Urgent action needed to prevent a fatality in Forty Lane corridor Wembley

In a much wider discussion about transport improvements in Brent the Cabinet last night discussed the problems in the Forty Lane corridor (Forty Lane/Forty Avenue is the main road going across the centre of the map above). You can see my video of the problem at the Kings Drive/Asda junction HERE.

Cllr Pavey, speaking in his Barn Hill ward councillor role, acknowledged that the issue was dealt with as a long-term objective through a preliminary design process in the ILP but was concerned that given the number of accidents recorded it had not been addressed much earlier.

Cllr Southwood, the Lead Member for the Environment, said that this a TfL responsibility but that a shorter term alleviation may be possible - there may be other ways of looking at the problem. She went on to say:

The safety of people on our roads is an absolute priority for the Council.

Sandoor Fazekas, Project Development Manager Brent Transportation last week acknowledged the need for...

...immediate action to discourage motorists contravening the traffic regulations at the junction of  Kings Drive and Forty Lane. we shall therefore review the existing signage and road markings to improve compliance and this will include the introduction of camera enforcement signs along with increased enforcement during peak hours to target habitual offenders.

Meanwhile earlier yesterday a resident emailed me to say that what was recorded on the video was an example of what she was seeing daily. She went on:

This morning – I’m sorry, I know this is probably getting boring but I’m so frustrated – many people, including students from Preston Manor, got off the bus at the stop outside Asda on Forty Lane.  They then continued their journey across the junction by the Torch towards Forty Avenue – this involves crossing against traffic in two lanes from Forty Avenue on a left turn only down Bridge Road to the first pedestrian island, then across one lane for traffic turning right from Forty Avenue or straight across Barn Hill, and then across two lanes of traffic from Bridge Road turning right into Forty Lane, and then across one lane of traffic turning left from Bridge Road into Forty Avenue.  As I stood to cross over Forty Avenue towards Wembley Park station at 08.10 two cars from Forty Avenue jumped the red lights, blocked the box junction, and then continued on down Bridge Road against the green man pedestrian light with people trying to cross.

Again, there are students, school age children, using these crossings where I, with 50+ years of experience as a pedestrian and 30+ years as a car and motorcycle user, have trouble crossing.

In an email to Cllr Pavey ahead of the Cabinet Meeting I wrote that there was a real possibility of a fatality if the problems were not addressed. He agreed.

Cllr Helen Carr apologises for her conduct at September 7th Council Meeting

This was published as a comment on an earlier posting LINK on September 20th. I publish it here for readers' information.

On 16 September, I received a written apology from Cllr. Helen Carr, addressed both to me and to her colleagues on the Council, for her conduct at the Full Council meeting on 7 September 2015. I have accepted that apology, and as far as I am concerned that is the end of the matter (in as much as it involves Cllr. Carr).

Philip Grant

Possible collobaration to ensure survival of Welsh Harp Environmental Education Centre

1980s campaign by children to keep the Centre open

More recent visitors

The Brent Cabinet confirmed its first Community Asset Transfer at yesterday's Cabinet Meeting. Thames21 is the preferred bidder but Cllr Margaret McLennan said that Thames21 and Careys, the other bidder, both had strengths, and the Council was working towards a collaboration between the two in background talks. What they had to offer was complementary and would strengthen the Centre's offer.

Cllr Mashari expressed concern at the lack of detail in the officers' report over the long-term viability of the transfer and requested further information to come back to Cabinet.

Cllr Michael Pavey praised the Chalkhill Primary School children who had written to him calling for the Centre to be saved and apologised that their letters had initially been mislaid at the Civic Centre.

Brent Council: Mystery of the missing minutes

From Brent Council website this morning

The missing minutes of the Planning Committee came up at Brent Cabinet last night in relation to the Council's proposed Pub Protection Policy.  The July 23rd Planning Committee was unusual in that it did not discuss individual planning applications but the principles behind council policies including the Development Management Plan and issues such as the amount of affordable housing and how to manage the process by which developers try to reduce the amount of affordable housing through viability assessments.

The Committee's views (which are statutorily independent of the Council itself) are clearly vital in informing the fraemwork within which planning decisions are made. An accurate record of the Planning Committee's discussions are absolutely essential.

However two months later the minutes have not been published and my questions about non-publication have not been answered. I suspect that they may have been lost - although there is probably a form of newspeak that would be used instead of that simple word.

The consequence was that when the Cabinet discussed the Development Management Plan yesterday even the documentation did not reflect what the Planning Committee had said. This was evident when the Pub Protection policy was discussed. The Council had been forwarded the model polict prdiced by the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) and the Council was supposed to discuss amendments to the Brent policy in the light of CAMRA's recommendations.

A member of the Queensbury campaign pointed out the the Cabinet that the policy brought to the Cabinet remained unchanged. I found out later that by noon yesterday CAMRA had received no communication from Brent Council. The dialogue with CAMRA seemed not to have taken place in the two months between the Planning Committee and the Cabinet.

However, Andy Donald, Director of  Rgeneration and Major Projects told the Cabinet that there were 'ongoing discussions' with CAMRA, which must have taken place between noon yesterday and 7pm! He said that there was space to add further to the policy in the future. Michael Pavey, deputy leader, commented that CAMRA was a reputable organisation  and that there would need to be good reasons given for any departure from their recoemmndations.

The issue of affordable housing and viability assessments is clearly extremely important during the current housing crisis and was discussed in some depth at the Planning Committee on July 23rd. Donald commented last night that there was no reason why developers' viability assessments should not be made publicly available, although they were technically complex, but warends that publication was likely to be opposed by developers. The aim of the Council was that their view on what constituted a legitimate viability assessment would be clear and consistent.

Some of the main issues that were discussed at the July 23rd Planning Committee were covered on Wembley Matters at the time. The report can be found HERE.

Forty Lane/Asda traffic contraventions and dangers

Local residents have writtent to Brent Council expressing concern about the dangers of the Asda/Forty Lane junction and the nearby Bridge Road/Forty Avenue/Barnhill junction. Pedestrian traffic has increased at both due to new schools and the expansion of existing ones. Vehicle traffic has also increased.

I made the vide above this morning to illustrate the dangers at the Asda junction.

Residents argue that dealing with this issue should be given priority,

Colourful farewell to Sheila Robin

Local activist Sheila Robin’s LINK funeral will be taking place at 4pm on Thursday the 24th of September at Golders Green Crematorium.

This will be a celebration of Sheila’s life and, following her instructions, there is to be ‘No Black!’, so please wear your most outrageously bright and colourful clothing.

Following the service attendees will be going to The Windmill in Cricklewood to have a drink and a chat.


Instead of flowers, if you want to give something, please donate to Brent Stop the War or Shelter in memory of Sheila Robin.

Community rallies to Edible Garden cause on St Raphs

Delicious veggie food proved popular

It was a beautiful early Autumn afternoon for the Edible Garden event on St Raphael's estate this afternoon. The initiative by Sufra NW London Foodbank and Well London involves the creation of fruit and vegetable growing beds in a space previously used as an engineering yard. The soil is contaminated so everything has to be grown in imported soil in high containers.

The initiative involves a Food Growing Group and a Cooking Group. Plans for the space include a polytunnel and a pond (frogs are great for snaffling up slug and snail eggs).

Children planted some broad bean seeds and onion sets

Face painting was as popular as ever

Work continued on lining the pond with sand while children enjoyed playing

Plans for the site

'Give Together - Eat Together'

A salute to Philip Grant for his work on the Davani case

Nan Tewari, who first raised the issue of the behaviour of Brent Council Human Resources on this blog LINK wrote the following comment on the post below about Brent Council settling the Rosemarie Clarke case 'out of court'. I think her comment deserves more prominence.

What stands out in this sorry saga is the power of one individual's tenacious struggle to expose the truth and how that struggle carried out in the public domain, i.e. Wembley Matters, bolstered its effects to ensure a massive degree of success.

Philip Grant's relentless pursuit of matters of fact in this case, together with Martin Francis shining a light on that pursuit, has had the powerful effect of seeing off Cara Davani, Andrew Potts and Christine Gilbert.

After stringing out the Chief Exective 'interim' role for 3 years, Brent Council and Gilbert would have been quite comfortable for her to throw her hat into the ring for the permanent position and for her to have been appointed based on her sterling record of failure to follow basic procedures and nurturing conflicts of interest.

Andrew Potts, business and personal partner of Davani, emerged as a beneficiary of the legal department restructure that had been conducted by Davani and signed (nodded?) off by Gilbert.

Davani herself was secure enough to work on adding such unlikely strings to her bow as taking on responsibility for equality and diversity as well as wanting the acclaim of a Business in the Community award to trumpet the Council's equality achievements as a means of countering the public disgrace at the Watford Tribunal and the public disrepute she brought the council into, for blatant race discrimination.

And Philip's efforts have also exposed for all to see (the video of the council meeting would probably warrant an 18 certificate in the scheme of these things!!) the underlying ill manners and discourtesy of Cllr Butt and Cllr Dr Helen Carr BA (Hons); M Phil (Oxon); Cert TEFL; Dip; DPil who appear singularly unable to understand the balanced deportment required of public figures.

So at a time when it appears that we the public are powerless against those in power, Philip Grant has led the way in showing that we can put the frighteners on public institutions whatever they may choose to admit or however much they may attempt to conceal.

Philip, we salute you.