WEMBLEY MATTERS News and views on local politics, the environment, climate change, culture and local history
I am so sorry to bring you the sad news that London Now has reported that the young victim has died.
A London Ambulance Service spokesperson said:
We were called at 2:25pm today (25 August) to reports of a stabbing at Brent Civic Centre, Wembley, HA9.
We sent an ambulance crew, paramedics in fast response cars and an incident response officer. We also dispatched London’s Air Ambulance.
Sadly, despite the best efforts of our crews, a patient was pronounced dead at the scene.
Specialist medical helicopter lands nearby (Photo: Wembley Matters)
Outside the Civic Centre side entrance (Photo: Wembley Matters)
Police and medic vehicles outside the main entrance (Photo: Wembley Matters)
UPDATE THE AMBULANCE SERVICE HAS CONFIRMED THAT THE VICTIM HAS DIED
There has been a stabbing in the Civic Centre. The building is closed and everyone is being asked to stay away from the area. Staff have been evacuated.
An oberver said that the library was school holiday busy and mothers had to shelter their children's eyes from the upsetting scene.
Matthew Ames said on Twitter:
I was in the library on the mezzanine level when it happened, and from what I could see from the balcony was somebody on the floor and splatters of blood. I have no more information than that.
Also on Twitter Arooj Tiwana said:
I was at the exact same place where the stabbing happened and had gone up to the first floor about ten minutes earlier, when a staff member walked into the meeting room and told us to evacuate because someone had been stabbed. What I witnessed on the way down was unreal.
Upcoming events - note number of bus diversions and timing of road closures
This summer has been marked by an extraordinary number of concerts at Wembley Stadium following the decision of Brent Council to allow more sporting events at the stadium. A concert even supplanted a major football match earlier this month.
Since June, until today, there have been 30 concert days.
The disruption of road closures, bus diversions and route curtailments has hit the newer residents of Wembley Park as much as the longer term residents of the wider Wembley area.
Now Wembley Park Residents Association is taking up the matter with a letter to the appropriate authorities setting out the issues and potential mitigations shared in their community which they think may be of interest to the wider Wembley community.:
If you would like to sign the letter write to: Wembley Park Residents Association Committee Email: wembleypark.ra@gmail.com with your name, road or area (optional) and the date. Respond by 5pm on Monday September 7th.
In addition to transport, Event Days also impinge on Wembley Park residents in another way impacting on mobile phone signals and WiFi connections that plummet, making it difficult to communicate with friends and family
Open Letter from Wembley Residents
Request for a Review of Event-Day Transport Arrangements and Their Impact on Local Residents
Dear Sir/Madam,
We, the undersigned residents of Wembley, are writing to express our growing concern regarding the increasing disruption caused by event-day road closures and bus diversions associated with Wembley Stadium and the surrounding entertainment venues.
We are proud to live in an area that hosts world-renowned sporting, cultural and entertainment events, and we recognise the importance these events bring to the local economy and London's international reputation. We also appreciate that public safety must remain the highest priority when managing large crowds.
However, as the number and frequency of events continue to increase—particularly on weekdays—the impact on the daily lives of residents has become increasingly difficult to manage.
For many of us, these disruptions are no longer occasional inconveniences but have become a regular part of everyday life. Public transport is our primary means of travelling to and from work, attending medical appointments, taking children to and from school or childcare, caring for relatives, shopping for essential groceries, and accessing local services. On event days, bus services are frequently diverted or suspended for extended periods, resulting in significantly longer journeys, uncertainty, and lengthy walks to temporary bus stops.
The effects extend beyond commuting. Friends and family are often discouraged from visiting because parking restrictions are extensive and public transport journeys become considerably longer during events. This has a direct impact on residents' social and family lives. Working parents frequently experience delays collecting children from childcare after work, whilst older residents and those with disabilities or reduced mobility face additional barriers to accessing healthcare and other essential services.
As residents, we contribute to our community through council tax and support local businesses throughout the year. Whilst we accept that some disruption is unavoidable, we believe residents should also have a reasonable expectation of being able to travel, work and enjoy family life with minimal disruption.
Wembley is no longer simply an events destination—it is home to a large and growing residential community. We believe that transport planning should reflect both of these important roles equally.
Immediate Improvements
We respectfully ask Brent Council, Transport for London and Wembley Stadium to review the current arrangements and consider practical measures that could significantly reduce disruption while maintaining public safety, including:
- Maintaining at least one dedicated bus corridor during event days wherever it is safe to do so.
- Limiting road closures to the shortest period operationally necessary before and after events.
- Introducing resident shuttle buses connecting residential areas with Wembley Park, Wembley Central and other key transport hubs.
- Improving advance communication regarding road closures, bus diversions and alternative travel arrangements.
- Considering the impact of weekday events on commuters, school collections, healthcare appointments and other essential journeys.
- Regularly reviewing diversion routes to ensure they minimise disruption to residents while maintaining effective crowd management.
Long-Term Strategic Solutions
As Wembley continues to expand as both a residential neighbourhood and an international events destination, we believe it is timely to undertake a comprehensive review of the area's transport infrastructure.
We ask Brent Council, Transport for London and relevant partners to explore long-term solutions that better separate event-related traffic from residential traffic. Options for consideration could include:
- Assessing the feasibility of a dedicated access route, flyover or highway connection between Wembley Stadium and the A406 North Circular Road, allowing event traffic and coaches to access the stadium without travelling through residential streets.
- Reviewing the surrounding road network to identify opportunities to reduce the volume of event traffic using local roads.
- Improving traffic management systems and navigation routing so that event traffic is directed via appropriate strategic routes rather than residential streets wherever possible.
- Ensuring that future regeneration and transport planning gives equal consideration to the needs of Wembley residents alongside those of the stadium and entertainment venues.
We recognise that these options would require detailed technical studies, consultation and investment. However, with Wembley continuing to grow, now is the appropriate time to begin planning transport infrastructure that is fit for both its residents and its role as an international events destination.
Our Request
We respectfully request that Brent Council, Transport for London and Wembley Stadium:
- Undertake a comprehensive review of event-day transport arrangements.
- Consult with local residents on the impact of current road closures and bus diversions.
- Publish the findings of that review together with proposed improvements.
- Develop both short-term operational changes and a long-term transport strategy that better balances the needs of residents with those of major events.
We firmly believe it is possible to maintain Wembley as one of the world's leading sporting and entertainment destinations whilst also ensuring that those who call Wembley home are able to live, work and travel with minimal disruption.
We appreciate your consideration of these concerns and look forward to your response.
From a Wembley Matters story six years ago - has there been improvement since?
Following the story on Wembley Matters LINK on the additions to the Veolia contracts, Cllr Paul Lorber commented;
Labour Councillors who signed up to a very bad contract including their so called "intelligence led cleaning" idea now want to pay more money for some extra service - even before they checked if Veolia are already doing what they are being paid for.
Liberal Democrat Councillors have "called in" the decision, with the support of one Green Councillor, to Scrutiny Committee on 2 September - so the decision can be properly scrutinised to clarify what improvements to our dirty streets will be made and whether the £1.5 million extra is the best use of the money.
In our view the whole issue of street cleaning, recycling and dumping in Brent needs to be looked at - but the 'call-in' is restricted to looking at the areas of work included in the £1.54 million proposed.
Pete Firmin explores the ongoing significance of a dispute that began fifty years ago this week. First published by Labour Hub. Reproduced with the permission of the author and publisher.
2026 is an important year for the commemoration of significant British class struggles. As well as marking the General Strike of 1926, it is 50 years since the start of the Grunwick strike in NW London.
But why did a strike of a few hundred workers at a small firm in Dollis Hill have national importance? Why was it frequently an item on the national television news? Why did it see more arrests in an industrial dispute than at any time since the General Strike of 1926?
The Grunwick strike was extraordinary because the strike of mainly women of South Asian heritage received widespread support from the trade union movement. Previous strikes by migrant workers, such as at Imperial Typewriters in Leicester and Mansfield Hosiery in Loughborough got no such support but rather the hostility of other workers and little support from the wider movement.
Grunwick was a photographic processing firm in Dollis Hill. In the days before smart phones, cameras contained reels of film which had to be sent away to be turned into photos after taking the pictures, and these were then sent back.
Working conditions were dire, overtime was compulsory and often without warning. Pay was lower than the London average..
There was an attempt in 1973 to unionise Grunwick workers but it failed when they were sacked.
On 20th August 1976, Devshi Bhudia was sacked and three other young men walked out in protest. Jayaben Desai and her son Sunil walked out in protest at this unacceptable treatment by management. Within days other workers joined the picket line. The strikers were advised by the TUC to join APEX, the Association of Professional, Executive, Clerical and Computer Staff which declared the strike official.
From the start, the strikers had the support of Brent Trades Council, whose headquarters were close to the factory. That building became the strike HQ, and it was there a strike committee was first elected on 24th August.
The strikers faced the extreme hostility of Grunwick’s management throughout. They offered to take the strikers back if they dropped the demand for union recognition. When the strikers rejected this, the company sacked them on 1st September. ACAS, the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service, offered to mediate: management refused.
George Ward, the Anglo-Indian owner of Grunwick, got important support from the National Association For Freedom (NAFF, now the Freedom Association), founded in 1975, and gained public prominence through its anti-trade union campaigns. John Gorst, Tory MP for Hendon North, a pre-Thatcher Thatcherite, also assisted Ward alongside NAFF.
The first demonstration in support of the strikers took place on 10th September, and on the same day Jayaben Desai and another woman were injured by a management car.. Arrests of pickets began in the same month.
In October 1976, APEX referred the dispute to ACAS; however, Grunwick management refused ACAS access to those still working (many of whom were said to favour unionisation). ACAS recommended union recognition, but Grunwick refused.
At the start of November postal workers refused to deliver Grunwick mail, a crucial part of their operation, After court action, the postal workers backed down.
From March 1977, picketing was stepped up and got widespread support across the trade union movement. Strikers picketed the TUC General Council for the withdrawal of essential services (gas, electricity, telephone) to Grunwick, but this was refused, other unions arguing they would need to be indemnified against court action. At its conference, APEX, hardly a militant union, called for the cutting of supplies to Grunwick.
In mid-June a week of action began with a mass picket and 84 arrests in one day. More Grunwick workers came out on strike and Cricklewood postal workers began an unofficial boycott of Grunwick mail. As mass pickets reached 1,500, printers at the Sunday Telegraph refused to print an article critical of the strike. Labour MP Audrey Wise and Yorkshire miners’ leader Arthur Scargill were arrested on the picket line. Busloads of miners had come to support the picket from around the country.
At the end of June, Labour Home Secretary Merlyn Rees praised the police on a visit to the picket line. This was despite widespread support in the Labour Party, both locally and up to the National Executive Committee, for the strike.
In July ’77, the postal workers were suspended, which meant no postal deliveries at all in the London NW2 area. The postal workers’ action was called off at the end of the month only after they were instructed to do so by their union leadership and fined by the union for initially disobeying.
During the postal blockage, NAFF ran `Operation Pony Express’ to get mail from and to Grunwick out..
On 11th July a mass picket and demonstration were supported by 20,000.
Recourse to the law had mixed results for the strikers. A court of enquiry under Lord Scarman was set up at the end of June ‘77, and called in August for union recognition and reinstatement of the strikers. In mid-July the High Court supported the ACAS report calling for recognition, but at the end of July the Appeal Court overturned the High Court decision and declared the ACAS report invalid. In December, the House of Lords, at the time Britain’s highest judicial body, confirmed the decision against ACAS. Throughout, when decisions went against them, Grunwick refused to comply.
Mass pickets of up to 3,000 continued, but at the end of September Roy Grantham, APEX General Secretary, attacked the call for a resumption of mass pickets, and the strike committee were threatened with disciplinary action if they supported them.
Despite this, further mass pickets took place in October and November. On 7th November there were 113 arrests and 243 pickets were injured.
On 21st November ’77, strikers held a hunger strike outside the TUC HQ calling for support.
With Grunwick management adamant they would not allow recognition, the law apparently against them, and a lack of official union support, the strike committee announced the end of the strike on 14th July 1978.
The timeline alone does not give the full flavour of the dispute: the resilience of the strikers, the magnificent solidarity shown by the wider movement, up against police brutality and the obstinacy of a company determined to deny its workers their basic rights, backed up by a ruling class determined to beat down the workers’ movement.
When Thatcher came to power in 1979, she quickly moved to restrict the rights of unions even further, something our leaders have refused to seriously challenge over the intervening decades.
The Grunwick strike showed the immense ability of workers to resist and the power of solidarity across sectoral and, importantly, racial divides. But it also showed how when it comes to the crunch, we can’t rarely rely on our union leaders – or the law – to back us in that fight. We have to be prepared to fight on – and break the law – when they refuse.
Learning more:
There are a wealth of resources about the Grunwick strike available:
Books:
Grunwick: The Workers’ Story, by Jack Dromey and Graham Taylor (Lawrence & Wishart).
Films:
The Great Grunwick Strike 1976-78, Brent Trades Union Council
The Year of the Beaver https://youtu.be/RBJZ9hkHmxo
This year, the 50th anniversary of the start of the strike, there are several commemorative exhibitions, including at the Working Class Museum and Library and at London Metropolitan University.
Over the weekend 17/18 October, Brent Trades Council is organising an event commemorating both the General Strike and the Grunwick Strike and discussing issues facing trades unionists today. For more details contact petefirmin@btinternet.com
Pete Firmin is Vice Chair of Brent Trades Council.
*Image: https://openverse.org/image/e51b2bd3-c06c-4bcd-9e01-1107f9cface3?q=grunwick+strike&p=2 “Grunwick Factories Strike Mural by Anna Ferrie and the Community, Chapter Road, Willesden” by Loz Flowers is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.
A recent dump on the Pilgrims Way Council Estate
A recent decision by a Brent Cabinet member became effective on Thursday and its impact will be watched with interest by residents.
Cllr Promise Knight, lead member for Cleaner Streets, Transport and Public Realm, after consultation with Council leader Muhammed Butt, has agreed a £1.54m extension to the £275m Veolia waste contract for a 12 month period.
The changes address some of the issues raised by residents, including dumps on council estates made by outsiders, as demonstrated above.
Any extension of the additional services beyond the 12 months will be subject to review, including the necessary finances being available. The cost of this variation of the Contract will be funded from £3m growth awarded to Public Realm as part of the budget setting process. This was awarded as an investment in Public Realm and Street Cleansing to deliver clearer and more visible improvements in cleanliness across the Borough.
The proposed changes/additions
(a) To include the provision of two small mechanical street sweepers to address street cleansing. Following recent funding from NCIL, mechanical sweepers were trialled for additional street cleaning, and they have been key in keeping Brent’s side roads and residential roads clean and have made a huge difference to the look and feel of the public realm.
(b) To widen the scope of the contract to include 5 additional litter pickers in each Brent Connect area to cover town centres and high streets cleaning. Litter pickers were another feature trialled recently. This brought in a significant change in the borough cleanliness. Litter pickers are important as they pick up surface litter that would be missed, as many roads are swept once a month even with rapid response crew help. This proposal of extra litter pickers operating on weekdays and weekends to cover from Friday- Tuesday, will help deal with extra pressure and demands generated over the weekends.
(c) To widen the scope of contract to include nighttime street cleaning and waste collection. Brent currently has a trial in place for nighttime street cleaning/waste collection. This overnight service from 9.00pm till 6.00am has improved the look and feel of our town centres in terms of overnight dumped waste. The borough looks much cleaner in the morning and the morning collection crew are able to complete their rounds efficiently and on time. The service feels that this initiative will immensely help towards maintaining a cleaner borough.
(d) To widen the scope to include a dedicated Persistent Organic Pollutants (PoPS) waste collection 7 days a week. In 2024, PoPS legislation came into effect and PoPS could not be mixed with other waste and necessitated a separate arrangement for PoPs collection. Due to the urgency and limited time period to put arrangements in place, a rapid response crew from Wembley North was re-directed to collect PoPs instead without incurring additional costs to the Council. The PoPs collection has worked so far but this has had an impact in street cleansing standards in the North of Wembley. Therefore, the service will benefit from having a separate collection crew and bringing the Wembley North crew back to meet the core contract requirement.
(e) To widen the scope to include waste collection from unregistered land. The NCIL project funding for waste on private land clearance has helped neighbourhood managers to get ad hoc cleaning done on parts of land that gets neglected and becomes an issue for ASB or a hot spot for dumping waste. If these ad hoc services are agreed and arranged with Veolia then it will help neighbourhood managers to keep on top without it turning into a big problem requiring huge resources for clearance.
(f) To widen the scope to include a weekend rapid response street cleansing crew. In the current contract there are no pick-up crews collecting from residential areas during weekends. Due to the high volume of waste and fly-tip events occurring over the weekend period, this results in delayed responses and backlogs that significantly impact service delivery and Monday operations. The accumulation of waste over two days creates operational challenges and increases the workload for weekday crews. The introduction of two morning shift pick-up crews to collect from residential areas, with one crew covering the South and one crew covering the North of the Borough will help keep our streets clean. The shift will operate from 07:00 until 13:30.
(g) To widen the scope to trial an additional resource of a vehicle and two crew members for our Brent Housing Estates. There is a requirement for a dedicated service to support Brent’s housing estates in the collection of Fly-tipped and excess waste. Due to the high volume of this type of waste on our estates, the existing in-house service is unable to cope. Officers have worked with Veolia to come up with a solution which would cover these services on 15 of our estates which needs additional service. This service will consists of 1 x 26t tonne RCV and 1 x Caged vehicle (Rapid Response) and a supervisor. The RCV will be used to collect Fly-tips (non POPS) and excess waste. The Caged vehicle will be used to clear POPS items as well as provide a rapid response element which can be quickly dispatched to attended to priority jobs. The supervisor is needed to co-ordinate the teams and act as a direct contact between Brent Council and the crews. The service is proposed to run for a trial of 12 months, Monday – Friday during normal working hours.
Costs breakdown
Each recommendation contains the 12 months estimated costs as listed below and are based on the hourly rates provided in the contract. Following the 12 months period, viability of projects and improvements made will be assessed and a longer-term plan for individual projects will be discussed with senior members and finance to establish budgets and additional contract expenditure.
(a) To include the provision of two small mechanical street sweeper to address street cleansing -£150k
(b) To widen the scope of the contract to include 5 additional litter pickers in each Brent Connect area to cover town centres and high streets cleansing- £250k.
(c) To widen the scope of contract to include Nighttime Street cleansing and waste collection- £120k.
(d) To widen the scope to include a dedicated Persistent Organic Pollutants (PoPS) waste collection 7 days a week -£180k.
(e) To widen the scope to include waste collection from unregistered land-£150k.
(f) To widen the scope to include a weekend rapid response street cleansing crew- £140k.
(g) To widen the scope to trial an additional resource of a vehicle and two crew members for our Brent Housing Estates -£550k
Climate Change and Environmental Considerations
The dedicated Persistent Organic Pollutants waste collection service helps the Council manage hazardous waste safely and in compliance with environmental regulations. This will reduce the risk of pollutants entering the environment.
The inclusion of waste collection from unregistered land will also help address accumulations of waste that can negatively impact neurodiversity and public health.
Whilst the additional cleansing and collection services may result in some associated carbon emissions, these impacts are expected to be outweighed by the environmental benefits that come from improved waste management, cleaner public spaces, faster responses to environmental incidents, and reduced levels of littering.
The pond in Union Park South
Quintain were very proud of their water feature in Union Park when it opened, but today it is a sad sight surrounded by temporary fencing with just a little water flanked by unpleasant looking scum. There are several ponds that go down to Engineer's Way in Union Park South starting with a children's paddling pool at the top and a water, several ponds and water cascade at Engineer's Way.
Now that South section is dry or very low and closed off. Quintain told Wembley Matters that blanket weed had clogged and damaged the pumping system and the ponds had to be emptied for repairs to take place:
Affinity Water introduced a Temporary Use Ban (TUB)/hosepipe ban, in the middle of scheduled maintenance of Union Park's SP04 water feature. Said maintenance was required to repair damage to the pumps caused by blanket weed being drawn into the system. Unfortunately, the TUB now prevents us from refilling SP04, or any other water feature.
The following notice will be displayed soon when it is back from the printers:
Meanwhile the newer lower section of the park, Union Park North, that has been designed to be more natural, does have water and ducks have made it their home. The wild flower meadows in the North Park have proved more resilient to the drought than lawns would have been. It is open to the public and was being enjoyed by many when I visited.
Sandra White (Photo: Brent Council)
Sandra White, chosen by Brent Council to head up the Pride in Place project, added some context to the Next Door link to the Wembley Matters article published recently.
I am both honoured and humbled by taking on this role. The Community Panel will choose how the funds are spent - No one individual will have power, and the ideas will be presented and put forward by local residents - Obviously we can't and won't do everything, but we will have a good go at it.
Pride in Place Programme funding over a 10-year period is split into 63% capital and 37% revenue. Capital Funding (63%) is money used for physical assets and infrastructure.
Usage: Building or upgrading community facilities, parks, sports grounds, high streets, and public spaces. Revenue Funding (37%) is Money used for day-to-day operational costs and services.
Usage: Running local programs, community engagement events, staffing, and civic capacity building.
This a huge role, a daunting role, but this investment can be used to make a difference and by coming together and taking action together we can hopefully build a sustainable foundation for change for the future of Harlesden. Just to add... I'm not a politician but I am a grafter, and I am here to serve. Also just to make this clear - this is a voluntary role - there is a £5K stipend, so not a paid post.
Funded by City Challenge money to encourage SMEs in Harlesden (Photo: Brent Council)
The Harlesden City Challenge project, part of an urban regeneration programme initiated by Tory Minister Michel Heseltine in the early 1990s, may have lessons for the Pride in Place project. Gerry Davis was the Chief Executive of Harlesden City Challenge and was based in Challenge House in Harlesden High Street.
£150,000 was spent on artworks some of which still remain scattered around Harlesden, but the real question is what wider impact did the project have on employment, social cohesion on equality.
The £37.5m 4 year project is claimed to have created 2,000 jobs, mainly in Park Royal and improvements in housing in Stonebridge and Harlesden. It funded High Street improvements including new street furniture and public art and restored and expanded adult education and community services at the Victorian Morland Gardens villa. See Philip Grant's article HERE.
Time permitting I hope to look deeper in the City Challenge experience
