New Community Diagnostic Centres for Brent and NW London should be up and running soon

 The minimum offer

Community Diagnostic Centres are a national initiative that will offer checks, scans and tests at one site separate from urgent and emergency facilities. The aim is to tackle the backlog of  such tests, simplify and speed the process and have one  centre accessible to the public 45 minutes or less travel time from their home. Overall it is hoped that this will improve health outcomes in the targeted population:

The Community Diagnostic Centres programme aims to achieve a range of benefits as outlined above:

 Improve population health outcomes

Increase diagnostic capacity

 Improve productivity and efficiency

Contribute to reducing health inequalities

 Deliver better and more personalised experience

Support integration of care

The focus is on serving the most disadvantaged areas. There will be a centre at Ealing, Willesden Centre for Health and Care amd Wembley Centre for Health and Care.

The Committee Report states:

The Community Diagnostic Centres at Willesden Centre for Health and Care and Wembley Centre for Health and Care will work together to serve the deprived and disadvantaged communities of Neasden, Stonebridge, Harlesden, North Hammersmith and Fulham, North Kensington, Queen’s Park and Church Street.

Completing a journey to a Centre within 45 minutes by public transport may be a challenge from some of those areas.

The Process:

 Timeline

The timeline for the three new Community Diagnostic Centres to be established and
operational is based on the programme of works necessary at each of the three existing NHS sites, with anticipated opening dates as follows:

 
· Willesden – June/July 2023
· Wembley – November/December 2023 (subject to planning approval)
· Ealing – December 2023/January 2024

 

 Details of the offer at the Centres

 

An officer clarified the roles of the various sites to Wembley Maters:

The plan is for the new Wembley Community Diagnostic Centre to provide imaging services and includes the provision of two MRI and two CT scanners.

 

We are developing three new Community Diagnostic Centres on existing NHS sites in north west London:

 

·         a larger facility – located at Ealing Hospital

·         and two facilities – one at The Wembley Centre for Heath and Care and another at The Willesden Centre for Health and Care – working together to provide the same suite of diagnostic tests as the Ealing Community Diagnostic Centre

 

The Community Diagnostic Centres at Willesden Centre for Health and Care and Wembley Centre for Health and Care will work together to serve the deprived and disadvantaged communities of Neasden, Stonebridge, Harlesden, North Hammersmith and Fulham, North Kensington, Queen’s Park and Church Street. The two sites also complement each other – the Wembley site provides the greatest catchment area to the overall population of north west London both by car and public transport – and the Willesden site serves the highest proportion (22 per cent) of deprived residents within its catchment area.

 

Also to note that there is a requirement for planning permission to build a new unit on the Wembley Centre site taking space on what is currently part of the car parking area to the rear of Barham House.

 

£765,000 project to save and improve the deteriorating Kilburn Library

Photographs from collection submitted to Cabinet

Brent Cabinet will be considering major plans to rectify structural problems at Kilburn Library and improve the facility at its meeting on Monday. The project will cost £765,000 of which  £534,000 would come from Strategic Community Infrastructure Levy and £231,500 from an application to the Arts Council of England's Library Improvement Fund.

A dossier of photographs (see above) are submitted alongside the proposed works.

Offices explain:

This investment will:

 
· Upgrade the library facilities and building, including the substantial but
underused garden;
· Implement a flexible design to expand the use of the library and enable
hires outside of core opening hours;
· Improve the accessibility of the building through improved design and
signage;
· Extend the footprint of the building to create a dedicated event and
learning space which could also be used for community hire.

The last refurbishment undertaken at Kilburn Library took place in 2009/10.
Structurally, the building is in a poor state. There are large cracks forming in the
structure of the building and there is concern that debris may fall. Furnishings
are mostly fixed and offer limited flexibility to develop the library offer or adapt
the space for different audiences and uses. There is no dedicated event space
despite the strong demand for cultural programmes in the area. Local
consultation for the Health and Wellbeing Strategy 2022 also identified
community priorities of food growing and access to green space. Kilburn Library
has an underutilised garden and will meet this need, but it requires investment to
make it fully accessible and be used more extensively by the community.

 

The works would entail building an extension to the existing building and
reconfiguring the layout to create a larger more flexible space. The driver for this
is a need to increase engagement with residents in the South Kilburn area and
to meet an increased demand and need for services, with a particular focus on
digital, learning, culture and health, following the large amount of growth that is
currently taking place and expected to take place. The new spaces and design
would enable us to increase our programming in these areas and work more with
local partners to expand our reach and library usage in the area.

The increasing population of South Kilburn is cited as a further reason to improve the facility.

Costings:

The Project Plan

Chalkhill Allotment Open Day Friday April 14th 14.00-16.30 - come and see our transformed green space

 

Brent Planning officers back conversion of Salusbury Road ground floor flat to commercial use

 

The current street scene in Salusbury Road, Queens Park

The site and green space behind

Proposed front elevation

An existing ground floor flat at 62, 62A-D, Salusbury Road could be converted to Class E commercial use if a planning application to be be considered at Brent Planning Committee on April 19th  (6pm) is approved.

The loss of ground floor residential space will be compensated for by development of the roof space into a second floor flat and there are proposed extensions at ground floor level.. There are 26 objections to the scheme recorded at present on the Brent Council planning portal some of which come from existing occupiers of the flats.

The agent summarises the proposal:

Specially, the proposals involve the following works:
• The creation of a new high-quality two-bedroom residential unit at second floor level through the conversion of the existing loft space and through a dormer that has been designed to comply with the Council’s SPD Design Guidance.
• The change of use of part ground floor from residential to Class E commercial use. This is an underutilised unit with poor outlook and amenity and the reprovision of residential use at second floor would ensure there would be no net loss of housing.
• The change of use at ground floor would also see minor extensions provided to the rear and side.
• The underutilised rear garden would be landscaped into dedicated communal amenity space for the new unit, along with the two existing units at first floor level. Another small section of this space would be allocated to the commercial units at ground floor.
• Dedicated cycle parking and refuse and recycling facilities would also be provided at ground floor level.
• A new air condenser unit would be provided at ground floor level to provide heating and cooling for the new commercial unit.

A number of local residents are concerned that the premisies may bcome a pub or a restaurant. The Planning Officers respond with an assurance that this is not proposed and supply a very varied list of what the premises could be used for within the E designation:

The physical alterations and additions to the frontage are not considered to impact the amenity of neighbouring properties. In terms of the change of use, objections have been raised about the concerns of a potential use of the ground floor Class E floorspace as a restaurant or bar. The applicant has outlined that the proposed development will not make provision for the Class E unit at ground floor level to be used as a drinking establishment nor a café/restaurant.

 

The applicant does wish to ensure that the commercial unit has suitable flexibility for a range of town centre uses. They have proposes the unit be restricted to the
following use classes: Class E(a) Display or retail sale of goods, other than hot food; Class E(c) provision of financial services, professional services (other than health or medical services), or other appropriate services in a commercial, business or service locality; Class E(d) Indoor sport, recreation or fitness (not involving motorised vehicles or firearms or use as a swimming pool or skating rink,) Class E(e) Provision of medical or health services (except the use of premises attached to the residence of the consultant or practitioner) Class E(g) Uses which can be carried out in a residential area without detriment to its amenity, Offices to carry out any operational or administrative functions, Research and development of products or rocesses, Industrial processes. The proposed uses are considered compatible with surrounding residential uses. These will be confirmed via condition.

Planning Officers advise members of the Planning Committee that the proposal is acceptable in planning terms:

The proposed development would not result in the net loss of residential dwellings and would create a good quality dwelling within the extended building. The proposed additional commercial unit and shopfront within a Town Centre is supported. The proposal is considered to comply with all relevant policies and to be acceptable in planning terms subject to conditions.

 LINK to Agenda Item

Two dates for Brent Air Quality Action Plan Resident Engagement Forum - 19th April and 20th April ON-LINE

 

From Brent Council

Register for Brent Council's Air Quality Action Plan Resident Forum now!

Want have your say on air quality in your local community?

Here's a chance for us to answer your questions and hear your views on how we can work towards clean air in Brent.

This forum will provide an important opportunity to access, participate in and influence council decisions through an interactive session where we will summarise the AQAP.

The two sessions are identical. Two are being held to maximise attendance. Book your on-line place below.

19th April, 12:00pm-1:00pm: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/air-quality-action-plan-resident-consultation-forum-tickets-595888818497

20th April, 6:00pm-7:00pm: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/copy-of-air-quality-action-plan-resident-consultation-forum-tickets-597695472247

 

 

Brent pupils, artists and community to benefit as Punchdrunk Enrichment move to Wembley Park for three-year residency

 From Punchdrunk Enrichment

 

Punchdrunk Enrichment – the UK’s premier education and community-led immersive theatre company has announced a three-year residency in London’s Wembley Park from April 2023, which will deliver the first ever co-created immersive arts space.

 

The residency will be Punchdrunk Enrichment’s largest in scale and ambition to-date. The company will engage with local artists and community groups to co-create an immersive space that will support local artist development, deliver exceptional experiences for families and provide training opportunities for Brent-based young people. The 8,000 square feet of space will also provide the opportunity for the Company to foster new work.

 

Alongside the public programme, the company will introduce a range of inspiring immersive projects for primary schools across Brent including The Lost Lending Library, Punchdrunk Enrichment’s flagship literacy project in which a mysterious travelling library appears overnight in a primary school. The Lost Lending Library has visited over 75 schools and benefitted more than 40,000 children by unlocking creativity and a love of literature in children aged 6-11 years and their families and carers.

 

The residency in Brent has been conceived by Punchdrunk Enrichment’s Artistic Director, Peter Higgin – one of the founding members of the world’s leading immersive theatre company, Punchdrunk – and will be delivered with the support of Arts Council England and the developers behind the transformation of Wembley Park, Quintain.

 

It will draw upon Punchdrunk Enrichment’s historic practice and expertise in immersive storytelling, which are brought to life in unexpected spaces. Previous projects include Greenhive Green, which transformed a room in a care home into an immersive village green complete with a florist, a phone box and the smell of fresh cut grass; and Fallow Cross, a fully functioning townlet in a set of warehouses in Tottenham Hale, Haringey

"Where is the justice when defendants cannot explain their motives, hopes and aims for taking action to save thousands of other people's lives in the UK and around the world?"

 From the Good Law Project

Two climate change protesters, who were sentenced to seven weeks in jail after telling a jury their reasons for taking peaceful action, are challenging that they were found in contempt of court, thanks to Good Law Project. 

Amy Pritchard and Giovanna Lewis were given custodial sentences of seven weeks in prison by Inner London Crown Court last month after they disobeyed a Judge's order not to refer to climate change or fuel poverty as their motivation for blocking traffic with the group Insulate Britain. 

Good Law Project believes it is in the interest of the public to stop the silencing of protesters and will argue that the court was wrong to have withdrawn the protesters' defences and limited what they could say to the jury. 

Amy Pritchard, 37, and Giovanna Lewis, 65, were on trial for causing a public nuisance after sitting in the road to block traffic between Bishopsgate and Wormwood Street in Central London on 25 October 2021. Jurors failed to agree a verdict on their trial but the protesters were found in contempt of court and given seven week prison sentences after they addressed juries at their trials to speak about climate change and fuel poverty as their reasons for the direct action. 

Inner London Crown Court has been ordering Insulate Britain protesters not to refer to climate change or fuel poverty whilst addressing the jury in their trials, saying that their motivations for acting the way they did had no relevance to what the jury had to decide. Many campaigners and lawyers have expressed concern at what they believe to be an extension of the more punitive treatment of protesters following the 2022 Police Crime and Sentencing Act.  

Jennine Walker, Legal Manager, Good Law Project said:  

We cannot celebrate the protests of the suffragettes yet stand by and do nothing as people protesting peacefully against climate change are silenced and punished by increasingly repressive laws and judicial system. We hope the Court of Appeal will put an end to these disturbing decisions that silence climate protestors and undermine the crucial role both protest and jury trial play in upholding our democracy.

Appellant and activist, Amy Pritchard said: 

The Judge's order to keep silent about our motivations is outrageous, and I could not follow it. I think this Judge's decision, and the direction it moves us in, is deeply disturbing.

Appellant and activist, Giovanna Lewis said: 

It is shocking and unbelievable that a UK crown court Judge could, or would even want to, prevent ordinary people from mentioning the words fuel poverty and climate change in a British court of law.  Where is the justice when defendants cannot explain their motives, hopes and aims for taking action to save thousands of other people's lives in the UK and around the world?

Brent Council to let several floors of the Civic Centre to commercial clients

 Cash-strapped Brent Council is advertising some 19,309 square feet of space at the Brent Civic Centre at £32.50 a square foot to realise a planned income of £680k in 2024-25. If the Council  fail to let the space it will mean further cuts.

At the same time the Council is reviewing existing commercial contracts.  Earlier this year Cabinet approved a £2m remodelling claiming it would improve 'customer experience' and also make the building more attractive to commercial tenants.

The planned lets include the first floor restaurant space that closed during the pandemic and has since been used by voluntary organisations as a commnity kitchen.

The space has been freed up via a 'restack' operation that moves existing staff around to maximise space for letting out.

As well as seeking commercial companies the Council is also looking at letting to a 'flex-operator', an organisation that lets flexible space to start ups and other small companies. LINK

Delegated authority is being sought to enter into new leases with the following:

· A new lease at an agreed market rent with the Valuation Office Agency
(VOA to relocate from the 8th Floor North to the 8th Floor West that was
recently vacated by Air France.

· A new lease at an agreed market rent with the Old Oak and Park Royal
Development Corporation for their current demise on the 1st Floor West - or
a suitable alternative space.

· A new lease at an agreed market rent with the NHS to co-locate them with
Brent’s Adult Social Care and Health department on the 2nd Floor.

· A new lease at an agreed market rent with Warren Bakery who occupy a
retail unit on the ground floor.

· Any other existing tenants as appropriate in line with the re-stack project
and any new prospective tenants seeking space within the Civic Centre

I am not sure about the status of Starbucks which is not mentioned in the Cabinet Report.

This is the brochure already available to potential clients: