Fryent Way closed 2pm-Midnight Today, Wednesday and Sunday due to increased number of fans at Wembley matches

Fryent Way back in  2011 when it was closed for the  Championship League match between Barcelona and Manchester United

 Statement from Brent Council

Due to the increase in the number of fans attending the EURO 2020 Semi-Final and Final at Wembley Stadium, Fryent Way will be closed and used for parking on Tuesday, Wednesday and Sunday this week.

This is to allow for more fan parking in designated zones and has been planned to help minimise disruption to residents. The closure will go into effect at 2pm with vehicles diverted via Kingsbury Road and Church Lane, and will be lifted at midnight. The road will have a central lane open for emergency vehicles only.

We would still encourage Ticketholders to travel by public transport or coach. Wembley Stadium will not provide parking for private vehicles during the event, except accessible parking.  Nearby street parking is reserved for local residents and businesses. 

Event Day parking restrictions will be active from 8am to midnight on main roads and from 10am to midnight on residential roads. If you have a paper Event Day permit, please make sure it is clearly displayed in the vehicle. Electronic permit holders do not need to display a permit.

 

2011 (Photos: Philip Grant)

 

The Myth of UK Housing Shortage Exposed by the Bank of England

 Guest comment piece by Nan Tewari

Given the unconscionable volumes of building going on in the borough (and elsewhere) we might hope the numbers of homeless families would be falling.  Yet this is far from being the case.  

The housing shortage rhetoric is somewhat at odds with the content of this article. It may well be time for public policy to recognise that having a home must be, first and foremost, a human right.  Housing as just an asset should be coming way down the list of what is acceptable in a civilised society when so many remain without a secure roof over their head.  

 Extracts from Posiitve Money's coverage of a Bank of England  LINK

If we look at the data, [...]. Housing stock levels have consistently risen at a higher rate than population growth even in the past couple of decades, and even in London. So, according to the laws of supply and demand, if houses were a simple consumer good, prices should have fallen – obviously not the case.

In the 1930s a typical three bed house was just 1 and a half times the average annual salary. By 1997 the average house price was 3.6 times the average salary. But in just twenty years that has more than doubled to nearly 8 times, and in London an ‘affordable’ home is 13 times first-time buyers’ salaries.

ALERT: Submissions to Wembley Park Station/Brook Avenue Planning Inquiry have to be in by Thursday July 8th - Read Philip Grant's submission

 

Submissions to the Planning Inquiry on the Wembley Park Station/Brook Avenue have a deadline of Thursday July 8th.

The referral to the Planning Inspectorate was made by Robert Jenrick MP, the Communites Secretary, after concern that the Planning Committee's approval decision was unsound as it was alleged to be in breach of Brent Council's own policies. LINK

Local historian Philip Grant has made a detailed submission that you can find below. Click bottom right for a full page view.

The closing date for comments, ahead of the Public Inquiry, is Thursday 8 July. Anyone who wishes to, but has not yet done so, can submit their comments to: leanne.palmer@planninginspectorate.gov.uk , quoting the reference: APP/T5150/ V/21/3275339. 

This may affect YOU! Far-reaching Neasden development plan consultations start tomorrow

 I am very familiar with residents saying they haven't heard about development plans and consultations in Brent - sometimes only realising something is afoot when building starts. This consultation has had some extra publicity due to the data breach caused when emails were sent in open format, so that everyone's email address could be seen by all recipients. LINK

Often afterwards the Council will give a long list of people written to, web announcements and consultation events. Those I have been to often attract fewer people than the number of developer/council and public relations staff attending.

This plans covers a wide area including industrial sites around Neasden Lane, the side of the railway and eventually the College of North West London site on Dudden Hill Lane. 'Neasden Stations' is a bit of a misnomer as it covers such a big area. It could take a decade to complete.

The Council says the the Draft Neasden Stations Growth Area Masterplan:

 '...Aims to provide at least 2000 new homes and employment and support infrastructure to bring the physical and social-economic regeneration of the area.'

 

THE MASTER PLAN

DESIGN OPTIONS VIABILITY REPORT 

LINK TO ON-LINE CONSULTATION
 

Brent stands up for the NHS on its 73rd birthday

 

 The first event organised by Brent Keep Our NHS Public saw a cross party and non-party group, along with Brent Trades Council,  demonstrate outside the Willesden Centre for Health and Care today.

The event coincided with the 73rd anniversary of the NHS and centred on defending it from privatisation, including the US takeover of some Brent GP surgeries and the potential selling of patient data, and support for the NHS15 campaign for a 15% rise for health workers who have lost 20% of their pay in real terms over the last 10 years.

 

Apart from fairness to the staff the pay rise is also necessary for the effective running of the NHS , with 100,000 vacancies and 36% of nurses thinking of leaving already impacting on the quality of care.  A significant increase such as 15% would help maintain staff numbers and improve recruitment, leading to a reduction in waiting times for patients and better care all round.

Our NHS as a 'public good' is being undermined in a variety of ways but immediate action on pay would make a considerable difference in  the short and longer term.

Clapping is not enough.

Vaccination sessions in Brent and Camden for over 18s today - Central Mosque, Willesden Green & Sidings Community Centre, Kilburn

 

Brent Right to Food campaign launch on Saturday July 10th - Brent Beyond Food Banks: Strategies for Food Justice in NW London

The UK is witnessing a crisis of food poverty born out of the political choices and systemic failings created over the past four decades. In Brent alone, a third of households live below the poverty line, leading to a lack of access to fresh, healthy, affordable and culturally-appropriate food. Local activists are calling on Council Leader Muhammed Butt to declare Brent a Right to Food Borough, inspired by a national campaign by the MP for Liverpool and West Derby Ian Byrne. We want to work with community kitchens and gardens, mutual aid groups, trade unions, and anyone else interested in fixing our broken food system.  

Join us to discuss the best ways of organising for food justice in our Borough at the launch of the Brent Right to Food campaign on  Saturday 10 July 2021, 12:00-14:00 by registering here.  

 

Brent Beyond Food Banks: Strategies for Food Justice in NW London  

with:

 

         Dee Woods, co-founder Granville Community Kitchen  

         Fahim Dahya, logistics and facilities manager, Sufra NW London  

Ian Hodson, National President, Bakers, Food and Allied Workers’ Union  

 

Outdoors in the Garden, The Granville. 140 Carlton Vale, London NW6 5HE (nearest public transport Kilburn Park and Queen’s Park; buses 6 and 316 to Neville Close stop).  

Another data breach by Brent Council - this time Kilburn Square consultation

According to Life in Kilburn Brent Council has again breached data regulations by open copying residents' email addresses into an email about the Kilburn Square development consultation. This means that each recipient has access to all the private emails.

To make matters worse the send claimed in response to a complaint that it was impossible to send zoom details via blind copy (bcc) which zoom users know is not the case.

Life in Kilburn told Wembley Matters:

There were 21 residents on one invite but same issue on the invites to 2 similar meetings on different dates. It has also probably been happening to all previous residents invites to Zoom meetings for all infill developments, where the "consultation" is managed by this individual.

 This is the second case in just a few weeks and appears to be the same department.

 June 19th 2021: