Barham Park Trustees' deal with George Irvin to enable building in Barham Park at Scrutiny Committee on Thursday

 

The pair of park workers' cottages purchased by George Irvin in 2011

 The four 3 storey houses given planning permission by Brent Council on the site
 

The decision by Barham Park Trustees Committee, consisting wholly of Brent Cabinet members, to apply to the Charity Commission for removal of the restrictive covenants on development in Barham Park goes to Brent's Resource and Public Realm Scrutiny Committee on Thursday April 3rd. Some operational matters will also be under consideration.

The development is of two park workers'  cottages purchased by fair ground owner and developer George Irvin for £310,000 in 2011. The property included restrictive covenants designed to protect the park left by Titus Barham for the benefit of the people of Wembley.

Subsequently Irvin put forward several schemes for the redevelopment of the site and the above was approved by Brent Planning Committee - but subject to the covenants.

Barham Park Trustees then negotiated with Irvin on the modification or discharge of the covenants to enable the development to go ahead and agreed a sum of £200,000 to go to Trust funds.

That agreement is subject to approval by the Charity Commissioners.

Opposition parties have called in the issues for further consideration by the Scrutiny Committee which is able to approve one of three possible outcomes:

1. The Committee does not wish to refer the matters back to the decision maker or to the Barham Park Trust Committee, at which point the decision is deemed to be confirmed and takes effect immediately following the call-in meeting; or

2. The Committee decides to ask the Barham Park Trust Committee to reconsider the decisions made, in light of any observations of the Committee; or

3. Having had regard to the advice of the Director of Law or Corporate Director of Finance & Resources, the Committee considers the decision is contrary to the Council’s Budget or Policy Framework, at which point it refers the matter to the next practicable meeting of the Council, subject to the provisions of Standing Orders.

 

Members of the public at Barham Park Trustees meeting in September 2023 where Chair of Trustees, and Brent Council Leader, Muhammed Butt refused to hear speakers on the development and covenant issues.

 

Concerns have been expressed that other Brent parks could come under threat of development if this scheme goes  ahead so proceedings will be watched closely. The Barham family have supported the campaign against development and 481 people had signed the Support Barham Park petition below at time of publication:

We the undersigned petition the council to listen to local residents, users and supporters of Barham Park and for the Barham Park Trust and Brent Council to respect the wishes of Titus Barham who gifted his home and gardens for our recreation, by upholding the Covenant which prevents the building of extra houses on the site of 776/778 Harrow Road and to continue to refuse any attempts to modify or discharge the restrictive covenants to increase the numbers of homes on the site of 776/778 Harrow Road. 

The two cottages were built for the purpose of housing park keepers (gardeners and other staff) working in the Park and not to provide general housing. As the existing houses have not been used for that purpose for years we the undersigned feel there is a valid argument for their removal and for the park land to be reinstated with no valid justification to expand the number of houses from 2 to 4.

 

The 2011 Land Transfer to George Irvin that includes reference to the covenants:

 

The meeting will be in the Grand Hall, Brent Civic Centre at 6pm on Thursday April 3rd  and livestreamed HERE.

Save East Lane Theatre, Wembley, from destruction. Don't delay - sign the petition today.

 

East Lane Theatre in Wembley faced with closure after a  proposed giganic rent increase by Brent Council has launched a petition:

 

We the undersigned petition the council to reconsider the rent increase of circa 5000% on the current rent of £1,500 per annum on our small, volunteer run theatre. An affordable rent for East Lane Theatre Company (ELTC), a valuable community asset, would ensure it can continue to serve the community of Brent.

 

East Lane Theatre Club (ELTC) has been in residence at the Vale Farm Tennis Pavilion since the early 1960s. ELTC have developed a theatre on the site and maintain & insure the buildings with no council funding. Although recognising the obligations on ELTC under the current lease to maintain the site on which the theatre is located, it is the theatre rather than the Council which has ensured the site remains in good order for many years.

 

ELTC were in negotiation over our lease renewal with Brent prior to their new Property Strategy being published with the Strategy having subsequently led to what the Club now feels is an unjustifiable high increase in their rental charge.

 

We the undersigned feel that Brent’s new Property Strategy should therefore make allowance for buildings that have a specific role and are used by the community also, in the case of ELTC, recognising the link to Brent’s Cultural Strategy.

 

The Club provides theatre at an affordable price, it supports its members’ wellbeing and provides a safe place to explore new skills. It entertains and supports residents unable to afford West End ticket prices or travel to the West End, with other similar local theatres in Greater London and other areas supported by their Councils.

 

We urge the Council to reconsider the way in which the Property Strategy has been applied to ELTC in order to avoid the theatre being destroyed by a rent hike it just cannot afford.

 

This ePetition runs from 09/02/2025 to 11/05/2025.

 

SIGN HERE

 

 

UPDATE: Brent Council's housing companies report tonight - positives and risks

 UPDATE: I hoped to report on the discussion of this item at last night's meeting but the live stream was not resumed for some time after a break in the meeting. The 'silent' period was when the discussion of the items below took place so I shall have to wait for the minutes to record any key points.

 

Brent Council owns two companies that act in the housing market on the Council's behalf. Tonight they report at the Standards and Audit Committee on their activities and financial position.

Elsewhere in London such companies have had financial difficulties so the Committee will be interested in their situation.

 

i4B (Investment for Brent) report:

At our last meeting in September, we raised the issue that i4B was likely to use up its remaining funding by the end of the financial year, and both then and since, received helpful signals that further funding would be available to support good acquisition prospects. Assuming that is still the case, the company will continue to look out for such prospects

 

With a profit forecast, excluding tax, for the year, the company is in a healthy cash position, so there is no risk of insufficient liquidity to carry out its normal business activities. However, if i4B Ltd is to engage in future refurbishment projects, e.g. Granville, they will require a cash injection from the London Borough of Brent  as the business plan for 2025/26 onwards shows a risk that the company’s cash position could be overdrawn.

 

As of January 2025 i4B has housed and discharged the Council’s housing duty to 504 families and 1138 children. The majority of these families were previously housed in stage one TA [Temporary Accommodation]. The number of families housed is higher than i4B’s PRS portfolio due to a number of families moving on to other accommodation, with new families moving in.

 

The main risks the company faces are detailed below:

 Poor rent collection performance due to unaffordability of rent for tenants

 High void turnaround times, costs and rent loss lead to financial losses for i4B

 High capital programme costs, including stock condition, energy efficiency and decarbonisation expenditure, adversely affect the company business plan

 Company cash flow (capital and revenue) is insufficient to manage expenditure

 i4B does not effectively manage its contract for the remote management of Home Counties properties, leading to poor performance and risk to tenant satisfaction

 Challenges in the regulatory and external environment

PRS is Private Rented Sector

I queried the figures below as they clearly do not add up but I had not had a reply from Brent before delayed publication. Possibly 4 bed+ should be 156 but that is subject to clarification. UPDATE: Brent Council confirmed today March 26th that the correct 4 bed figure is 56 making the overall figure if 465 correct.

i4B has a profit forecast of under £1m for 2024-25 compared with £1.39m  the previous year. It has a net rental income of £10.279m.

First Wave Housing has similar risks:

The main risks the company faces are detailed below:

 Poor rent collection performance due to unaffordability of rent for tenants

 High void turnaround times, costs and rent loss lead to financial losses for FWH

 High capital programme costs, including stock condition and energy efficiency expenditure, adversely affect the company business plan.

Brent Council has agreed the acquisition of 294 units of the Fulton Road development that is currently under construction. 118 of the units will be leased to First Wave subject to financial review and approval by the First Wave Board. They will be let at London Living Rent. 

First Wave  has an operating surplus of £0.508m and a net rental income of £3.41m. 

 

I asked about the 'Settled Homes' category above and was told that:

Settled Homes are a form of long-term temporary accommodation. They are let on assured shorthold tenancies, and have a target rent of the affordable rent level (80% of market rent).

So very few of the homes above are at social rent and none at council rent.

 

 

 

 

 

Do you bit for wildlife! Hedge Planting at Bush Farm, Kingsbury this weekend Noon to 4pm

 

From Bush Farm Collective

 

COME ALONG TO BUSH FARM 

On the 22nd and 23rd of March in-between 12 and 4pm
For our community planting project
All ages welcome!

This will be our 1st project of the year and certainly a special one as it will provide new homes for our beloved wildlife.

Get to know what's coming up this year and how you can get involved!! Community is the key!

Cakes and refreshments on site 

Don't forget your wellies, we can supply spades but they are limited so please feel free to bring your own.

We advise walking or getting public transport, 302 or 83 bus.

We look forward to planting and meeting you! 

 

Purple pin marks the path into Fryent Country Park and Bush Farm. Bus stops on Church Lane, NW9.

 

 

Greens: London’s housing market is broken. It’s designed for the wealthy to profit while Londoners suffer. Overseas investment makes it worse.

During today’s Mayor’s Question Time (MQT), Zoë Garbett, Green Party London Assembly Member, raised concerns about the Mayor’s London Growth Plan – published last month – specifically highlighting his heavy reliance on overseas investment to address the city’s housing crisis. Zoë told the Mayor that this would only continue to exacerbate the issue of housing inequality in the city. 

In response, the Mayor defended his position, saying, “we do want foreign investment for the simple reason that there has not been enough investment from the Government.”

Reflecting on the Mayor’s response, Zoë Garbett AM says: 

London’s housing market is broken. It’s designed for the wealthy to profit while Londoners suffer. Overseas investment is not a solution to the housing crisis – in fact, it’s made the situation worse.

It’s telling that the Mayor has admitted he’s forced to rely on overseas investment while the Labour government refuses to provide essential public funds for housing. What kind of message does that send about priorities? Londoners deserve better than to be left at the mercy of speculative overseas money.

With 40% of Londoners’ wages going to rent, 60,000 families stuck in temporary accommodation, social housing waiting lists at a ten year high and 300,000 homes approved but not built, it’s clear the current system is not working.

Sky-high rents and the cost of living crisis are leaving schools struggling to stay open and driving families out of the city they call home. 

Without a meaningful shift in government policy and funding, London’s housing market will continue to serve the interests of a wealthy few.

 

Union Park North beginning to take shape in Wembley Park

 

I had a peek at Union Park North currently under construction in Wembley Park this morning. It is claimed to take inspiration from Humprey Repton who created the landscape around Barn Hill from around 1793.

At this stage there appears to be too much concrete to my taste and a natural pond/lake would be more in the Barn Hill tradition but of course it is early days. Some tree planting has already taken place and  plans include 'a community centre, public art, a dedicated area for pets to enjoy some ‘pet time’ off their lead and a new bandstand for free music and entertainment year-round.'

Quintain claim that there are two aspects to the name 'Union Park' one aspect is bringing together a new community and the other a tribute to  Walter Citrine, the first Baron of Wembley and 'one of the leading British and international trade unionists in the 20th century. Baron Citrine was widely credited for providing the Trades Union Congress with the administrative backbone it needed to become the respected lobbying organisation it is today.'

It will be interesting to see what is planned to explain his contribution in the new park.

 

The south section of Union Park has been open for some time. It is reviewed HERE.

Petition to reclaim Barham Park from developers

 

The four houses proposed for Barham Park

 

A petition to safeguard Barham Park from development ends on April 15th 2025. The text below is self explanatory. If you wish to sign the petition got to the Brent Council website HERE.

We the undersigned petition the council to listen to local residents, users and supporters of Barham Park and for the Barham Park Trust and Brent Council to respect the wishes of Titus Barham who gifted his home and gardens for our recreation, by upholding the Covenant which prevents the building of extra houses on the site of 776/778 Harrow Road and to continue to refuse any attempts to modify or discharge the restrictive covenants to increase the numbers of homes on the site of 776/778 Harrow Road. The two cottages were built for the purpose of housing park keepers (gardeners and other staff) working in the Park and not to provide general housing. As the existing houses have not been used for that purpose for years we the undersigned feel there is a valid argument for their removal and for the park land to be reinstated with no valid justification to expand the number of houses from 2 to 4. 

 

The original Covenant was put in place by the Barham Park Trust Committee in 2011 (when the two cottages were being sold with the aim of generating match funding for a National Lottery Heritage Grant) with the clear intention of protecting Barham by NOT allowing the building of more houses or extensions on the existing site. The buyer of the two houses was fully aware of this and willingly signed and entered into the Restrictive Covenant. Any attempts by the appointed Trustees to modify or discharge the restrictive covenant will go against the original aim in seeking to protect the site for the benefit of local people as opposed to the enrichment of a selected individual/family.

The Kingsbury Swimming Pool Story – free talk at Kingsbury Library on Monday 31 March (+ an Ace Café talk on 21 March)

  Guest post by local historian Philip Grant

 

Lining up for a schools swimming race in the 1960s.

 

If you haven’t lived in the Wembley area for more than 35 years, you may not be aware that there was once a public swimming pool in Kingsbury’s Roe Green Park. The full story of this popular local “lido” from the 1930s, which even hosted some international competitions, will be shared in an illustrated talk at a free Kingsbury Library “coffee morning”, from 11am to 12noon on Monday 31 March (tea, coffee and biscuits available from 10.45am).

 

As can be seen from the photograph above, Kingsbury’s pool was an outdoor one. It was built by Wembley Borough Council. After that became part of the London Borough of Brent in 1965 there were plans (several times!) to build an indoor pool alongside it. This extract from a Council document shows one of the proposals. 

 

Extract from a Brent Council report in 1966.

 

Despite the ‘modern thinking’, Kingsbury not only failed to get an indoor pool, it eventually lost the swimming pool it already had! You can find out how this came about, and what replaced the pool, in my talk. As well as some nostalgia (and there will be time at the end for those who wish to share their memories of the pool), the talk reflects some of the 20^th century’s social history. You will be very welcome if you wish to come along (see poster below), and you can reserve your free place here.

 

Poster for the talk, showing a few more of the many illustrations.

 

Another example of local social history is the Ace Café, by the North Circular Road at Stonebridge. Its story will be celebrated at Wembley History Society on Friday 21 March, from 7.30 to 9pm, when Mark Wilsmore, who resurrected and runs this iconic venue, will be giving a talk on “Ace Times Then & Now – A Cafe and a Culture”. The meeting is at St Andrew’s Church Hall, Church Lane, Kingsbury, NW9 8RZ, and visitors are welcome (a donation of £3 towards costs is requested).

 

I look forward to seeing you at one, or both, of these local history talks!

Philip Grant.