Following Cllr Collymore's resignation as Deputy Mayor and from her committee positions, she has been suspended from the Labour Party pending further investigations by the party.
Her resignation followed a finding by the responsible Brent Officer that she has breached the Members Code of Conduct in an altercation with a parking warden. REPORT HERE
Cllr Collymore remains a councillor.
The Kilburn Times reported a statement by Brent Labour Group:
Following a breach of the
councillors code of conduct, Cllr Collymore has been suspended, pending
Labour Party investigation.
We unequivocally condemn the conduct displayed during this incident,
which falls short of the high standards expected within the Labour
Party. We have written to the member of staff to offer our apology on
behalf of the entire Labour Group.
Brent Audit and Standards Committee was told tonight that Cllr Collymore has resigned from her position as Deputy Mayor and from her other council positions. This follows the finding that she had breached the Members Code of Conduct in an altercation with a parking warden. See LINK
Members noted the outcome of the investigation bt Debra Norman, Corporate Director of Law and Governance and the sanctions imposed.
Cllr Janice Long remarked that the report made what appeared to be something nasty seem bland, and it was hard to judge without seeing the video footage referred to. Debra Norman said the video was private but had been made available to the leaders of the Labour Group. The complaint was serious but she could imagine worse. She did not want therefore to use the full range of sanctions available to her.
She confirmed that as the decsion had been made under her delegated powers it would not go the Audit Committee.
I understand that at present Cllr Collymore remains a councillor and a member of the Labour Party.
We’re excited to reveal that London National Park City has launched an interactive volunteer map and directory, highlighting volunteering opportunities across the city's 32 boroughs. The map - which has been co-created with the input of over 100 individuals and organisations (many in the charity space) - is still under development, and will receive regular updates and evolve over time.
Volunteering is a crucial accelerator in the National Park City movement and London's transition to becoming a greener, healthier, wilder city. The map aims to serve as a go-to resource for those seeking to give back to local initiatives, fostering community engagement and supporting the important work of not-for-profit organisations across London.
We invite you to take a moment to explore the map and encourage you to share it with your network. The page includes a form to submit any new volunteering opportunities you may have.
If you take up a volunteer placement found via the map we’d love you to share your experience with us by tagging us on our socials or dropping us a line athello@nationalparkcity.org.
The controversial works that would have closed part of Wembley High Road from mid-October have been delayed until January 2025.
This is because TfL requested sufficient time to organise diversions and mitigations for the many bus routes affected by the closure. Brent Council also took into account loss of trade for local shopkeepers over the Christmas and Diwali festivals.
There will be full closure of the part of Wembley High Road and Wembley Triangle marked in red above. The works are expected to take 16 weeks and start on January 6th 2025.
Brent Council will place further details on its website.
The works will be complicated by the construction taking place at the Ujima House and Fairgate House sites, the green section of the High Road on the map above. How will construction lorries turn at what will now be a dead end? Works are also getting underway on the Copland/Cecil Avenue site.
Although we can assume that the 83 and 182 buses will be able to divert along Park Lane it is unclear what will happen with the 18 route. This route between Harlesden and Wembley is much used by school pupils.
Opposition parties on Brent Council have combined to call-in decisions made by Barham Park Trustees and Brent Officers regarding property in Barham Park. The Resources and Public Realm Scrutiny Committee will consider the issue next week at a special meeting on Wednesday October 2nd. LINK
Call-in requires the setting out of concerns over a decision and suggestions for alternative action.
One of the central suggestions is:
Refer this decision back to the Trust Committee to reconsider with a recommendation that the Council should
once again review the Governance arrangements for the Trust and appoint Trustees
with sufficient knowledge, experience and interest who will manage the
affairs of the Trust better than has been done in recent years.
Delegation to Council Officers should also be deferred until
this has been done and until the losses made by the Trust, as a result of the
delegation of powers to officers, have been identified and evaluated and a revised set of
duties and responsibilities have been listed to avoid similar failures in the future.
I remarked in a recent article that some time ago Brent Council was not sure of all the property it owned. There are two documents on the Council websute that may be of interest. The first is from 2021 and the second, unfortunately like many documents on the website, is undated. In the light of the Property Review and the controversy surrounding lease review, these may be of interest.
Some of the sites listed have already been redeveloped such as the Learie Constantine Centre in Willesden.
This undated list has some figures but they are likely to be well out of date. I will endeavour to get more up to date documents from the Council.
In response to the Metropolitan Police (Met) announcement of
a new Race Action Plan, which promises a “communities-first, frontline focused,
inclusive” policing model for Londoners, Green Party London Assembly Member
Committee Zoë Garbett issued the following statement:
I want to express my respect for the efforts of the many
Londoners who contributed to the development of this new policy.
However, I am deeply concerned that it has taken the Met
almost two years to take a stand against racism after Baroness Casey's initial
report. Additionally, I fear that this new plan fails to address the most
important demands of Londoners.
The data is clear. Londoners do not want safer
strip-searching policies for children: they want toprohibitstrip-searching of all
children.
Overcoming the entrenched racism in the Met will require
much more than just a shiny press release.
As the Labour Party Conference meets in Liverpool and Brent's lead member for Regeneration also takes on a leading role in the national Labour Yimby (Yes in May Backyard) Group a well-researched report has been published that raises doubts about the strategy.
The YIMBY Group seeks to label any opposition to massive housing developments as NIMBYs (Not in My Backyard) - self-interested communities interested only in maintaining their own privilege - the Public Interest Law Centre report shows that the issue is more nuanced.
Although Cllr Tatler has argued that any increase in housing supply in Brent will lower rents through market mechanisms, according to My London Office
of National Statistic data shows that Brent has seen the steepest rise
in rents over the past 12 months of any local area in England or Wales.
The average rent is now £2,121 per month - a rise of 33.6% since 2023. This compares with a London average rise of 9.6%.
“Immediate
action is needed to adopt policies aligned with UN standards of affordability.
Time is running out, and the impact on children in temporary accommodation is
especially urgent.”
PILC has launched a report that has
found that estate regeneration projects that feature demolition routinely
underproduce truly affordable housing for low-income Londoners and increase
rents of council and social housing by an average of more than £80 per
week.
We commissioned Dr Joe Penny of UCL’s Urban
Laboratory to analyse six of the ‘best’ and ‘worst’ regeneration projects
across three London Boroughs including The Aylesbury Estate and The Heygate
Estate.
The report has found that the word “affordable” is
used with no consideration for what is truly affordable for people who need
these housing options the most and there will be a net loss of 2,151 truly
affordable council homes.
What is
cross-subsidy estate regeneration?
The cross-subsidy approach to estate regeneration
has been the dominant model of estate regeneration for the past two decades and
looks set to continue under the Labour government.
It is when council estates are demolished to make
way for expensive properties which are put on the market or rented privately.
In theory, the new private homes fund the construction of “affordable” homes on
the sites.
“As legal aid lawyers, we witness daily injustices
stemming from the housing crisis. This research, for the first time, clearly
demonstrates the damage caused by current “affordable” housing policies and the
push for demolition, which disproportionately affects many of our brave,
working-class clients” said PILC’s legal caseworker and community
legal organiser Saskia O’Hara.
Challenging
the narrative
The new Labour government and the Greater London
Authority maintain that cross-subsidy models are the answer to the housing
crisis. However this report shows that it is making it worse.
“The findings from this report evidence the urgent
need for a fundamental rethink of estate regeneration in London” said Dr Joe
Penny who wrote the report.
“The current cross-subsidy model is badly failing
council and social housing tenants, as well as those on housing waiting lists.
Truly affordable homes – that is, homes that cost no more than 30% of net
household incomes – are not being replaced in sufficient quantities; social and
affordable rents are increasing beyond what those on the lowest incomes can
afford; and structurally sound buildings are being wasted amid a deepening
housing emergency.”
Using the
evidence in the fight for affordable housing
These resources are designed to empower residents
facing displacement from demolition of their housing estate and communities
facing gentrification because of regeneration plans to challenge the plans with
hard facts.
We’ve been active in supporting local residents and
grassroots campaigns to challenge injustice from gentrification for many years. |We use the law as a tool to assist,
support and empower communities at the frontline of gentrification.
We work to support local residents and campaigns to shift the power balance
away from demolition and cross-subsidy regeneration back to the people who live
there.
As movement lawyers, we seek to be on the ground with campaigners, offering
legal services as just one tool or tactic amongst others in a campaign.
