadium - 2 pilot Covid19 safety monitoring events to be held in April before Cup Final

Divestment from fossil fuels - Cllr Matt Kelcher: 'We should do it NOW, when we can make the biggest impact'

 

 

The presentation and discussion of the Divest petition

Cllr Matt Kelcher today presented a petition of nearly 1,400 Brent residents calling for Brent Council to divest its pension fund from fossil fuels. In the video above you can see him outline why investing in fossil fuels is bad policy, bad economics and bad politics. He said local people feel strongly about the issue in the light of the climate emergency and Brent Council should follow the lead of 9 Labour boroughs with divestment policies,. 'Not to divest makes us part of the problem and not part of the solution...We should do it NOW, when we can make the biggest impact.' 

In her response Cllr McLennan (Deputy Leader and lead for resources) offered to  work with Divest Brent and Friends of the Earth on the issue.

Brent Council to contribute infrastructure costs for next South Kilburn development phase to ensure viability

Today's Cabinet will be asked to approve procurement for the next phases of the South Kilburn regeneration project. It includes a plan for  Brent Council funding  (via Strategic Community Infrastructure Levy) of infrastructure to make the project more attractive to developers:

Within the NWCC project, there is a high level of affordable housing (54% by habitable room) which may have an impact on the overall viability of the scheme. 

Therefore,it is proposed,to make the procurement more attractive to potential developer partners, the Council will contribute to the infrastructure/public realm costs. The infrastructure and public realm costs relate to the external works,which include soft and hard landscaping, and infrastructure works including drainage, utilities and services (electricity, gas, water and telecoms). 

A cost plan was prepared by the Council’s cost consultant, Deloittes. This proposed contribution will in turn support the overall viability of the scheme, which will lead to the Council receiving the desired quantum of affordable housing and envisaged outcomes and wider benefits.

The Councils Capital Investment Panel, in April 2020, supported £4.9mfrom the capital pipeline for infrastructure and public realm projects for the external works, from Strategic Community Infrastructure Levy funding.

The Council plans to dispose of some of ther sites on a long lease and say, 'there is potential capital receipts and future overage payments from the private units'.

The proposed rents for the affordable units managed by Brent Housing are set out:

 Of particular importance to existing tenants is the allocation  of the new housing:

The new affordable homes in NWCC and later developments are available to existing South Kilburn Council tenants currently living in properties due for demolition as part of the South Kilburn regeneration programme.

As with all schemes that are part of the South Kilburn regeneration programme, full consideration is and will continue to be given to residents and leaseholders with protected characteristics, particularly people with disabilities and / or other types of vulnerabilities due to older age, childcare and/or caring responsibilities, socio-economic status (single parents and large families). The Council will/has ensured that the options put forward to tenants and leaseholders provide reasonable and affordable alternatives that enable them to remain in the area and maintain their family and community ties, as per Article 1 of the First Protocol and Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights. The re- housing team provides help to secure tenants through the moving process, additional support and services to those who require it.

Hear from local London Assembly candidates on Wednesday and ask them a question 7-9pm

 From Brent Friends of the Earth

Join the Brent Friends of the Earth and London Assembly candidates to hear how they plan to tackle the climate crisis. Wednesday 7-9pm

About this Event

An opportunity to hear from the local London Assembly candidates about how they will address the Climate Emergency and other environmental challenges. The candidates will outline their existing proposals and respond to questions from local groups as well as the wider community.

REGISTER HERE

Note - due to a glitch you cannot register if you leave the question box blank. If you do not wish to ask a question just type 'No question' in the box and you will be able to register. 

Brent planners recommend approval of more full capacity non-sporting events at Wembley Stadium despite opposition from locals fearing for their quality of life

 Lucrative

Recently it has often seemed that planning officers speak directly on behalf of developers at Brent Planning Committee, rather than giving a balanced view in the light of an application's short-comings and the submissions of local residents.

Wednesday's application by Wembley National Stadium Ltd to increase the number of full capacity non-sporting events, an attendance of up to 90,000 rather than 51,000, is no exception.

The proposal:

Planning officers state:

Many objectors consider that the number of events currently held at the stadium already has an unacceptable level of impact on local residents. However, it should be borne in mind that this application does not affect the number of events that take place at the Stadium, just the capacity of the crowd. Unlimited events at up to 51,000 can take place within the terms of the existing planning consent. Additional mitigation measures would be secured. Some of these measures would relate to all major events and some would relate to the additional non-sporting events. These mitigation measures  are considered to be sufficient to warrant the additional 9 full capacity events proposed.

They later remark:

 WNSL do not currently intent to hold concerts on more than four consecutive nights.

Note the 'currently'.

Live music events contributed substantially to WNSL's income in the past and went into deficit when music events were scaled back from the 2015-16 and this is clearly an attempt to to retrieve the position. LINK

There were 37 representations made on the planning portal, including one from Barn Hill Residents Assocation. All but 2 were opposed to the application, one was in favour and 2 neutral.

Local residents were concerned about the impact of the increase on the quality of their daily lives, already impacted by crowds at the stadium in normal, non-Covid times.

This is the planning officers' conclusion to their report:

The objections received indicate that there is a level of impact currently experienced by local residents as a result of events at the stadium, with concerns predominantly focussed on anti-social behaviour, transport issues, air quality and noise. Some impacts are to be expected, given the size of the stadium and its siting in a location surrounded by residential properties and businesses, within a dense urban area.

 

The original cap on events was imposed to manage the impacts until such time as specific transport improvements had been made. Whilst most of these have taken place, not all of them have been realised. Circumstances have changed since the original planning permission in 2002, which suggest that the final piece of transport infrastructure (the Stadium Access Corridor) will not be provided in its originally envisaged form, but other changes to the road network have now taken place or are currently underway. Therefore, the Council considers that the cap remains relevant.

 

Clearly, to increase the number of higher capacity events to accommodate up to 9 additional major non-sporting events per event calendar year would imply an increase in the impact. However, a wide range of mitigation measures are proposed to help mitigate these impacts. There are ongoing efforts to reduce the number of vehicles on an event day. A number of mitigation measures are proposed to continue this work, including additional parking enforcement capacity and an updated Event Day Spectator Travel Plan to promote sustainable travel patterns. WNSL and public transport operators work closely to promote sustainable transport solutions and maximise the efficiency of the network. This in turn contributes to reducing noise and air quality issues.

 

Infrastructure works including two-way working in the area to the east of the stadium and the opening of a link between the western end of North End Road and Bridge Road to provide an east-west route past the Stadium that is capable of being kept open at all times before and after Stadium events will improve traffic flow in the area and assist residents’ movements on event days.

 

The Trusted Parking Scheme aims to ensure authorised car parks are responsibly run in a way that would limit their impact on neighbouring residents and reduce local congestion, whilst the Private Hire Management Scheme would reduce the number of vehicles in the area around the stadium after events have finished.

 

Employment and Training benefits for Brent residents would also be secured by the proposed scheme.

 

With regard to antisocial behaviour, a financial contribution would be paid by the Stadium to Brent Council per additional major non-sporting event. This would go towards mitigation measures as agreed between WNSL and the Council which may cover measures to address anti-social behaviour such as additional public toilets.

 

Whilst it is appreciated that local residents face challenges on event days, the direct economic benefits for the local Brent economy of stadium events are also recognised including spending on accommodation, food, drink and other ancillary items within the Wembley area. The uplift in the event cap would also create additional event day steward and catering positions. Whilst some types of business would suffer on event days, many would benefit from the influx of people to the area.

 

In summary, it is recognised that there is a level of impact associated with major events now, and that this would increase with an increase in the number of high-capacity major events. However, the measures proposed would ensure that this is moderated as much as is reasonably achievable. All are considered necessary to mitigate the increased number of major events which this application proposes.

 

A further consideration is that the stadium can be used for major events up to 51,000 now without restriction and remaining within this limit would mean that no additional mitigation measures would be formally secured. Measures including the training and employment opportunities would apply more broadly to stadium events, not just the additional major non-sporting events for which permission is sought under this application and would therefore provide wider benefits to local people and the local economy more generally.

 

The proposal is considered to accord with the development plan, having regard to material planning considerations. While there will inevitably be some additional impacts associated with an increase in the number of higher capacity non-sporting events, a range of mitigation measures are proposed, and some benefits are also anticipated. The proposal is, on balance, recommended for approval.