Sheila Darr's presentation on Blue Bags made at last Monday's Full Council VIDEO LINK has made quite an impact on the Next Door website with many dissatisfied with the response from Krupa Sheth (Lead Member for the Environment). Many of those commenting support recycling but think that the scheme is not fit for purpose. The wet and windy weather has not helped to convince residents.
The e-petition on the Brent Council website LINK has burst through the 3,000 signature mark and still has a week to run. It closes on Saturday December 2nd.
The Petition
We the
undersigned petition the council to Cancel the blue bin bags and return to the
single blue bin for recycling.
The blue bin bags are made of poor quality. The
stitching is already coming apart and the velcro is of such poor quality it
does not stick.
The bags cannot be left out in the rain as they
will fill with water without the lid being stuck on properly.
In high winds, the bags will fly on to the roads
causing hazard for vehicles and pedestrians.
The bags cannot be expected to be stored in peoples
homes.
The council tax has been increasing and the
services are getting poorer.
Lyon Park Primary School strikers appeared to be in good spirits and showing strong solidarity on the fifth day of their strike over worsening conditions of service as a result of a staff restructuring.
The school management is expected to come to the negotiating table with fresh proposals on Monday morning in an effort to reach a settlement.
If these don't succeed I understand there will be an approach to ACAS on Wednesday.
When I spoke to parents outside the school last week during a leafleting session aimed at informing them of the impact of the restructure, they were keen to say how much they appreciated the work of support staff. Many talked about the good relationship between staff and pupils, and between parents and the support staff. They told me about the support their children received and how important it was to children with special educational needs or those new to the country at an early stage of leaning English. They acknowledged the impact of the strike on them and their children but also saw that short-term hurt was better than the long-term damage that would follow if the staff did not stand up against the changes. Support staff were an important part of the local community.
Lyon Park staff took their struggle to Westminster on Wednesday, Autumn Statement day, when they spoke to an NEU Rally calling for an increase in school funding. Inadequate school funding in the face of rising costs is at the heart of the budget crisis in many London schools, including Lyon Park.
A petition has been launched calling on governors to not cut pay and change working conditions:
Dear Governors,
We are signing this petition to ask you to value our experienced support staff
at Lyon Park and to ask you NOT to cut their pay and not to force teaching
assistants to cover [teacher absence] if they are not paid as a higher level teaching assistant.
Plans have been submitted for the section of the Neasden Stations Growth Area known as Neasden Goods Yard.
The design is by architects Allies and Morrison that were involved with projects for Kings Cross, Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park and the BBC Media Village. The developer is Hollybrook who were responsible for a develpment in Park Royal for Network Homes. LINK
The proposal is for tower blocks of 30, 40, 42, 43 and 51 storeys and lower blocks of 5 and 16 storeys. 11,600 square metres of industrial space is planned along with changes to Neasden station to provide a link to the possible West London Orbital Rail station.
The development site
The development would provide 1,151 homes amd 640 student rooms along with a central garden, pocket park and children's playgrounds. Accommodation would start at podium level with industrial and commercial space at ground floor level.
A collonade is suggested to link the two stations along the heavily polluted ands pretty lethal Neasden Lane - also the site of the new North Brent secondary school.
There is also a potential bridge to the site which the applicant suggests could be part of a cycle route to Wembley.
Building would commence in early 2026 and completed by the end of 2032.
A recent view of the site
The statement of Community Involvement LINK begins with a meeting with the Brent Senior Leadership team in Febrary 2022 and ends with a meeting/s with the Council Leaders and Brent Planning Committee on September 14th. It is not clear whether this was two separate meetings on the same day or one meeting.
In
between there is a list of consultation offers (it is not clear how
many were taken up) to ward councillors, local residents' associations, places of worship,
schools and businesses as well as public exhibitions and extensive
leafleting.
What emerges in terms of responses is quite slight:
To date, the Applicant has received 48
written responses from residents and local businesses. 25 were issued through
the online feedback form and 23 hard copy forms with feedback were submitted at
the in-person consultation events. In addition, verbal feedback was shared with
the development team at the workshop and public consultation events.
But used to demonstrate support for the scheme:
Unfortunately the Neasden Stations Growth Areas Masterplan also received little public attention although its repercussions for the area are highly significant. The changes are not just on this site but also the College of North West London's Dudden Hill site (developer Pinnacle Investments) and a light industrial area between Dudden Hill Lane and Willesden High Road.
The low-rise estate of Severn Avenue and Selbie Avenue forms an island between the towers of the Goods Yard site and the CNWL site that may be developed in the future.
From the Masterplan (Neasden Goods Yard on right and CNWL on left)
There was a discussion on Wembley Matters following the conclusion of public consultation on the MasterPlan that you can read HERE.
The Neasden Goods Yard planning application is now on the Brent Council Planning Portal and comments can be submitted there. LINK
611 local addresses should receive a consultation letter. Addresses HERE.
You can also comment on the GLA Planning 'Have Your Say' site HERE
The format is different to Brent Council's with prompts for what counts as planning considerations:
Despite these war-torn unprecedented times, I appeal to you as winter draws in, to spare a thought for Homeless Rough Sleepers, the Forgotten Ones.
These desperate people do not deserve to be neglected and we should not forget that for the majority it is just circumstances,falling on hard times, which can happen to any one of us.
Their stories are similar. Most of them have contributed to society and had good jobs, a family, a home. Then they lose their job and cannot find another. Bills start piling up, the Bailiffs are at the door, and their house is repossessed. Many then eventually end up living on the streets.
Please, if you see a homeless person on the street, just stop and have a chat. It is heartbreaking to be told just how much it means to them when someone stops and says hello! Perhaps give them some food and money.
They have to payat least £15 to get a bed for one night in a hostel. They cannot get a job, cannot get benefits, all because they do not have an address. Some may drink or take drugs, but perhaps even you would, if you found yourself on the freezing, lonely streets, so desolate, you just want to die. This is not a lifestyle choice!
Often due to violence or sexual abuse at home, young women and men are the most vulnerable. They have been forced out onto the streets with no help or support and nowhere else to go. Ex-servicemen are also amongst rough sleepers. They have fought for this country, surely they deserve better?
As for the council's responsibility, it states that councils have no obligation to house homeless rough sleepers, until the temperature falls tobelow zero! I do not have to tell you how cold it can getwell before the temperature falls to zero.
We do little to stop increasing poverty, with thousands of people destitute and suffering and having to remain on the street, with no realistic hope for any permanent home any time soon. Your donation to homeless charities this winter will help, as the government has once again cut funding and thesecharities rely mainly on the generosity of the Public. So please, give as much as you can to any homeless charity this winter. (The Salvation Army; St Martin's in the Field; St Mungo's; Crisis; Big Issue; Streetlink; Centre Point; Shelter.)
The Liberal Democrats brought a motion to Full Council this week making the case for Proportional Representation.
Proportional Representation is Labour Party policy, but a policy that the Labour Party leader Keir Starmer decided to ignore. A policy aimed at improving democracy, democratically decided at Labour Conference, undemocratically dismissed!
Cllr Tom Miller made a speech saying the for the first time he was defying the Labour whip and would vote for the motion. As I understand it he was joined by Cllr Janice Long. Cllr Robert Johnson and Cllr Liz Dixon abstained. I would point out that the public watching on the livestream cannot see the voting and numbers are not announced by the Mayor - so I am open to correction.
This is the motion:
This Council believes:
The next General Election is
an opportunity to take our country on a different course
after years of chaotic Tory
rule. This is especially true in the aftermath of the Brexit
referendum, which saw the UK
crash out of the European Union, with a bad deal, that
has left us diminished,
poorer and less important on the world stage. The next General
Election will be fought
under the antiquated First Past the Post voting system.
First Past the Post (FPTP)
originated when land-owning aristocrats dominated
parliament and voting was
restricted to property-owning men. It is not fit for a ‘modern
democracy’.
In Europe, only the UK and
authoritarian Belarus still use archaic single-round FPTP
for general elections. This
produces governments that have typically not had strong
support across the country.
Internationally,
Proportional Representation (PR) is used to elect the Parliaments of
more than 80 countries. It
is a system that works and has fostered a more consensual,
pragmatic way of conducting
politics and policy making.
PR ensures that all votes
count, have equal value, and that seats won match votes
cast. Under PR, MPs and
Parliaments better reflect the age, gender and protected
characteristics of both
local communities and of the nation. Whilst the UK has taken
leaps forwards in terms of
electing a more diverse Parliament, we are still behind many
other countries.
MPs better reflecting the
communities they represent in turn leads to improved
decision making, wider
participation and increased levels of ownership of decisions
taken. PR would also end
minority rule. In 2019, 43.6% of the vote produced a
government with 56.2% of the
seats and 100% of the power. Fair, proportional votes
also prevent ‘wrong winner’
elections such as occurred in 1951 and February 1974.
PR is now the national
policy of the Labour Party, Liberal Democrats, Green Party,
SNP, Plaid Cymru and Women’s
Equality Party along with a host of Trade Unions and
pro-democracy organisations.
There is a growing consensus
that the UK’s voting system must change.
PR is already used to elect
the parliaments and assemblies of Scotland, Wales and
Northern Ireland. Its use
should now be extended to include Westminster and
considered at a local level
too.
Our democracy is in a
fragile state, with confidence in politics at a record low.
Changing the voting system
to guarantee that every vote counts equally can help to
inspire renewed confidence
in our political system, increase participation and ensure
that the electorate are able
to elect the type of government that the majority of the
British people want to see.
This Council therefore
resolves to:
1) Join 29 other local
authorities across the country, of different political
persuasions, in supporting
calls for a change to the UK’s voting system to
Proportional Representation.
2) Request that the Leader
of the Council write to H.M. Government calling for a
change in our outdated
electoral laws and to enable Proportional Representation
to be used for UK general
elections and local Council elections.
3) Request that the Leader
of the Council write to H.M Leader of the Opposition to
encourage that the Labour
Party include changing the electoral system in their
next election manifesto.
Cllr Anton Georgiou
Alperton Ward
Well done Cllr Miller and Cllr Long. Rather sad that some of the young Turks in the Labour Group went along with opposition.
Supporting the motion Brent Green Party said:
The Green Party of England and Wales and Brent Green Party support Proportional Representation as a fairer, more inclusive electoral system for the United Kingdom. Currently UK national and local governments are often elected by a minority of voters. This is grossly unjust, each vote must matter in all elections, and the results must reflect what the people choose.
The other evening I found it quicker to walk from Alperton to Wembley Park as the traffic was so snarled up along the High Road. The condition of the High Road is poor and badly in need of resurfacing and fresh road markings, but such work is bound to be disruptive.
There are two sections of the High Road that are currently being considered for works. The A404 High Road Wembley from Park Lane to Ealing Road is on Brent Council's 2023-24 resurfacing programme and due to be completed by the end of the financial year (March 2024).
Detailed investigations of underlying issues of the Park Lane to Wembey Triangle section are underway and there are some design risks to be mitigated before 'substantial' remedial works can start. Brent Council says these works have not yet been scheduled and will need to be done at a favourable time of the year, probably summertime.
Meanwhile the High Road is inspected each month and any intervention level defects identified for repair according to priority.
The Lyon Park Primary School strike is only the most visible sign of the funding crisis in our schools - more problems will follow in other schools as governing bodies try to balance their budgets.
There was hope that the Autumn Statement might provide cash to help remedy the problem of underfunding - but no!
Commenting on the Chancellor’s speech, Daniel Kebede, General Secretary of the National Education Union, said:
“The
economy is struggling to achieve growth, and the Government has
downgraded its own growth forecasts in today’s statement. Investing
properly in education is an urgent and overriding economic priority, yet
what we have seen today is nothing of the sort.
“Just 3.9% of UK GDP is spent on education, compared to the OECD average of 5%. This was highlighted to Jeremy Hunt in a letter earlier this month
from the leaders of four education unions, including the NEU. The
Chancellor’s response is completely inadequate and makes a mockery of
the Prime Minister’s repeated claim that education is at the heart of
this Government’s priorities.
“It should be of great concern to
Jeremy Hunt that 92% of mainstream schools will be unable to cope with
cost increases in 2024/25. For 99% of secondary schools and 91% of
primary schools, cuts to education provision are now inevitable.
“These
schools have already seen years of under-investment, and in far too
many cases school buildings have drifted into serious disrepair. The
Chancellor couldn’t even bring himself to fund urgent work on the school
estate, following the RAAC scandal which has brought such embarrassment
to this Government. This would require at least £4.4bn per year.
“With
underfunded and understaffed schools and colleges, and school buildings
crumbling, the Government must prioritise investment in schools and
colleges and fund a fair pay rise for staff next year. Teachers and
support staff have seen their living standards hammered since 2010. Our
member surveys show that a majority are ‘very’ or ‘extremely’ worried
about keeping up with household bills. They have been hit even harder
by pay cuts against inflation than other workers, creating major
recruitment and retention problems.
“More of the same is not
good enough – and it certainly fails parents and young people, too. In
order to recruit and retain the teachers that we so clearly need, the
Government must demonstrate they value them. That means an urgent,
properly funded and major correction in pay, alongside the investment
needed to reduce sky-high workload and to make school and college
buildings fit for purpose. The Chancellor’s statement does nothing to
repair the damage caused by 13 years of Conservative cuts. The
Government will pay a heavy political price for continuing to ignore the
problems it has created for educators, parents and young people.”
