LATEST: Bobby Moore Bridge “footballers” mural - We have a dispute. We have a way to resolve it. Let's get on and do that!

 

The east wall of the subway, with “footballers” mural, from Quintain’s consent application 19/1474

 

In a guest post last Sunday, updated with a response from Brent’s Chief Executive, Philip Grant explained how the long-running dispute, over whether this iconic heritage mural could be covered-up with adverts during the Euros football tournament, could be settled with arbitration by a small panel of Brent councillors. This afternoon, he responded to the Council Officers who had dismissed his suggestion:-

 

This is an open email

 

Dear Ms Downs (and Ms Norman),

Councillors could resolve advertisement consent dispute

 

When I sent an initial response to your email of 24 May on Monday afternoon, I asked for early clarification on two points from your final sentence. I had hoped that the answers might mean that these was less urgency to get this outstanding matter settled.

 

As I have not yet received your reply to that, I am responding now to the main points in that email, as we do need to resolve our dispute without further delay.

 

In your email you wrote (although I realise this may have been drafted for you):

 

‘I am afraid that even if a panel of Councillors agreed with you it would not change the legal right for vinyl advertisements to be attached to the tiles over the football mural.’

 

That statement is grossly misleading, and if that is what Cllr. Nerva and other elected representatives have been told by Council Officers, I believe you owe them an apology.

 

You may believe that a ‘legal right’ exists to cover the footballers mural with adverts, but I believe at least as strongly that no such ‘legal right’ exists. That is the point at issue which needs to be properly decided in order to resolve our dispute. 

 

I have set out a strong case, supported by evidence from the advertisement consent application documents, to show that there has been no consent to advertise over that mural since August 2019.

 

I am not so arrogant as to believe that I may not be mistaken, and have said that if your case is stronger than mine, I would accept that my view is wrong. 

 

You, and Ms Norman, have claimed that a consent given in 2017 still exists in respect of the footballers mural, but have refused to provide the detailed reasons and evidence to support that view.

 

We appear to have reached an impasse. The quickest and fairest way to settle the matter would be for both sides to submit their case for arbitration by an impartial person. The dispute would be decided on the facts and evidence, with both parties agreeing to accept the decision.

 

Your statement quoted above claimed that a panel of Councillors would have no authority to decide this matter. I disagree. 

 

This dispute is very much a Brent Council matter, with Brent officers on one side and a Brent citizen on the other side.

 

Brent, as Local Planning Authority, has granted two advertisement consents relating to the footballers tile mural, one in 2017 (ref. 13/2987) and one in 2019 (ref. 19/1474). It is accepted that they are both legally valid consents. It is simply a question of which one actually applies to the footballers mural now.

 

Both for Brent’s Bobby Moore Bridge advertising lease tenant, and for Brent’s Planning Enforcement team, it is important that there is certainty over whether or not there is advertisement consent in respect of the footballers mural.

 

I am sure that a small panel of experienced Brent councillors would be competent to consider and decide on the issue here, and I am willing to trust their impartiality in exercising that task. I hope you would also put your trust in such a panel, and agree to accept their judgement, based on the facts and evidence put to them.

 

Your email suggested that a decision by such a panel would carry no legal weight, and could be ignored. While it would not be an official legal tribunal, a Brent dispute, arbitrated fairly and openly by elected Brent councillors, with the agreement of both Brent parties to that dispute, is not something which any Court of Law would readily dismiss (in the unlikely event of it ever coming before one).

 

Your reluctance, so far, to countenance my suggestion for arbitration, in order to settle this matter quickly and without much further cost, could be seen (and is seen by some) as an admission that Brent’s Legal team are afraid to put their view over advertisement consent to the test. 

 

It’s time to show the citizens of our borough that we are not afraid to “put our cards on the table”, openly and transparently, and accept the outcome.

 

We have a dispute. We have a way to resolve it. Let's get on and do that!

 

Yours sincerely,

 

Philip Grant.

BREAKING: Thames21 to end lease at Welsh Harp Environmental Education Centre

A previous fight to save the Welsh Harp Environmental Education Centre

I have just received this sad information.  There have been several battles over the years to save the Welsh Harp Environmental Education Centre and its closure in the Year of COP26 and in a borough that has declared a Climate Emergency awould be a disaster.

26 May 2021 Thames21, London’s leading waterways charity, is sad to announce that it will give up its lease at the Welsh Harp Environmental Education Centre in Brent when it ends in July. Since taking on the 5.5 hectare site in Brent in 2016, the charity has delivered curriculum-linked environmental sessions for thousands of school pupils, mostly in Early Years to Key Stage 2 year groups. In a typical year, 3,500 visitors took part in learning sessions, which were either organised school sessions or similar ones for families, held in school holidays. Thames21’s statement reads: “With huge regret the Trustees of Thames21 have reached the conclusion that the charity can no longer afford to absorb the annual financial loss of delivering activities at the Education Centre.  Despite best endeavours, we have been unable to identify the additional funding support that is required to ensure that the Centre pays for itself. As a result, we are forced to give up our lease when it ends in July 2021. Thames21 is extremely sad to be in this position.  The Centre is a much-loved local facility, and it has introduced many local children to their natural environment for the first time.  The benefits to health and well-being of activities in outdoor green space are well documented, and it has been such a privilege to serve the community in Brent. The Education Centre has maintained a thriving programme of activities for around three thousand children a year at the Centre. Volunteering groups from the local community have supported the running of the Centre helping with gardening, site maintenance and supporting the education sessions. We have also managed to raise some funds to start improving and developing the Centre site, including refurbishing the popular nature pond and building a new raised pond that is accessible for wheelchair users, improving the pathways and installing a gate to the adjacent Welsh Harp Open Space.  However, the issue of annual general running costs has remained a challenge that we have not been able to address successfully, and so we have arrived at this point. We would like to thank the volunteers, Brent Council and the many children and young people who have come to the Centre over the years that Thames21 has been running activities.” The staff member who delivered the educational programme for Thames21 will be diverted to other projects within its educational portfolio across London. In the 2018-19 acadenic year the Centre delivered 69 sessions to 41 different schools involving 2,790 pupils and 669 accompanying adults. 93 children and 48 adults  took part in school holiday activities.   EDITOR'S NOTE: Brent Council has been asked for a comment.

Map of Covid surge areas in Brent

 

Map supplied by Brent Council

High rise blocks in Brent keep going up but so do the numbers of homeless families - zoom meeting May 27th

 

High-rise blocks keep going up but so do the numbers of homeless families.

About this event

• What is happening to Brent’s housing supply?
• Why are all the new housing developments making the housing crisis worse not better?
• What can be done about it?
• High-rise blocks keep going up but so do the numbers of homeless families
• What is happening to Brent’s housing supply?
• Why are all the new housing developments making the housing crisis worse not better?
• What can be done about it?

Housing development in London is driven by frantic corporate and wealth investment activity.

In Brent, new high-rise blocks have been springing up but these are overwhelmingly private and often contain empty and under occupied flats.

Meanwhile, one in three Brent households live in expensive and often poor quality private rented housing, and more than 2,000 homeless families are stuck in temporary accommodation with no control over their future.

Why is it so hard for people to access Council homes which are decent, affordable and secure, a firm base to bring up families, work or study and realise aspirations in life?

Brent residents are among those who’ve been hardest hit by the pandemic. Now it’s time to put some meaning behind the phrase BUILD BACK BETTER by looking at the radical changes needed to ensure that everyone can access a decent home that they can afford.

FAIRER HOUSING – Partners for Change is working with ACTION ON EMPTY HOMES to bring about those changes. We want to see more resources for local Councils to build rented homes; we want private developers to build the right kind of homes; and we want empty homes to be put to good use.

• Chair: Sahra Jama, Stream Skills Advancement
• Speakers: Nimo Askar, L'Oreal Williams, Brent Residents
• Councillor Margaret McLennan, Deputy Leader, Brent
• Will McMahon, Director, Action of Empty Homes
• Jacky Peacock, Advice for Renters

FREE TICKETS TO THIS EVENT HERE

Millennium Business Centre application deferred. South Kilburn vent approved.

 Brent Planning Committee last night deferred a decision on a planning application for a new warehouse building at the rear of the Millennium Business Centre site in Humber Road NW2.

Alison Hopkins representing local people described the Centre as 'bad neighbours' and shared a number of examples of their detrimental impact on the area and fears that the new facility would worsen the situation. 

A speaker from Henfield who presently run a warehouse on the site opposed the application and described the state of the premises and the problems of parking and the blocking of fire exits if the plans went ahead. He thought it might be better to demolish the lot and rebuild or re-develop.

The agent for Millennium Business Centre said that they recognised that the 'type of tenant'  they'd had was 'not conducive' to the area and that they had 'got rid of them.' He accused Henfield of wanting to purchase the site themselves.

Challenged on the traffic survey Brent Highways said that it had been conducted before the introduction of LTNs and to some incredulou social media comments suggested that overall traffic on Humber Road would be reduced.

It was revealed that the applicant had not submitted a compliant D012 Fire Report and that this was still required.  Cllr Dixon was not reassured that traffic issues that had led to previous applications being rejected had been addressed and was concerned that vehicles would get stuck in the narrow road. The Highways officer remarked that the road was 'not ideal' for an industrial site but 'It is what it is.'

His words did not appear to persuade councillors who rejected the application with only two for the application. Initially they were ready to reject it outright but were persuaded by their chair, Cllr Kelcher, and intervention by officers , who cautioned againt going against officers; recommendation, to defer the decision to allow the applicants to come back with further information. Cllr Dixon was initially not happy to defer rather than reject.

Councillors cited traffic generation, highway safety, HGV problems, parking problems, inmpact on the wider local road network and lack of information as reasons to defer. In  addition there was the lack of a compliant Fire Report.  

The chair suggested a site visit and the Highways officer said he would request a Travel Plan from the applicant.

The HS2 South Kilburn vent application was dealt with quickly as there was little the Committee could do about it. A suggested that the block should have green growing walls was not possible because the vent had a slatted exterior. HS2 made much of the triangle of green space they were providing between the site and St Mary's Primary School and the 'learning opportunities' it would offer pupils. They would offer road safety and skills training to the school to ensure safety during construction. A Schedule 17 lorry route would be in place during construction and traffic, once the vent was in operation, would be minimal.

Brent Council release details of wards for surge testing following increase in Covid-19 variants

 From Brent Council

 

See LINK

North-west London boroughs, including Brent, are seeing a rise in the rates of new COVID-19 variants.

As a result, surge testing has been turned on in the following areas:

• St Raphaels
• Stonebridge
• Wembley North
• Wembley West
• Alperton West
• Tokyngton
• Kensal Green

We will shortly be delivering leaflets with information about vaccines and testing to homes in these wards.

 If you live or work in one of these areas, please do get tested by calling 020 8937 4440 or booking online at www.gov.uk/coronavirus

Get vaccinated

The best way to protect yourself, your friends and your family is to get vaccinated.

Anyone over the age of 32 can now book their first jab on the NHS website or walk-in to a vaccination centre. The age criteria for getting a vaccine changes regularly, please check the NHS website for the latest advice.

GPs are sending invites, and we will be working with the NHS to promote further vaccine bus dates, as well as pop-up vaccination events in areas with low uptake.

Most mass vaccination centres across North West London are providing a walk-in service for first doses and are open from 9am to 7pm. The large vaccination centre in Brent, which is now giving out the Pfizer vaccine, is at Wembley Vaccination Centre: Olympic Office Centre, 8 Fulton Rd, Wembley, London, HA9 0NU.

Walk-ins should bring ID and their NHS number if they have it (although this is not essential).

Those who have had their first dose via a walk-in will be able to book their second vaccine at 8 weeks, 48 hours later using www.nhs.uk

Test twice a week

Surge testing has been turned on in affected areas. We strongly encourage everyone to get tested for coronavirus twice a week, even if they don’t have any symptoms.

By using PCR testing, positive results can be sent for genomic sequencing at specialist laboratories, helping us to identify variants.

Order at-home tests at www.gov.uk/get-coronavirus-test or visit a testing site. All London sites will now test people who do not have symptoms.

Those with symptoms should get tested by calling 020 8937 4440 or booking online at www.brent.gov.uk/testing

Those who test positive may be eligible for a £500 support payment if they are on a lower income and cannot go to work because they are self-isolating. www.brent.gov.uk/selfisolationsupport

Staying safe

We are urging everyone to continue to follow social distance guidelines – remember, Hands, Face, Space and Fresh Air.

 

AT Medics re Operose and Centene takeover: 'We can't see how we can get this wrong'

 

NHS North West London CCG: W2U3Z (former CCGs: NHS Brent CCG, NHS Central London (Westminster) CCG, NHS Ealing CCG, NHS Hammersmith and Fulham CCG, NHS Harrow CCG, NHS Hillingdon CCG, NHS Hounslow CCG and NHS West London CCG) last week so that patients groups, councillors and the public could ask about the recent takeover of Burnley and Wembley GP practices by Operose Health and Centene.

Much of the meeting was taken up by a slide show from Operose and AT Medics.  The meeting was told that AT Medics had been started by 6 GPs who were all from a 'deprived background' and wished to 'give something back.' They had started with one practice but through 'process design' had grown to 47 practices across London. They run 6 vaccination sites across London which focus on hard to reach groups.

Answering questions from Brent Patient Voice they gave assurances that they did not share data for marketing purposes or without the permission of patients (caveats around care home patients  and medical emergencies),  They said that they could not extend Burnley Practice opening hours because they were  limited by their contract with the NHS, addressed criticism of health questions being asked by non-medically qualified staff at triage, promised improvements in patient access via IT when the surgery is closed and the ordering of prescriptions via the surgery App.

Robin Sharp of  got down to the nitty gritty to ask why AT Medics had approached Operose as a partner. He was told that the GPs were not business people and needed support for management  and governance and access to resources. The model they had been working with was not sustainable at the scale they had reached. They needed the skills, leadership and resources that 'like-minded' Operose offered.

AT Medics said that it was early days of the new arrangement, a honeymoon period, and doubtless there would be bumps in the road, but they were getting on well.

Cllr Gaynor Lloyd wanted more information on the claimed advantages of Centene's international links and the dependence of Operose on Centene's income. Operose itself  was loss-making and had AT Medics looked at Centene's exit from practices not making a profit? 

Mohammed Tahir replying said that there were multiple aspects to the issue. They had engaged with Centene and found them very different: 'We believe in them. We are successful and we can't see how we can get this wrong. We just needed the organisational back-up. All contracts were won on a competitive basis. As long as we are the people concerned we will be part of the NHS culture.'

On consultation with patients, AT Medics said no formal consultation was required as there was no change in the service offered but there had been a dialogue. On services that had closed Camden Road building lease had expired and no replacement building was available and a Child & Adolescent Mental Health Service provision had been found to be unustainable. 

AT Medics said that they were regulated by the Clinical Commissioning Group and like all NHS services were free at the point of delivery and were committed to increasing public access. They would always work with strategic NHS objectives and prioritised working with Primary Care Network. 

Robin Sharp felt some of the answers had been inadequate and people were still interested in why the takeover had taken place and wanted to know what Centene's intentions were.

Cllr Lloyd wanted to know about Population Health Management and if Operose was a joint data operator with AT Medic - if so could data be sent to the US?  AT Medics replied giving the example of data on diabetes checks where analysis was used to see how many patients had not had the 8 checks required and needed following up. They trained staff in how to use Population Health management as an approach.

Cllr Johnson asked AT Medics how many other providers they had approached but was told that the information was commercially sensitive and confidential.

Brent TUC Events this week: Take the Knee - Willesden Green May 25th, Stop GP Privatisation May 26th

 From Brent Trades Union Council

25th May is the first anniversary of the murder of George Floyd and the start of the Black Lives Matter protests.

 

This year, the TUC and Stand Up To Racism started a week of action on May 17 to mark the  anniversary of the murder of George Floyd with on-line meetings, 'Take the Knee' events and also requests for Town Halls and other public buildings to be lit on the 25th May.

 

TAKE THE KNEE AT WILLESDEN GREEN

 

Also, in line with many other places, we will be holding a socially distanced and covid secure event of 'Taking the Knee', outside WILLESDEN GREEN STATION on Tuesday, 25 May. AT 5.30pm.

 

We hope Black Lives Matter West London will  support the event and deliver a short speech.

 

Other speakers welcome.

 

 26 th May 

Stop our GP practices being sold off to Centene USA

 

                    

Johnbosco Lwongo from We Own It and Jonathan Fluxman from Doctors in Unite will outline next steps in building a Brent Campaign. Your contribution to this discussion will be valued.

                               Join Zoom Meeting HERE