How many affordable homes did Brent deliver in 2024/25? The Council's response. Judge for yourself who was right.

  

From Philip Grant's original post. Read it HERE

 

Guest post by Philip Grant in a personal capacity

As I had written a guest post critical of the Brent Council claim to have delivered 530 affordable homes in 2024/25, when the number delivered by the Council itself was only 26, I felt it only fair to send a copy of the article to Brent's Chief Executive, Kim Wright, and offer her a right of reply. She has taken up that offer, and the full and unedited text of her reply is set out below. 

Readers can judge for themselves which version of the facts, and their interpretation, they choose to accept, those in my original article, or the Council's:-

Dear Mr Grant

 

I hope you are well and had a good Easter. Thank you for giving me the right of reply here.

The figures in the council tax leaflet were correct at the time of printing, based on projected housing completions for the last and current financial year. 

 

At the time of publishing the council tax booklet we were on track to oversee the delivery of 530 affordable homes in 2024-25. Construction projects are rarely straightforward and some of these homes will now be completed slightly later. Due to construction delays, 434 new affordable homes ended up being delivered and the remaining 96 are all due to be completed shortly. While the leaflet was due to be delivered at the end of the financial year, the lead-in times for printing and distribution meant that the artwork was finalised and sent to print on 20 February so the team had to rely on projections.

 

It is true that the council directly delivered 26 affordable homes (the figure you quote from the FOI response) in 2024-25. However, the infographic in the council tax leaflet was an attempt to give a very high-level summary of the breadth and depth of what the council has delivered in the past financial year on just two pages, and to describe these services and outcomes in ways that are accessible to everyone. In the process, ‘oversee the delivery of’ was simplified to ‘delivered’. I accept that this is an oversimplification where the language could have been clearer and we will bear this in mind, being more careful in the future. Making communications more accessible sometimes means using less precise, less technical language and this simplification was certainly not an attempt to mislead but was about better accessibility.

 

The article you have shared states that, since the council did not directly deliver many of these homes, they should not have been included in a summary of how residents’ council tax was spent – in fact, officers are actively involved in the delivery of these homes in all sorts of ways, from planning officers and others who negotiate with applicants to increase the percentage of affordable homes that form part of regeneration schemes across the borough, to housing colleagues who work with registered providers and residents on our housing waiting list, so council tax was used to get these homes delivered in the form of officer time.

 

All of these homes meet the definition of affordable housing under the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) and Greater London Authority (GLA) guidelines. 

 

Regarding the 1,000 new council homes scheduled for completion this year, delays mean the projection has been adjusted to 899, with the remaining homes to follow. We're delighted our development in Church End with 99 new council homes, is on track to be completed soon. In a housing crisis, councils need to use all methods at their disposal to increase the supply of homes - buying homes from developers is standard practice and local people then benefit from genuinely affordable rents. Whether built by a registered provider, directly by the council or acquired through planning agreements, these homes form part of our commitment to increasing affordable housing.

 

Brent has one of the best records in London for housebuilding, we were one of only three London boroughs to exceed our housing delivery target last year and approved a total of 3,266 new homes, making us the second highest borough for housing approvals overall.

 

In relation to the ‘Your Brent’ magazine and the Council Tax leaflets, we ensure that the content complies with the Code of Recommended Practice on Local Authority Publicity, and this is,  in fact, included within Brent’s constitution.

 

The principles contained within the Code specifically refer to the need for such publications to be lawful, cost effective, objective, even-handed, appropriate, have regard to equality and diversity and ensuring that publications are issued with care during periods of heightened sensitivity.

 

The content contained within the magazine and the Council Tax leaflet is factual. Officers obtain quotes from members acting as the official council spokesperson for the topics covered. The council does not routinely state what political party members represent (unless reporting on election results e.g. page 7 of the spring Your Brent Magazine reports on the Alperton by-election result) and care is taken to ensure that the issues covered are topics that are important to the people in the Borough.

 

Best wishes to you

Kim

Kim Wright (she/her)

Chief Executive

London Borough of Brent

Applicant who was granted permission for Bingo Hall at Lloyds Bank site in Willesden Green comes back with an application to make it an Adult Gaming Centre

Brent Planning Committee granted permission for a Bingo Hall at 1 Walm Lane, Willesden Green, previously Lloyds Bank, earlier this year. Some commentators suggested that the innocent title of 'Bingo Hall' hid an intention to make it an adult gaming centre.

 

They were right. Building on that success Barry Cunningham, of Star Commercial Ltd, has submitted an application for an Adult Gaming Centre (AGC) on that site:

The Proposal:

To use the ground floor as an AGC with ancillary facilities in the basement. To retain the street elevation as existing, forming a window display area in place of the ATMs and to install signage as permitted by Class 5 of the Advertisement Regulations. To make internal alterations not being development as defined by S 55 of the principle Act.

 

The proposed opening hours are 8am to 12.30am Monday to Friday,  Saturday 9am-1am and Sunday 9.30am-12.30am.

 

Building work would begin in September this year with comppletion in ugust 2026.

 

There is little public  information available about Star Commercial Ltd. 

 

The ground floor plans for the current AGC and previous Bingo Hall (below) are like one of those 'Spot the Difference' competitions they used to have in children's comics. It makes you wonder about the original intention.

 

 Proposed layout of the Adult Gaming Centre

 Proposed layout of the Bingo Hall

 

Comments on the Application, in support or opposed, can be made on the Brent Planning Portal HERE.

VE Day 80th anniversary, and other Brent history events for May

 Guest post by local historian Philip Grant

 

Title slide for VE Day anniversary talk at Kingsbury Library on 6 May.

 

The Spring 2025 “Your Brent” magazine promised ‘exciting events across Brent libraries commemorating the 80^th anniversary of VE Day’, and frontline staff at our Council-run libraries have been under pressure to deliver on that promise! As a result, I was asked (and agreed) to prepare an illustrated VE Day talk, which I will be presenting at a Kingsbury Library coffee morning event on Tuesday 6 May, from 11am to 12noon. If you would like to come, you can find out more and reserve your place using this “link”.

 

As the request was made at fairly short notice, I had to use some of my existing Second World War material in putting the powerpoint slide show together, including an article I wrote for the 75^th anniversary, as part of the 2020 weekly “local history in lockdown” series for Wembley Matters and Brent Archives. My talk will cover not only the celebrations in May 1945, but also the six years before that in Wembley and Willesden, and the slides may also be shown in other Brent libraries on Thursday 8 May. As my introductory slide makes clear, it is a talk that celebrates the end of war, not war itself.

 

 

 

The only other special event for the VE Day anniversary in Brent libraries that I am aware of is a lunchtime concert at Willesden Green Library on Thursday 8 May, from 12noon to 1pm. This free 1940s musical hour will be given by the Bluebelle Trio. For more details, and to reserve your place, “click” here.

 

The Bluebelle Trio (Image from the Brent Libraries, Arts and Heritage Eventbrite page)

2025 is also the centenary of the second year of the British Empire Exhibition at Wembley Park. Brent Civic Centre is on the site of part of that exhibition’s Palace of Industry, so it is appropriate that Wembley Library will be the venue for my talk on “A Day Out at Wembley Park in 1924”, on Tuesday 20 May, from 6.30 to 7.30pm.

 

Title slide for my talk at Wembley Library on 20 May.

 

This is almost the same presentation that I gave at a Kingsbury Library coffee morning in July last year, but by putting it on in the early evening, and in Wembley Park, I hope it will make it more accessible for people who are working during the day. If you would like to attend this guided tour, in pictures, around the 1924 exhibition you can reserve your free place here.

 

If you are interested in the British Empire Exhibition, and particularly in the part it played in 1920s British design, then Wembley History Society’s meeting on Friday 16 May may appeal to you. Dr Kathryn Ferry will be presenting an illustrated talk on “Wembley 1924 – The First Concrete City”. The meeting takes place from 7.30 to 9pm at St Andrew’s Church Hall, Church Lane, Kingsbury, and visitors are welcome. You can see more details on the poster below. [I have been watching some of the “Villages by the Sea” programmes on iPlayer recently, and Kathryn Ferry appears as a guest expert on seaside history in several of them, so I know that she is an excellent speaker!]

 

 

There are other Brent Libraries events, for both adults and children, which you can check out on the Libraries, Culture and Heritage Eventbrite page at any time, by using this quick “link”:

http://tinyurl.com/jjhjrrzs

 

I hope that at least some of these events will be of interest to you, and look forward to welcoming you, if one of mine finds its way into your calendar!

Philip Grant.

Licensing Committee attempts justice for Just Cravings AND local residents

 

Today's meeting of the  Alcohol and Entertainment Licensing Sub-committee went on for a very long time and  heard sometimes emotional arguments on both sides regarding Just Cravings' request  LINK for late night opening until 2am. The application did not involve the serving of alcohol. 

There was a recognition that Just Cravings was almost a victim of its own success, particularly the increased custom during Ramadan and the impact of its lively social media. Residents argued that the business was not suited to a residential area, although they recognised that not all the litter and noise they described was attributable to Just Cravings.

Having listened carefully to both sides of the argument and seeking answers to a range of questions the Committee went into private session and reported the following decision:

1. No customers shall be allowed into the venue or collect any product from the venue from midnight on Sundays to Thursdays.  On those days any orders from midniht shall be done by delivery services and by online only.

2. On Fridays and Saturdays the normal licensing hours to 2am are back and customers can come into the premises in person or can also order online.

A formal written notice of the decision will be sent to all parties later,

The recording of the hearing can be viewed HERE.

 

Brent Connect Forums - the May dates

 From Brent Council

Residents across the borough are invited to join Brent Connects and help shape the future of their neighbourhoods.

There are five Brent Connects forums, each covering a different part of the borough: Harlesden, Kingsbury & Kenton, Kilburn, Wembley and Willesden.

Join your local ward councillors and senior council officers to discuss important local issues, share ideas for positive change and learn more about council services and community projects.

This is your chance to address local challenges, connect with neighbours and make a real difference in your area.

Brent Connects forums

Date and time	Brent Connects area	Wards covered
1 May, 6-8pm	Willesden Online	Cricklewood and Mapesbury, Dollis Hill and Willesden wards
8 May, 6-8pm	Kingsbury & Kenton Online	Barnhill, Kenton, Kingsbury, Queensbury and Welsh Harp wards
12 May, 6.30-8.30pm	Harlesden In-person: Newman Catholic College, Harlesden Road, NW10 3RN	Harlesden, Kensal Green, Roundwood and Stonebridge wards
19 May, 6.30-8.30pm	Wembley In-person: Brent Civic Centre, Engineers Way, HA9 0FJ	Alperton, Northwick Park, Preston, Sudbury, Tokyngton, Wembley Central, Wembley Hill and Wembley Park wards
21 May, 6-8pm	Kilburn Online	Kilburn, Brondesbury Park and Queens Park wards

Croydon follows Brent's Veolia contract with reduced street cleaning and bin removal

 Brent Council's most recent contract with Veolia was signed in 2023 and included 'intelligence led' street sweeping (rather than swept on a regular rota basis) and the removal of litter bins from residential streets. 

The 'Integrated Contract' LINK also included winter maintenance and was worth £137m over 8 years.

Private Eye's Rotten Boroughs column (below) has drawn attention to a very similar contract recently agreed in Croydon. The borough seems to have got a rather cheaper deal than Brent managed. It also includes'winter maintenance' -  de-icing of streets etc in winter weather.

 

 There is more information on the Inside Croydon blog HERE.

Meanwhile in a walk around the block this morning:

 'Intelligence led' street cleaning on Greenhill Way, Wembley

 

 Removal of litter bin at The Paddocks 206 bus terminus

 

Wishing the residents of Croydon well with their new contract.

Cowslips in University of Westminster grounds Northwick Park - will they survive regeneration?

Several years ago the University of Westminster removed its much admired wild flower meadow telling Wembley Matters this was due to maintenance costs.  No connection. of course, with the One Public Estate plans for the redevelopment of Northwick Park including new University accommodation and teaching facilities.

Today the cowslips seemed to have done more than just survice, or perhaps they are fresh seeding. They looked glorious in the sunshine.

There is considerable green space on the University site which is actually in the London Borough of Brent. It includes some  impressive trees in the grounds so I hope that  its importance and preservation will be taken into account as the regeneration gathers pace.

Today's photograph is certainly a contrast with yesterday's update on the flats being built nearby. 

From Brent Council website:

 

What is happening in Northwick Park?

 

Brent Council, London North West University Healthcare NHS Trust (Northwick Park Hospital), the University of Westminster and Network Homes (a local housing association based in Wembley) are committed to working in partnership to promote the redevelopment of the land at Northwick Park to deliver new homes and jobs.

The four organisations have joined forces through the OPE (One Public Estate) programme - an established national programme which looks to encourage public sector organisations to use their property and land assets together. The OPE programme awarded over £0.5m to the four organisations to support the plans for Northwick Park. Brent Council have also been awarded £9.9m from the Housing Infrastructure Fund for infrastructure works.

 

Vision

There is a collective vision amongst all four organisations that will transform Northwick Park to become an important local landmark, delivering new high-quality homes, increased investment in our local hospital, improved infrastructure and transport connections, as well as enhanced facilities for education and employment.

Proposals include:

• Complete redevelopment of the land between the hospital and the park
• Approximately 1,600 new homes including affordable homes
• Outline plans for new University accommodation and teaching facilities
• Improved roads and junctions for better access to the hospital and new housing
• Better pedestrian and cycle connections across the site
• New public open spaces and green spaces
• New commercial and community uses to help the new area of Brent thrive
• Care and cycle parking spaces for new residents
•  

https://www.brent.gov.uk/business/regeneration/growth-areas/northwick-park

 

 

Northwick Park flats construction continues apace

 

This was the scene that confronted me today at the end of the footpath from Northwick Park station towards the hospital.

This is the first phase in the building of new flats  by Countryside Partnership that look a more dense development than I envisaged from the planning application images. 

The future extent of the development can be seen from this early image:

 

Further details HERE