Five NEU Executive members issue leaflet calling for rejection of the 6.5% partly-funded pay offer

Five Socialist Party members, who say they were some of the one third of NEU Executive members who voted against the Govenment's pay offer, have issued a leaflet setting out their case, 

Acceptance is being recommended by the four unions involved.

Brent Council Customer Service – an example:

Post received from a Wembley Matters reader

 

Email received from Customer.services@brent.gov.uk shows:

 

 

Click on the link, and you get:

 

 

Interruption to water supply in Stanmore - message from Affinity Water

 

15.30 update from Affinity Water

Low pressure in Stanmore

We’re really sorry you have lower pressure than usual. We’ve been made aware of a burst water main on Ashdale Grove which may be causing this.

What we’re doing

Our repair team is on-site, working to fix the damaged pipe. To safely complete this work, we have had to temporarily reduce the water pressure. 

What you can do

Until we’ve sorted this, please avoid using your:

• Washing machine
• Dishwasher
• Electrical appliances that use water

If you still have water, we recommend you put some in your kettle or fridge for drinking in case your water needs switching off for the repair.

We’re really sorry about this, we’re working to get your water back to normal as soon as possible.

We added this message at 15:30 and we'll update it again after 19:30

Teachers organise to reject 'half-funded' 6.5% pay offer - this is why

 Initial reaction in Brent appears to challenge yesterday's media assumptions that the teachers' dispute is over.  Claims that the government has funded the increase were challenged. Schools will have to find 3% of the 6.5% from their budgets and the assumption that they have the money to have budgeted for 3.5% already is doubtful, when many Brent schools are heading for a deficit budget.

Schools are already restructuring staff and negotiating redundancies, particularly among support staff.

The last round of strikes emphasised the need for the increase to be 'fully-funded' and there is disappointment that this is not the case. There are vague assurances that there will be a 'hardship fund' for schools that cannot afford to pay the increase but no firm details.

Furthermore, there is concern that the Government has not put forward any longer term plans on making up the loss, in real terms, of the loss in teachers' earnings. It is this loss that had led (along with workload and Ofsted pressures) to the recruitment and retention crisis in our schools.

An 'Educators Say No to 6.5%' campaign has been rapidly organised and has received support from many Brent NEU members.

Warnings of likely sewage discharge into Wealdstone Brook

 

Thanks to social media we know that there appears to be yet another sewage discharge into the Wealdstone Brook at Lindsay Drive in Kenton ward.

Community Action: Brent Fights Back Tuesday July 18th

 

New building for College of North West London in Wembley Park approved by Brent Planning Committee - present Wembley Park and Dudden Hill sites will be redeveloped

 

Brent Planning Committee last night approved a new building for the College of North West London on Olympic Way/Fulton Road the site of the current Olympic Office Centre.

 

The building will replace both the current building in Wembley Park at the station end of Olympic Way and the Dudden Hill campus of the college which will be developed for housing.

 

 Early plans for Dudden Hill site (part of Neasden Stations Master Plan)

 

The current Wembley Park building will be redeveloped alongside the shopping centre, McDonalds and the theatre. The Wealdstone Brook flows within that college site and under Olympic Way.

After the CNWL's amalgamation with Westminster College as United College Group there were a number of property deals. The other Wembley Park building was sold to the DfE and now houses the Michaela School and the fairly new £5.5m Kilburn Centre LINK  building was disposed of.  LINK

Although the applicant's image above shows an open area around the college it emerged that it is likely to be secured by additional measures  given the large crowds using Olympic Way on event days.  Planning officers said that the new building  at 8 storeys would be just 2 metres higher than the Olympic Officer Centre.

The college will cater for 1,630 people including teenage and adult students but, unlike a school, attendance hours will vary,and it will operate at 60% capacity. Neighbourhood CIL will not be payable  by the applicant  but London CIL will apply.

Councillors expressed concern over security, particularly as the college is aiming to cater for more neurodiverse students, and one councillor was keen that there should be a separate entrance for them. The college responded that they believed in integrating such students as part of their inclusion policy.

A number of security features are included in the building such as anti-hostile vehicle devices but Cllr S Butt was puzzled that no accreditation for Secure by Design had been sought when this was the case with other buildings in the vicinity that had been considered by the Committee. Planning Officer David Glover insisted that this was not necessary but Butt warned that if there was an incident in the future the Council may regret that this had not been done. Glover said that the applicant could be encouraged to seek accreditation.

Councillors also asked about the loss of 27 trees as a result of the redevelopment with only one retained. The applicant will provide 41 new trees at ground floor and third floor level.

In contrast to the Mumbai Junction's 500+ objections only one objection had been received to this application and this was about disturbance during the construction period.

 (Olympic Way!)

 The Planning Statement by the applicant gives an overview of what the campus will offer:

Curriculum & Specific Requirements

 

The curriculum offer aligns with key local and national priorities and requires certain elements of specialist space. This modern and flexible building will provide the canvas for significant growth in these key strands of provision:

 

● Academic teaching quality and student success

● Technical and apprenticeship provision for young people, including STEM key stage

curriculum

● Higher level technical skills qualification for adults

● Increased quality of Profound Multiple Learning Disability facilities

 

The new campus will provide a whole of year approach to provision and will ensure access to education using multiple entry and exit points which will allow adult learners the opportunity to ‘retrain and return’ to the labour market quickly or progress to higher level qualifications. This meets the identified skills development needs of London Borough of Brent and the Greater London Authority, in a borough with a stated desire through the Local Plan (2022) to improve the skills level of its residents and increase the average wage.

 

The portfolio of provision also aligns with those areas that have been identified by Central

Government including STEM, precision engineering, green technologies, and the built

environment, as well as opportunities in practitioner qualifications in digital tech/communications and science.

 

The new campus will provide an inspiring learning environment that will impact positively on learning, learner outcomes and learner satisfaction. The site will provide for an integrated Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) provision through an inclusive ’Profound and Multiple Learning Difficulties’ PMLD unit. The housing of this provision in one building with the rest of the student cohort, integrates PMLD students fully into the student body for the benefit of all.

 

Providing this consistent and inclusive approach does create additional servicing requirements as specific pick up and drop off is required as close to the entrance of the building as possible.

 

Through discussion with Brent and TFL officers, it has been agreed to maintain the existing layby on Fulton Way as also permitted within the extant scheme. Within the adopted highway, this layby will be capable of housing two dedicated mini bus shuttles for PMLD students, the college acknowledged that this will create a specific management requirement on the college, especially during a match day scenario. The College commits to working with the Council and Metropolitan Police to ensure that this public benefit does not result in any additional risks during special event days. We expect further details to be provided pursuant to planning conditions

Landlords who rent out properties in Dollis Hill, Harlesden & Kensal Green and Willesden Green, will legally be required to have a licence from 1 August - Cost £540 before August 1st, £640 after

 Press release from Brent Council

Landlords called to get licence to rent A new law requiring landlords in three Brent wards to pay for a selective licence will come into force on 1 August 2023. Landlords who rent out properties in Dollis Hill, Harlesden & Kensal Green and Willesden Green, will legally be required to have a licence from 1 August. A licence will cost £640 for up to five years. Anyone who applied in the next few weeks before 1 August will be able to purchase a licence at the current rate of £540. Dollis Hill, Harlesden & Kensal Green and Willesden Green were selected for licensing following a borough-wide consultation that began in autumn 2022. A report to cabinet members showed that a selective licensing scheme would have a positive impact on poor property conditions and high levels of antisocial behaviour in the three areas. Cllr Promise Knight, Cabinet Member for Housing, Homelessness and Renters’ Security, said:  The landlords who work with us take pride in renting out properties that offer decent facilities and living conditions to tenants. The licensing scheme supports landlords in offering the best they can to tenants, ensuring that tenants’ safety and security are protected. We encourage landlords and agents with properties in Dollis Hill, Harlesden & Kensal Green and Willesden Green to apply for a licence as soon as possible. You can find out whether the property you are renting needs a licence by checking out:https://www.brent.gov.uk/prslicensing