On the third strike day The Village School strikers claim victory as all their demands met by Academy Trust

 

Undaunted and solid in their unity - today's picket line

NEU members at The Village School,  Kingsbury declared victory today as negotiations with the Academy Trust on the third day of the strike brought concessions from the Academy Trust that runs the school.

The union claims that they have won:

• Original leave of absence policy restored and uploaded 
• Reimbursement for all staff who lost money through the operation of the rogue policy
• Written agreement to operate in accordance with trust scheme of delegation which means 12 policies can only be changed by going through a six stage process which now requires mutual agreement first between trust and union reps at JCC
• Pledge in writing to honour our trade union recognition agreement and links to this placed on policy and trust websites
•  Email to staff clarifying that our position was correct 

Twenty new members joined the NEU during the strike and there were three days of picket lines of more than 60 people. More than 100 staff were on strike on each of the three days, leading to the school being shut. As this is an SEND (special school)  the majority of strukers were support staff. There were multiple messages of support from parents during the strike action and backing from Brent Trades Council and retired NEU members.

Jenny Cooper, on of the school NEU reps said:

When all else fails, don't despair: STRIKES WORK

 

 

 

 

 

Carpenders Park graves reinstated following Islamophobic attack

 From Brent Council

A memorial service took place yesterday for the families of loved ones whose graves were desecrated in a hate crime attack.

Councillors paid their respects, honouring the families’ loved ones, during the memorial ceremony. Brent Council owns Carpenders Park Lawn Cemetery in Watford where 61 children’s graves were vandalised back in April. Police investigated the incident as a hate crime.

Cllr Harbi Farah, Cabinet Member for Safer Communities, Jobs and Skills, said: 

We promised that we would do everything we could to support the families. Today, we were able to honour and respect them and their loved ones by reinstating the graves and signs.

We are continuing to work with the police and the community to ensure that Carpenders Park Lawn Cemetery is a safe burial ground for those who are laid to rest here.

Brent is working with the police to increase security measures at the cemetery.

Three Rivers Chief Inspector, Kio Bozorgi, said: 

It is important that we continue to do everything we can to listen to and understand the needs of our Muslim community; we want them to have the confidence to approach the police directly to report hate crimes or incidents when they occur.

We continue to work closely with Brent Council, which owns the cemetery site, to offer recommendations on how to increase security in the area and prevent a terrible crime like this from happening again.

 

Development of Willesden Green police houses and police station at Planning Committee next week

 

The present police houses and police station (concealed by tree)

 

The proposal
 

A revised planning application for the ex-police houses and police station in Willesden High Road will be heard at Brent Planning Committee next week (Wednesday June 11th 6pm).

An appeal by the developer was turned down by the Planning Inspectorate on various grounds but the developer now claims that these have been addressed in the new application. In their report to the Planning Committee, Brent planning officers concur but 60 objectors to the proposal strongly disagree.

 

 

The proposal is for  demolition of the police house and some outbuildings and replacement with a 4 storey building that wraps around the police station. There would be 25 flats and a commercial space in the retained police station.  The landmark sycamore tree would stay but have its crown reduced.

The garden area has come in for criticism as it contains something called a Mound but with no specifics on size and height. 

 

Perhaps it is an aspect that the developer will happily remove to assuage the objectors - not a hill that they would want to die on!

After revision of the Viability Assessment four social homes are proposed out of the 25 planned but that provision could be replaced by a contribution of £1.1m to be used for social housing elsewhere.

Trees have a high profile at present as the council has launched its new Strategy for consultation. This application serves as an example of how trees on a development site are currently treated by Brent planning officers:

A total of 7 trees (T6 to T12) and one group of trees (G13) are proposed to be removed from the site to accommodate the development. These have all been categorised as C trees (Trees of low quality with an estimated remaining life expectancy of at least 10 years, or young trees with a stem diameter below 150mm) and not of sufficient quality to present a constraint to development 

 

The submitted report notes that G13 are low quality shrub like planting located within the current front garden. Brent’s Principal Tree Officer was satisfied with their removal subject to their replacement as part of the landscaping scheme. The scheme proposes 9 new trees within the site, 7 of which are located within the communal garden and 2 within the frontage on High Road.

 

To facilitate the development works are proposed to two of the retained trees, T1 Sycamore and T3 Birch. T3 Birch would also require minor access facilitation pruning to allow erection of protective fencing and site hoarding. This is not considered to be a major issue.. It is proposed to further construct walls and patio areas within the RPA of T1 which is the Sycamore Tree located to the frontage on High Road, Willesden. It is proposed to Crown Reduce the Sycamore tree (T1).

 

The bulk and density of the new building and its impact on the character of the area are two of the main concerns of objectors. Cllr Maurice (Kenton ward) and Cllr Long (Willesden Green ward) have objected to the scheme.

One objector uses refreshingly straight forward language that contrasts with the dry language of the officers' report:

 

I Strongly object to this nonsense.

A mound? A bloody Mound?! This is Willesden, not the Peak District. What a cynical, disingenuous ruse by the developers to pretend it is for amenity and play space. They are too cheap to get rid of their demolition debris properly and respectfully and so propose to bury it. It would effectively be a slag heap - a waste tip - an invasion of privacy and amenity and an insult to intelligence. This cannot be a serious suggestion - the developers haven't even bothered with size or scale (a molehill would not require permission, so how big a mountain do they want?). Please do not allow this precedent to be set. To paraphrase the Basques, 'If you tolerate this, then your garden will be next.'

The ignominy does not stop there:

The developers are proposing to inflict on the immediate neighbours (and new residents) 5m2 balconies directly overlooking gardens and bay windows into bedrooms and living rooms (where is the privacy, also, for the balcony users and pedestrians?) There is no precedent for this in any of the surrounding streets.

Why propose siting a loading bay on a quiet residential road, when one already exists on the High Road around the corner (a far more suitable space)?

Why pretend (again!) that the view from the window of the nearest house is just of a brick wall? The Inspectorate specifically stated that, despite being told that by the developers, she went into the room and saw for herself it was not true. Why are they perpetuating that same untruth and continuing to suggest blocking the same precious light?

Why are the developers plans and documents so shoddily put together that they take an age and numerous attempts to navigate?

Brent Planning Committee. No, please. Just no.

The planning officers' report uses the familiar argument that the benefits of the scheme outweigh any negatives including the scheme not meeting natural light and amenity space guidelines and recommend that the Planning Committee approve the application:

The proposal is considered to accord with the development plan, having regard to all material planning considerations, and that the application should be approved subject to conditions and a Section106 Agreement to secure the planning obligations.

 The assessment has given significant weight to the appeal decision as a material consideration, and it is considered that this scheme has overcome the previous reasons for the dismissed appeal.

 The proposal would deliver 25 new homes towards Brent’s housing targets, of which 28% would be family sized which would contribute to an identified need in the borough.

 Whilst the proposal would result in less than substantial harm to the Willesden Green Conservation Area, such harm is significantly outweighed by the benefits of the scheme. Furthermore, the retention of part of the non-designated heritage asset, along with the delivery of an appropriate commercial town centre use (which has the potential to be employment generating) in a sustainable location is considered to outweigh the absence of securing an employment use as outlined in the site allocation and the and the limited conflict with policy would be outweighed by the planning benefits.

LINK TO AGENDA ITEM 

 

 

 

 

 

NEU hold second strike at The Village School, Kingsbury as negotiations with Academy bosses continue

 

NEU staff at The Village School in Kingsbury were on strike for he second day today. Staff are fighting for reinstatement of their leave of absence policy which was removed by the Academy Trust without consultation. Staff say that the Tust broke its own rules by not negotiating with unions first. Ante-natal, carers' and medical/disability leave are particuarly affected.

 

The largely female and ethnically diverse workforce were on the picket line this morning in good cheer and with a tune or two.They were encouraged by many toots of  support from passing vehicles including buses and commercial vans.  Solidarity messages from parents and other schools were read out and enegetically applauded.

I understand that tough negotiations have made some positive progress but there are still several sticking points. A union meeting at the school gates received a report back on the negotiations, listened carefully and then overwhelmingly voted to go ahead with tomorrow's scheduled strike to win the final elements of their demands.

Pete Firmin gives a solidarity message from Brent Trades Council

 

More strikes will be held next week if staff demands are not met.

 

 

 

Barham Library talk Saturday June 14th 3.30pm: The Iceman cometh by Brian Johnson

 

Wembley road closures and diversions from 10.30am on Saturday June 7th

 

Road closures and bus diversions/curtailment on Friday and Sunday for stadium football events. No Jubilee or Met line trains at the weekend

 

Brent Council to lease out King Edward VII Park bowling green for 10 years. Representations to be made by June 5th.

 

The red star marks the bowling green

 Brent Council announced in the Brent and Kilburn Times that it is to grant a 10 year lease on a Brent public open space, the former bowling green in King Edward VII Park, Park Lane, Wembley. The green has not been used for more than a decade and the bowling green club pavilion has been occupied by property guardians.

Residents can make objections or representations no later than 12pm on June 5th.

I understand that the lease is for the use of a local community group that responded to a request for expressions of interest late last year. It includes the bowling green and the pavilion on the site - centre left in the image above (not the pavilion in the centre of the park ear-marked for development by Stonebridge Boxing Club - they are still seeking funding).

The name of the community group cannot be disclosed until the lease is signed.