A murder investigation is under way following a shooting in Brent.
At approximately 21:15hrs on Saturday, 14 December police were called to reports a shooting in Gifford Road, NW10.
Officers and London Ambulance Service attended the scene.
A
woman, believed aged in her 40s, was found suffering injuries – despite
the efforts of the emergency services she was pronounced dead at the
scene.
Two other men, both aged in their 30s, also suffered
injuries. One remains in hospital in a critical condition; the other
man’s injuries are not life threatening.
Road closures remain in place around the scene as work continues to gather evidence following the shooting.
There has been no arrest and enquiries into the circumstances continue.
Superintendent Tony Josephs, from the North West Command Unit which covers Brent, said:
This is a truly shocking incident that has left a woman dead and two
others injured, and I understand the concern this will cause the local
community and those across London.
I want to reassure people
that a team of experienced detectives are already working at pace to
piece together the events of last night and identify whoever was
responsible for this heinous act of violence.
If you were in or
around Gifford Road at the time of the shooting, or have any information
about who was responsible, please get in contact with us. A family has
been left devastated and we need to work together to provide them with
answers.
Anyone with information that could assist police is
asked to call 101 or ‘X’ @MetCC and quote CAD7137/14Dec. You can also
provide information anonymously to the independent charity Crimestoppers
on 0800 555 111.
The
bravery of two police officers, along with members of the public, has been
lauded after they entered a burning building in Willesden High Road to rescue occupants who were inside.
The incident unfolded at around 13:10hrs on Friday, 13 December after emergency
services were called to reports of a fire in a three-storey building on High Road
, NW10.
Officers were quickly on scene and immediately recognised the dangerous
situation unfolding in front of them with smoke billowing from windows and
reports of people still inside a flat on the first floor.
Two officers, along with members of the public, entered the building and made
their way up to the first floor. They directed residents out of the building
but were alerted to a man who was trapped in an upstairs flat. Utilising a
ladder located in a courtyard area at the back of the building, a member of the
public managed to break a window and help the man escape.
Thankfully no-one was seriously injured although three residents and one of the
officers, who is aged in his 20s, were taken to hospital for treatment due to
the effects of smoke inhalation. One officer remains in hospital and all are
expected to make a full recovery.
The officers are being supported following the ordeal.
Commander Paul Trevers said:
The actions of these officers exemplifies
the qualities that runs through the core of our officers in the Met police –
bravery, tenacity and above all a desire to keep the public safe when faced
with danger.
Confronted with a terrifying situation and knowing that people were at risk
they did not hesitate in going into that building to protect the lives of
others. I am immensely proud of their actions as I’m sure all Londoners will
be.
I would also like to praise the courage of the members of the public who,
alongside our officers, helped ensure the safety of those inside the building.
Credit: London Fire Brigade
From London Fire Brigade
Eight fire engines and around 60 firefighters tackled a fire at a shop with
flats above on Willesden High Road.
Part of the ground floor and a small part of the ceiling void between the
ground and first floors were alight. Firefighters rescued two people from a
roof using a short extension ladder. Five further people left the property
before the Brigade arrived and were taken to hospital by London Ambulance
Service crews.
The Brigade's 32-metre turntable ladder was used at the scene as an
observation platform.
Station Commander Chucks Abili, who was at the scene, said:
Crews
worked hard to access the voids and bring the fire under control.
The fire was producing heavy smoke, so we advised local residents keep
their windows and doors closed.
Willesden High Road was closed between Bertie Road and Hawthorn Road
and we encouraged people to avoid the
area during the afternoon, particularly as rush hour approached.
The Brigade's Control Officers took the first of eight calls to the fire at
1308 and mobilised crews from West Hampstead, Park Royal, North Kensington,
Kentish Town and Wembley fire stations to the scene. The fire was under control
by 1521.
Rising rents destroy our communities. The government is more interested in building expensive flats than stopping the rent hikes.
Tenants in Europe are taking action and winning. Now, we must take to the streets to demand housing justice!
If you can't afford the rent in Brent meet other London Renters Union members and supporters at the 98 bus stop at Willesden Bus Garage on Pound Lane for the bus to central London at 10.30am.
The Wembley History Society’s Christmas Picture Quiz has become a bit of
tradition, since it began during the Covid-19 lockdown in 2020. Once again,
Martin has kindly agreed to share it with “Wembley Matters” readers. You are
invited to have a go at this year’s quiz, and the “question paper” is attached
below.
There are ten pictures again this year, each with two questions. The images
come from the area covered by the former Borough of Wembley (from 1934 this included
the previous Urban District of Kingsbury), which the Society was set up in 1952
to promote the history of. That is the part of the present day London Borough
north and west of the River Brent.
Stained glass window showing the Borough of Wembley coat of arms.
How many questions can you answer? The quiz is just for fun (no
prizes!), and you’ll get the answers on this blog site next week. Don’t worry
if there are some you don’t know, because the more questions you can’t answer,
the more you’ll discover about Wembley in a week’s time.
Please feel free to share the quiz (and later the answers!) with friends
and family living locally, or former Wembley residents, if you think they’ll
enjoy it too. Good luck!
The
council has approved £3 million in Strategic Community Infrastructure Levy
(SCIL) funding for a transformative green corridors scheme in Church End and
Roundwood. This is a ring-fenced fund that can only be spent on infrastructure,
ensuring it is dedicated to projects that benefit the community.
This
ambitious project, part of the council’s Green
Neighbourhoods initiative, aims to make the area a model of
sustainable urban living with major improvements in walking and cycling access,
air quality, safety and overall community wellbeing. It will also tackle issues
such as fly-tipping and anti-social behaviour, making the area cleaner and
safer for residents.
The
Church End and Roundwood Green Corridors Scheme will be implemented in phases,
each introducing sustainable infrastructure, boosting biodiversity, and
creating safer, more inclusive streets. Developed through extensive public
engagement, these enhancements are tailored to meet the unique needs and
aspirations of the local community.
Highlights of the scheme
include:
Church
Path will be transformed into a green corridor with landscaping, improved
paths, and upgraded crossings, providing safer and more environmentally
friendly routes for pedestrians and cyclists.
Longstone
Avenue will get a fresh new look, with new zebra crossings and greenery to
better connect local green spaces and create more welcoming entrances to
Newfield Primary School and Longstone Avenue Open Space.
Local
green spaces including Longstone Avenue Open Space and Roundwood Park will
be enhanced to become vibrant, biodiverse areas with more plants, hedges,
trees and seating.
Fawcett
Road will be redesigned to create space for more plants, trees, wider
footpaths, and new crossings, making it a safer environment for walking
and cycling.
Roundwood
Road and Franklyn Road Open Space will undergo improvements to create a
greener and more welcoming environment.
Traffic
calming measures will be introduced on Fawcett Road, Longstone Avenue, and
Cobbold Road to benefit local residents by helping reduce through traffic,
lower vehicle speeds, and improve safety. A variety of options will be
considered, including modal filters, and residents will be invited to
share their feedback before any changes are implemented.
Councillor
Jake Rubin, Cabinet Member for Employment, Innovation and Climate Action, said:
I’m
so pleased that Brent Council has committed this major investment in Church End
and Roundwood, which will improve the look and feel of the area and residents' quality
of life. The scheme will tackle dangerous air pollution, provide safe routes
for walking and cycling, increase green spaces and create a safer, cleaner area
for all.
The
scheme will complete over multiple phases, with each area gradually transformed
as improvements take shape from 2025 to 2027.
The mandatory targets for housing building across local authorities were announced yesterday. The annual targets for Brent and neighbouring boroughs are:
Medium rise and high rise blocks on CNWL Dudden Hill site
Despite having doubts regarding the amount of affordable housing, lack of amenity space and fears of flooding (Wembley Park) and shared ownership and shading nearby 2 storey homes (Dudden Hill) members of Brent Planning Committee unanimously voted for the redevelopment of the College of North West London (CNWL) sites at Wembley Park and Dudden Hill.
They were told that plans for a new college building in a prime site off Olympic Way could not go ahead without approval of both applications because the developments held fund the college building. Promises of viability reviews at various stages of the process of development looked promising for increasing the number of affordable homes at first (just 69 social rent homes out of 1,000 at Dudden Hill) but later looked very unlikely when they were told the costs for the college new build could rise.
No one asked if a less expensive option than prime site Olympic Way had been considered for the college. Brent Council arranged a loan
for United Colleges (merged CNWL and City of Westminster College) to
enable the redevelopment project at Wembley Park to go ahead.
A review of intermediate tenures other than shared ownership, generally considered not affordable, was agreed along with a £149,500 contribution to bus service enhancement at Wembley Park. Again at Wembley Park, the developer will pay £100,000 towards improvement of nearby open spaces as little amenity space is offered on a constrained site. There will be road layout changes and crossing enhancements and possibly a CPZ at Dudden Hill and Denzil Road.
The Planning Committee waas chaired by Cllr Saqib Butt in the absence of Cllr Matt Kelcher while his brother Cllr Muhammed Butt (Deputy Leader and lead member for housing, regneration, planning and growth) looked on from the public gallery.
New CNWL campus on the corner of Olympic Way and Fulton Road
The twin developments will add many homes to Brent Council's target and there will be a new state of the art FE college, but there will be nagging doubts, not least in some councillor's minds, about whether a better deal could have been possible in terms of homes affordable for the many on Brent's housing list.
Wembley Matters has covered the long struggle by the Stonebridge and Harlesden community over Bridge Park and it is not over yet. (Type in 'Bridge Park' in the search box). Many locals were sceptical of the plans revealed recently at the public exhibition LINK on Brent Council's proposals, and in conversation stressed the contribution Bridge Park had made to local black history. At the very least a panel about its history was suggested for the new building.
Harlesden People's Community Council has gone further and launched a campaign for the original building to be listed and have won the backing of Lord Boateng, former MP for Brent East.
HPPC explain:
Bridge Park was the brainchild of the Harlesden People’s Community
Council, a cooperative formed in 1981 against the backdrop of the Brixton
uprising by a group of young Black residents of Stonebridge Estate. Between
1982 and 1988, the group spearheaded the transformation of Stonebridge Bus
Garage into a dynamic community complex that championed Black excellence and
self-empowerment.
Alongside state-of-the-art sports and entertainment facilities, Bridge
Park housed Brent's first Information Technology Centre, a creche for working
mothers, start-up units for local businesses, and a 24-track recording studio.
The centre played an integral role in preventing a race uprising in Harlesden
throughout the turbulent 1980s and remains an outstanding, early example of
community-led adaptive reuse in England.
“Bridge
Park is one of the most important developments I have seen in this country for
a long time. [...] It is the most remarkable example of a community getting
together and being determined with an inspired leadership to work against what
must have been impossible odds to create this kind of centre for the
community.”
King Charles III
“The Bridge Park Complex is a
profoundly significant building because of its provenance in local government
transportation and community use. There could be no finer tribute to Leonard
Johnson and Brent community activism than it being granted listed status.”
The Rt Hon Lord Boateng
In 2017, Bridge Park was sold by Brent Council to a developer. Local
campaigners fought back, but in 2020 they lost their High Court challenge
against the sale of the site, leaving Bridge Park and its cultural legacy at
risk of erasure. Listed status would help safeguard the centre for future
generations and mark its importance as site of national architectural and
historic interest.
HPCC's aims:
To honour the remarkable achievements of Leonard Johnson and the Harlesden People's Community Council.
To recognise a more representative and diverse heritage through the National Heritage List for England.
To open up the possibility of an alternative redevelopment proposal that focuses on reactivating Bridge Park's existing fabric and re-establishing a community-led approach to its governance.
To foster a deeper understanding and appreciation of Stonebridge/Harlesden'scultural identity and in doing so, act as a catalyst for inclusive, sustainable, and
culture-led regeneration in the area.
HPPC held a public meeting on Sunday 24th November 2024 at Brent Hub Community
Enterprise Centre to discuss their campaign to get Bridge Park Community Centre
added to the National Heritage List for England (NHLE). The meeting was
attended by local residents and a number of Brent councillors, including
Kathleen Fraser, Tony Ethapemi, Abdi Aden, and council leader Muhammed Butt.
During the meeting, HPCC members
Mike Wilson and Lawrence Fearon presented an overview of Bridge Park’s history,
highlighting the site's cultural significance and impact. The presentation was
followed by a video message(extract below)from
award-winning British actor Ray Fearon, who shared how Bridge Park had played a
pivotal role in his journey to stardom and voiced his strong support for the
listing campaign.
.
Rebecca Markus, a recent graduate
of the Bartlett School of Architecture (BSA) at University College London, who
helped initiate the campaign, then provided insight into the listing process.
She was joined by Edward Denison, Professor of Architecture and Global
Modernities at the BSA, who shared his expertise and told local residents that
if they decide to move forward with listing they have the BSA’s full support.
The meeting concluded with a
Q&A session giving attendees the opportunity to voice their opinions and
provide feedback. A verbal vote was then taken to determine whether residents
wanted to proceed with the listing application.
“We're thrilled to hear a
resounding ‘yes’ from the local community to move forward with the campaign,”
said Mike Wilson. “The public meeting was a key moment to introduce residents
to the idea of listing Bridge Park, assess community interest, and engage in
meaningful discussion with local councillors about how listing could be
integrated with current redevelopment plans. The strong community support
voiced here today underscores the importance of safeguarding a place that holds
deep social, cultural, and historical significance for the Black community.”
A number of questions were
directed to Brent Council’s leader, Muhammed Butt, challenging the rationale
behind the proposed demolition of Bridge Park. Attendees questioned the
argument that the building is no longer fit for purpose, suggesting instead
that retrofitting Bridge Park would not only preserve the structure but also
accelerate the delivery of essential community facilities while being more
environmentally sustainable.
Several residents also voiced
concerns about not being properly consulted on the council's new plans,
emphasizing that this was not in line with the recommendations of Judge Michael
Green QC in London Borough of Brent v Johnson [2020], where he stated in his concluding remarks:
“Now that the legal issues have been resolved in my judgment, I would again
urge the parties to move on and seek to achieve, by mutual co-operation and agreement,
the best outcome for Bridge Park and the local community.”
The Harlesden People’s Community
Council invites local residents and interested members of the public to join
them for a national launch hosted by the BSA on Thursday 23rd January
2025 from 6 to 8pm at the Harrie Massey Lecture Theatre, 25 Gordon Street,
London, WC1H 0AY.
