Join Brent Council on Tuesday 26 November for an
evening dedicated to raising awareness about Islamophobia.
Over the last year Islamophobic hate crimes
increased 365% in the UK, reaching a record high. Brent’s in-person
Islamophobia Awareness Month event aims to educate and empower attendees to
combat discrimination.
More than a fifth of Brent residents identify as
Muslim. Councillor Harbi Farah, Cabinet Member for Public Safety and
Partnerships, said: “we are proud to celebrate the vast contributions of all of
our faith communities, and the unique and positive impact that Muslims have on
the life of our borough”.
At the event, contributions from community leaders
and local artists will bring the theme of this year’s national campaign, “Seeds
for change”, to life. It focuses on the power that small actions have in
contributing to big change.
Cllr Harbi Farah continued: “A truly inclusive
community is one where everyone can live without fear or prejudice. This year
has brought that truth into even sharper focus.
“As a council, we are committed to standing by our
Muslim residents and taking meaningful actions to tackle Islamophobia.
Together, we can plant the seeds for a future built on understanding, respect,
and unity.”
Please join us on Tuesday 26th November 2024 from
6pm-8pm in The Conference Hall at Brent Civic Centre. You can sign up for the
event via Eventbrite.
The Labour Group have tabled a motion for the Full Meeting of Brent Council to consider twinning with the city of Nablus in the Israeli Occupied West Bank.
The meeting is on Monday 18th November at 6pm and the motion is number 9 on a 19 item agenda so will probably be debated between 7pm and 8pm. You can watch live HERE or attend in-person at Brent Civic Centre.
The Motion:
Brent Twinning with Nablus
This
Council notes:
That
Brent currently has a single twinning relationship, that with South Dublin, established
in 1997, at a time when Brent had the largest Irish-born population in
mainland Britain.
That
Brent currently has the second highest Arab diaspora in England and Wales,
within which there is a significant number of residents of Palestinian heritage.
That
like Brent, Nablus in Palestine – as one of the oldest cities in the world – has
a long and rich history of culture, diversity and dynamism, ranging from historical
architecture, a lively economy and a youthful population.
That
Brent has a long history of internationalism, including conferring on Nelson Mandela
the Freedom of the Borough.
That
a growing number of community and charitable organisations, including Brent
Trades Union Council, Brent NEU and Brent Friends of Palestine have developed
productive relations with Palestinian organisations and diaspora, further
strengthening bonds to the city of Nablus.
That
through the joint work of Brent Trades Union Council, Brent NEU and of Brent
and Harrow PSC, CADFA and the Palestinian Forum in Britain, opportunities
have been provided to young Palestinians to meet Brent young people,
Councillors and MPs, and share and develop a bond over their experiences
in education, sports and culture. Opportunities for visits to Palestine by
young Brent residents are being planned.
That
the establishment of the “Brent-Nablus Twinning Project” organisation provides
an opportunity for Brent to explore the potential of a formal twinning arrangement
with Nablus through community engagement.
That
community organisations and official representatives in Nablus have shown a
desire to develop a more formal arrangement of partnership with Brent and have
communicated this desire with their partners in Brent, leading to this proposal.
This
Council believes:
Twinning
enhances bonds and improves relations between communities, creating
friendships through what we have in common, as well as learning from other
cultures, traditions and experiences.
Twinning
allows avenues for growth through togetherness, improving understanding
and ability to tackle issues through collaboration, knowledge and skill
shares.
A
successful twinning relationship would promote initiatives like educational collaborations,
sports programmes, and heritage preservation workshops, creating
long-term connections between residents and institutions and engages with
local communities, cultural organisations, and leaders in both twinned regions
to support the establishment of the partnership.
This
Council resolves to:
Consider
a formal twinning agreement between Brent and the city of Nablus, which
sits under the governance of the Palestinian National Authority, and receive
a report considering the proposal at a future council meeting.
Explore
immediate steps to foster connections, such as cultural exchange programmes,
student and school collaborations, and shared community projects, to
create a foundation for future growth.
Engage
with the “Brent-Nablus Twinning Project” organisation to develop a framework
for the potential twinning, whilst engaging with local communities, cultural
organisations and leaders in both Brent and Nablus to support theestablishment
of this partnership.
Brent planning officers have taken up the suggestion made by Wembley History Society (see LINK) that there should be a commemoration panel at the site of the Never-Stop railway station that served visitors to the British Empire Exhibition. The site currently used by a skip hire company will become student accommodation known as Wembley Edge if the application is approved tomorrow.
In a Supplementary Report, mainly made up of corrections to the main report, they propose a new condition:
An additional
heritage condition is also recommended having considered the Wembley History
Society comments referred to above. This should read;
“Prior to
commencement (but excluding demolition, site clearance and enabling works)
details of the introduction of an illustrated local history panel or plaque
shall be submitted to and approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority,
in consultation with the Council's Heritage Officer, Brent Museum and Archives
and Wembley History Society.
Details of which
shall include but is not limited to the following:
·Description of the
historical significance of the site and commemorating the British Empire
Exhibition history of the development site, including the Exhibition Station,
Never-Stop Railway and King's Gate Bridge.
·Identification of a
suitable location within the site where the panel can be installed where it can
be easily viewed by the general public.
The historical panel or plaque shall thereafter be installed
in accordance with the approved details prior to first occupation of the
development hereby approved, and thereafter retained throughout the lifetime of
the development.
We recently reported on the proposals, after hard and persistent campaigning, for more toilets at underground stations. Locally the inconvenience at best, and health dangers at worst, of lack of public toilets has been recognised by KOVE (Kilburn Older Voices Exchange).
KOVE are campaigning for better public toilets in Kilburn and will be holding a procession down Kilburn High Road:
Do you want better public toilets in Kilburn?
Join KOVE for a procession down Kilburn High Road to support this vital issue and mark World Toilet Day. We’ll have placards, or bring your own!
Saturday 23rdNovember 1.30-2.30pm
Meet in Kilburn Library (Camden side: 12-22 Kilburn High Road NW6 5UH (upstairs room) from 1pm. Light refreshments and socialising at start and end.
Camden Council are installing a Changing Places
toilet at Kilburn Library. These facilities provides sanitary
accommodation for people with multiple and complex disabilities who have
one or two assistants with them which will make the library a more
inclusive space.
KOVE said:
Our campaigning efforts are aimed at creating a more
inclusive and age friendly Kilburn. We believe in empowering older individuals
to actively participate in shaping local policies and decisions, ensuring their
perspectives are heard and valued. Some of our initiatives include the upcoming
World Toilet Day march, the Kilburn bench audit, campaigns for increased safety
on and around Kilburn High Road and the Loos for Kilburn campaign.
The light industry that surrounded Wembley Stadium is fast disappearing as developers buy up land and two storey premises are replaced by tower blocks.
The latest is an unpromising elongated site, presently used by Glynns Skip Hire as a waste management facility with storage containers, off Fifth Way. It has very limited access.
Architects have managed to wedge in proposals for seven student accommodation blocks along with a cafe and student facilities. The developer has called it Wembley Edge rather than Wembley Wedge!
The elongated site is explained that the site was part of the 'Never-Stop' railway at the British Empire Exhibition and included a railway station.
The
proposed buildings would range in height from 5 to 15 storeys, with building G
the furthest north representing the tallest at c.53m. Building A is 11 storeys,
building B 14 storeys, building C 11 storeys, building D 13 storeys, building E
14 storeys, building F 11 storeys and building G 15 storeys. Five storey
shoulder elements link A and B as well as D and E together. Togather they prvide 759 student units some studio and some in a cluster with shared facilities.
Brent Council has established that the waste management business could be transferred to an Alperton site. Nearer sites were discounted as they too could be targets for development.
Opposition has come from nearby light industrial businesses fearing a possible negative impact on their own development potential and has resulted in Savills who submitted a Town Planning Statement on behalf of the developer, using the Brent Planning Portal to submit a 'Neutral Statement' responding to criticism. This is very unusual and something I have not seen before:
We write to respond to the comments made by Dandi Living (dated 20
August 2024) in respect to the above planning application. Dandi
Living's comments suggest that the Wembley Edge proposals are being
progressed prematurely and without enough consideration of the potential
impact on, and relationship with, the adjacent site at Latif House, a
site which Dandi Living has a legal interest in.
The current Wembley
Edge proposals are the culmination of extensive pre-application
consultation with the local planning authority, GLA, local community and
key stakeholders and other consultees between 2020 and submission of
the planning application in March 2023.
A public consultation website,
webinar and two public exhibition events were held in 2022, to which
Dandi Living provided no feedback. Since submission of the planning
application, further detailed discussions have been held with officers,
including regarding opportunities for the wider development area with
Brent's urban design officers. Again, we note that Dandi Living provided
no detailed comments on the application proposals until August 2024.
Due
consideration has been given to the potential for development to come
forward on surrounding sites, including the Latif House site noting it's
inclusion within the Growth Area, and the First Way site allocation.
The proposed layout responds to the urban grain and is set back from the
western boundary. The layout ensures that the primary windows serving
the proposed student accommodation are over 9m from the site boundary
with the Latif House site, and that direct outlook from windows to this
site boundary is over 10m. Other secondary windows are high-level
obscured windows so as to preserve the amenity of any future development
on the Latif House site.
Any constraints created by the Wembley
Edge proposals on Latif House would be typical of development in a
built-up urban environment and would not hinder or prohibit the site
from being developed in the future. The public realm created as part of
the proposals adjacent to Latif House is for service and emergency
access only, but this could potentially form part of a larger public
realm once neighbouring developments come forward in a cohesive way.
Turning
to Dandi Living's comments relating to daylight, it is not accepted
that the Wembley Edge proposals significantly constrain the Latif House
site. Any areas of reduced daylight availability to Latif House would
likely be limited to a small area of the lower floors directly facing
Wembley Edge (as it can be typically expected in a high density urban
environment). London Plan Policy D6 requires development to 'provide
sufficient daylight and sunlight to new and surrounding housing that is
appropriate for its context' and the NPPF requires local planning
authorities to 'take a flexible approach in applying policies or
guidance relating to daylight and sunlight'. BRE Guidance is also clear
on this matter, seeking for daylight availability to be maximised as far
as possible, but noting that it is only one of many policy
considerations which must be finely balanced. In this policy / guidance
context, providing that any future proposals at Latif House are designed
to maximise daylight within those lower rooms which front Wembley Edge,
both developments could successfully co-exist from a daylight
perspective.
We consider that the Wembley Edge proposals are
suitably designed so as not to prejudice the future development
potential of the Latif House site.
Brent Planning Officers report on the light issues and appear to agree with Savills:
Under
the BRE guidance the proposed development will have an adverse impact on Arch
View House, Kelaty House and the Waterside. That said, the BRE guidance
represents best practice guidance, it is not mandatory, and it is a well
established approach that the guidelines should be interpreted flexibly, taking
into account the need to make efficient use of land to meeting housing needs and
site context characteristics.
A
further important point to note is that given the open and low scale nature of
the existing site, it provides higher levels of light to surrounding receptors
than would be expected in this urban location and higher density redevelopment
of the site, which the site allocation policy supports, would naturally result in
some adverse impacts to neighbouring receptors.
The
identified impact to the properties should therefore be balanced against the
benefits of the scheme overall, and Members should therefore consider whether
those benefits do outweigh the harm.
As in previous planning applications Brent Planners insist (along with the GLA) that there is a demand for student accommodation and that it will contribution to Brent's housing targets:
Whilst
the site allocation policy does not refer specifically to PBSA [Purpose Built Student Accommodation], this type of
housing is acknowledged
to relieve some of the demand for conventional housing, and this provision
would contribute towards Brent's housing supply (at a ratio of 2.5 bedrooms to
one conventional housing unit), at the same time contributing towards London
Plan housing targets. The proposed provision of 759 student bedrooms would
therefore equate to 306 new homes in Brent (on the basis of 2.5: 1 ratio),
which would positively contribute towards the boroughs wider housing targets,
and to achieving the indicative dwellings capacity of 1, 312 dwellings within
the whole of site allocation BCSA9. To date within the wider site allocation
planning permission has either been implemented, or granted (but not
implemented) for 600 C3 dwellings on the Access Storage site on First Way (ref;
18/4767) and 678 student bedrooms (equivalent to 271 new homes on the basis of
the 2.5 : 1 ratio) at the former Cannon Trading Estate site (ref; 17/3799).
Combined, each of these schemes if consented
and subsequently implemented, including the proposed development would deliver
the equivalent of 1, 177 new dwellings across the site allocation, contributing
positively towards the indicative site capacity for number of dwellings.
Brent Planning Officers, councillors (including Muhammed Butt, Council Leader) have been involved in meetings with the developers:
The future view of part of the development from Second Way
A submission to the Planning Committee by local historian Philip Grant provides a heritage footnote:
The site, as indicated in the Heritage, Townscape and Visual Impact Assessment, owes its origin to the transport infrastructure put in place for the BEE in 1924.
It was the site of the Exhibition Station, on the loop line specially installed by the London & North Eastern Railway to bring special trains for exhibition visitors into the heart of the BEE site. Running alongside the loop line on the site was the Never-Stop Railway, with its own station. This was a unique form of rail transport, operated by a continuous screw system, installed at the BEE and bringing visitors to and from a station near the north entrance, close to Wembley Park Metropolitan Railway station, to the south of the BEE site near Adams Bridge.
The private "access road", the possible use of which for construction traffic has led to a number of objections, was the BEE's Chittagong Road, running between the Indian and Burma Pavilions. This lead to the King's Gate Bridge, commonly called "Old London Bridge" during the exhibition, which spanned both the L&NER and Never-Stop Railway lines, which carried visitors to the eastern end of the Exhibition Grounds.
If The Edge site is to be developed, its heritage needs to be remembered as part of that development, particularly both railway parts of the BEE heritage and "Old London Bridge", which was at the southern end of that site.
I would request that a condition along these lines be included in any consent given to this application:
'The developer shall liaise with Brent Museum and Archives and Wembley History Society, to prepare and pay for an illustrated local history panel commemorating the British Empire Exhibition history of the development site, including the Exhibition Station, Never-Stop Railway and King's Gate Bridge. This local history panel shall be suitably installed in an open space area within the site, where it can easily be viewed by members of the general public, prior to the occupation of the new buildings on the site.'
Here is a silent film from British Pathe of the Never-Stop Railway:
The Planning Committee considering this application is on Wednesday 13th November 6pm at the Conference Hall, Brent Civic Centre or view on-line HERE
I know it is annoying when issues are in the news and then everything goes quiet, so in a Public Question to the next Full Council on November 18th, I requested an update on some of the school stories covered previously in Wembley Matters.
Currently many of our primary schools are experiencing reduced demand following Brexit, and as young families are forced out of the borough in the search for affordable accommodation. This has led to pupil numbers in schools falling and as funding is per pupil developing budgetary problems. However, there is an increasing need for Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) provision. There are a number of former education sites that are vacant or due to become vacant and may be more if some schools are forced to close or amalgamate if they are no longer financially and educationally viable.
Particularly quiet has been the situation surrounding the state-funded Islamia Primary School. The school was given an eviction notice by Yusuf Islam (AKA Cat Stevens) some years ago but in a consultation parents opposed the closure and were particularly opposed to a move from Queens Park to the vacant Strathcona site in South Kenton.
Here are the questions and answers. I will have a chance for a follow up question arising from the answer I received, so if you have something you would like me to ask please write it as a comment or below or send it to wembleymatters@virginmedia.com I will only be able to choose one.
Remember, you too can ask a question at Full Council but it has to be sent well in advance of the meeting.
Question
from Martin Francis to Councillor Gwen Grahl (Cabinet Member for Children,
Young People & Schools)
This
question regards educational sites in the borough. Can the Cabinet Member for
Children, Young People and Schools please advise on:
(1)
any progress in finding a new school site for Islamia Primary School, along
with the timetable for any move, if applicable.
(2)
future plans for:
(a)
the Strathcona Site in South Kenton; and
(b)
the Gwenneth Rickus Building (Leopold Primary) in Brentfield Road.
(3)
progress on delivery of the following with timetable for completion and full
opening:
(a)
North Brent School, Neasden Lane;
(b)
SEND School, London Road, Wembley Central
(c)
Post 16 Skills Centre, Welsh Harp
(4)
Recognising that it is not part of the Council’s Estate but is restricted to educational
use, whether you also have any information or have been engaged on the future
of the Swaminarayan School (formerly Sladebrook) site in Brentfield Road.
Response:
The
Yusuf Islam Foundation is still considering whether it wishes to proceed with the
relocation to the Strathcona site following consultation in autumn 2022. No timescale
for the relocation has been agreed. Should this proposed use of the Strathcona
site not proceed, the site will be used to develop additional provision for
children with SEND. In this event, the local authority would continue to work with
the Yusuf Islam Foundation to identify a suitable alternative site for the school.
As
set out in the refreshed School Place Planning Strategy 2024-2028, agreed by
Cabinet on 12 November 2024, consideration will be given to opportunities to use
any spare capacity within the primary school sector to expand provision for children
with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities, given the increasing need
across the borough.
The
Gwenneth Rickus site of Leopold Primary School will continue to be used for
mainstream primary provision until September 2027 and the Council has not determined
the future use of the site, that could also include provision for SEND.
With
regards to the other questions:
The North Brent School moved into its new buildings in Neasden in September
2024.
Wembley Manor, the new secondary SEND school, opened in temporary accommodation
this September and the building work is on target for the school to move to its
permanent home on London Road in September 2025.
The design work of the Post-16 Skills Resource Centre based in Welsh Harp is
near completion, with a view to building work being completed in 2027.
The
local authority does not have any information on the future use of the former
site
of the Swaminarayan School on Brentfield Road.
