Met police launch murder investigation following a stabbing in Willesden Green

 From Metropolitan Police

A murder investigation is under way following a stabbing in Willesden Green, North West London.

At approximately 04:16hrs on Saturday, 28 December police were called to reports of a stabbing in Linacre Road, NW2.

Officers and London Ambulance and Air Ambulance paramedics attended the scene.

A man was found suffering serious stab injuries – despite the best efforts of the emergency services he was pronounced dead on the way to the hospital.

While formal identification has yet to take place, officers are confident the victim was a male in his 30s. Officers are working to identify his next of kin and they will be supported by specialist officers.

Road closures remain in place around the scene as work continues to gather evidence.

There have been no arrests and enquiries are ongoing.

Anyone with information that could assist police is asked to call 101 or message @MetCC on X giving the reference 1013/28DEC.

Information can also be provided anonymously to the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

Vistry shares plunge after further profits warning. Will this impact on subsidiary Countryside's Brent developments?

An earlier deal

 

 Vistry, the parent of Countryside that is responsible for several housing developments in Brent. including in Northwick Park and South Kilburn, has issued its third annual profits warning in as many months. They now expect profits of £250m compared with £419m last year.

Today the share price fell by 16.2%  in half-day trading.

Countryside building for Sovereign Network Group in Northwick Park

 

The company said that it has dropped various deals because they were not 'sufficiently attractive'. There is speculation that this might mean that they will not bid for the 'single developer' role that Brent Council is seeking for the remainder of the South Kilburn Regeneration.  There may also be  knock-on effect on tenure of the developments currently underway when viability is reviewed.

Residents intervene to stop industrial level flytipping in Preston Road car park

 

 Residents manned the Preston Road car park gates until 2am in the morning at the weekend when they saw  industrial level flytipping taking place. They took prompt action to prevent further rubbish being dumped.

I understand that around 10 vans were involved. One van was captured by police after residents phoned 999 with the number plate details. A resident said that participants pay one person and then others pile in. It is hoped that police have gained enough information to enable Brent Enforcement to follow up.

 

 

FROM BRENT COUNCIL

Selfish industrial scale fly-tippers desecrated Preston Road Car Park on 10pm Wed, 18 Dec We are investigating with the police & have identified a vehicle of interest Those responsible will face the full force of the law🧑‍⚖️ Please contact us with any info, especially any vehicle details 📩dontmesswithbrent@brent.gov.uk Reference SR19618

 

 

Another South Kilburn disaster revealed - £15m claim on Swift House and George House goes to mediation

 

Before remediation work above and remediation work in progress below

 

 

A plaque amongst the remediation materials

Construction News LINK reports on another building disaster in South Kilburn. London and Quadrant (L&Q) had made a £15m claim against Bouygues UK and this will now go to mediation.

Swift House and George House in Albert Road were built by Denne Construction in 2010-11 at a cost of £35m.  Bouygues took over Denne's liabilities when it acquired the company in 2016.

Denne were also responsible for Bourne Place in South Kilburn.

Construction News reports L&Q's claim that both buildings (Swift House and George House) with a total of 286 flats and maisonettes were 'defective and dangerous' including use of the aluminium composite material (ACM) exposed by the Grenfell fire,

L & Q said that after they removed the cladding in September 2018 they found a number of other fire safety and structural issues including 'inadequately specified and wrongly installed insulation' that would have  allowed fire and smoke to penetrate the buildings. 

They also found over-stressing and movement of the cladding support frames across both buildings.

Construction News gives a full account in its story LINK.

As with Grenfell, residents have raised issues about the quality of building on South Kilburn over the last few years LINK, and Wembley Matters published an overview in May this year LINK.

Readers will recall the case of Granville New Homes purchased from the developer by Brent Council and cost more than the purchase price in remediation works LINK . The council had argued that it was not possible to get compensation for the defects but reportedly a claim may now be in prospect.

This now comes under the remit  of Muhammed Butt, who as well as being Council Leader  is also Cabinet Lead for Housing, Regeneration, Planning and Growth.

A South Kilburn resident, reacting to the latest debacle said:

Yet another example of shoddy building work being done during the regeneration of South Kilburn, A fact that Brent Council denies, instead repeatedly talking about the awards given by planners and architects to planners and architects for their brilliant work. I wonder how much compensation the builders are intending to pass to residents who have had to live with scaffolding blocking out their light for many years as well as the fear that goes with living in buildings which could go up like the Grenfell tower.

 

Police release image of people they are keen to speak to who may have information on the Michelle Sadio shooting. Michelle's family are being supported by specialist officers.

 

From Roundwood Police

Detectives investigating the murder of Michelle Sadio have issued an image of individuals they are keen to speak to.

Detectives from the Met’s Specialist Crime Command are leading the investigation into Michelle’s murder and have today released an image (above) of people they believe may have information about the occupants of a car linked to the shooting.

The car, a black Kia Niro with distinctive alloys, with the number plate LA23 XRE was being driven by the suspects who then fired a number of shots in Gifford Road, NW10 on Saturday, 14 December.

Michelle was one of three people injured and she sadly died at the scene.

Following the shooting, the car was driven from Gifford Road to Barnhill Road where it was then abandoned and set alight.

Detective Chief Inspector Phil Clarke, who is leading the investigation, said: 

Our investigation has progressed at pace but we are still keen to hear from anyone who can help piece together the series of events which led to Michelle’s murder.

We have an image of a number of people who were seen speaking to the occupants of a black Kia Niro of interest on Church Road, NW10 at 20:50hrs on Saturday, 14 December.

Are you one of the people pictured in the white Mercedes or on the pavement nearby, or do you recognise anyone? Did you hear or see something either before or after the shooting that may help with the investigation?

I would like to stress that none of those pictured have done anything wrong. They may not live in the area but they could hold information that is important to the investigation and I urge them to contact us.

At approximately 21:15hrs on Saturday, police were called to reports of the shooting, which happened as Michelle and others were standing outside the church following a wake. Officers and London Ambulance Service paramedics attended the scene.

Michelle, aged 44, was found suffering serious injuries – despite the efforts of the emergency services she was pronounced dead at the scene.

Michelle’s family have been informed and continue to be supported by specialist officers. They have requested that media respect their privacy during this difficult time.

Two 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.

There have been no arrests at this stage and enquiries into the circumstances continue.

Anyone with information that could assist police is asked to call 101 or message @MetCC on X giving the reference CAD 7137/14DEC.

You can also provide information, or upload images and footage, through the online portal here or by scanning the attached QR code.

Information can also be provided anonymously to the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

Become a Brent councillor - event for prospective councillors January 27th 2025

 

The 2024 Wembley History Society Christmas Picture Quiz - the answers!

 Introduction to Christmas Quiz answers by local historian Philip Grant

Thank you to everyone who had a go at last weekend’s 2024 Wembley Christmas Picture Quiz. (If you haven’t done it yet, click on that “link” and have a go before you look at the answers!) 

 

I hope you’ve enjoyed the quiz, as part of the excellent and varied “Wembley Matters” content, which I’m sure that, like me, you are very grateful to Martin for providing. The answers document is below, at the foot of this guest post.

 

I wrote in a comment under the quiz, in relation to the photograph for question 4, that I’d been asked whether Wembley had its own band when the park, with its bandstand, was opened in 1914. The answer is “yes”, and only last week this photograph of the Wembley Town Band from c.1912 was shared with me by Richard, who wrote the letter about his Wembley airman / WW2 Prisoner of War father which Martin published last month.

 

Richard’s grandfather, Henry Hawkins (second from the left in the back row) was one of the organisers of the Wembley Town Band, when it was formed in 1910. A number of the band’s members were policemen or railway workers, and Richard’s great-grandfather, James Blackmore (seated just in front of Richard’s grandfather), the first Metropolitan Police officer to be stationed in Victorian Wembley, had played bass drum in the Met. Police band in the 1890s. The short gentleman standing next to the then bass drummer, and wearing a straw boater, is Titus Barham. He was the President of Wembley Town Band, and paid for the band’s uniforms, which were green with silver trimmings (another of his generous gifts to the people of his adopted town).

 

Hopefully, most of you knew, or guessed, that the intercity railway line through Wembley, in question 7, which opened in 1838, ran from London to Birmingham. It is interesting to compare it with the current High Speed 2 line. Robert Stephenson’s early Victorian trains had a top speed of 30 m.p.h., and at first the journey from Euston to Birmingham Curzon Street took 5½ hours. HS2 is predicted to cut that journey time to just 50 minutes. 

 

But construction of the original line took less than five years (November 1833 to September 1838), whereas HS2 began construction in 2017, and the phase from Euston to Birmingham Curzon Street is expected to be finished by 2033. So the first railway was quicker in one way!

There were probably a few of the questions that you didn’t know the answers to. If that’s the case, you have the chance over the Christmas / New Year break to discover more about some aspects of Wembley’s past. I’ve included “links” with some of the answers, which will take you to illustrated articles giving more information, if you want to take advantage of them.

 

If you were feeling competitive, and wrote down your answers, you can now see how many you got right. There are no prizes, but if you want to share your score out of twenty (just to let others know how well, or badly, you did), you are welcome to add a comment below!

 

With best wishes for the Christmas season, and a happy and healthy New Year,

 

Philip Grant,
for Wembley History Society.

Holiday closures and limited opening hours for Brent services - details

 

FURTHER INFORMATION ON BRENT COUNCIL SERVICES