Tories select Harrow resident to fight Dollis Hill by-election

Despite recent controversies over two Brent councillors who have moved out of the borough, Brent Conservatives have selected a Harrow resident to as their candidate for the Dollis Hill by-election. All the other candidates live in NW2.

Samer Ahmedali lives in Palmerston Road, which is in Harrow's Marlborough ward. Ahmedali last stood in Welsh Harp ward achieving 6% of the vote. He is Deputy Chairman of Brent Central Conservative's Policy Forum according to their website.

"Don't do the Coalition's dirty work! Demonstrate Monday 27th February at Brent Town Hall

Lucas attacks the 3 main parties on privatisation

Pete Murry the REAL alternative in Dollis Hill

Pete Murry with the Green Party banner

Brent Green Party have selected Pete Murry as our candidate for the Dollis Hill by-election which takes place on March 22nd.

Pete, who lives in the ward, worked at the College of North West London for more than 20 years, and has deep routes in the borough. Pete although not as physically active as he would like to be, has involved himself in local issues including the early days of the Brent Cross Coalition and currently the Brent Campaign Against Climate Change and Brent Fightback's campaign against council cuts.

Pete's candidature is strengthened by his work in the Green Party Trade Union Group where he has been successful in getting the Green Party's policies on the economy and the creation of green jobs a hearing  in the trade union movement. These policies are particularly relevant at the moment when all three mainstream parties have accepted the austerity agenda which is deepening the recession and creating unemployment. Pete says, "Current Coalition policies are almost the exact opposite to what is needed which is a programme of investment and job creation focussed on building the infrastructure that the country needs to combat climate change."

Locally Pete is opposed to what he sees as the  wasteful plan to demolish the existing Willesden Green Library Centre.

With Labour doing the Coalition's dirty work locally by implementing their cuts in Brent, the Green Party is the real alternative for residents caught in the pincer movement of a Labour council and a ConDem government.

More than just Wembley

Several readers of this blog have recently reproached me regarding the title 'Wembley Matters' suggesting that it should really be called 'Brent Matters' or 'Wembley and Willesden Matters' or that I should set up a twin blog called 'Willesden Matters'. Unfortunately  that can then be extended to Kilburn, Harlesden, South Kilburn, Queens Park, Dollis Hill etc  Unfortunately the title Brent Matters is already in use in printed matter.. Exacerbating the issue is that many residents of Brent, in the East and the South, are critical of the 'Wembley-centric' nature of the council with major regeneration taking places around the stadium and the building of the new £127m Civic Centre being built in its shadow.

My blog was set up in the autumn of 2009 when the proposed ARK academy was the subject of a union and residents campaign over the loss of playing fields next to Wembley Park station and with the Wembley Masterplan a subject of great local controversy.  As a local resident and Green Party activist I set up this blog to air the issues and to support the campaigns.  However from the beginning the blog has covered issues that concern all in the borough with some crossing borough boundaries (the Brent Cross regeneration) as well as national issues such as the privatisation of education. 

I have reported on the neglect of the south of the borough, particularly as regards what I see as the unfair distribution of secondary schools in the south. Ironically the Willesden Green Cultural Centre, which the Council sees as an attempt to have a hub in the south, has been so poorly handled that local people rather than seeing it as an attempt to redress the balance, instead see it as an imposition.

Wembley Matters is probably too established a title to change it now. The title does not mean that I reflect the council's wembley-centrism and this blog is open to all in Brent and further afield who want to air the issues that concern them. Guest blogs are welcome.

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Brent Council stonewalls on all fronts

Evidence is mounting that Brent Council does not want to hear from its citizens, but sure that they know best, want to carry out decision making without the irritant of representations from the public.

At the last Brent Executive, leader of the Council Ann John, in an emotional outburst asked why people did not come and make representations about the cuts that would make the 'poor people of Brent a lot worse off'. Brent Fightback requested permission to address the Council meeting to be held on Monday February 27th on just that topic: the cuts in Brent's budget that will impact on Brent's most vulnerable groups.

The request was turned by Anne Reid, Principal Democratic Services Officer:

I have advised the Mayor, the Leader of the Council, the Chief Executive and the Borough Solicitor of your request and the view is that there have been opportunities prior to this evening at committee for you to address members. Full Council is for the Leader to clearly present the budget proposals. Accordingly, your request has not been accepted.

I requested permission to present to Council the petition calling for Willesden Bookshop to be allocated space in the proposed Willesden Cultural Centre. This was turned down by Peter Goss of Democratic Services on the grounds that only petitions with more than 5,000 signatures could be presented at Council.  I followed this up by asking then which Committee I could present it to:

Once your petition closes, you will be informed of what will happen to it. As you know the Executive has already taken decisions on this matter and so there are no current plans for the Executive to consider the matter further. It is now for the Planning Committee to consider the planning application and in the light of this I will determine how to progress your petition, taking account of the Council's petition scheme.

The petition closed on February 21st but I have heard nothing more from Democratic Services. It is interesting that the statement says that there are no current plans for the Executive to discuss the matter further. There is currently a consultation managed by Galliford Try the developers of the 90-95 unit  housing development with Cultural Centre attached, which includes 1:1 sessions with residents on February 28th and 29th and an exhibition of March 9th and 10th. If the Executive is not going to consider the matter further it is unclear what the point is of this this consultation.

The last issue concerns my Freedom of Information requesting documentation regarding the Council's deliberations regarding  privatisation of  Brent Parks Service.  Brent Council failed to meet statutory deadlines. The request was made on December 30th 2011 and the reply received only on February 21st.
The request has been turned down by Fiona Ledden, Director of Legal and Procurement Department:

In respect of the documentation that you have requested in respect of the (FOI request) this is highly sensitive and speculative information that at any point in time is the subject of initial high level consideration by Senior Officers only. It is highly possible that any such   proposals as may exist may not go for further consideration.

Ledden goes on to quote Section 36 (2) (b) (ii) of the Freedom of Information Act which she claims provides exemption 'where disclosures would or would be likely to, inhibit free and frank exchange of views for the purposes of deliberation'. She goes on to claim  Section 36 (2) (c) applies additionally or alternatively, where disclosure 'would be likely otherwise to 'prejudice the effective conduct of public affairs'.

She concludes:

There are strong public interests in accountability and transparency but there are also strong public interests in enabling officers and elected members to play their proper role in decision making and in developing ideas, which it is then appropriate to share on  wider basis.'

Ledden suggests that this is all a matter of timing and these are the grounds of increasing public  frustration in various aspects of council proposals:  the Council not publishing the criteria for bids for groups to take over libraries faced with closures, lack of financial information on the Civic Centre (commercially sensitive), 'secret' appendices on the Willesden Cultural Centre proposals and local  councillors who had seen the Cultural Centre plans being barred from discussing them with the public.

The 'timing' goes awry because the public feel that they are informed, often poorly, at a late stage and are confronted with a 'done deal'. This gives the impression of a lack of respect for residents' views and a lack of transparency and accountability. It is why groups such as those campaigning on libraries, social care and regeneration are aghast when they face the reality of council decision making.

Willesden Green Campaign gathers support

More than 30 people volunteered for Save Willesden Green's committee last night and quickly got down to the work of organising different aspects of the campaign. They aim to stop the development to give time for local people to have a say in the proposals, and time for the Council to reconsider their plans.

Only 12 people were involved in initial consultations and there are only 30 spaces available in Galliford Try's two consultations days on February 28th and 29th.

Anger is building at what residents see as a private 'done deal' between the Council and developers and committee volunteers included a broad range of local people including shop keepers, parents, teachers and residents.

Petitions to save the old Victorian Willesden Library from demolition and to relocate the Willesden Bookshop in the proposed Cultural Centre each look likely to gains more than 1,000 signatures. A leaflet has been produced outlining the issues and is being distributed widely, aided by more than £350 which was collected in a whip round last night.

The vast majority of people taking part have not been involved politically before but have been galvanised by what they see as their exclusion from major decisions about their neighbourhood.

Support Empty Classroom Day

Friday July 6th is 'Empty Classroom Day'.  This is a great idea to get children, teachers and parents learning outdoors. The aim is to get every classroom in London empty that day while children are out in parks, woodlands, open spaces, adventure playgrounds or city farms.

No desks, chair or whiteboards - liberate yourselves!

Sign up HERE