Councillor Butt summed up the 2012/13 to 2015/16 budget strategy up in one sentence, no one wanted to speak on it, and it was approved - all within 30 seconds. The budget envisages cumulative 'savings' of £67.5m by 2016. That works out as over £2m per second!
There was a much longer discussion over the Festivals and Events issue. Cllr Ann John said she had been in talks with the Hindu council who no longer wanted to speak. She claimed that the policy had to change because of new Equality legislation which meant that the events funded had to be inclusive and this ruled out financing religious festivals. Cllr Paul Lorber challenged this saying that Festivals such as Eid had always been open to people of all backgrounds and were designed to aid understanding and improve relations amongst Brent's diverse communities. He queried the funding of fireworks night in the context of the gunpowder plot, oppression of Catholics and the events celebration of a protestant victory. Cllr Ann John said that this festival would continue to be funded on health and safety grounds, not religious, because it prevented people being injured by providing an alternative to setting off fireworks in back gardens.
Cllr John insisted that this year's festivals including Eid, Navaratri,Christmas lights and St Patrick's Day would still take place but the new policy would be implemented next financial year. There was no time however to properly organise Respect and Countryside Day. Cllr Powney said that new equality legislation had drastically changed what the council could fund. The council was not stopping the festival, just stopping funding them..
There was no discussion of the Street Cleaning savings which will mean the loss of road sweeper jobs and huge reductions in street cleaning frequency. To his credit Cllr Moher was clear about the seriousness of the cuts but was cut off in mid-stream by an impatient Cllr John. Moker did manage to say that he hoped to claw back something from the current negotiations with Veolia.
Other high-speed decisions were made to approve the Alperton Master Plan, future ownership of Brent housing stock and the Arts development strategy. Twelve items were disposed of in 40 minutes much to Ann John's delight.
WEMBLEY MATTERS News and views on local politics, the environment, climate change, culture and local history
Monday 18 July 2011
Embattled Brent Executive Delays Library Disposal Decision
Leader of the Council, Ann John, tonight withdrew the Asset Strategy for the disposal of vacated libraries from the Executive Agenda. She said that this was because of the proximity of the judicial review and councillors were constrained on what they could say about the issue. Campaigners thought it was withdrawn because the Executive had thought they could slip it thought unnoticed but word spread quickly over the weekend with the Council inundated with many requests to speak today.
The Save Preston Library's 5,897 signature petition opposing any sale or redevelopment of the Preston Library site that does not include a Brent public library, will now be presented at the August Executive when the item is discussed - unless of course campaigner's win the judicial review in which case it will be irrelevant.
I salute Brent library campaigners
On the eve of the judicial review hearing tomorrow I would like to salute all the campaigners fighting against the closure of Brent libraries.
The campaign has involved huge numbers of people across Brent's many communities, it has organised many public meetings, much fund-raising and the involvement of many authors and musician. It has acheived publicity in the local press, national press, TV and internationally. Schools and community organisations have been involved and everyone has united to demand something very simple - our libraries are vital to the community and we intend to keep them.
This is what real democracy looks like - whatever the outcome of the judicial review you have stood up for the whole community and deserve our thanks.
The campaign has involved huge numbers of people across Brent's many communities, it has organised many public meetings, much fund-raising and the involvement of many authors and musician. It has acheived publicity in the local press, national press, TV and internationally. Schools and community organisations have been involved and everyone has united to demand something very simple - our libraries are vital to the community and we intend to keep them.
This is what real democracy looks like - whatever the outcome of the judicial review you have stood up for the whole community and deserve our thanks.
Proposed Changes in Wembley Bus Routes - Have Your Say
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- Route 206 will be withdrawn from between Brent Park and St Raphael’s Estate and re-routed to Wembley Park, The Paddocks
- Route 224 will be rerouted at Harlesden Station running along Brentfield Road to terminate in St Raphael’s Estate.
- Route PR2 is withdrawn
Sunday service frequency
Routes 206 and 224 both operate on a Sunday. Route 206 operates every 20 minutes and route 224 every 30 minutes.
Earlier / Later buses
Routes 206 and 224 have earlier and later buses operating along the routes. Route 206 will run between about 0520 and midnight Monday to Saturday, and 0650 and midnight on Sundays. Route 224 will run between about 0500 and 0030 Monday to Saturday and about 0645 to 0010 on Sundays. This will provide more travelling options for bus users who require the services at these times. The current times of route PR2 are between about 0600 and 2320 Monday to Saturday.
New Journey Options
New journey options are created to/from the Wembley Stadium and the relocated Brent civic centre, St Raphael’s and Brentfield Road.
Direct journeys no longer available
No replacement for route PR2 is proposed along Hillside or at Stonebridge Park however this area is served by high frequency route 18. Additionally, many users will be close to bus stops served by routes 206 and 224.
Routes 228 and 487 will continue to link the Central Middlesex Hospital area and Willesden Junction station, with nine buses every hour. (Eight buses per hour evenings and Sundays). Harlesden Station also provides interchange with rail services.
The consultation ends on August 19th. Use this LINK to make your views known.
The Independent on Brent Library Closures Judicial Review
The following story by Kunal Dutta was published by the Indepdent yesterday:
A landmark hearing on Tuesday will mark the first judicial review into proposed library closures in Britain as disgruntled campaigners prepare to take their case to the courts.
The High Court is examining the planned closure of six libraries in the London Borough of Brent, and its ruling will be keenly watched by councils around the country. Following close behind are Gloucestershire and the Isle of Wight, where protesters have won permission to have their cases heard by the end of the year. Experts believe they could trigger a flood of similar cases.
Brent council invited a number of "community-based rescue plans" that it allegedly did not take into full consideration in its final decision. The court will also examine whether the consultation process that decided the future of libraries across the country was conducted fairly and in line with the correct legal framework.
Experts believe that the outcome of the review could be a major embarrassment for David Cameron's government, which has hitherto distanced itself from the library closures, insisting it is a local government issue.
The Government came under fire from the author Kate Mosse yesterday over its refusal to intervene. She said: "There has been a naive belief on the part of government and local authorities that after the initial objections, public anger would wane. Instead it is the precise opposite: the anger has simply exacerbated."
In a scathing assessment she said there had been "a catastrophic failure of leadership" from the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council, the Arts Council and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.
The timing of the Brent review coincides with a deadline for library tenders in Wokingham amid speculation that its library servicies could be outsourced to a private American firm by the end of this year.
Lawyers say that they will be probing the Government's line in relation to Section 10 of the 1964 Libraries and Museums Act, which decrees that all public complaints over libraries should go to the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport.
"Dozens, possible hundreds [of complaints] have been made by Brent residents which must under law be investigated by the Secretary of State. The closures will generally hit the poor, children, older people, those with disabilities and ethnic minorities far harder than others. It also examines just what fairness demands when library closures are proposed," said John Halford, from Bindmans LLP solicitors.
"The threatened libraries are important for everyone who lives, studies or works locally, but especially for low-income families and their children," said Margaret Bailey, one of the Brent campaigners. "We are determined to ensure the libraries remain open and trust that the court will quickly see Brent's decisions are senseless. Both legally and otherwise."
Nick Cave, Depeche Mode, the Pet Shop Boys and Goldfrapp are among the stars who have contributed to legal costs.
A DCMS spokesman said: "We continue to monitor and assess proposals and decisions being made about changes to library services across England. We take very seriously compliance by local authorities with their statutory duty to understand the local needs for library services and to provide a comprehensive and efficient service to match that need. Use of ministerial statutory powers, including those regarding intervention, continues to be kept under consideration on a case-by-case basis."
A look at Hannah Close, possible new waste site
My curiosity led me this afternoon to have a stroll around the back of the stadium to see where a possible recycling plant might be sited in Hannah Close. Careys, the local company who helped save the Welsh Harp Environmental Centre, has a lot of property in the area along with their waste management subsidiary Seneca.
Seneca's security guards were worried about me taking photographs and denied that the company had anything to do with Careys. The Jubilee and Metropolitan lines run behind the site and on the other side is St Margaret Clitherow Primary School and residential streets which include Quainton, Verney, Aylesbury Chesham and Village Way.
Hannah Close, and Atlas Road which it joins, already have several recycling sites:
The River Brent runs flows to Hannah Close and runs beneath the railway line. Wembley Brook is also close by. Campaigners in Ealing have been concerned about possible contamination of the River Brent if new waste processing facilities are built and there must be similar concerns in Wembley.
The following photograph was taken today with waste fluid apparently flowing from Harringtons in Fourth Way.
A further concern is the proposal, in the Wembley Masterplan, to open up North End Road and join it again to Bridge Road in Wembley. At present North End Road is closed where it meets Atlas Road. If it was opened up and joined to Bridge Road a route would be established to the recycling facilities in Hannah Close, via Atlas Road, increasing lorry traffic past the Danes Court and Empire Court flats, which at present are a peaceful haven despite their proximity to the railway.
Seneca's security guards were worried about me taking photographs and denied that the company had anything to do with Careys. The Jubilee and Metropolitan lines run behind the site and on the other side is St Margaret Clitherow Primary School and residential streets which include Quainton, Verney, Aylesbury Chesham and Village Way.
Hannah Close, and Atlas Road which it joins, already have several recycling sites:
The River Brent runs flows to Hannah Close and runs beneath the railway line. Wembley Brook is also close by. Campaigners in Ealing have been concerned about possible contamination of the River Brent if new waste processing facilities are built and there must be similar concerns in Wembley.
The following photograph was taken today with waste fluid apparently flowing from Harringtons in Fourth Way.
A further concern is the proposal, in the Wembley Masterplan, to open up North End Road and join it again to Bridge Road in Wembley. At present North End Road is closed where it meets Atlas Road. If it was opened up and joined to Bridge Road a route would be established to the recycling facilities in Hannah Close, via Atlas Road, increasing lorry traffic past the Danes Court and Empire Court flats, which at present are a peaceful haven despite their proximity to the railway.
Brent Libraries : a demolition job
The Save Preston Library Campaign has issued the following ahead of Tuesday's Court Case
Brent Council’s executive is to meet tonight to vote on disposals of half of its library properties AHEAD of a High Court hearing to decide whether its library closures are lawful.In the first legal challenge against library closures in the country, Brent library users’ case against the council will be heard in the High Court on Tuesday and Wednesday.
But in an extraordinary show of contempt for due legal process, the council intends to press on with the sales – and will vote on disposals on Monday night, the eve of the High Court hearing.
John Halford of Bindmans LLP, Helen Mountfield QC, Gerry Facenna and Edward Craven will argue that the council adopted a fundamentally flawed and unlawful, approach to the objective of making savings because it:
- STARTED from the false premise that library closures were an inevitability, closing its mind to reasonable alternatives
- FAILED to assess local need
- FAILED to comply with equality legislation, and its own impact assessment policies
- FAILED to disclose its criteria, and reasons, for rejecting alternative community-based means of retaining some or all of the libraries earmarked for closure.
John Halford argues that the decision will have “serious, irreversible consequences” for those who rely on the six libraries.
“Given the importance of the decision for local people, the council was obliged to explore all the options carefully and make sure that it had accurate evidence about the likely impact of the decision, in particular on disadvantaged groups. If the council had approached the matter with an open mind and avoided the errors above, the outcome of the decision-making process could have been radically different.”On the same day that Rupert Murdoch is grilled by the media select committee, this libraries hearing could heap further embarrassment on Secretary of State Jeremy Hunt, who has so far refused to intervene under the Museums and Libraries Act 1964, despite hundreds of complaints from residents and letters from Brent North MP Barry Gardiner.
This case exposes fundamental failings at Brent, which claims it needs to save £1m over two years from the libraries service, but continues to spend millions on trophy projects such as the new £100m Civic Centre at Wembley Stadium with its £3m mega-library.
Council leader Ann John has boasted of council investment in a £4m boulevard that will be created to lead visitors from Wembley Park Tube station to Wembley Stadium.
And at the same time Brent Council is spending between £1.2m and £1.5m PER MONTH on “consultants fees”.
Preston campaigners are acutely aware that the closure and sale of their library is not driven by efficiency, as Brent Council claims, but the need to push users to the new Civic Centre library (to create demand where none exists) and to increase capital receipts to pay for the project.
The outcome of the case could mean the council halting the closure programme and restarting the decision-making process.
Proposed Park Royal Waste Sites Under Attack
The West London Waste Authority has published the results of its consultation on the West London Waste Plan. Perhaps the most important thing to note is the low number of responses: 374. This for a Plan covering six West London boroughs including Brent with a combined population of one and a half million. In addition a petition against Park Royal waste management sites was signed by 193 people and 2237 signed one against the Tavistock Road site in West Drayton.
The main issues in the Park Royal objections were: the unfairness of locating so many sites in the area; the cumulative impact of new sites when added to existing waste and industrial facilities; proximity to housing; increased traffic; air pollution and the health impacts of pollution.
The WLWA says that these comments will be taken into consideration when considering the Park Royal sites. of the existing sites they say these are safeguarded by the London Plan for waste management use 'but the deliverability assessment will consider whether they will be highlighted in the final Plan, as having potential for redevelopment'.
Wembley residents should note that no objections or comments were received about the site in Hannah Close, Great Central Way, Wembley, where Careys recently opened a new waste management plant. LINK This plant adds to other industrial sites on the Neasden/Wembley border which have given rise to community concerns about pollution and poor air quality. St Margaret Clitherow Primary School is just across the Metropolitan and Jubilee railway tracks from Hannah Close.
Ealing Civic Society object to expansion of Veolia's Marsh Road, Alperton site on the grounds that the River Brent already suffers from pollution and because access is limited by congestion. The powerful Park Royal Partnership objects to the same site on the grounds of loss of employment land and existing business premises.
The consultation report includes a key submission on the thinking behind the plan:
and another states:
All the comments will be considered during the next stage of the Plan which will be published later this year with a revised list of sites. Meanwhile the procurement process to select the company to implement the Plan through a new 25 year contract is continuing.
PDF of the full report is available HERE
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The WLWA says that these comments will be taken into consideration when considering the Park Royal sites. of the existing sites they say these are safeguarded by the London Plan for waste management use 'but the deliverability assessment will consider whether they will be highlighted in the final Plan, as having potential for redevelopment'.
Wembley residents should note that no objections or comments were received about the site in Hannah Close, Great Central Way, Wembley, where Careys recently opened a new waste management plant. LINK This plant adds to other industrial sites on the Neasden/Wembley border which have given rise to community concerns about pollution and poor air quality. St Margaret Clitherow Primary School is just across the Metropolitan and Jubilee railway tracks from Hannah Close.
Ealing Civic Society object to expansion of Veolia's Marsh Road, Alperton site on the grounds that the River Brent already suffers from pollution and because access is limited by congestion. The powerful Park Royal Partnership objects to the same site on the grounds of loss of employment land and existing business premises.
The consultation report includes a key submission on the thinking behind the plan:
and another states:
All the comments will be considered during the next stage of the Plan which will be published later this year with a revised list of sites. Meanwhile the procurement process to select the company to implement the Plan through a new 25 year contract is continuing.
PDF of the full report is available HERE
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