ITN London reports residents' suggestions that building works blockage may have helped cause Tokyngton Avenue flooding

 

 

The tower to be erected on the Argenta House site opposite Stonebridge Station. Wembley Brook flows on the site.

Tokyngton Avenue Floods - update from Brent Council

 

The Fire Brigade, the council and the Environment Agency worked overnight to clear the flooding and support affected residents.

Five fire engines helped pump out floodwater and the council’s rest centre supported 20 residents.

This morning, Point Place, Tokyngton Avenue, and Argenta Way reopened and families affected by the flooding in Tokyngton Avenue were able to return to their homes. The rest centre has now closed.

With more rain expected this weekend, the Environment Agency, supported by the council, is working around-the-clock to bolster the flood preventative measures in the area, ensuring that three industrial pumps and more hoses remain in the area ready to deploy if required.

Is Brent Council able to meet all its obligations under the Building Safety Act by next month's deadline? Some questions.

 The Grenfell fire and the subsequent inquiry highlighted to role of local authorities in ensuring the safety of residents. The deadline is now the 29th of September 2023 for the council to meet all their obligations incorporated in  The Building Safety Act and more importantly  for tenants through The Fire Safety Order.

I missed the deadline for the last Questions to Brent Council and will be resubmitting them for the next Full Council but the urgency is such I am also publishing them here:

 

QUESTIONS TO BRENT COUNCIL

 

Q1-Do the council know the details of the residents who cannot evacuate without help, or those whose first language is not English as part of any emergency arrangements in each of the 40 buildings in scope?

 

Q2-Can you describe the details of the construction methods in each of the buildings in scope?  

 

Q3-Can you provide the access and means of escape, including travel distances, in all the buildings in scope?

 

Q4-Can you identify all the Building Safety risks in each of the buildings in scope?

 

Q5-Can you provide the maintenance and inspection schedules for every building in scope using The Golden Thread of information? LINK

 

Q6-Can you set out the emergency plan for each building in scope, including their evacuation strategy?

 

Q7 Please set out your complaints system and that how you will operate an effective mandatory occurrence reporting system?

 

Q8- Are you now able to publish a risk assessment for each of the buildings in scope?

 

Q9- Do all fire doors in every building in scope meet the full standard of fire prevention? 

 

Q10-Do you know if any of the buildings in scope have any structural issues and can you provide full details of the utilities they use and if any of them impact on common parts of the building, or evacuation plans? Does fire stopping meets the appropriate standard so that compartmentation is not compromised?

 

Q11- Have you identified the 'responsible person' for each block?

 

 

Some local councils appear to be ahead of Brent in terms of their public information on the  responsibilities of landlords including councils. This is from Tower Hamlets:

 

 

Tokyngton Avenue/Stonebridge Park Station floods - trapped man rescued from van, 14 people evacuated. Flooding in Kenton too.

Torrential rains had Stonebridge Park locals walking knee deep in water today #Wembley pic.twitter.com/SbRhZUHUs7

— UB1UB2 West London (Southall) (@UB1UB2) August 2, 2023

 

From Brent Council

2 August - 6.30pm update

This afternoon’s extremely heavy rainfall has overwhelmed the existing flood preventive measures in place and unfortunately a number of households on Tokyngton Avenue have been flooded.

The Fire Brigade are currently on site with five fire engines, along with council officers and a team from the Environment Agency.

If your home has been affected and you need somewhere to go, the council has setup a rest centre at Brent Civic Centre, Engineers Way, Wembley Park, HA9 0FJ.

If you are affected and need help please call 020 8937 1234.

Point Place, Tokyngton Avenue, and Argenta Way are closed due to flooding. The 112 and 440 bus routes towards Ealing are being diverted by TfL.

We will post further updates as they become available. HERE

There are suggestions that debris from nearby building sites causing blockages may have contributed to the flooding as well as paved over gardens.

Flooding in Kenton too:

 

Don’t forget our raw sewage overflows in #Kenton pic.twitter.com/PMLWGhTrZB

— Cllr Sunita Hirani 🦋👩🏽‍🔧 (@SunitaHirani1) August 3, 2023

Road closures from noon on Sunday for FA Community Shield: Kick-Off 4pm AVOID WEMBLEY AREA

 From Brent Council

Wembley Stadium will be hosting the FA Community Shield this Sunday 6th August.

Manchester City v Arsenal Kick-Off 4pm.

 

Timings

 

Doors will open from 1pm and road closures will be in place from 12 noon.

 

We expect the area around Wembley Stadium to be very busy before and after the event so please avoid the area if you can unless you have a ticket.

Event day parking

 

Event day parking restrictions will be in place from 8am to midnight on main roads and from 10am to midnight on residential roads.

 

If you have a paper permit, please make sure you clearly display it in your vehicle. If you have an electronic permit, you do not need to display this.

 

Drink-free zone

 

We want to create a safe and enjoyable experience for all visitors.

To crack down on anti-social behaviour, we will be enforcing a ban on street drinking in the streets around Wembley Stadium before these matches, as part of the Public Space Protection Order (PSPO).

If we find anyone drinking on Olympic Way or in the surrounding streets, they will be asked to hand over their alcohol and enforcement action may be considered. 

 

Jamaica Indepedence Day - celebrations and health checks Friday 4th August 3pm-9pm

 

'Faces of Climate Change' Brent Council photography workship August 18th 11am-1pm

 

From Brent Council

Friday 18th August Brent Civic Centre  11am-1pm

Brent Council in partnership with Giving Back Films and Faces of Climate Change invite you to a photography and sustainability workshop.

This FREE workshop will help you to see the world through your camera and learn how to capture stories of sustainability.

Part 1 – Faces of Climate Change storytelling with pictures and sustainability challenges

Part 2 - Phone photography/filming

If you own a smartphone, then you own a camera, and if you own a camera, you have the tools to create stunning images and video content.

If you can create content, you can help tell stories.

Telling stories gives you a powerful tool to communicate and create change.

We are helping more people to understand the need for urgent climate action one story at time. Join us to learn how to use your camera and become a climate action storyteller.

We will give you the skills to utilise your smartphone camera better, and show you how to release its full, photographic potential, you will be guaranteed to come away with knowing how your camera works better as well as some tips and tricks to get those creative shots and enter Faces Of Climate Change Brent photography competition.

Learn more about the project Faces of Climate Change here: www.brent.gov.uk/facesofclimatechange

Places are limited to please book to avoid disappointment. LINK

Date and time

Fri, 18 Aug 2023 11:00 - 13:00 BST

Brent Council announcement on new Tokyngton Avenue flooding - industrial pumps may be called in leading to road closures

 Tokyngton Avenue flooded again yesterday and Brent Council issues the statement below. They have promised updates on this LINK.

We are aware of the flooding in Tokyngton Avenue and are working closely with the Environment Agency to resolve this matter as soon as possible.

Over the coming days you may notice more noise outside as passageways are dug to make space for the water to flow away again.

This work is vital to reduce the risk of homes in Tokyngton Avenue being flooded again.

As rain is predicted to fall over the coming days, there is the possibility the Environment Agency will need to bring in industrial water pumps to help drain surface water. These are big systems so we may need to temporarily close some roads and pathways in the area to put this in place.

Thank you for your patience while we do everything we can to get this resolved.

If you experience any further flooding, please call the Environment Agency on 0845 850 3518 immediately and provide the reference number 2174690. You do not need to ring the council or any other agency.

• Provide your name, address, post code and contact telephone number
• Please describe what you are experiencing. For example, is the water level rising, has it flooded your garden, is it coming into you home?
• Please advise where you believe the water is coming from

Once you have contacted the Environment Agency, a Duty Officer will attend the scene if appropriate. They will then decide the best course of action to be taken. Do not let anyone without proper official identification into your home. Council officers and Environment Agency officials always carry identification and will show this when asked.

We are aware that the Environment Agency has provided properties that may be affected by flooding with sandbags for you to use when and if required.

In an emergency, if you need to leave your home because of water entering your property, please call the Fire Brigade on 999.