Joint Scrutiny Committee on Wednesday to consider the Casey Review into disturbances at UEFA 2020 Final in Wembley

 

The Community and Wellbeing Scrutiny Committee (Chair Cllr Ketan Sheth) and Resources and Public Realm Scrutiny Committee (Chair Cllr Roxanne Mashari) will meet in the Conference Hall at Brent Civic Centre on Wednesday 9th March at 6pm to consider a shared item on the Casey Review. The latter Committee will move on to consider other items on their agenda.

The Casey Review investigated the issues around the disturbances at Wembley Stadium at the Euro 2020 Final and made a series of recommendations. 

Recommendations pertaining to street drinking and licensed premises were implemented last weekend for the Carabao Cup Final. LINK

After the event Brent Coucill hailed the action as a success:

The drink-free zone around Wembley Stadium created a friendly and enjoyable atmosphere for those attending the Carabao Cup Final on Sunday (Feb 27).

Working with the police and The FA, the council used its powers under the existing borough-wide Public Space Protection Order (PSPO) to crack down on street drinking ahead of the final, between Liverpool and Chelsea, in a bid to limit anti-social behaviour.

3,000 bottles or cans of alcohol were confiscated from the small minority of rule breakers on Olympic Way and the surrounding streets.

Councillor Muhammed Butt, Leader of Brent Council, said: “Yesterday we saw 90,000 football fans from across the country come to Wembley for the first full-capacity event held at the Stadium since the start of the pandemic.

“When we welcome fans, as we have done for decades, we feel like we’re welcoming them into our home so residents really want visitors to treat the local area with respect. It was wonderful to see the vast majority of fans do just that and I would like to thank everyone who followed the rules by not drinking on the street. Not only did this mean local pubs, bars, fan zones and restaurants were all buzzing with excitement, it also reduced the amount of litter on the streets and created a more enjoyable family-friendly experience all-around.

“I also want to thank the council’s enforcement officers, the police, Wembley Park and The FA. By working together and having a visible presence in the area, these keyworkers made a real difference in cracking down quickly on the small minority of fans who chose not to follow the rules.

“Finally, thanks also go to the local off licenses and retailers who stopped selling alcohol to fans before the game. This new approach will be rolled out for all future matches in Wembley as we look forward to welcoming more fans back to the historic Stadium over the coming months.”

The item on the Agenda states:

Baroness Casey review of events surrounding the UEFA Euro 2020 Final 'Euro Sunday' at Wembley

To discuss the Baroness Casey review of events surrounding the UEFA

Euro 2020 Final ‘Euro Sunday’ at Wembley, alongside the Community and Wellbeing Scrutiny Committee

There is no accompanying report tabled at present.

Brent stands with Ukraine - how you can help

 

From Brent Council

Brent stands in solidarity with the Ukrainian people and condemns Russia's unprovoked and unjustified invasion of the independent nation of Ukraine, in violation of international law.

Read more about the statement, which was agreed unanimously at Full Council on 24 February. We have a long and proud history of supporting refugees in Brent and are ready to do so again.

As the most diverse borough in the UK we know that lots of our residents, including Ukrainian and Russian citizens, feel strongly about the situation and will want to help those affected by the invasion.

The council is not collecting donations directly, but we have compiled a list of organisations and appeals that residents might consider supporting.

• The Red Cross has set up the Ukraine Crisis Appeal, which is requesting donations to respond to humanitarian needs through food, water, first aid, medicines, warm clothes and shelter
• Unicef has set up a specific fund to protect children in Ukraine
• The UN refugee agency helps refugees fleeing situations of war and has a specific collection for Ukraine
• Care International is running an emergency appeal to provide emergency food and water
• The Ukrainian Embassy has set up a special fund to support Ukraine
• Choose Love are appealing for donations for supporting projects who are providing vital aid and services to those still in and fleeing the country, including: emergency medical care, food, shelter, clothes, legal support, support for the LGBTQIA+ community and mental health support.

Six week window opens for any applications for a Judicial Review of the adoption of Brent's Local Plan

 The recent Full Brent Council Meeting formally adopted the new Local Plan which provides a framework for developments in the borough until 2041. The Local Plan contains many elements that have have been controversial including the projected population increase and amount of housing, density of housing, tall building policy and so-called intensification corridors which allow new build on roads that currently are low rise.

Now that the Plan has been adopted  residents' groups will find it much harder to challenge specific developments at the Planning Committee stage and committee members will find their hands tied to a large extent.

The grounds for a Judicial Review are narrowly defined:

This extract from the Adopted Local Plan sums up some of the issues that concern residents.

This is the announcement on the Brent Council website. To assess the overall policies click on 'Adopted Local Plan (basic version):

The Brent Local Plan 2019-2041 was adopted by Full Council on 24 February 2022.  

This replaced the Brent Core Strategy 2010, Brent Site Allocations Plan 2011, Wembley Area Action Plan 2015 and Development Management Policies Plan 2016 which have been formally revoked.  

We will however retain these documents on the website until the 6-week period for applications for judicial review of the adoption decision has passed, or if such requests have been made, they are resolved.   

In advance of a final ‘glossy’ version of the plan being available, we have produced a basic version of the Local Plan incorporating all modifications.  This will be subject to further minor modifications. These will address things such as page numbering, the insertion of figures and infographics identified in the text similar to those in the submitted plan, as well as appropriate photographs.

• Adopted Local Plan (basic version)
• Local Plan Adoption Statement
• Local Plan Integrated Impact Assessment Adoption Report.

The interactive Local Plan Policies Map that accompanies the Local Plan 2019-2041 is not yet ready to view.  PDFs of the submitted Policies Map are available to view on the links below.

The policies map that accompanies the revoked Local Plan has been retained on the website as an aid in the meantime, as a number of the policy designation boundaries remain the same.

• Revoked Local Plan policies map
• Draft Local Plan policy map (all layers)
• Draft Local Plan policy map (development areas)
• Draft Local Plan policy map (environmental protection, heritage, employment, and article 4)
• Draft Local Plan policy map (open space, flood zones and shopping)
• Schedule of policies map modifications

If you need further help in identifying the policy designations related to a particular site, please contact us by emailing planningstrategy@brent.gov.uk setting out the address, or a redline map boundary of the site.

March 3rd - International Women's Day: SHE IS SUMMIT Valuing Girls and Women at Box Park Wembley

 

BOOK:

Part 1 Practitioners 10.00-15.30 

 Part 2 Young Women 15.30-18.00

 

She Is Summit is an opportunity to listen, better understand and seek solutions. Join us with Safer London, Brent Council, Streetgirl and Sancia Williams as we generate ideas to design multi-sectoral services to improve safety, protection and recovery, especially for those who already suffer multiple forms of discrimination.

Brent Council Webinar: Reduce, Recycle: Creating a Circular Economy 6pm tonight

 

From Brent Council

Think about when you are about to buy or consume something. A product or service perhaps. The different considerations that you are weighing up when asking yourself - do I purchase or do I not? Now think about whether protecting the environment or tackling climate change forms part of this thought process?

Why does it matter? Well, the ‘stuff’ we consume is contributing to the climate crisis by increasing the amount of greenhouse gas emissions in the world’s atmosphere. Whether this is from the energy used to create the product, the way it has been transported to you, and whether the materials it’s made with are recyclable.

The good news is however, that we have the power to make a difference. Consuming less, reducing waste and using items to their full life cycle is what the ‘Circular Economy’ is all about! This is the economic model of the future if we are tackle climate change, and will go a long way in creating a more sustainable environment.

Join us for a free webinar on Monday 28 February (6pm-7:30pm) Our expert speakers will guide you through this vitally important topic, providing key insights on what the circular economy is and practical tips for what you can do to help. We will be bringing together national, regional and local experts to discuss how we can start making changes, save money and lead a healthier lifestyle – and have a positive impact on the planet.

Our speakers include:

• Susan Evans, Senior Policy Adviser at Green Alliance

• Doug Simpson, Senior Advisor at ReLondon

• Oliver Peat, Education, Communications and Outreach Manager at Veolia

• Sophia Flucker, Director at Transition Kensal to Kilburn

Click here - Register Now

Olympic Way tile murals on display, 1st to 21st March

 Guest post by Philip Grant in a personal capacity

  1.The tile murals on the east wall of Olympic Way, March 2021. (Courtesy of Quintain)

 

On 14 February, I received an email from Brent Council to let me know that ‘the heritage tile murals outside Wembley Park station will be on display’ from 1^st to 21^st March 2022. This is the three weeks each year that we are currently allowed to see the mural scenes on the walls of Olympic Way, under the secret advertising lease deal which Council Officers made with Quintain’s Wembley Park subsidiary in 2019.

 

The same email must have been sent to the “Brent & Kilburn Times”, as they published the news online, and featured a picture of the murals on the front page of their 17 February edition. I was told that Brent would be issuing a proper press release about the murals being on display, but as I write this, it has yet to appear on the Council’s website. (Perhaps they are waiting until the murals are uncovered on 1^st March, so that a Cabinet member can be photographed in front of them, and featured in their publicity?)

 

 

2.The then Mayor, Cabinet members and guests at the tile murals “reveal” in January 2020.
(Courtesy of Brent Council)

 

I’m pleased to see that the Council are again recognising the heritage importance of the Bobby Moore Bridge tile murals, which they first seemed to accept at the start of Brent’s year as London Borough of Culture in 2020. The email included this “quote”:

 

‘Mayor of Brent Cllr Lia Colacicco said, “The tile murals are a part of Brent’s rich heritage so it is exciting to see more tiles revealed at the historic Bobby Moore Bridge. My hope is that when looking at the images we remember the historic and iconic moments that have happened in Wembley and I am looking forward to more memories being created at new events later this year.” ‘

 

Although the 2020 “reveal” of the Olympic Way mural scenes only involved the east wall, it appears that in 2022 they’ve remembered one on the opposite side! The email says: ‘The west wall features a scene of a drummer in concert at Wembley stadium to represent the Live Aid concert in July 1985.’ I have a photograph of that, which I took in 2009, before it was covered over with Quintain’s adverts from 2013.

 

3.The drummer mural, just outside the subway on the west side of Olympic Way.

 

If you look at the top left corner of my picture, you will notice that the mural has been patched up with some different tiles. That is because a much larger “Live Aid” mural scene was destroyed around 2006. Steps were built down to Olympic Way from the (then) bus stop on the bridge, in preparation for the opening of the new stadium. I’ve been told that TfL were responsible for this, but Brent Council must have given planning consent, and Quintain as owner of the land must also have agree to this work.

 

4.The original west wall mural celebrating popular music concerts at Wembley.

 

I don’t know who took the photograph above, but I’m very grateful to whoever shared it with me a few years ago, so that I at least have a record of what the mural scene on the west wall of Olympic Way originally looked like. We have “lost”, through neglect, murals of Mark Knopfler, Tina Turner and Freddie Mercury. I believe that the drummer, who you will be able to see this March, is probably meant to be Phil Collins.

 

For the moment, Brent residents and visitors will have the chance to see these ‘heritage tile murals’ on the walls of Olympic Way for just three weeks, from 1^st to 21^st March. We should be able to see them all of the time. Quintain’s consent to place their vinyl advertising sheets over these murals expires on 25 August 2022, and I wrote to their Chief Executive Officer on 1 January asking the company not to seek to renew it, so that these murals can be on permanent public display.

 

5.Back to black – adverts covering the east wall murals in March 2020, after the LBOC 2020 “reveal”.

 

I did receive an acknowledgement to my letter on 20 January, with an apology for the delay in replying. I was promised a full response ‘within the next few weeks’, after Quintain had consulted with ‘other Stakeholders’ (Brent Council?). At the time of writing, I have still to receive Quintain’s answer, but if they do decide to seek renewal of their advertisement consent, that will be strongly contested. Murals which are ‘part of Brent’s rich heritage’ should not be covered over and hidden from view.

Philip Grant.

LETTER: WE MUST SUPPORT UKRAINE AND DEFEAT PUTIN

 Dear Editor,

No one wants a 3rd world war. I never had any grandparents. One was killed fighting in the 1st World War and the other 3 were murdered in concentration camps by the Nazis in the 2nd World War.

But innocent people are being killed in Ukraine today by the Russian army and lessons from history teach us that by not standing up to Dictators things will only get worse.

In 1938 Czechoslovakia had a defence pack with Britain, France and other countries. When in 1938  Britain, France, Italy and others signed the Munich pact with Hitler giving in to his demands Czechoslovakia was betrayed and Hitler soon invaded the whole country.

That was the signal to Hitler that those countries were disunited, unprepared and weak and that he could expand his empire and deliver his 3rd Reich. Tens of millions of people died in the world war  that followed, two thirds of my family were wiped out and my parents had to endure the horrors of the concentration camps.

When in 1968 Communist Russia invaded Czechoslovakia to defeat an attempt for democracy and breaking out of the shackles of communism the West did nothing. The country was occupied and subjugated by the Russians for the next 20 years.

I lost my country and all my friends. Although I have been able to build my life in the UK it was not easy and especially tough on my parents. No one becomes by Refugee by choice and the journey to rebuild your life can be tough.

The invasion of Ukraine confirms that you cannot trust Putin and that Russia continues to be a real threat to its neighbours and to world peace. Sadly 'diplomacy' does not work with Dictators.

Despite spending £billions each year on keeping standing armies and on developing new weapons it is not surprising that US, Britain and the rest do not wish to get involved militarily. Iraq, Afghanistan were all disasters and as a result even NATO is ineffectual and was clearly not ready.

So what should we do?

In 1968 the Czechoslovak army capitulated without firing a shot. It is clear that the Ukrainian army is made of sterner stuff. The west should supply Ukraine with all necessary weapons for their defence.

Ukraine should receive all possible humanitarian aid and borders should be open to their citizens under threat of Russian bombardment. Poland, Slovakia and other nearby states should receive assistance from the EU and the US to make this possible.

Russia should be completely isolated. This means that all business, sporting, cultural and educational links should stop immediately. Business should be instructed to withdraw all their employees and all assets from Russia, Russian football clubs should be expelled from all competitions, non Russian citizens in Russia should be given a deadline to leave and all international flights with Russia should stop. All Trade with Russia should stop and all Russian assets abroad should be frozen. World Universities must stop their doors to students from Russia. 

And yes if we are serious we must STOP buying Russian Oil and Gas. We may experience some pain but that is not the same as being killed by unprovoked Russian bombs and bullets.

It is when Russians feel total isolation and suffer economic and cultural pain that they will turn against Putin. 

Putin will not stop with Ukraine. The world did nothing when Russia invaded Crimea in 2014  and this is the consequence. Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania are next in line. The sooner the western alliance recognises this and builds up its defences along this line the better.

In 1968 Czechoslovaks pleaded for international help. There were fine words but little else. Fine words and softly softly approach will not work against Russian military might or its Dictator. Unless the Russians stop now and withdraw their troops from Ukraine immediately the international community must engage its economic, financial and other strengths to bring Russia to its knees in other ways.

Paul Lorber

25 February 2022.

 

Paul Lorber was born in Czechoslovakia but had to leave his country as a child following the Russian led invasion of his country in August 1968. He has lived in Brent since 1969 and was a Councillor in Brent for 32 years and Leader of Brent Council between 2006 and 2010.

Controversial tall towers on Wembley Park Station car park approved by minister

 

The five towers proposed to be built between Brook Avenue and the Metropolitan railway line, previously the station car park, have been approved. Philip Grant wrote about the planning issues involved HERE.

It is ironical that this has been announced on the day Full Council is set to approve the new Local Plan that will pave the way for many similar developments.

Construction News writes:

Transport for London (TfL) and Barratt Homes have been given the green light for a 454-home development near Wembley Park.

The minister of state for rough sleeping and housing Eddie Hughes MP made the decision to green light the project on behalf of communities secretary Michael Gove.

Planning permission for the scheme was initially granted by the London Borough of Brent in November 2020. However, the scheme was called in by former communities secretary Robert Jenrick in May last year.

Up to five new residential buildings will include replacement train crew accommodation, retail space, parking facilities and other communal areas. Up to 152 of the new homes will be classed as affordable housing.

The project faced a delay after concerns were raised that the scheme could impact heritage and listed buildings in the neighbourhood, especially the Barn Hill Conservation Area and the Lawn Court Conservation Area. Other listed spaces included Wembley Arena.

The minister accepted a report from the Planning Inspector, submitted in November, that the benefits of the scheme were enough to outbalance “the less than substantial harm” to the conservation areas.

Some of the benefits identified were the regeneration of brownfield land, increased affordable housing, delivery of a car-free development, and economic as well as environmental improvements to the local area.

The project spans 0.7 hectares, with Wembley Park Station and Olympic Square to the east, and railway lines that serve Wembley Park Station and the Chiltern Railway to its north. The project has an estimated value of £123.2m.