Falling school rolls - the challenge ahead with mergers and closures possible

 In the old days of cinema the programme would be shown back to back. If you arrived late you would sit tight and after the B feature, adverts etc, watch the main film from the beginning, until one of you muttered, 'This is where we came in' and you'd scurry out.

 

'This is where I came in', is how I feel about the present school places crisis. In the mid-70s pupil numbers dropped, termed 'falling rolls', and school closures and mergers were on the agenda. I had just started at a small Church of England  primary school in North Paddington. As the 'last one in' I was selected for compulsory redeployment. This meant a transfer to another primary school and despite parental and union pressure I was moved on. There was an education authority that took in the whole of London (the Inner London Education Authority -ILEA) so there was considerable scope for redeployment. Thatcher and Tebbit abolished the ILEA on idelogical grounds so now each borough is an education authority - so narrowing the scope for redeployment.

 

Yesterday the umbrella organisation for London boroughs issues a report LINK on the crisis of falling rolls in London boroughs. London Councils explain:

 

London’s birth rate is the main reason for the decrease in demand for school places. Between 2012-2021 there has been a 17% decrease of the birth rate in London, which is a reduction of 23,225 live births across the capital.  It is not unusual for London’s birth rate to fluctuate, however it is having, and will continue to have, an impact on demand for school places which schools, boroughs and the DfE will need to manage.

 

There are further factors which affect the number of applications for school places in London. For the last few years, boroughs have also experienced shifts in their local child population as a result of families leaving London for example due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Brexit and cost of living crisis. 

 

As a result of the reduction in school places having an impact on the amount of funding a school receives, schools will have to make further difficult decisions to balance their budgets. This could mean narrowing the curriculum, offering fewer after school clubs or reducing the number of teaching and support staff. In some cases, school leaders and local authority leaders will have to make difficult decisions to merge or close schools.

 

Is closure inevitable? It is if you accept the current funding structure but it could be a rare opportunity to reduce class sizes.  Back at my first school class sizes had reduced from 35/30 to around 18. Some of the veteran teachers said that this was the first time they felt they were really teaching, rather than just performing crowd control. Suddenly class sizes were similar to those in the private sector offering similar opportunities for individual tuition. The economic arguments were the main factor behind closures etc but other arguments were deployed by the management and inspectorate: Classes of 18 didn't have the same dynamic and buzz of big classes,  there was not enough expertise across a smaller staff and therefore in a smaller school to ensure curriculum development across all the subjects. 

 

The process of closure and amlgamation has already started in Brent and a review of overall provision is in progress. The Brentfield Road Leopold site is ear-marked for closure LINK , Strathcona site of Roe Green Primary has been closed LINK, and amalgamation  of Carlton Vale Infants and Kilburn Park Juniors in a new building is planned (although there are dounts about the funding at present).

 

Meanwhile the impact of reduced funding has been seen at Lyon Park Primary with the strike by teachinng support staff in the face of compulsory redundancies and worsening conditions.  LINK 

 

These are the September 2023 Reception intake figures for some of our Brent schools. As funding is per pupil, lower numbers mean less funding for the school and thus staff costs. PAN - Planned Admission Numbers

 

The Planned Admission numbers of some schools will be reduced to match the actual number of applications leading to staff losses. One form entry schools (PAN of 30) have reduced in number over the years but have proved popular with parents.  At present only Donnington and Our Lady of Lourdes are officially one form of entry but there are quite a number of potentials above that could reduce by one or even two forms.  The same arguments about curriculum and higher costs of one form entry schools may again be deployed and mergers advocated instead.

The crisis is not only in Brent but also in our neighbouring boroughs with North West London, of which we are a part, the worst affected in primary schools after Inner London:

 

 

The secondary figures are only a little better but it is important to note that as the sector is academised Brent Council has no direct influence in determing intake numbers.

 This is an extract from the main London Councils Report. Highlighting mine.

 

In some instances local authorities will have to take forward plans to close schools that have become financially unviable and there are no forecast increases in the local child population, and keeping these schools open will have a detrimental impact on the wider sustainability of other local schools.

 

Local authorities recognise the disruption to a child’s education that a school closure can create, so they work very closely with affected families and other local schools mitigate the impact on children’s education.

 

However, this needs to be managed carefully and in partnership with other local partners, including the Diocese, where appropriate, and DfE.

 

Boroughs make decisions about where to close schools based on a range of key factors, including the popularity of schools, Ofsted ratings, travel routes, demand forecasts and budget deficits. They want to ensure that local areas have choice in the system and don’t disadvantage particular groups of children as a result of school closures.

 

However, these strategic decisions need to be made in agreement with partners and local authorities should be able to consider all local state schools, including academies, as part of a fair and transparent process.

 

Currently academies do not have to be part of a local authorities’ school places strategy and local authorities have no statutory duties over academies in terms of places planning.

 

Therefore a local authority can’t direct an academy to reduce PAN even when other local good schools are struggling and might need to close if all local schools don’t work together. In some cases academies work well with local authorities, recognising the local challenges and voluntarily reduce their PANs, but without levers this happens on an ad hoc basis and does not allow for any choice in the system.

 

Local authorities are also constrained in how they work with neighbouring local authorities due to data restrictions. It would be helpful if neighbouring local authorities could have access to pupil census data to be able to better plan provision across borough boundaries. The DfE could help support a more strategic cross-borough approach by considering the implications on the wider sub-region in its decision-making, particularly around new free schools.

 

Protecting the school estate and funding model

 

With school closures on the increase, London Councils is concerned about the loss of educational assets for future generations. London’s birth rate has historically ebbed and flowed, and London is likely to become a more popular place to raise a family at some point in the future, leading to renewed demand for school places. To avoid the DfE from having to purchase land and build new schools in the future it is vital that we are able to keep current educational assets in use for educational purposes, such as nurseries, family hubs, special schools, which creates more flexibility going forward. Many local

authorities are looking at these options but would welcome more support from the DfE to ensure empty schools can be protected for educational purposes.

 

The DfE’s Falling rolls fund is welcome to schools experiencing a short term drop in demand. However, many schools in London will not be able to access this as they can’t demonstrate an increase in demand in the next four years. It would be helpful, given the scale of the challenge, number of schools currently facing falling rolls and the further forecast drops in demand, if the DfE could make this pot of funding more flexible in recognition of the need to protect vital education assets across London.

 

Special Educational Needs (SEND)

 

London has been grappling with a steady increase in the number of children identified with SEND in recent years. In the last year alone, the number of children with an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCPs) in London has increased by 9% from January 2022 to January 2023. Some local authorities are reporting that the increased budgetary pressure facing schools is leading to a decrease in additional support available and this is leading to some schools to be less inclusive than previously. We think it is vital that the DfE works with local authorities and schools to promote more inclusion in schools, and that schools receive consistent and appropriate levels of funding to enable more children with SEND to access mainstream school places.

The question as a General Election comes closer is will any incoming government grasp the nettle and increase the funding of schools so that we can take advantage of falling rolls for a generation of pupils that has been so affected by Covid and its consequences.

Leopold Primary School, Brentfield Road site, earmarked for eventual closure. A potential site for Islamia Primary?

 

Leopold Primary School, Brentfield Road

Falling school  pupil numbers and subsequent school closures and amalgamations were a feature of my early years in teaching in the 1970s and the issue has returned post-Brexit as pupil numbers fall. 

Camden has already been hit and  there was a local warning when the Strathcona site closed. Now Brent Council is wrestling with managing pupil numbers and school provision. in the borough.  A review of primary provision was promised last year and focused on Planning Area 4:

The above table shows how the actual admissions compared with the PAN (Planned Admissions Number).  30 is one form admitted at reception, 60 two forms and 90 three forms, 45 is a class and a half and results in either two small single age classes or mixed age classes.

The only two oversubscribed schools were Donnington (single form entry - one class per year) and St Joseph's a Roman Catholic school.  There are parents who prefer a small school such as Donnington where vulnerable children feel less threatened than they would in a school with  large numbers of pupils and a big site.  Our Lady of Lourdes is also one form entry.

Single form entry schools are becoming much less common in London but this may change in time. Brentfield, Furness, John Keble, Newfield, St Mary's C of E and Stonebridge are all around or well below one form of entry. They tend to have higher per pupil costs than larger schools.

The two sites of Leopold Primary have a combined form of entry of 4 classes.

 

Brent Council explains the background to their proposal to close the Brentfield Road site of Leopold Primary in phases from September 2025. The site was previously the Brent Teachers Centre andPupil Referral Unit.

Leopold Primary School currently has capacity for 120 places in each year group with 60 on the school’s main site on Hawkshead Road and 60 on the Gwenneth Rickus site (Brentfield Road). Leopold Primary School achieves good outcomes for pupils across both sites and was rated by Ofsted as ‘Good’ in June 2022.

 

Leopold operates as a split-site school with one leadership team and staff who work across both the main school site on Hawkshead Road and the Gwenneth Rickus site.

 

On national offer day in 2023 for Reception places in 2023, 60 places were offered and there remained 60 spare places across the two school sites. As with other schools across the borough, the actual Reception cohort now on roll is higher due to late applications, which would have been diverted to other schools had Leopold’s capacity only been 60. Demand for Leopold Primary School has been falling since 2018 and the Gwenneth Rickus site operates as one form of entry in some year groups, including Reception and Year 1.

 

The Leopold Gwenneth Rickus site was opened in September 2013 as annexed provision in response to increasing demand for primary school places. The site was previously used by the borough as a school improvement centre, running courses for education professionals. Now that demand has reduced, there is no longer a need for this additional site to be retained as there are sufficient spare places on both the Leopold Primary School main site and in other local schools to accommodate future demand for primary provision in the area.

 

In January 2023, there were 628 pupils at Leopold Primary School compared to 767 in January 2019, with 282 pupils educated on the Gwenneth Rickus site.

 

The proposal is for the status of Leopold Primary School to return to that of prior to 2015 when the school operated with two forms of entry from one site only (Hawkshead Road). A phased closure of the Gwenneth Rickus site is recommended to avoid disruption to as many pupils and their families as possible. As the Hawkshead Road site has a central location within the planning area, it is anticipated that over time pupils from the Gwenneth Rickus site would move to the main Leopold Primary School site. Other local schools will be able to accommodate any pupils who wished to move school.

 

Parents of future Reception children would continue to have a range of schools to choose from. Only two schools in the area (Donnington Primary and St Joseph’s RC Primary School) were oversubscribed on national offer day for the September 2023 intake. There are several schools with spare capacity close to the Gwenneth Rickus site.

 

There were built-in problems with operating on two sites that are some distance apart including staff movement and travel time and the difficulty of shaping the two sites into one school with a shared ethos.  Despite the difficulties the  school has been very successful.

Many felt that it would have better if they operated as two separate schools but Government rules did not allow it. School expansion was allowed but not the opening of new community schools - any new school had to be an academy or free school.

The proposal is for a phased closure, as in the Strathcona case. The site would be used for other educational purposes so that it would be available for any recovery in pupil numbers. Several alternative uses are mentioned in the Cabinet paper but not the possibility of it being used by Islamia Primary School.  There is likely be a reduction in staffing as the school shrinks.

Also included in the proposals is a reduction in the size of Mitchell Brook Primary so that it takes 60 pupils a year rather than 90. This proposal is supported by the school:

 

The proposed reduction of the Pupil Admisison Number at Mitchell Brook Primary School from 90 to 60 would help to reduce spare places in other schools in the planning area. Mitchell Brook Primary Schools is rated as ‘Outstanding’ by Ofsted (September 2021). It is anticipated that Mitchell Brook Primary School will remain a popular school. However, any children who are unable to secure a place at the school would be able to access places at other local schools in the immediate area.

 

The school is in support of a reduction of the school’s PAN and has raised concerns about the constraints of continuing to operate as three forms of entry due to the school’s confined site. Although forecasts indicate low demand in Planning Area 4 in the short and medium term, the spare building capacity created by reducing the school’s PAN could be brought back into use in the future at a time when demand rises again

 

The proposals would have to go through a consultation process. An indicative timeline is included in the paper. 

 

 

BREAKING: Yusuf Islam breaks silence on Islamia Primary School move and announces postponement of decision until a review of south Brent schools has been carried out

In a letter today  to parents and guardians of Islamia Primary School, Yusuf Islam confirmed an agreement with Brent Council to postpone a decision on the school’s site until a further review of primary schools in the south of the borough has been carried out.

 

Dear Parents / Guardians, Assalamu alaikum wa Rahmatullah

“Whoever is mindful of Allah, He will make a way out for them, and provide for them from sources they could never imagine.” (Qur’an 65:2-3)

I begin by wishing everyone the best of blessings for this new Islamic year, 1445H. May Allah swt make it a year of peace, success, and progress for all associated with our schools, organisations and the community beyond.

As many of you are aware, the Foundation has been working for a long time with the Board of Governors, in consultation with Brent Council, to progress arrangements for a bigger and better home for Islamia Primary School. This story goes back to 2007, when we first helped the local authority to accommodate extra children coming from the closure of the Avenue School. I would like to acknowledge the efforts of your dedicated Governors to ensure that an appropriate outcome is achieved.

Last week, I had a meeting with the Leader and Chief Executive of Brent Council to discuss the issue face to face. They ideally wanted a decision about the proposed site on Strathcona Road by Friday 21 July. Al- hamdulillah, we were able to obtain an agreement to put off that decision until a further review of schools in the south of the borough.

During the meeting, I advised the Leader that the Foundation has agreed to extend the school’s stay at Salusbury Road until at least the end of the next academic year, 2024, to provide additional time for the local authority to identify any possible alternative sites.

As a result of this extension, we were assured by the local authority that the funds allocated for the school’s relocation would remain secure and available for the primary school until at least the end of this year, by which time we will be able to review other possibilities they may come up with.

Insha Allah, we will have a wonderful opportunity to provide IPS with a new home that offers modern facilities and resources. This is the least that the pupils, parents, and staff of the school deserve after having to cope with the difficulties caused by the split-site arrangement (Winkworth Hall) for well over a decade.

At the same time, we continue to work on ambitious plans to modernise the Salusbury Road site for our secondary schools as part of a comprehensive long-term vision. We have had to keep these plans on hold for 15 years, so that we could accommodate the needs of the primary school, but it is now time for us to move forward with more determination for those plans.

Twenty-five years ago, we made history by becoming the first Muslim government aided school in this country. Many parents today are not fully aware of the immense struggle we had to go through to secure state funding. But Allah is the Granter of success.

This is the 40th anniversary year of our school’s opening, and I believe that we are at the doorstep of another milestone, insha Allah. As we know, Allah promises “with hardship comes ease” (Qur’an 94:5-6). 

 

Islamia Primary parent, Jamad Guled, was contacted by Wembley Matters for an assessment of what this means for Islamia families:

There is a sense of relief among the parent body. We all remember the initial tone of the consultation. The move to Strathcona sounded inevitable back then and if it did not materialise the only other proposed outcome would have been the closure of the school. As parents and stakeholders we were extremely alarmed and we have raised our concerns with the school governors and Brent Council.

This communication is far more positive and acknowledges the need for a local solution which is paramount to current families. It also recognises the the importance of preserving this extraordinary school. This is reassuring in many ways and we hope that the Yusuf Islam Foundation, IPS Governing Body and Brent Council will take into account stakeholders' views and will work together to find a satisfactory local solution so that children are not left behind.

 

Islamia Primary Governing Body hopeful that more suitable options for school move may be identified by end of Autumn 2023 -stay of eviction until at least the end of August 2024

 

Sofia Moussaoui, Chair of Governors of Islamia Primary School, today wrote to parents and carers, suggesting that a more suitable site for the evicted school might be found than that at Strathcona in Preston ward.

The proposed move to Strathcona has been opposed by the great majority of parents and community that responded to the informal consultation as Wembley Matters revealed earlier this week. LINK

The letter stated:

Following the personal intenvention fo our Founder Yusuf Islam, earlier this week, and a meeting with Cllr (Muhammed) Butt, it has been agreed that Islamia  can remain on the current site at least until the end of August 2024, to enable further consideration of the needs of the school and further work to be done to identify a more suitable local solution, I understand that Yusuf Islam will also be writing to parents and that letter will be sent on when received.

The parents are assured that the Governing Body and Local Authority continue to consider the suitability of the Strathcona site for Islamia Primary School and no final decision has been taken on the suitability of relocating to that site: 'that decision cannot be made until we are clear on whether there will be any other options.'

The mention of a 'more suitable local solution' suggests that a site in Queens Park or Kilburn is being sought, despite earlier Council claims that no site in the area was available.

The overdue formal consultation, to be managed by the school, cannot be carried out until a potential site/s can be included in the proposal.

A parent commented:

This communication sounds more positive compared to past ones and parents are hopeful a local solution will be identified soon. This is a highly successful and resilient school in Brent. We need a good outcome to celebrate a fantastic school that is going to turn 40 this year.

Islamia Primary move to new site and closure strongly opposed in informal consultation.

Islamia Primary School has responded to my Freedom of Information Request with some of the information requested over the proposed move of the school to another site, Strathcona, in Preston war of Brent.

The summary of informal consultation responses shows that the majority of parents and the wider community reject both Options offered in the consultation. 96 parents did not want to move to Strathcona and want Islamia to be offered the new South Kilburn building (currently ear-marked for Carlton Vale Infants and Kilburn Junior School) or another suitable site in the area.

Options offered in the consultation.

 

Option 1. For the school to relocate to a new site (the only one offered was Strathcona)

Option 2. For the school to close with pupils moving to other local schools with spare places.

 

I requested pupil mobility data to see how uncertainty over the future may have affected the school. There has been movement but Islamia operate a waiting list and state that the school is full at 420 pupils. 

 

 

The timetable for the move as tabled by Brent Council is now way behind and there appears to be little prospect of the school moving in time for a September 2024. The Council paper said that the Yusuf Islam Foundation had agreed an extension of the eviction to January 2025 only if there are unforseen events. The delay in the start of statutory consultation, apparently in order that mitigations for the move be agreed between the school and Brent Council, may not qualify as an unforseen event. 

 

 

The school responded to my request for copies of all correspondence with the Yusuf Islam Foundation and Brent Council regarding the eviction notice on the school and the subsequent search for alternative premises, survey/s of the Strathcona site and refurbishment/new build proposals, by saying that the request should be made to the Foundation and Brent Council.

Following the school's response I have sent another FI request:

1. Are the Governing Body going to undertake a statutory consultation on the move of Islamia to the Strathcona site (or another site)?

2. If so, what mitigations have been agreed with Brent Council?

3. If so, what is the timeline for the statutory consultation?

4. If the school is to move what is the timeline/target date for opening of the school on the new site?

5. Has a new eviction date been agreed with the Yusuf Islam Foundation?

 

A dribble of information on Islamia Primary says the Governing Body and Brent Council are considering 'mitigation measures' over move No information on what they are mitigating!

 It has proved really difficult to find out what is going on regarding the proposed move of Islamia Primary School to the Strathcona site in Preston ward. The informal consultation finished in November and there has not been a whisper about the results leaving parents and the community in the dark. I submitted a Freedom of Information request to Brent Council and as you can see the response still gives no details of the results of the consultation but does say the Islamia  Governing Board and the Council are working togather to 'consider mitigations measures'. What they are mitigating remains a secret.

The Council also fails to answer the question about the opening date of Islamia on the new site. As statutory consultation has not yet started the original date, negotiated with the Yusuf Islam Foundation looks most unlikely as either complete demolition and new build, or partial refurbishment and a new block, were proposed for the site.

This is the formal response to the FoI:

Details of the outcome of the public consultation on the proposed move of Islamia Primary School that was completed in November 2022.

The informal consultation that ran until November 2022 was managed by the Governing Board of Islamia Primary School. The responses and the concerns raised have been considered by the Governing Board and the Governing Board has been working with the local authority to consider mitigation measures. At this point in time, the Governing Board has not made a decision to proceed to statutory consultation.
 
2. Update on when the school will move and operate on its new site
(previously proposed for September 2024).

Operation of Islamia Primary School from the proposed Strathcona site will depend on the timing and outcome of the statutory process to relocate the  school and the completion of required capital investment works, should a decision be made following any statutory consultation to proceed with the relocation.

3. Update on any statutory consultation.
Statutory Consultation will be managed by the Governing Board of Islamia Primary School. 

As well as the above FoI I  submitted an additional FoI to Islamia Primary School itself on May 11th, This is due to be answered by June 9th.

Please provide the following information:

1.The outcome of the consultation on the proposed move of Islamia Primary School to the Strathcona site to open in September 2024 and copies of the breakdown of the consultation result.

2. Copies of all correspondence with the Yusuf Islam Foundation and Brent Council regarding the eviction notice on the school and the subsequent search for alternative premises, survey/s of the Strathcona site and refurbishment/new build proposals.

3. Up to date information on the current pupil numbers in the school by year group.

4. Current pupil mobility rates by year group since September 2022.

Lack of transparency on Islamia Primary School move is becoming a scandal

 The consultation on the move of Islamia Primary School from its Queens Park site finished in November 2022 and since then there has been a wall of silence from the Yusif Islam Foundation, the school and Brent Council. The school is due to move in September 2024 after refurbishment and new build on the former Strathcona site in Preston ward.

The result is anger, frustration and rumour from parents and community.

I have lodged an FoI result with Brent Council to try and get some very basic information LINK:

Dear Brent Borough Council,

Please provide:

1. Details of the outcome of the public consultation on the proposed move of Islamia Primary School that was completed in November 2022.
2. Update on when the school will move and operate on its new site (previously proposed for September 2024).
3. Update on any statutory consultation.

The Twitter account  Dignity Custodians has been very vocal from the beginning of the relocation proposals. 

Hello

@YusufCatStevens

a member of staff told parents that the Foundation planned to use vacated premises for the independent schools & a feeder primary school. Is this why you want

@IslamiaPrimary

as far away as possible? #Strathcona #Profit

@WembleyMatters

@Brent_Council

 

This confirms what a member of the governing body told a group of parents 3 years ago when there were attempts to turn the school into a one Form Entry and give priority to siblings of pupils attending the independent schools which was in breach of the #AdmissionsCode.

 

This GB member also said that

@Brent_Council

gave Islamia a "poor" catchment area and suggested Somali parents open their own school. The school's admissions policy has recently been found " unlawful and discriminatory " by the #OSA. Parents have reasons to fear discrimination.

Brent Civic Centre - a modern rival to Watkin's Folly?

 

 

Brent Cabinet last week approved a major reconfiguration of part of Brent Civic Centre under the low key title 'Improving Customer Experience at Brent Civic Centre'.   In fact these are major works costing £2m to the 'state of the art'  building which is just 10 years old.  The Cabinet report recognised problems that have been there since the building opened.  At the planning stage Brent Green Party were the only local political party that opposed the grandiose project as expensive (c£100m) and a vanity project when councils were facing funding cuts. By 2011 Labour had reviewed their support and decided to go ahead, Liberal Democrats wanted the library reduced in size as other libraries were being closed and Tories wrote to the local press, 'We don't need a new sparkling civic centre at the detriment of people's jobs and front-line services'. LINK

The initial aim was to centralise the many Brent Council buildings in Wembley. There was even a proposal from the then Brent CEO to rename the borough the London Borough of Wembley. Soon it became apparent that not everyone in the boroughwas prepared to go to Wembley for services and 'hubs' were set up in other areas. The complaint that the Council is 'Wembley-centric' is still common.

Well we got a 'sparkling civic centre' that one critic described as a building fit to house the parliament of a small European state , with an imposing atrium and staircase (not actually used as a staircase) occupying a huge amount of space. The steps were handy for wedding photographs, post-election photo ops and demonstrations. It was a huge area of empty space with office space for concil workers on one side and large and small IKEA style meeting rooms for councillors on the other.

Strathcona closure demonstration

As with any new building there were teething problems but some of those were a product of the sesign itself. The building was cold in winter and hot in summer despite the green credentials, acoustics were so bad in meeting rooms that microphones had to be used even for fairly small rooms, and people had wave their arms in the air to operate the movement activated lighting.  One of the worse issues early on was the telephony system which failed to the extent that staff hads to operate mobile phones on not very good lines. When you rang you could hear other staff bellowing down their phones in the background in an effort to be heard.

Cuts in funding led to a reduction in staff with some floors emptied and attempts were made to let them out to commercial organisations to raise funds.  The Melting Pot restaurant featuring in the public relations video closed.

Wembley Matters early on drew attention to the inflation of library visitor figures because staff chose to walk in and out of the Centre via the library entrance which was convenient to Olympic Way and the station.

That entrance, next to Sainsbury's will now be the new main entrance for residents, rather than the one opposite the Arena which opens on to the atrium and its staircase.

Extract from the report:

New entrance: With the improved layout, residents will enter the building through a new main entrance on Exhibition Way by Sainsbury’s. This follows feedback from residents that the current entrance is overwhelming, unwelcoming, intimidating and very cold in the winter months. Instead, residents will now enter into a dedicated space where they can immediately be triaged and directed to the service that they need. Customers will now have a clear journey through the building.

Temperature: The new layout will resolve current issues with the temperature of the atrium. The atrium’s temperature is similar to outside which means that, during the winter, conditions are extremely uncomfortable for customers and staff. A Health and Safety concern has been raised for staff who spend hours meeting customers in this space. It also creates an unwelcoming and hostile environment for residents visiting the building. The improved layout will see residents enter through a new ground floor entrance, into a vestibule, that will help to maintain heat in the building. This layout will help to ensure that the Civic Centre provides a warm space for residents, which is increasingly critical given the current economic and energy crisis.

Welcome Desk: Currently, residents seeking support and business visitors to the Civic Centre queue together at the Welcome Desk. This contributes to delays and confusion for both customers and visitors. Potential businesses looking to hire floors in the Civic Centre have expressed concerns about the current setup as visitors, including those arriving for interviews, meetings and conferences, are often delayed at the Welcome Desk. The new layout will mean that the smaller Welcome Desk is dedicated to business visitors. This will ensure that the Civic Centre represents a more appealing location for businesses and/or organisations wanting to rent office space. This pressure on the Welcome Desk to triage visitors will only increase with the restacking of the building. Without these changes, there is a risk that the forecasted additional income of almost £750,000 per annum, generated by renting out further floors, could be jeopardised.  (Not quite 'poor doors' but resident and business separation.)

The changes will cost £1.96m which will be borowed over the course of 10 years at £242k per annum with a potential National Lottery Heritage Fund for enhancement of the library. Rather ominously the report notes that the scheme will be partly funded through savings to be identified 'primarily' in Customer Services; Libraries, Arts and Heritage, and Revenue and Development. I am not sure the Lottery will buy that.

Customer Services Area 'Concept' (Willmott Dixon Interiors)

There can be no doubt that the atrium  space is rather overwhelming for visitors to the centre, especially if you are a homeless family with small children dragging your suitcases to find help. The contrast to the surroundings serves to intimidate and make you feel small and insignicant.

I am struggling to work out what is going to happen to the atrium. The presentation below gives few clues.

Overall the proposals raise questions about the original 'grand design' and its suitability, rather similar to those that the GLA experienced at the 'glass testicle' (now abandoned) - a building where architects neglected effective function. LINK

Watkin's Folly was the ill-fated attempt to build a tower at Wembley Park to rival the Eiffel Tower. If history deems Brent Civic Centre a 'folly', I wonder who it will be named after?