UPDATED: Harris Federation addressing Capital City Academy parents tonight about their takeover of the school. NEU ballot on action against the takeover goes out tomorrow.

 

 Capital City Academy to be handed over to Harris Federation?

 

Harris Federation have invited parents to two presentations about their planned forced takeover of the Willesden's Capital City Academy. The first tonight is in-person at 5pm and the second on zoom next Tuesday:

To give you a better understanding of the Harris Federation and what it means to join our group, we will be holding two information evenings for parents:

 
• Thursday 4th May at 5pm in person at Capital City Academy
• Tuesday 9th May at 6pm online. Please use the link Harris Federation Presentation or LINK

These meetings will give you a chance to learn more about us, our approach to running schools and the opportunities joining our Federation will create. Following a presentation from us, parents will be invited to ask any questions they might have.

Their intention is that Capital City Academy will join the Harris Federation in September but the move is meeting opposition despite the Federation's rather general assurance to parents that 'everything that is great about your school will remain the same'. 

There are concerns about the lack of consultation about the takeover, possible loss of staff due to proposed changes in pay and conditions, a reduced A Level offer as other schools leave the current consortium of schools that Capital City belongs to, and the reportedly high level of permanent exclusions, internal exlusions and use of isolation in Harris Schools.

The loss of a community school, albeit an academy, to be subsumed into a Federation of 50 schools, without any democratic process will be of concern in Brent beyond those of current pupils, parents and staff.

Joining a Federation where the boss earns £455,000 a year is not viewed favourably either.

A ballot of NEU members on action against the takeover goes out tomorrow.

UPDATE - this evening c50 parents attended the meeting along with some staff. Press and public were not allowed to attend.

This leaflet was given out to parents:

 

 

 

 

Alperton councillor calls on Network Rail to meet with him and residents over decaying railway footbridge concerns

 

Following my story on the poor condition of the brdige over the main line and local line in Wembley LINK, Cllr Anton Georgiou has asked Network Rail to meet with him and residents to discuss action on the issue.

He wrote:

Dear Network Rail,

RE: Railway bridge from London Road to Lyon Park Avenue

I am writing regarding the railway bridge used by many residents in Alperton and surrounding wards in the Wembley area.

For many years, the state of this bridge has been a concern for local people. We do not deem it to be structurally safe, nor do we feel it is an inviting space to walk. The bridge stretches from London Road in Wembley Central, all the way across to Lyon Park Avenue. It should be a convenient route for pedestrians who want to avoid the longer journey into Wembley via the Ealing Road and down Wembley High Road. Sadly, many choose to avoid walking across this bridge as it has been left in a state of disrepair.

I have previously engaged with Brent Council Officers, who have been in touch with Network Rail directly. This has not resulted in the level of maintenance work needed to significantly improve the bridge. The local authority has said it is not their responsibility and have effectively washed their hands of further involvement.

Therefore, I would like to arrange a meeting in Brent with yourselves and local residents so that you can better understand our concerns and devise an action plan to make needed improvements to the bridge.

We are also keen to help clean up the land on either side of the bridge, which is full of rubbish. I am happy to take a lead on arranging community litter pick days, if you grant us access to this land.

Ultimately, we want to ensure that this asset is well used and made safe for all. I look forward to hearing from you soon and getting a plan in place.

New 20-storey 770 bed student accomodation block for Wembley Park

 

Greystar Real Estate have acquired a site close to the  still under construction Union Park in Wembley Park from Quintain for an undisclosed sum. It will provide 770 student beds. Coming on top of the news of a new hotel in Olympic Way many may think local housing needs and the need to build community are being sidelined.  As planning consent was granted to Quintain in December 2022 work will start immediately with occupation of the block starting in August 2025.

 

From the Greystone Press Release:

Greystar Real Estate Partners, LLC (“Greystar”), a global leader in the investment, development, and management of high-quality real estate, including rental housing, logistics, and life sciences, has acquired a site at Wembley Park from Quintain on behalf of its pan-European residential fund GEPE I for an undisclosed sum. 

Greystar will build a 20-storey purpose-built student accommodation development on the site comprising 770 beds alongside 7,480 sq. ft. of internal and 9,096 sq. ft. of external amenity space. The well-amenitised scheme has been designed to a BREEAM Excellent rating and features two lounges, gym, screen room, games room, private dining space, communal study area, space for socialising, cycle storage spaces, and external gardens and podiums. 

The site benefits from a 100% market rent PBSA planning consent, with planning permission obtained by Quintain in December 2022, and forms part of the wider Wembley Park regeneration programme. Demolition at the site has been completed and McAleer & Rushe has been appointed as the construction partner. On-site development will begin immediately with first occupancy from September 2025. Greystar intends to operate the asset under the Canvas brand, complementing its existing adjacent 283-bed PBSA site in the Wembley Park area.

Set within the North East Lands development, the site is part of a 12-acre district that will ultimately deliver 2,347 residential units of varying tenures next to the biodiverse seven-acre Union Park. Wembley Park is now an established neighbourhood, and an increasingly popular environment for students to live. The site is ideally located close to the iconic Wembley Stadium and only a four-minute walk to Wembley Park tube station (Jubilee and Metropolitan lines) providing easy access into Central London and its Universities. 

Greystar’s investment reflects the ongoing attractiveness of London, characterised by an acute shortage of high-quality student accommodation – and the capital’s status as the top global capital city for overseas students with its world-class universities and higher education institutions, as well as its rich culture, vibrant entertainment, and unparalleled career opportunities. 

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Barclays Bank AGM targeted by fossil fuels and human rights campaigners

 

Palestine Solidarity, Campaign Against Arms Trade, War on Want were drawing attention to Barclay's funding of arms companies and the subsequent use of those arms against Palestinians and other populations.

Palestine Solidarity said:

Militarised violence against the Palestinian people is a central feature of Israel’s occupation and apartheid regime – including the illegal Apartheid Wall, demolitions of Palestinian homes, brutal armed crackdowns on Palestinians protestors, and indiscriminate bombing campaigns of the Gaza Strip.

This system is maintained through the involvement of governments and business enterprises around the world. Financial institutions in the UK provide investment, loans, and other financial services to companies supplying Israel with weapons and military technology used to oppress Palestinians.

We’ve uncovered that Barclays Bank holds over £1 billion in shares, and provides over £3 billion in loans and underwriting to 9 companies whose weapons, components, and military technology have been used in Israel’s armed violence against Palestinians. By providing investment and financial services to these arms companies, Barclays facilitates the provision of weapons and technology for Israel’s militarised repression of Palestinians.

Alongside War on Want and Campaign Against Arms Trade, we're calling on Barclays Bank to #StopBankingOnApartheid

Climate campaigners were focusing on Barclay's investments in fossil fuels amidst a climate crisis.

This afternoon XR issued the following press release:

A major bank funding our extinction by pouring billions of pounds into new fossil fuel projects was left in disarray today as activists linked to a huge new climate crisis coalition disrupted their Annual General Meeting headquarters in the City of London.  

The board of directors faced constant interruption and challenge making it almost impossible for the AGM to continue. When Barclays chairman Nigel Higgins tried to outline the bank’s own climate commitments, a protester shouted “bullshit.”

At 11am teams of activists infiltrated the AGM of Europe’s biggest funder of fossil fuels, Barclays. [1]  A 70-strong Climate Choir sang a climate crisis version of the Spice Girls “Stop Right Now” to bank board members. Further disruption followed as other shareholders from Fossil Free London, with a Shakespearean condemnation of Barclays as being on the wrong side of history. 

Pulling out hidden ruffs and quills, they performed Shakespeare-based lines generated by ChatGPT about the bank’s funding of fossil fuels. Lines included: “The people thee harm, and our air thou pollute! And yet, there is more, I tell you this day, For Barclays is guilty in a vile way. Thou art on the wrong side of history, I say!”

At the action, Claude Fourcroy, of Money Rebellion, an off-shoot of Extinction Rebellion, said: “We need UK banks to stop funding fossil fuels today, but instead they are profiting from a rigged system where bankers sacrifice people and planet to make vast fortunes. This is why we have chosen to target these vastly wealthy and powerful establishments, in the interests of the public – because time for humanity and every other species on the planet is running out. 

“These banks boast about being part of the solution to the climate and ecological emergency while taking baby steps toward pulling funding for the worst fossil fuel criminals, making empty promises full of loopholes, and greenwashing on an industrial scale

“The government and Bank of England are failing to challenge or regulate the power of the banks. But people power can and will stop them. No more carbon bombs, no more genocide and no more displacement. Until the banks stop funding new fossil fuels, we will use every tool in the box to stop them, including building the biggest bank boycott in history to hit them where it hurts – in their pockets.”

The action against the big name financier came just a week after 200 environmental and social justice groups staged The Big One in the streets around Parliament.

The unprecedented event drew up to 100,000 protestors across the four days, to become the biggest single-location climate protest in British history. It included the delivery of two collective demands to stop all new fossil fuel projects and set up emergency citizens assemblies to manage a swift and just transition to a post-carbon future.

When the government failed to respond to the demands by a 5pm deadline on Monday April 24, 50 of the groups at the Big One, including Extinction Rebellion, Money Rebellion, Greenpeace and War on Want, vowed to step up their campaigns and actions.

Extinction Rebellion co-founder Clare Farrell said: “These Money Rebellion actions disrupting financial power holders are just the start of an unprecedented movement of movements stepping up to challenge the corrupt elite in order to drive the urgent changes we need for survival of life on this planet.”

“In this new phase of Extinction Rebellion, we are connecting across groups to build a stronger climate alliance aimed at community resilience, inclusivity and fairness for all living beings. By linking up everyone who stands for a just and rapid response to the climate crisis we will create a formidable opposition. People are determined to challenge the misuse of power which threatens to bring an end to all life if we do not stop it.”

Barclays’ AGM was targeted by activists because the bank is the largest financier of fossil fuel expansion, heavily funding new fossil fuel exploration and drilling, while issuing net zero pledges. 

According to Rainforest Action Network and Greenpeace since 2016 Barclays has been the worst bank in Europe for fossil fuel financing. In 2022 alone, the bank provided over $16 billion to coal, oil, and gas companies, and $190 billion since the Paris Agreement, making it the seventh largest fossil fuel funder in the world.

Barclays has said it is committed to aligning its financed emissions with the goals of the Paris Agreement, but in reality the bank has no policy dictating how it should reduce its financing of the oil and gas sector. Barclays is one of the only major UK banks  which has not started the process of restricting financing for new oil and gas, putting it at odds with competitors HSBC, Lloyds, and NatWest.

The Green Party's Right Homes, Right Place, Right Price Charter - applicable to Brent?

 We don't have council elections in Brent until 2025 but given the housing crisis and the debate over affordability I thought readers may be interested in Green Party policy on this issue which was publicised in the context of tomorro'w local elections eleswhere in the country.

Green Party co-leader Adrian Ramsay said:

We need councillors and national government to work together to deliver the homes people need and can afford to rent and buy, where people need them. 

Today, speculators and developers are allowed to chase the biggest profits and ignore local needs. Too many villages and towns have seen large-scale developments take place without the community infrastructure expanded alongside, such as GP surgeries, bus services, cycling and walking networks and nurseries and schools.

What we need is local councils supported to build quality, affordable housing in the right places where people live and work, with the right supporting infrastructure and local facilities.

Our Right Homes, Right Place, Right Price Charter will simultaneously protect valuable green space for communities, reduce climate emissions, tackle fuel poverty and provide genuinely affordable housing.

We’ve seen how Green councillors have made a difference in Mid Suffolk, where developers are now expected to provide EV points, not connect to the gas grid and provide heat pumps as standard.

The villages of Suffolk and Norfolk are facing the same problems as much of the rest of the country - developers being allowed to build houses local people often can’t afford and failing to ensure local services like buses and GP surgeries get the investment they need.

Developers are being allowed to ride roughshod over the needs of communities and the environment and this has got to stop.”

Co-leader Carla Denyer, who is a serving councillor and Parliamentary candidate in Bristol, said:

Up and down the country, people are experiencing the same problems as people here in Stowmarket - homes that are unaffordable to buy, unaffordable to rent and unaffordable to heat. There is a generation of people who are trapped in the private rental market by spiralling rents that bear no relationship to incomes.

To address this, in the short term, we would introduce an immediate rent freeze and eviction ban to prevent people being made homeless in the middle of this cost of living crisis, as the Scottish Greens have already done as part of the Scottish Government. 

In the longer term, we would give councils the power to bring in rent controls in areas where the housing market is overheated. We would also place much stricter controls on the type of new homes bein

Everyone deserves a place that they can call home. That is why our Right Homes, Right Place, Right Price Charter will deliver the change we want to see across the housing sector and create fairer, greener communities.

The Greens’ Right Homes, Right Place, Right Price Charter would:

• End the housing crisis by creating enough affordable homes – including 100,000 new council homes a year built to the Passivhaus or equivalent standard

• Empower local authorities to bring empty homes back into use

• Transform the planning system to:

• Incentivise renovation and improvement of existing buildings to reduce the environmental impact of new construction

• Incentivise local authorities to spread small developments across their areas, where appropriate, rather than building huge new estates

• Protect valuable green space for communities

• Require new developments to be accompanied by the extra investment needed in local services, such as providing extra school and GP places and better bus services

• Transform building regulations to ensure: 

• all new private and public sector housing meets Passivhaus or equivalent standards

• house builders include solar panels and heat pumps on all new homes.

• Ensure all new developments will be located and designed to ensure that residents do not need cars to live a full life

• Introduce rent controls 

• End no-fault evictions

Brent Council revises Newland Court planning application reducing the number of units

 

Revised application

July 2022 application

Some residents received a letter from Brent Council before the weekend directing them to a revised Newland Court application. Unfortunately the documentation had not been uploaded to the Council Planning Portal and only appeared this morning, perhaps after a rminder from Wembley Matters.  The deadline for responses is May 25th.

The number of housing units has been reduced from 7 to 5, fewer trees will be removed and on-site parking increased according to Maddox acting for the applicant,  Brent Council:

 

This planning statement addendum has been prepared to account for minor changes to the scheme, in response to feedback received from officers at Brent Borough Council and other stakeholders during the consultation stage on the original planning application which was submitted in September 2022 (LPA ref: 22/3124).

 

Notably, this included concerns from the highways officer regarding parking overspill, whereby the removal of residential units and additional car parking along Newland Court was recommended. The tree officer also raised concerns regarding the future maintenance of trees.

 

The Applicant has carefully reviewed the proposals in line with these comments, with the total number of residential units reduced alongside several other resultant changes. These are summarised below, with this addendum prepared as an updated to the previously submitted planning statement – accounting for all key changes.

 

• Units 01 and 07 have been omitted from the proposals. As such, the total number of units has been reduced from seven to five units – now comprising 3 x 3-bedroom 5 person units and 2 x 4-bed 7 person units.

• The removal of two residential units has allowed for a substantial increase to car parking.

• In total, 28 on-street car parking spaces are now re-provided as part of the proposals (in comparison to 12 under the original planning application).

• The private amenity areas serving the proposed units have been increased in size (again as a result in the reduction to the total number of residential units). This is explained in further under the proposed development section and within the Design and Access addendum (as prepared by FBM).

• The overall site area has reduced to 0.350hectares (as a result of the reduction in total unit number).

• The location of the bin stores has been revised to more convenient locations for existing/future residents.

• The total number of trees and tree groups proposed for removal to accommodate the proposals has been reduced from 13 to eight trees and tree groups. These are all low-Grade C trees and tree groups. 14 new trees will be planted across the site.

• 15 existing trees and tree groups will be retained, with additional protection measures proposed for five of these trees and tree groups which will be affected by the proposed works. This is summarised in full within the supporting Arboriculture Impact Assessment Addendum (March 2023) (as prepared by Waterman).

• The reduction in the total number of residential units minimises maintenance of trees whilst enhancing the outlook for future residents. This directly responds to previous concerns from Brent Borough Council’s Tree officer.

• Further landscaping has been incorporated at the entrance of the scheme, enhancing outlook and a sense of arrival for residents and visitors – directly in line with comments received form Brent Borough Council planning officers. 1.7 metre footpaths are also provided either side of the proposed one-way street, allowing additional green space to communal green areas of Newland Court.