Barham library campaigners win 15 year lease on Barham Lounge for community library

Barham  library campaigners cracked open a bottle of champagne this afternoon when Cllr Michael Pavey used the chair's casting vote to award a 15 year lease to the campaign for the Barham Lounge.
This will provide a permanent home to the campaign which has run two community libraries from Sudbury Town station and Wembley High Road since the original Barham Library was closed 5 years ago.

In opening remarks Cllr Pavey admitted that the process had taken far too long and had been 'shambolic'. He was scathing about an officers' report which he said had undervalued the importance of the interview process in which the two sets of bidders were questioned by a panel of three. All the panellists agreed that Barham Library Campaign had come out the strongest in the interviews but this had been down-played in the report.

He added that problems had persisted with a Supplemental Note from the Barham Park Trust Property Adviser only being made available two hours before the meeting.

Cllr Denselow sent his apologies to the meeting but asked that his thoughts be read out to the meeting. These favoured the Barham library bid.

Cllr Pavey said that despite attempts to make the issue party political each councillor present would give their independent views.  Cllrs Hirani and McLennan said that on balance they favoured the Pivot Point bid as they throught this would deliver more of what the community needed.

Cllr Eleanor Southwood, particularly on the interview evidence felt the Barham library campaign bid was stronger. Her view was supported by Cllr Pavey, particularly in terms of providng services that had suffered cuts due to local government funding reductions. Both voted in favour of the Barham library bid.

As the vote was 2-2 Cllr Pavey used the chair's casting vote in favour of the library bid.

Preston Library urges support for Barham campaigners at this afternoon's meeting

FromPreston Library Campaign

From this Saturday, we'll be showing films in the library every Saturday night at 7.30. These films are free for members of the library (you can join at the door), and we will be taking donations towards the library's work.

Our next pub quiz is on Monday 26 October at 7.30 in The Preston. Unfortunately last month's quiz was on a cold and very wet evening - I hope to see lots more of you this month.
The library itself will continue to open and to offer the full range of library services from 11-5 on Saturdays and 1-5 on Sundays.

Finally, can I draw your attention to a meeting of the Barham Park Trust Committee at the Civic Centre this Thursday, 8 October, at 3pm. The trustees will be making a decision on Friends of Barham Library's bid to run a library in Barham Park. We at Preston Library have had a huge amount of help from library groups at Barham, Kensal Rise, Cricklewood and elsewhere, and we're looking forward to a time in the very near future when Brent will have a group of four mutually supportive volunteer-run libraries. The Barham Trust meeting is open to the public, and I'm sure Friends of Barham Library would welcome your support.

Thanks for your continuing support.

Barham Park library decision tomorrow - meeting open to the public

The meeting of the Barham Park Trust that will decide whether the Barham library campaign will be granted the lease on the Lounge for a community library takes place tomorrow (Thursday)  at 3pm at Brent Civic Centre (Boardroom 2) LINK

The meeting is open to the public but attendance will be limited by it taking place during working hours.

See Gaynor's Lloyd's guest blog on the campaign HERE

See Friends of Barham Library's bid for the lease HERE 

Will Affordable Housing Position Statement address Planning Committee's concerns?

The Planning Committee of July 23rd (the meeting where the Minutes were mysteriously unpublished for weeks before pressure finally got them unearthed or created LINK ) considered a wide range of issues. The most prominent was a report on affordable housing which reflected concern over whether the Council was achieving a sufficient level of affordable housing in developments and in particular developers' practice of reducing the amount of affordable housing once development was underway through viability assessments. Essentially the assessments claim the developer is not making a sufficient return on the development and that the only way this can be addressed is by increasing the proportion of market price/rent housing in the scheme.

The next Planning Committee on October 14th will discuss a 'Brent Affordable Housing Position Statement' (see below) that if approved will be posted on the Brent Council website and made available to developers.

The accompanying Officer's Report by Stephen Weeks seems somewhat grudging at times over the necessity for such a statement.

Planning Committee is recommended to endorse the statement. It balances the Council's necessity to be clear about the priority it places on certain aspects in the delivery of affordable housing in association with new developments, against the need to not essentially repeat extensive existing robust policy and detailed advice that currently exists as a national, London and Brent level.

As such the Position Statement does not appear to make new policy but clarifies existing policy. It may fall short of the Planning Committee's expectations as exemplified by support at the July 23rd Meeting for Islington Council's Development Viability Supplementary Planning Document. The Brent report states:

...As such the production of a Supplementary Planning Document, essentially duplicating much of the existing relevant guidance against a background of resource constraint is recommended as inappropriate.

Finally the weight given to the Position Statement is limited:

The position statement can be regarded as a material planning consideration. However, the weight accorded to it will not be as strong as for instance Supplementary planning Documents, which have statutory status if adopted in accordance with regulations.

The background to the position statement is the stark fact that average housing prices in Brent are 12 times the average annual wage and that rents have risen by 60% over the last 5 years.  It seeks to maximise the amount of affordable housing through Section 106 obligations and states that 'the priority need in Brent is for affordable housing at rents well below market levels (social and affordable rented' with affordable home ownership and other forms of intermediate affordable housing a lesser priority although necessary for a 'balanced housing offer'.

This is contrary to the Conservative government's recently announced policy prioritising the building of ';affordable' housing for sale.

The preference for thorough viability assessments to be carried out at the pre-planning stage rather than later in the development cycle addresses some of the concerns raised at Planning Committee in July.

End this wretched sniping at Barham Library volunteers

This comment by Gaynor Lloyd was submitted in response to the comments on Wembley Matters' story on the decision abut to be made by Trustees on the organisation to be granted the lease on the Barham Park Lounge.  

Having been a very early member of the Barham Library campaign and, over the last four years a long standing volunteer at the Volunteer Library currently (and for three  years) running at 428 Wembley High Road, can I just for the zillionth time clarify that Friends of Barham Library is not a covert front for the Lib Dems in Brent? I am sick, sick, sick of this wretched sniping- and mildly resentful of  the implication for all those of us who work for the Barham volunteer community library at this end of the Borough.

Can whoever is left annoyed by  us library campaigners please get over it? I would much prefer a library service delivered  throughout Brent -  as it should be -  by a properly funded Council - but that isn't where we are. Let us add to the service - please don't be mean about us. Perhaps even join us.

Start by coming to see us in  the Library premises in Wembley or Sudbury Town Station.  We have an amazing selection of books...but there is a lot more to us! For example, go and see the children's arts and crafts workshop in Sudbury Town every Saturday - full to bursting in the limited space. As to Wembley, two days this week have provided perfect examples of what happens in premises pathetically inadequate to offer true library services. I spend a lot of my time crashing about outside 428 Wembley High Road shaking a green  bucket to raise less than the Minimum wage, never mind the London Living Wage, per hour - but, in so doing, talking to many of the people who pass by on their daily round who stop to put a bit of money in  and talk about books, services , children and their lives. It's brilliant. I may get called in to the shop  to give what expertise I have on English literature, to chat or to offer my opinion on children's books.

Yesterday a family with 5 children came in looking for English dictionaries suitable for four of the children. We were able to offer 5 varying levels of dictionary and spelling primers. While there and all chatting, the children looked for fiction. Mum was clearly a bit concerned at the amount of space they have at home for the acquisition of the collection the children  amassed. We were able to say "Well just read them and bring them back".

Then there was the lad who came in with his Mum looking for project materials on Europe, who left with books on countries and a child's French dictionary; they left really chuffed promising to bring the project in when they could. Then there was the group of lads - aged around 10 or so - who passed me three times on bucket duty and finally stopped on round 4. "Is this for the library?" one asked. "Yes" I said. "I've only got 60p. Is that OK?" And in went the 60p. Many of my donors are young people. Often parents will come in and we give them a sampler book for their babies; never too young to start with books still seems to be a message that resonates. Then there are the adults seeking to improve their English, who need study books - or just come in and talk  on topics various, including literature.

It am proud to work with Paul, Francis, Judy, Alex, Frank, Peggy, Vi and the other volunteers in the heart of the community (sorry to those ranked as others). Anyone who doubts what we are there for - please call in.

I grew up with a library -what's wrong with wanting all that a modern community library can offer for our bit of the Borough?.

Then we can extend even further the range of people  who will find in a library what I did  and still do- much better put by Bernard Kops  in his poem Whitechapel Library, Aldgate East "That door of the library was the door into me"

National Gallery strikers to return to work after dispute agreement reached

 

The strike was widely supported

From PCS Press Release

Our members at the National Gallery voted unanimously today to return to work after we reached an agreement to end the dispute.

 

The news comes shortly after we marked 100 days on strike since February.

We opposed the privatisation of the gallery's visitor services staff and regret we have been unable to prevent it going ahead.

We are however pleased to have reached an agreement with the gallery and contractor Securitas that would mean protection of terms and conditions and a return to work for our senior rep Candy Udwin.

We thank the new director Gabriele Finaldi and the company for their commitment to genuine negotiations.

Strike action is being suspended pending ministerial approval and a ballot of our members over the deal, which also includes union recognition with the company and the London living wage.

Staff will meet outside the gallery at 9am on Monday 5 October to go back in to work together.
More information will be published as soon as it is available.

Our general secretary Mark Serwotka said: "We are pleased to have reached this agreement and on behalf of the union I would like to pay particular tribute to Candy, who is looking forward to returning to the job she loves, and to all our members at the gallery.

"We still do not believe privatisation was necessary but we will work with the new company and the gallery to ensure a smooth transition and, importantly, to ensure standards are maintained at this world-renowned institution."

Your chance to share in Sudbury’s history

Guest blog by Philip Grant

Next Saturday, 10^th October, everyone in the Sudbury area of Brent will have the chance to discover what an interesting place they live in. For months, local people from the Sudbury Court and Sudbury Town Residents’ Associations, Friends of Barham Library and two local primary schools have been working with Wembley History Society. Adopting old photographs and postcards (some from as early as the 1890’s), taking matching colour views of the same locations today and researching some of the stories behind the pictures, they have put together an exhibition for everyone in Sudbury to enjoy. It will be open at Sudbury Methodist Church Hall from 2pm to 5.30pm, and is free of charge.

The “Sudbury – Then and Now” display will comprise thirty-five pairs of images, taking you on a winding route through the area, from Watford Road and the Sudbury Court Estate in the north to Barham Park and Wembley Fire Station in the south. Four of these have been contributed by Sudbury and Barham Primary Schools, whose Year 5 classes used some of the old photos for their own local history projects in the summer term. As one of their teachers said: ‘The children were stunned to know how close they were to local living history, and were left wanting to know more.’

If you live in Sudbury, and would like to know more about the special history that is all around you, although perhaps without realising it is there, please come along to the exhibition next Saturday. As the poster below says: everyone is welcome!

Relay to mark 4 year annniversary of Brent library closures