Petition launched calling on Brent Council to protect our parks and green spaces from development

 

After the very unpopular decision of Brent Planning Committee to allow the building of 4 bulky houses in Barham Park, residents have been concerned that a precedent has been set which could threaten our other parks and public spaces. This is particularly the case where there are existing buildings in the park or green space that could be declared redundant or poorly maintained and the site redeveloped.

We learnt how important green spaces are during the pandemic and open access is important. Access has already been lost to the Copland Fields and green space is likely to be lost in South Kilburn. The St Raphael's green space may be eaten into in future redevelopment.   At the same time Brent's tower block building boom means that the population has increased and the new residents have no gardens, just access to a balcony or a small shared space consisting mainly of concrete. An exception will be the new Union Park near the stadium.

Barham Park is supposedly protected by covenant, a fact that the Planning Committee discounted as not a planning consideration, but unfortunately even that is not the case with other parks.

In Brent only King Edward VII Park, Wembley; Roe Green Walled Garden in Kingsbury and Mapesbury Dell in Cricklewood are protected by Fields in Trust. Their mission is to protect parks and green  spaces.  Owners can apply to Fields in Trust whether private, community or local authority for a potection agreement. Brent Council is of course the owner of our parks and public spaces apart from Queens Park which is owned by the Corporation of London.

 

Brent Council as the landowner would have to apply for a protection agreement and that will need pressure from residents to persuade them that such action is vital.

Meanwhile a petition has been launched in the wake of the Barham Park decision calling on Brent Council to uphold its Strategic Plan commitment to protecting parks and open spaces.

The petition is on Brent Council's website HERE

 

Save Brent Parks from house building & development

 

We the undersigned petition the council to uphold its long standing Strategic Policy of protecting Brent Parks and Open Spaces at all cost.

 

We are concerned that Brent Council's Planning Committee has ignored Strategic Core Policy of protecting Parks and Open Spaces and also the Sudbury Town Neighbourhood Plan, which designated Barham Park as a Local Green Space and developed a specific Planning Policy BP1 which stated that any housing building or redevelopment in Barham Park should be refused. That decision has effectively undermined Neighbourhood Planning, ignored the views of local people and put at risk other Parks and Open Spaces across Brent.

 

Henry Construction (builders of the Wembley Link) no longer trading - 40 staff made redundant. Status of Wembley Link site being investigated.

The two Wembley Link towers behind the High Road at an earlier stage

 Update from the Construction Index (LINK)

As previously reported, Geoff Rowley and David Hudson of specialist business advisory firm FRP were appointed as joint administrators to Henry Construction Projects Limited on Thursday 8th June 2023.

Since the appointment, the administrators have been assessing the position of the business with support from sector professional advisors.

The business is no longer trading and most of its 40 staff have been made redundant. A small number has been retained to assist the administrators in their duties.

Gateley Vinden, the property and construction consultancy, is supporting the administrators as they contact developers across sites in progress along with Hilco Valuation Services, the asset valuation, advisory and sales practice of Hilco Global, which is assisting with the asset recovery and disposal strategy.

Mark Henry’s own personal property portfolio is understood to be unaffected by the collapse.

David Hudson, partner at FRP and joint administrator of Henry Construction Projects Limited, said: 

Henry Construction was a significant player of scale in the UK market. Unfortunately, given its financial position, it was not able to continue trading and so all operations have ceased. Regrettably, the majority of staff have been made redundant and we are supporting them in making the appropriate claims to the Redundancy Payments Office.

We continue our work to gather information about the assets and liabilities of the business and understand the events leading up to the insolvency. As part of that process, we are engaging with developers regarding the status of each site.

UPDATE VIA COMMENT: Letter: Brent Council are failing to implement post-Grenfell measures, New CEO could face prison if Brent Council has not registered all their buildings in time.

Dear Editor,

 

I first told you about 'Safety Cases' in 2021 when they were required for contractors presenting their new developments for planning but now it is a legal requirement for all of Brent's buildings in scope (7 storeys or higher) who must publish a safety case by the 1st October 2023.

 

Several commentators reported on the Grenfell anniversary last Wednesday that almost every landlord in England has not published their Safety Case yet and that includes Brent.

 

It can take between 2 to 3 months to assemble all the information needed to make a safety case and Brent will need to make one for all the 40 buildings that I know of.

 

Brent must also register all their buildings in scope and apply for a safety certificate by the 1st Oct. 2023.  

 

Are you aware that some Council employees could end up in prison if they fail to comply with all the requirements before the 1st October 2023?

 

The government said all landlords should publish a Resident Engagement Strategy 12 months after it became the law and many councils across London have published theirs, but Brent has not published anything yet.

 

The government also gave a 2 month extension to all landlords to set up their Resident Panels, which are now due to be implemented on the 28th June 2023 but once again Brent seem not to be doing anything about them.

 

London Politics show (BBC 1) had a story about Grenfell and mentioned all the recommendations that are due to come in over the next 3 months but Brent seems to not be aware of any of their responsibilities over this issue.

 

There is a budget available for Residents' Panels, with £1,300 p.a. being available for Residents' Associations to co-ordinate them.

 

But you probably have guessed by now, the government give the money to the council who in turn pass it on to the Residents' Associations to hold at least one meeting a year with a maximum of 4, to explain how to prevent fires & other hazards in their buildings.

 

A local resident

(Details submitted)

 

 

Wembley Link delayed after Henry Construction hits problems

 

Credit: Wembley Link

Wembley residents have probably seen the two towetrs emerging behind the Twin Towers (Uncle Bulding) on Park Park, wedged between the High Road and the Chiltern railway.

This is the 'Wembley Link' two towers of 16 and 18 storeys being built on the railway embankment by Henry Construction Projects  for Hub  (developer of the Uncle building) which will provide 256 apartments.

The Construction Enquirer LINK reports that Henry are having problems in paying sub-contractors and suppliers. London drylining contractor Ozel Group issued a winding-up petition against Henry Construction in an attempt to settle outstanding payments.

The Enquirer, in their  story published 2 weeks ago  about the builder struggling to complete their schemes, quotes a source regarding the Wembley Link:

There are problems at Henry’s Wembley job for developer Hub. A lot of firms have not been paid. And the scaffolders turned up last week and took their kit away.

The 16 and 18 storey towers have reached second-fit stage but firms are complaining about not getting paid. Several subcontractors are in the same position.

The Link is so-called as it is part of a scheme to link Wembley Central new deveopments with the Quintain etc developments around the stadium.

Local MPs, councillors and union activists rally behind the workers at St Mungo's homelessness charity seeking a decent wage

 Apologies for sound quality - not very good PA combined with traffic noise. Speech summaries below.

 

Workers for the homelessness charity St Mungo's, currently striking for a decent wage when the charity's executives are paid large salaries, received support in Wembley on Friday when a solidarity rally took place outside Brent Civic Centre.

Dawn Butler, Brent Central MP, spoke first but had finished by the time I got there. Brent North MP Barry Gardiner told the rally that the government was trying to make people insecure in their employment as a way of  keeping them down. He said, 'We won't buckle down, we won't touch our forelock and say if that's all you can afford, thanks very much then. Because that's not the way trade unions operate, so I stand with you, keep up the fight and solidarity.'

Muhammed Butt, leader of Brent Council, in a speech that was hard to hear, said that the work at St Mungo's was important. He said that as a council they would take the dispute up with St Mungo's to make sure that the dispute process was open, fair and transparent. He, councillors and the Labour Group were commited to fair pay: 'We'll make sure you guys get a fair day's pay for a fair day's work.' [St Mungo's get a good proportion of their income via contracts with local councils.]

A Unite organiser said that the workers had a mandate for indefinite industrial action. He said that there had been other issues as well as the current pay dispute with the charity including a glass ceiling on pay, bullying and harassment and dismissal and attemnpted dismissal of their union members. They had made it clear to the employer that enough was enough and they were not going to put up with it anymore.

The employers thought the strikers would buckle within a couple of weeks and brought in agency workers, ahead of the workers being forced to return. Instead the strike and the momentum of the campaign had grown.

The union was now looking at what extra steps they could take and had a plan to take the fight to the directors, the trustees, and the funders who hold the purse strings. They would be contacting those with whom St Mungo's had business links, the City of London, and other charities linked to St Mungo's.

He concluded by saying that a 10% salary increase was needed at the very minimum/

Jonathan Ffuxman, Secretary of Brent Trades Council and a member of Doctors in Unite, said that this was a battle for control of the charity. He said that it beggared belief that a respected charity was a cash cow for its executive while the workers, who helped people off the street to restore their lives, got the minimum wage, were  bullied and harassed and were completely over-worked.

As a GP  he had seen the work St Mungo's did from his Practice.  Life expectancy for homeless people was just 45 years. St Mungo workers are the people who are picking them up from the street, giving them somewhere to stay and helping them. It was an essential service and, 'What do they get? The minimum wage.'

He appealed for support from the labour movement against the background of strikes  by doctors, nurses and others who are fighting back.

'If you are not in a union - join one.  If you are in a union - get active. Make your union do stuff. Every union needs to be fighting hard and showing solidarity.'

Cllr Gwen Grahl, a member of the Brent Cabinet with a background in working for charities said that over the last few decades the charity sector had become more like corporations with executive earning big salaries while there were povery wages for the workers and the use of fire and rehire  and zero hours contracts. She said some charities then undermined the permanent workers by introducing agency staff: 'I fully support you and will join your picket line on Friday.'

Cllr Jumbo Chan, who is a member of the NEU which is also currently in dispute, said that workers were being blamed for other crises that were going on at the moment including the economy.  

He told the strikers, 'The bosses think they are getting away with it, but by say "No!" you are doing something powerful. You are puncturing not just the bosses but a powerful narrative that is supported by politicians, economists and academics.  There is no law that says bosses can earn whatever they want and workers always have to take what they are offered.'

Chan said that the strikers were facing a titanic struggle but have the labour movement behind them and full support.

Responding to the speeches a St Mungo's worker thanked the speakers and those attending and said it really meant something to the strikers. He said they were fed up with the lie that they had to accept 3% a year when price rises were in double figures. 'Enough is enough' had to start meaning something. They had gone into a meeting with management on Tuesday really hoping that there would be a sensible offer but nothing came. It was a waste of time and they now had no option but to escalate the action.

He concluded, 'We are getting more confident as this dispute goes on and we are not going back in there until we have won.'

Supporters are asked to join the picket line from 8.30am on Friday at the St Mungo's facility in Pound Lane Willesden, just opposite the bus garage entrance.

Brent Xtra International Reggae Day Day UK 2023 Friday June 30th - events across Willesden and Harlesden

 I am honoured to have been asked to take part in this event. See you there!

Come join in us, as we usher in International Reggae Day Brent stylee!! From a walk, to talks, performances, community stalls, prostate cancer awareness and fund-raiser, to a DJ set marking "the Global Influence of 80s and 90s Dancehall" IRD 2023 theme: 

 

FRIDAY JUNE 30 2023

 

1. 4.00-5.00pm The Brent Black Music History Walk

 

Starts from Willesden Bus Garage, Pound Lane, London NW10 2HW (full details provided upon booking). The walk is led by Brent resident and author of 'Brent Black Music History Project book and DVD Kwaku BBM. Discover some of the hidden music histories along the route to Harlesden, the heart of black music and reggae in Britain. £5 adult; £10 2 adults (plus 2 youths under 18 years).

 

2. 5.15-6.15pm Gathering Around The Reggae Tree

 

Join The Reggae Tree Ambassador Diane Shrouder Johnson and local dignitaries by The Reggae Tree in front of the Hawkeye record shop (2 Craven Park Road, London NW10 4AB). We will have a short chat about the environment by Wembley Matters blogger Martin Francis to underpin International Reggae Day's Plant A Tree environmental remit. There will be performances by the likes of local singer-songwriter Owen Deacon and others. £Free

 

3. 6.15-9.15pm Talks, Presentations, Screenings, Performances And Community Stalls

DJ Pascoe will welcome attendees to Windrush Hall in Tavistock Hall, 25 High Street, Harlesden, London NW10 4ND (use Tavistock Road entrance; parking by Burger King/Tesco) with a British reggae set.

 

Engagement with local community organisations, with stalls available to book at £15, performances by Music4Causes ft. Kimba (repeating the reggae performance from the same stage last year), singer-songwriter Owen Deacon, plus performance and talk by Sparky Rugged via video, music history presentation by Kwaku BBM, and prostate cancer awareness presentations by prostate cancer advocate Keith Gussy Young and a Cancer Black Care representative.

 

Starts with video featuring artists from Brent, and a preview of the Brent Reggae Album Covers presentation.

 

We will auction off a reggae themed drawing by Mike Hawthorne as part of raising funds for Brent-based charity Cancer Black Care. 

 

We'll end the evening with the Vinyl Xposure of DJ Lady Juicy's lovers rock, whilst DJ Pascoe's selections speak to the International Reggae Day 2023 theme: "From Brukins to Bogle: The Global Influence of 80s and 90s Dancehall".

 

Stalls £15; African Caribbean meal £5 - vegetarian, rice and peas with either fish or chicken can be bought on the day or pre-booked.

 

+Vinyl Xposure

+Videos

+Stalls

+Discussions

+Networking

+Performances

+Photographic Exhibition

+Prostate Cancer Awareness

+African-Caribbean Food on sale

+SURPRISE

 

A family-friendly event organised by BBM/BMC (BritishBlackMusicMusic.com/Black Music Congress) and BTWSC/African Histories Revisited, with support from Serene One and Sparky Rugged.

 

TICKETS

Brent Council adds insult to Barham Park injury: incompetent or taking the piss?

Residents who were involved in the Barham Park application to build on a site within the park, approved by the Planning Committee on Monday, were surprised to get up to four emails today with the same letter attachment correcting the previous letter that had falsely claimed that covid restruction meant that attendance was restricted. The letter was dated June 6th 2023 but received on June 16th.  The meeting was held on June 12th.

The letter contained joining instructions for  joining the meeting which had already happened to speak about a decision already made.

As one resident remarked, 'Are they grossly incompetent or are they taking the piss?'

Celebrate our Eastern Europe communities: Roe Green Park Sunday June 18th 11am-7pm