No space for community to meet at Willesden Cultural Centre hub

No space for meetings like this

 For decades community activists have been able to hire rooms at Willesden Green Library Centre for public meetings. They have been used by campaigns to hold hustings at election times, rallied local people opposed to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, examined issues such as Climate Change and Palestine and discussed the cuts the Coalition and Council have been making.  Our local MPs Sarah Teather and Barry Gardiner have both spoken at public meetings at the Library Centre.

Sarah Teather MP at a Willesden Green library Centre public meeting

The meeting rooms have been part of the lifeblood of local democracy. However the plans for the new Cultural Centre appear to exclude any such provision. The 'community hub' has no community meeting rooms.Not so much a plot as the Council seeming unaware that their actions continue to undermine respect for local democracy: skewed consultations, poor information and now no place to meet to give local people a voice.

It looks as if we shall have to make the 'Rising Sun' public house our community hub!



FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS 
Extract:

What will the new cultural centre include?
The new cultural centre, designed by the award winning architects AMHH Architects will incorporate:
General Library, Children’s Library, Customer Contact Centre, Museum,Special Exhibition Gallery, Education Room, Community Gallery Archive, Climate Controlled Archive Store, Foyer/Reception, Café,  Three Creative Cluster Spaces which will be fitted out to facilitate an array of artist and cultural programming,
Data Centre, Confidential Conference Room Public, Toilets, Office Space

Council rents set top rise by 7.14%

Brent Council rents will increase by an average of 7.14% (an average of £6.81 a week) in April if the Brent Executive approves recommendations by officers at its February 13th meeting:

No of Bedrooms Average % increase
0 6.25%
1 7.01%
2 7.41%
3 7.22%
4 7.13%
5 6.99%
6 6.75%

It is also proposed that the rent on Brent Stonebridge Dwellings be increased by £7.03% an increase of 6.3%

FULL REPORT

Executive recommended to close Treetops and Harmony nurseries

The Brent Executive will consider the following officer recommendations at its meeting on February 13th:

That members agree

2.1 That Willow nursery be restructured to enable further provision for

children with a wide range of disabilities, while retaining its character as a

mainstream nursery

2.2 That Council- run day care services at Harmony Children’s Centre be closed

from 30 March 2012

2.3 That Council-run day care services at Treetops Children’s Centre be closed

from 20 July 2012

2.4 That the building used for nursery services at Harmony Children’s Centre

be used to facilitate expansion of Mitchell Brook School in the event that a

decision is made to expand the school.

2.5 That officers invite proposals from private, voluntary and independent

providers for use of the space at Treetops Children’s Centre as a

nursery, expected to be independent of and at no cost to the council, any

such proposals to be considered on their merit.

2.6 That the decision on whether to proceed with any such proposal in 2.5

above to use the space at Treetops Children’s Centre, be delegated to the

Directors of Children & Families and Regeneration & Major Projects, in

consultation with the Lead Member for Children & Families

Supreme Court refuses to allow appeal by library campaigners

The Supreme Court today refused library campaigners permission to appeal against the recent High Court decision on their case. The Supreme Court said there was 'no arguable point of law' for an appeal.

LINK to BBC story