Wednesday, 25 September 2024

Volunteering opportunities to help London's green transition

 From London National Park City

We’re excited to reveal that London National Park City has launched an interactive volunteer map and directory, highlighting volunteering opportunities across the city's 32 boroughs. The map - which has been co-created with the input of over 100 individuals and organisations (many in the charity space) - is still under development, and will receive regular updates and evolve over time. 

Volunteering is a crucial accelerator in the National Park City movement and London's transition to becoming a greener, healthier, wilder city. The map aims to serve as a go-to resource for those seeking to give back to local initiatives, fostering community engagement and supporting the important work of not-for-profit organisations across London.

We invite you to take a moment to explore the map and encourage you to share it with your network. The page includes a form to submit any new volunteering opportunities you may have.

If you take up a volunteer placement found via the map we’d love you to share your experience with us by tagging us on our socials or dropping us a line at hello@nationalparkcity.org.

BREAKING: Wembley High Road reconstruction works delayed until January 2025

 

The controversial works that would have closed part of Wembley High Road from mid-October have been delayed until January 2025.

This is because TfL requested sufficient time to organise diversions and mitigations for the many bus routes affected by the closure. Brent Council also took into account loss of trade for local shopkeepers over the Christmas and Diwali festivals.

There will be full closure of the part of Wembley High Road and Wembley Triangle marked in red above. The works are expected to take 16 weeks and start on January 6th 2025.

Brent Council will place further details on its website.

The works will be complicated by the construction taking place at the Ujima House and Fairgate House sites, the green section of the High Road on the map above. How will construction lorries turn at what will now be a dead end?  Works are also getting underway on the Copland/Cecil Avenue site.

Although we can assume that the 83 and 182 buses will be able to divert along Park Lane it is unclear what will happen with the 18 route. This route between Harlesden and Wembley is much used by school pupils.


Brent opposition parties call in decisions made by Barham Park Trust Committee

Opposition parties on Brent Council have combined to call-in decisions made by Barham Park Trustees and Brent Officers regarding property in Barham Park. The Resources and Public Realm Scrutiny Committee will consider the issue next week at a special meeting on Wednesday October 2nd. LINK

Call-in requires the setting out of concerns over a decision and suggestions for alternative action.

One of the central suggestions is:

Refer this decision back to the Trust Committee to reconsider with a recommendation that the Council should once again review the Governance arrangements for the Trust and appoint Trustees with sufficient knowledge, experience and interest who will manage the affairs of the Trust better than has been done in recent years.

 

Delegation to Council Officers should also be deferred until this has been done and until the losses made by the Trust, as a result of the delegation of powers to officers, have been identified and evaluated and a revised set of duties and responsibilities have been listed to avoid similar failures in the future.

The call-in request is embedded below:

Monday, 23 September 2024

So what property does Brent Council have as review gets underway?

 I remarked in a recent article that some time ago Brent Council was not sure  of all the property it owned. There are two documents on the Council websute that may be of interest. The first is from 2021 and the second, unfortunately like many documents on the website, is undated. In the light of the Property Review and the controversy surrounding lease review, these may be of interest.

Some of the sites listed have already been redeveloped such as the Learie Constantine Centre in Willesden.

 

This undated list has some figures but they are likely to be well out of date. I will endeavour to get more up to date documents from the Council.

Zoë Garbett response to Met’s ‘Race Action Plan’: If anti-racism starts now, how have officers been policing in the meantime?

In response to the Metropolitan Police (Met) announcement of a new Race Action Plan, which promises a “communities-first, frontline focused, inclusive” policing model for Londoners, Green Party London Assembly Member Committee Zoë Garbett issued the following statement:

I want to express my respect for the efforts of the many Londoners who contributed to the development of this new policy. 

However, I am deeply concerned that it has taken the Met almost two years to take a stand against racism after Baroness Casey's initial report. Additionally, I fear that this new plan fails to address the most important demands of Londoners. 

The data is clear. Londoners do not want safer strip-searching policies for children: they want to prohibit strip-searching of all children. 

Overcoming the entrenched racism in the Met will require much more than just a shiny press release.

Report Finds that “Affordable” Housing Increases Rents for Low-income Londoners

 

 

As the Labour Party Conference meets in Liverpool and Brent's lead member for Regeneration also takes on a leading role in the national Labour Yimby (Yes in May Backyard) Group a well-researched report has been published that raises doubts about the strategy.


The YIMBY Group seeks to label any opposition to massive housing developments as NIMBYs (Not in My Backyard) - self-interested communities interested only in maintaining their own privilege - the Public Interest Law Centre report shows that the issue is more nuanced.

Although Cllr Tatler has argued that any increase in housing supply in Brent will lower rents through market mechanisms, according to My London Office of National Statistic data shows that Brent has seen the steepest rise in rents over the past 12 months of any local area in England or Wales.

The average rent is now £2,121 per month - a rise of 33.6% since 2023. This compares with a London average rise of 9.6%. 



 From the Public Interest Law Centre website

 

“Immediate action is needed to adopt policies aligned with UN standards of affordability. Time is running out, and the impact on children in temporary accommodation is especially urgent.”

 

PILC has launched a report that has found that estate regeneration projects that feature demolition routinely underproduce truly affordable housing for low-income Londoners and increase rents of council and social housing by an average of more than £80 per week. 

 

We commissioned Dr Joe Penny of UCL’s Urban Laboratory to analyse six of the ‘best’ and ‘worst’ regeneration projects across three London Boroughs including The Aylesbury Estate and The Heygate Estate.  

 

The report has found that the word “affordable” is used with no consideration for what is truly affordable for people who need these housing options the most and there will be a net loss of 2,151 truly affordable council homes. 

 

What is cross-subsidy estate regeneration? 

 

The cross-subsidy approach to estate regeneration has been the dominant model of estate regeneration for the past two decades and looks set to continue under the Labour government. 

It is when council estates are demolished to make way for expensive properties which are put on the market or rented privately. In theory, the new private homes fund the construction of “affordable” homes on the sites. 

 

“As legal aid lawyers, we witness daily injustices stemming from the housing crisis. This research, for the first time, clearly demonstrates the damage caused by current “affordable” housing policies and the push for demolition, which disproportionately affects many of our brave, working-class clients” said PILC’s legal caseworker and community legal organiser Saskia O’Hara.  

 



Challenging the narrative 

 

The new Labour government and the Greater London Authority maintain that cross-subsidy models are the answer to the housing crisis. However this report shows that it is making it worse. 

 

“The findings from this report evidence the urgent need for a fundamental rethink of estate regeneration in London” said Dr Joe Penny who wrote the report.  

 

“The current cross-subsidy model is badly failing council and social housing tenants, as well as those on housing waiting lists. Truly affordable homes – that is, homes that cost no more than 30% of net household incomes – are not being replaced in sufficient quantities; social and affordable rents are increasing beyond what those on the lowest incomes can afford; and structurally sound buildings are being wasted amid a deepening housing emergency.” 

 

Using the evidence in the fight for affordable housing 

 

To make the evidence as accessible as possible, PILC have created a short illustrated guide to the report and a video highlighting the top 5 things you need to know about council house building in London.  

 

These resources are designed to empower residents facing displacement from demolition of their housing estate and communities facing gentrification because of regeneration plans to challenge the plans with hard facts. 


We’ve been active in supporting local residents and grassroots campaigns to challenge injustice from gentrification for many years. |We use the law as a tool to assist, support and empower communities at the frontline of gentrification. 

We work to support local residents and campaigns to shift the power balance away from demolition and cross-subsidy regeneration back to the people who live there. 

As movement lawyers, we seek to be on the ground with campaigners, offering legal services as just one tool or tactic amongst others in a campaign. 

 

Download What Golden Era: A guide to help challenge estate demolition plans with hard facts. 

 

Download The promise of cross-subsidy: Why estate demolition cannot solve London’s housing emergency. 

 

Watch What Golden Era? 5 things you need to know about council house building in London. 

 


Brent Council accused of double standards over Barham property rents

Cllr Paul Lorber has returned to the issues revealed in the Barham Park Trustees accounts in an email to Kim Wright, Brent Coucil Chief Executive Officer:

You will recall that last year when challenging the accounts and the poor way officers were managing the Charity’s property and finances, I made the specific point that rent reviews in line with Leases in place were not implemented as a result of Trustee and Officer failures to notice.

 

I raised and pursued this issue despite knowing that this would cost Friends of Braham Library (an organisation running a Community Library in Barham Park of which I am a Trustee) substantial amount of money.

 

I was proved to be right and the Property Unit eventually addressed this oversight and pursued the rent reviews and backdated the collection of the correct amounts due. The extra amount due to the Trust up to 31 March 2024 came to around £20,000.  Friends of Barham Library’s rent increased by around £750 a year and we paid over almost £2,000 backdated amount.

 

I get the impression that one of the large tenants has not yet paid the extra £15,000 or so due to them because of the failure to uplift their rent from 2019. 

 

The Barham Park Trustees have now agreed to embark on a commercial approach in dealing with the buildings in Barham Park. The intent is to renew leases which the Council Officers decided to run out - deliberately or by oversight - for a limited number of years only. 

 

The new approach will have a serious impact on some of the small charities operating in Barham Park including the Barham Veterans Club who were originally set up by a partnership between Wembley and Middlesex County Council as far back as 1947. The days when the Veterans could use their premises free of charge and were supported with a £4,000 a year grant are long gone.

 

I will pursue the issue of commercial rents another time. My concern in this email is the double standards employed by Brent Council when dealing with itself as compared to how they deal with the voluntary sector and charities.

 

The affairs of the Barham Park Trust are managed by Brent Council Officers. While ultimate responsibility lies with the Trustees - currently all Labour Councillors including the Leader - they have effectively washed their hands of responsibility and delegated virtually everything to officers.

 

Any arrangements between the Trust and the Council have to be at “arm’s length” and not on any favourable terms.

 

The Council has been allowed to lease one Unit in the Barham Buildings for a Children Centre. That Children Centre was closed many years ago and the supposed replacement use and activities of the unit is highly questionable.

 

The Lease prepared by Council Officers between the Trust and the Council is highly unusual.

 

While Leases with 3rd party charities or community organisations have an upward only rent review every 5 years - and I have high lighted extra rent this generates above - surprisingly the Lease with the Council has no such clause and no rent increase has been applied.

 

This is clearly very odd and very unfair. While expecting charities to pay more the Council has ensured that it does not have to. The Council has a clear conflict of interest but has also clearly failed to follow the simple ‘arm’s length’ rule to ovoid it.

 

Officers also ensured that the Council benefit is amplified allowing the lease to expire while continuing to pay the old rent rather than a newly and independently determined market rent.

 

So, while imposing market rents on others the Council has ensured that the impact of pursuing a market rent policy is avoided by the Council itself.

 

This clearly is not right. The Barham Park Charity has lost out as a result of this cavalier approach while Charity tenants have been treated less favourably while also being threatened with eviction if failing to agree to pay market rents.

 

As I was denied the right to speak at the recent Trust Meeting, I am making my concerns public.

 

I look forward to an equal public explanation and justification as to why in relation to the Unit the Council leases from Barham Park Trust the Council is not treated the same as everyone else.

 

Paul Lorber

 

 


Friday, 20 September 2024

Average Brent rent has rise by more than a third since 2023

According to My London Office of National Statistic data shows that Brent has seen the steepest rise in rents over the past 12 months of any local area in England or Wales.

The average rent is now £2,121 per month - a rise of 33.6% since 2023. This compares with a London average rise of 9.6%.