Campaigners win another round in the Queensbury pub battle

There was great news from the Queensbury Campaign yesterday as they won the second round of the fight against Fairview.  Congratulations to all concerned.

This is how they reported it on their website  LINK:

The appeal by Fairview New Homes has been dismissed by the government Inspector. The Queensbury is saved, again!

Two years of campaigning are summarised in a 17 page letter from the Inspector, received today. The design was flawed, the case for a “landmark” building was flawed, the impact on the conservation area would have been severe. The Inspector gave more reasons than Brent Council (they refused permissionoriginally, in March last year) and the decision is very thorough.

The Inspector noted our campaign and acknowledged that some comments he received “attest to the high esteem in which the venue is held as a well managed, safe and congenial social facility in an area where these are felt to be lacking.” Yep.

In a nutshell he says “the adverse impacts in this instance would significantly and demonstrably outweigh the benefits of the proposal.” Yep.

We are very proud of what we have achieved. We were up against a legal team in a five day inquiry and an architect who paraded his awards for design. Fairview threw tens of thousands of pounds at a QC Barrister (no wonder when you consider the price of apartments in Willesden). 

We are convinced that had we not taken full part in the Inquiry then the reasons for refusal would have been diluted and Brent’s decision probably overturned. So…….. well done us.

What’s next? The ball is in Fairview’s court but we’d like to see a scheme that retains the building. Fairview will have to go back to the drawing board (literally) and return with something more sensible, or dispose of the land to someone less greedy and willing to reduce their profit. Or they could play the long game and allow the lease on the pub to expire in 2017 and let the building dilapidate (aka The Spotted Dog).

One things is certain – we will be vigilant and continue to fight for our local community buildings, doing our best to protect them. 

You can read the inspector’s full decision here

Parents call for support as teachers strike again at St Andrew and St Francis Primary against forced academisation

Teachers will be strking again on Tuesday March 24th and Wednesday Match 25th at St Andrew and St Francis Cof E Primary School in Willesden.  This time parents ahve issued their own letter supporting the action against forced academisation.

The teachers' letter to parents says:

How much does the IEB presently running St Andrew and St Francis school care about parents and what they think? The answer is not at all.

We offered to call off further strike action if they were prepared to have a proper democratic ballot of parents to find out if they wanted the school to be forced to become an academy OR NOT. But the IEB refused. We again said the unions would pay for the ballot. The IEB still refused.

Parents have told us that the reason most parents did not take part in the original IEB so called consultation is because they did not get enough information to make a decision one way or the other. They were given no arguments why a forced academy was a bad idea. It was not made clear that the Government was forcing St Andrew and St Francis to become an academy.

Parents are now more aware as they have been given the arguments against and so have heard both sides of the argument. Well over 300 parents so far have signed the petition against an academy. If you haven’t yet signed please do.

Further reasons to say NO to an academy are:

.        1)  “Parents are sidelined from all important decisions from saying whether the school 
should convert to the running of the academy”. (All Party Select Committee Jan 2015) 


.        2)  “Nearly half academy trusts have paid millions of pounds in public money towards 
the private businesses of directors, trustees and relatives”. (Nat: Audit Office 2014) 


.        3)  Despite the government promoting academies only 20% of schools have converted. 
That’s why the government is forcing schools to become academies. 

 


The next strike will be for two days on Tuesday 24th March and Wednesday 25th March. We deeply regret the disruption to your child’s education but strike action is not undertaken lightly and, as we said in our last leaflet, is very much the last resort.

Teachers have the future of your child’s education at heart. The IEB clearly does not, as otherwise they would have agreed to a staff and parents’ ballot.

We still demand an independently overseen secret ballot of parents so that you are given a proper say in the future of your child’s education. We also demand that they include an elected staff and parent representative on the IEB. So far they have said NO.

Please join us on Tuesday 24^th outside the school in Belton Rd between 8.15 and 8.45

Bring your own placards, whistles, drums etc.

LET’S MAKE A NOISE AND SAY NO TO AN ACADEMY!

This is the letter from the parents to other parents at the school:

Harrow College proudly shows the way on Sustainability

It was great to visit Harrow College again today to run an environmental stall for their Sustainability Week.  I encouraged staff and students to fill in an on-line survey to see the impact of their life to see many earth planets their current life style was based on. Unfortunately some were consuming the resources of 3 planets or more, when of course we only have one. The lowest was 2.1 planets.

The awareness raising week is busier than ever as the college website demonstrates:

Sustainability Week is a chance for you to participate in lots of activities and information stands for all students and staff to learn about ways we can do more to preserve the earth’s resources, from bees to water conservation, cycling to waste management.

Activities will be at both campuses as follows:
Monday 23rd March - Harrow Weald campus

• Pond and meadow
• Green Party
• Recycling, Up-cycling, food sourcing and charity collections

Tuesday 24th March - Harrow Weald campus

• Cycling events
• Waste management and recycling
• Beekeeping
• Water conservation
• Resourcefulness/ reducing waste
• Up-cycling, food sourcing and charity collections

Thursday 26th March - Harrow on the Hill campus

• Waste management and recycling
• Green party
• Water conservation
• SWISH event (clothes swapping/ recycling)
• Solar panels
• Up-cycling, food sourcing and charity collections

Friday 27th March - Harrow on the Hill campus

• Recycling/ up-cycling
• Food sourcing
• Charity collections
• Resourcefulness/ reducing waste

Pop along to learn more about Sustainability with Harrow College.

I  was interested to see the progress that has been made on their pond and wildlife area on the Harrow Weald campus which is carefully tended by the students.  John proudly told me about the habitats students have created (see below) and the impressive pond life that was seen over the summer, although apparently the frogs still prefer the pond in the greenhouse.

55 years after Sharpville the struggle continues against racism and apartheid

Today was Stand Up to Racism Day in London, part of the UN's International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. It is celebrated on March 21st because that is the day in 1960 when 69 people were killed by police who opened fire on an anti-pass laws demonstrators in Sharpville, South Africa.

Sharpville was an event that seared itself on my memory as it did many of my generation. LINK

It was fitting that in an event  founded on marking the crimes of South African apartheid that Friends of Al Aqsa LINK were in Trafalgar Square collecting messages calling for the end of the apartheid wall in Israel that separates Palestinians from each other and from Israel.

The public were asked to write a message on the wall which included the statement from Nelson Mandela: 'Our freedom is incomplete without the freedom of the Palestinian people'.

 It was the first major outing for the recently formed Green party BME group.

Rebecca Johnson, Green candidate for Hampstead and Kilburn Stands Up to Racism

 Although I marched with the Green Party is was good to see Brent Anti-Racism Campaign on the march with their much admired banner.

Stand Up to Racism demonstration, Portland Place, Noon tomorrow (Saturday)

There will be a Green bloc on the demonstration. Green Block assembly point 11-11:30am BBC Portland Place, Central London. We will have a large BME Greens banner, so you won't be able to miss us!!

Please bring your own banners and placards!!

March route:

Brent Anti Racism Campaign  (BARC) will also be present. Look out for a big banner with this logo on it:

Finally, Christine Gilbert's top 'interim' job is advertised for permanent appointment

The role of Chief Executive of Brent, currently held in an interim capacity by Christine Gilbert, has at last been advertised nearly a year after Gilber's appointment extension date of 'after'  May 2014, which was proposed in June 2013. LINK

It was argued initially that Gilbert needed to stay to see the Council through a period of transition and to ensure stability, the efficient running of the local elections and the maintenance of the Council's good name and then later that she needed to stay to complete work on the Brent Plan.

In Septembr 2014 I was prevented from asking a question about the delayed appointment. LINK

Looking at the Candidate Information Pack LINK it appears that Council Leader Muhammed Butt believes the appointed candidate will be his personal CEO rather than the borough's.

This is what he says in the pack introduction:

Thank you for your interest in the chief executive role at Brent Council. 

I thought the best way of explaining what we are looking for in our next Chief Executive is by telling you a bit about myself. I am a Brent boy. I was born in Wembley, went to school in the borough and studied at Kilburn Polytechnic. I live with my wife and children in the ward I represent, Tokyngton. My children go to school in the borough. I have owned businesses in the borough, and worked my way up from an engineer to a Project Manager at BT. I care about the residents of Brent because I am one, and I’m proud to live and work here. 

Most people I meet around the borough tell me they enjoy living and working here too. They choose Brent as their home because it is a lively, vibrant place, richly diverse and full of opportunities. That is as true for people whose families have been here for many generations as it is for the residents we welcome from across London, the UK and the world every day. 

The talent and energy of our people, our facilities, our dynamic local enterprise, our connectivity and our location all make Brent a place of enormous potential within the powerhouse city that is London. We need to make the very best use of these assets if we are to fulfil that potential in ways that make sure everyone who lives and work here – including the most vulnerable – can improve the quality of their lives. This is a particular challenge when public services are facing dramatic cuts in funding from central government. 

I work in politics because I want to make Brent a better place and absolutely believe it is possible, even in the face of these financial challenges. I have a passionate desire to see three things for Brent: fairness; wealth and prosperity; and a strong sense of community. The inequality and injustice I see as I travel across our borough makes me angry. I want all residents to have the opportunities and the tools they need to access work that pays a fair wage. I want to attract more jobs to Brent, guarantee our children leave school with the skills they need to access work and ensure people who are unemployed have the support they need to find work again. I believe in a fair day’s pay for a fair day’s work – work must pay enough for a sustainable and comfortable life. I believe that the bonds that tie us together as a community are our greatest asset, and I want to nurture and strengthen them and foster citizenship and goodwill. 

I believe we all – the Council, its partner services, residents, businesses and local charities – have a responsibility to make this happen. Working together, we can make Brent an even better place to live and work. 

If you share my passion and commitment to improving the quality of life for all Brent residents, then we want to hear from you. 

Councillor Muhammed Butt Leader of Brent Council

Even more intriguing is Part 4 of the pack:

Part Four – Chemistry and ‘fit’ between the Chief Executive and Leader of the Council

What is the Leader like to work with?

·       Generally pretty relaxed

·       Non-bureaucratic; informal and engaging

·       Prefers informal conversations to emails; likes personal, face to face interaction

·       Likes people who just get on and deliver, and do what they say

·       Has an open-door policy; comfortable relating to staff, partners, business and the community

·       Comfortable with being checked and challenged re what he can do or what is possible

·       Trusts his gut instinct

·       A fulltime Leader of the Council – but not intrusive or interfering

What works less well with the Leader

·       Not being challenged

·       Being told ‘no’ – without a reasonable explanation

·       A Chief Executive that clearly has their own agenda

What style and way of operating will be essential in the new Chief Executive for this relationship to work?

·       Visibly creates a forward momentum for the organisation

·       Energy, enthusiasm and vitality

·       Delivery-focused, for self and for the entire organization

·       Does not need to be chased

·       Not afraid to hold the Leader in ‘check’ – but must have sound reasons for doing so, and, from time to time, be prepared for some constructive challenge back

·       An ego that is sufficiently secure not to have to ‘compete’ with the Leader – rather, sees both of them as working in real partnership for the benefit of Brent

·       ‘Politically (big ‘P’ and small ‘p’) astute and savvy – without being political

·       Lives the ‘open for business’ mantra

·       A natural partnership builder

·       Personally models the desired overall behaviours for the Council of being open, accessible, and transparent

·       Is visible; does not hide in his/her office – but gets out there within the organisation and amongst our communities

·       Easily gains and maintains the respect of members, partners and stakeholders

·       Recognises that being CX of such a large and complex organisation can never be a 9-5 job

·       Ready to ‘let things go’, in the sense that the Council cannot do everything, and many traditional activities may now be better delivered by or through others 

·       Absolutely ‘must’ be sensitive to diversity issues and understand how that impacts (on a day to day basis) on what the Council does, how it is viewed by citizens, and how it operates

So much emphasis on the 'leader' and his qualities suggests an expectation that Muhammed Butt will be around for a while yet...

No information is given on the salary exception to describe it as 'Competitive'   Our old friend Bloomsbury Resourcing are involved as advisors. There is no information on the appointment process itself and how the recruitment panel will be constituted*. Clearly an important consideration for the Labour Group as they approach the AGM in May.

* Since first publication I have heard that Cllr Suresh Kansagra, leader of the 'official' Conservative opposition will be on the appointment panel.

 

Closing date:                                                            10 April

Longlisting:                                                              by 17 April                              

Preliminary interviews + assessments:                 W/C 27 April

Shortlisting:                                                              13 May                        

Final panel:                                                                18/19 May

Confidential Discussion

If you would like to have an informal/confidential discussion about this role, please contact our advisors: Hamish Davidson LINK on: 07932 698807, Shahidul Miah on 07581 230171 or Leon Ward on: 07871 044649, or email them at:

hamish.davidson@davidsonpartners.com

smiah@bloomsburyresourcing.co.uk

leon.ward@davidsonpartners.com

The office landline is: 020 7183 0363

Anti forced academisation strike well supported

Parents and support  staff joined teachers on a strike picket line on Wednesday at St Andrew and St Francis C of E Primary School in Willesden.

Teachers from the NUT and ATL were striking against  the Interim Executive Board's plan to academise the school following a criticval Ofsted report. Staff and parents argue that this is unnecessary as improvements are already in progress.

Next week's General Election Hustings in Brent

Hampstead & Kilburn hustings at Tricycle Theatre, Tuesday 24 March 2015 @ 7:30pm

Hampstead & Kilburn Hustings

hosted by the Tricycle Theatre and Age UK (Brent & Camden)

Tuesday 24 March 2015, 7.30pm

Parliamentary candidates for the Hampstead & Kilburn constituency debate issues and policy affecting children, young people and older people in the area and answer questions from constituents.

Questions must be submitted in advance to creativelearning@tricycle.co.uk, or in person on arrival at the event.

Chair: Geoff Martin, Editor in Chief, Ham & High

Confirmed candidates: Dr Rebecca Johnson (Green), Simon Marcus (Cons), Maajid Nawaz (Lib Dem), Tulip Siddiq (Lab), Magnus Nielsen (UKIP)

This hustings is free to attend, and it is primarily intended for residents in Hampstead & Kilburn constituency.