It’s not cricket! (or, I can’t believe it IS butter!)

Guest post by local historian Philip Grant
 

Sometimes topical events remind me of stories I have come across in my local history research, and the cricket news from “down under” is what has prompted this article.

The Ashes have been at the centre of one of the great international sporting rivalries since the 1880’s. When the British Empire Exhibition (“BEE”) was held at Wembley in 1924, Australia was involved in another rivalry, with Canada, over which was the top self-governing Dominion in the Empire. Both had seven acre sites for their pavilions, on the south side of the artificial lake which ran across the centre of the BEE site. These were side by side, with Australia to the right of the main route from Wembley Park station to the new Empire Stadium, and Canada to the left.

Both countries set out in their pavilions extensive displays of the mineral wealth, timber and agricultural products that they produced, and were available for export, both to the British market and around the world. One of the recent developments, which made possible their exports of meat and dairy products, was ships with refrigerated holds. The display in Canada’s pavilion for 1924 included a novel way of demonstrating this, with a life-size sculpture in butter of the Prince of Wales (later King Edward VIII) in a refrigerated display case.

This exhibit attracted a great deal of attention from visitors to the BEE, and they could even buy a postcard of it. The Prince himself, who was President of the BEE’s organising committee, was impressed by the statue, although he thought that the sculptor had made his legs too fat!

When the BEE re-opened for a second year in 1925, Australia decided that it needed to go one better, with a large scale refrigerated butter sculpture in its own pavilion. Being Australian, they did not follow Canada’s royalist example, but went for a sporting theme instead. The winter of 1924/25 had seen an Ashes tour of Australia by the Marylebone Cricket Club (the official name of the England touring side at that time), which Australia had won by four test matches to one. What better way for the Aussies to celebrate than by presenting visitors to the 1925 BEE with a butter tableau showing the famous England opening batsman, Jack Hobbs, being stumped during one of their victories in Sydney.

Canada had also made a more impressive butter sculpture as part of its refrigerated display for the BEE in 1925. This time it showed the Prince of Wales in his honorary role as Chief Morning Star of the Stony Indian tribe, during one of his visits to their country. You can decide for yourself which of the butter sculptures, Australia or Canada, was the best!

Coming back to the current Ashes series, with Australia again victorious, many England cricket fans will wonder how different the results might have been if Ben Stokes had not been excluded from the side. Even that aspect has a BEE angle to it, as one of the main purposes of the New Zealand pavilion in 1924, as well as to display its produce, was to encourage good working people from Britain to come to their country and help to build its successful economy further. The NZ province which was at the forefront of this effort was Canterbury, whose team Stokes has been playing for, rather than England.

(All of the images used are from the Wembley History Society Collection at Brent Archives)

Philip Grant,
December 2017.

Brent Council's objections to Geron Way Waste Transfer Station

Despite several requests before Christmas to Brent Planning for a copy of the Letter of Objection sent to the London Borough of Barnet regarding the planning application for the waste transfer station at 2 Geron Way, Cricklewood, NW2 6GJ, I received no response from the officer concerned and the planning south office did not know of its existence. I looked on the Planning Portal of the London Borough of Barnet for a copy to no avail. It is clearly a problem that there is no reasonable access to the document in either borough.

4.1.18 Brent Council has now provided a much more legible copy of their objection letter to Barnet Council

Summary of Letter of Objection dated December 7th 2017

The London Borough of Brent objects in principle to the provision of a waste transfer station in this location, on the western side of the railway with vehicular access from Geron Way.

Impact on residential amenity and highways impact: Brent objects to the proposal on this ground. The impact on the highway network from the heavy goods traffic generated by the proposal is such that it would have an unacceptable impact on the flow of traffic, with consequent harm to the road network and amenity of residents in the area by reason of the environment created.

Traffic Volumes: The letter contains a detailed analysis and comments 'this results in an average daily total of 227 arrivals and 49 departures for the maximum 226,000 tonne capacity. This is about three times the number of Heavy Goods Vehicles surveyed accessing the existing site on Brent Terrace. Spread evenly over a 10 hour day, this would equate to 23 incoming loads and 5 outgoing loads per hour.  Flows would therefore total 56 two-way movements per hour which is a considerable increase over the existing HGV volumes. (More in document)

Environmental Impact: Brent is concerned that the proposal has not adequately demonstrated that there will not be an impact on environmental quality. In the event of an approval to ensure protection of the environment, the following conditions should be imposed:

Prior to the commencement of the development these matters should be submitted to and approved by the local planning authority and implemented as approved:

• plans for the continual assessment of emissions and maintenance of the air treatment system/odour abatement system of the enclosed waste transfer station
• a scheme to protect the occupants of neighbouring residential accommodation from high concentrations of air pollutants; any potential source of nuisance should be identified and incorporated in this scheme with a schedule of mitigation measures.' The schedule of mitigation shall include but not be limited to the impact upon noise vibration, dust, odour and any other emissions that may affect the general amenity of the neighbouring receptors. (More in document)

Residents urged to comment on Cricklewood Aggregate Waste Superhub before January 5th deadline

From Railway Terraces Residents' Association:

Additional documents were put on the Barnet Council Planning Portal LINK just before Christmas regarding the proposals for the aggregate waste site at Cricklewood Railway Yard behind 400 Edgware Road.

Railway Terraces Residents' Association and Fordwych Residents were quickly off the mark asking members to submit additional comments before the January 5th deadline.

So far there have been 718 comments with 713 objections and two in support. The facility would be open from 7am-7pm on weekdays and 7am to 2pm on Saturdays.

Comments can be made on the Planning Portal LINK or by emailing planning.consultation@barnet.gov

The proposal:

Use of railway land for the transportation of aggregates and non-putrescible waste (construction) by rail including dismantling and removal of lighting tower; levelling of site and provision of landscape bund; 2no. open stockpile areas each containing 10 storage bins (with detachable panels) and 2no. partially enclosed stockpile areas each containing 9 storage bins (with detachable panels); acoustic and perimeter fencing; CCTV, security hut, 4no. welfare buildings, 4no. weighbridges and associated control cabins, 2 no. wheel wash facilities, dust suppression system, drainage, parking for HGVs and cars, traverser road, replacement rail track sidings, continued use of existing building for staff and welfare facilities; and other infrastructure and ancillary works including alterations to the existing access to Edgware Road and provision of new landscaping

 

Today: Amy Johnson - from Kingsbury to Australia

The song commemorating Amy Johnson, recorded by Pat O'Malley with the Jack Hylton Orchestra in Berlin 1930:

There's a little lady 
Who has captured every heart
Amy Johnson, it's you

We have watched and waited 
Since the day you made your start
Amy Johnson, it's true

Since the news that you are safe has come along
Everyone in town is singing this love song

Amy, wonderful Amy
How can you blame me for loving you
Since you won the praise of every nation
You have filled my heart with admiration

Amy, wonderful Amy
I'm proud of the way you flew
Believe me, Amy, you cannot blame me, Amy
For falling in love with you

(Instrumental Break)

SPOKEN:
She's landed in Vienna
Here she is in Baghdad
Now she's over Karachi
She's reached Port Darwin ..... Bravo!
She's up again, she's off to Brisbane
Here she comes, there's something wrong
Gracious, what's wrong
She's crashed, no, she's safe

(Amy, wonderful Amy)
(How can you blame me for loving you)
Since you won the praise of every nation
You have filled my heart with admiration

(Sounds of crowds cheering)

Could you be a volunteer teacher of English in Brent?

From Brent Unite Community

If any readers want to do some ESOL  (English for Speakers of Other Languages) teaching in the new year in the community, Unite the Union is running free training for volunteers so we can provide free classes in the borough. It's a minimum commitment of a weekend training and a 12 week course of classes (i.e 2 hours a week). We will find venues to suit when you're free and available.

Also, if anyone is part of any community groups (especially with venues) wanting classes, please get in touch with maryado2000@yahoo.co.uk

Anger as residents frustrated by Boxing Day parking restrictions as Spurs play Southampton

Twitter and Facebook were awash with complaints yesterday as the Spurs v Southampton event at the stadium meant parking restrictions were imposed.  Residents were angered that visits by relatives and friends on Boxing Day were affected with one person suggesting that Wembley had become a no-go area for those from outside the area:

I’m going to complain. Rules need to change. Don’t need whole day restriction for a 2 hour football match/concert. It’s a stupid system and unfair to residents and people who want to visit the borough. Especially on bank holidays !!!

The 12.30pm kick-off meant that traffic built up during the afternoon and the route between Wembley High Road and Forty Lane was at a stand still with tail-backs stretching into the surrounding area.

On a personal note a friend travelling to see me in Wembley Park from Alperton for Boxing Day lunch was due at 2.30-3pm and didn't make it until 4.15pm.

Anger was directed at Brent Council for approving the increase in the number of games held at the Stadium without requiring the necessary  infrastructure improvments.  This led to discussions about what had actually happened to Section 106/CiL money.

Can you help the Wembley FC petition get to 25,000 signatories before the end of the day?

--> The petition is support of Wembley FC has now attracted more than 21,000 signatures. Brian Gumm, chairman of Wembley FC  told BBC London LINK he is determined to appeal against the decision by the European Union's Intellectual Property Office:

The petition has given me a bit of faith, seeing that people out there do care about non-league football.

The FA have not spoken to me. I want the best for my club and I will fight them. If we want to make a stance for non-league football then I think we should.

The FA in a statement to the BBC said:

We have never objected to their use of this logo in the UK or elsewhere. This case is about Wembley FC registering their logo in several countries outside of the UK, such as Russia, China and the US, and then refusing to co-exist with us in those countries. 

We have not asked and will not ask Wembley FC to pay the costs to date.

Is this the beginning of a climb down? Let's increase the pressure by persuading more people to sign. 
 
You can sign the petition HERE
Wembley FC web page HERE
Wembley FC Facebook HERE

Stand up and be counted in defence of Wembley FC - sign the petition against FA bullying

Following recent publicity about the Football Association taking action against our local football club Wembley FC to stop them using 'Wembley' in their name LINK a petition has been set up by a Wembley resident which has already attracted more than 11,000 signatories.

Please support Wembley FC by signing the petition:

Wembley FC are being told to drop Wembley from their title because it could cause confusion with Wembley Stadium.

Wembley FC have had their name for over 70 years and are in fact a Football Club in .... Wembley!

Wembley Stadium on the other hand was known as the Empire Stadium, this was changed to Wembley Stadium because .... yes it is also in Wembley!

The two have co-existed for years without any issues so why are the FA forcing this on a small local club now and ordering them to pay the cost which will cripple them and probably force them to not exist anymore.  Is this a ploy to get the land from them that they have?  It is ridiculous and just shows that big organisations and throwing their weight around yet again to crush the little guy !  

Well my fellow Wemblians let’s see how the force of a towns’ residents over the 70 years feels about it!

Stand up and be counted and support the name Wembley remaining on the local team! 

London Assembly: Residents should have final say and ballot on estate regeneration

The London Assembly is asking the Mayor to hear Londoner’s voices and give them more power to decide where and when regeneration should take place in their areas.

A motion, agreed today, called on the Mayor to include this commitment in his final Good Practice Guide, urging him to make London a place where neighbourhoods are designed to answer communities’ needs.

Sian Berry AM, who proposed the motion, said:

The Assembly has called today for something all estate residents should have: a final say on what will happen to their homes and communities.

 Full consultation is vital and a ballot over any major plan to remodel their estates is the only way to make sure councils and housing associations don’t fudge these processes.

The Mayor’s commitment that ‘estate regeneration only takes place where there is resident support, based on full and transparent consultation’ was clear and we are calling now for him to keep his promise to Londoners.

 Tom Copley AM, who seconded the motion, said:

I’m pleased that the Mayor is insisting that there must be no net loss of social housing on estate regeneration schemes in his draft Good Practice Guide. However, I want him to go further by including ballots of residents whose homes face demolition. Balloting is a vital way of ensuring residents have a meaningful say over future plans for their homes and is the best way to ensure a regeneration scheme has legitimacy.

Wherever demolition is an option, there must be a commitment to balloting residents, particularly where a sizeable number of residents have made a request for a ballot.

Through his Good Practice Guide, we now want to see the Mayor working with community groups to develop detailed guidance about a host of issues, such as when ballots take place, who participates and how differences in opinions between residents may be resolved.

The full text of the Motion is:

This Assembly notes that the Mayor’s Good Practice Guide to Estate Regeneration is due to be published soon which will set out key principles to be followed in estate regeneration projects.

This Assembly also notes the Mayor’s manifesto commitment that estate regeneration only takes place where there is resident support, based on full and transparent consultation.

This Assembly believes that a final say for residents is an important way to ensure that resident involvement in plans for their homes is done in a meaningful way throughout the process.

This Assembly therefore urges the Mayor to recommend in his final Good Practice Guide that ballots are used on all schemes where demolition is an option or to include clear guidance that ballots will be guaranteed where a proportion of residents ask for it. Ballots should extend to private renters from non-resident leaseholders and freeholders on estates.

See this photographic essay for an example of an estate that is due to be regenerated LINK

New Information and Advice service for people with a learning disability

From Brent Mencap

Our new specialist Information and Advice service for Brent people with a learning disability aged 18-65 is going live on Thursday January 4th at Brent Mencap. It's only for people with a learning disability (which doesn't include conditions such as dyslexia or dyspraxia nor other disabilities).

As well as a drop in on Thursdays we can give initial information over the phone and get our adviser to ring you back or make an appointment.

Wembley FC 'David' takes on the FA 'Goliath' over club's name

After yesterday's coverage on ITN Wembley Football Club have received massive support on Twitter in their battle with the FA over the club's use of the word Wembley. The FA are citing 'Wembley' as their intellectual property despite not objecting when the name of Wembley FC went forward in 2012.

After the EU ruled in favour of the Football Association Wembley FC were ordred to pay the FA's costs threatening the future of the 70 years old club.

I wonder if they will act against Wembley Matters, Wembley Champions and Wembley Futures?

Here is some of the scathingTwitter reaction:

Before you rent, check whether your landlord has been prosecuted

Tenants are now able to check whether the landlord or agent they want to rent a property from is a rogue thanks to the launch of a new London database.

Brent is one of the first London boroughs rolling out the Greater London Authority's Rogue Landlord and Agent Checker.

The names and addresses of landlords and agents who have been prosecuted for housing offences within the past year have been uploaded onto the database. Their information will remain searchable for a year on the publicly accessible side of the Checker, and for up to 10 years between Councils and the London Fire Brigade.
 
Brent is one of ten London Councils included in this first phase launch, alongside Camden, Greenwich, Islington, Kingston, Newham, Southwark, Sutton, Waltham Forest and Westminster. The aim is for the database to become London-wide, including all London councils.

The Checker has three key parts. The first is a publicly available list of landlords and agents who have faced enforcement action. The second is a private database accessible only to London boroughs and the London Fire Brigade, containing a greater range of enforcement actions. Lastly, there will be a reporting tool - www.London.gov.uk/rogue-landlord-checker - to allow private tenants to make a complaint about their landlord or agent to their local authority.

Cllr Harbi Farah, Cabinet Member for Housing and Welfare Reform, said:

We want to put an end to rogue landlords exploiting the housing crisis by taking money from tenants living in poorly managed properties and in sub-standard conditions. The Rogue Landlord and Agent Checker is a deterrent to any landlord thinking of going down that route. It will also empower tenants to make the best possible choice about who they decide to pay their rent to. 

Anyone is able to access the Rogue Landlord and Agent Checker through a link on the Brent Council website as well as through the GLA website. The system has been designed to allow councils to share information about rogue landlords in order to help potential renters make informed decisions about where they choose to live.

Are Spurs having trouble filling Wembley Stadium or just trying to win over the locals?

I happened to mention to someone  recently that there seemed to be an awful lot of free tickets for football matches at Wembley floating around the borough, but still empty seats at the Stadium when matches were shown on TV. Then I saw this email from Brent Council Housing Resident Involvement (never heard of them before):

Subject: FREE Tottenham Hotspur Tickets - Matches on Boxing Day, 7 January & 13 January

Dear resident,

 

Tottenham Hotspur have advised us that they are keen to ensure that local community groups around Wembley are taking up tickets at their home matches this season.

 

They have offered us tickets at each of the upcoming fixtures below.

 

If you are interested in attending, please respond back with the game you would like to attend and complete the details in the form attached with your information and that of those that will be attending with you.

 

For the game on 26^th December, you will need to be able to able to pick up the tickets on Friday 22^nd between 10am – 12pm or 2:00pm – 4pm

Upcoming Fixtures:

  

Boxing Day, 12.30pm – Southampton

Sunday January 7, time TBC – AFC Wimbledon (FA Cup Round 3)

Saturday January 13, 5.30pm – Everton

Considering how much fuss Spurs made regarding planning permission to hold more full capacity matches against opposition from many local residents LINK it seems odd that there are so many free tickets available. It could be a result of that opposition and residents' demands that Spurs give something back to the community, or is it that they miscalculated their ability to fill the stadium?

Confusion over end date for Wembley High Road sewer works

 Street signs say that the sewer works in Wembley High Road will continue until January 31st 2018 but this is what Brent Council posted on its website yesterday with a completion date of January 5th LINK:

The sewer works on High Road, Wembley, are progressing well and the proposed end date for these works is now 5 January 2018.

To date Thames Water have:

• Removed the traffic island
• Excavated a shaft onto the sewer over seven meters deep
• Tunnelled four meters downstream, towards Park Lane, to a point where there is no concrete in the sewer
• Tunnelled upstream, towards Wembley triangle, eight and a half meters to the lateral connection from the former Brent House site and have tunnelled over fourteen meters to a point where all concrete has been removed.
• Sink another shaft on the sewer
• Replaced the sewer

Next steps:

• Backfill the tunnels

• Backfill the shaft

• Permanent reinstatement of carriageway.

  
   Note: From the top of the 83 bus today (Thursday) it did look as if the backfill works have been completed. I have asked Thames Water for clarification.
  

Brent kids can be 'Super Heroes' - lessons from the St Raph's Movie Fun Day

I think readers will enjoy this video showing the Brent community at its best with children and adults from all communities having fun together with a serious intent behind the fun.

London Mayor torpedoes Barnet's Grahame Park regeneration citing loss of affordable homes

From Construction News LINK

Sadiq Khan has rejected plans for a housing estate regeneration project in north London on the basis that affordable homes will be lost.

The mayor of London said the scheme in Barnet is “a classic example of how not to do estate regeneration”.

The project at the 1970s Grahame Park estate in Colindale includes plans to demolish 692 homes available at social rent and replace them with 1,083 units.

But only 435 of the new homes will be available for social tenants within what is Barnet’s largest housing estate.

Barnet Council approved the scheme, which is being developed by Genesis Housing Association, last month.

However, Mr Khan said after considering the evidence, the council must now work with City Hall planners to redesign the project.

It is the second time this year the mayor has intervened in Barnet, having called in the council’s decision to refuse Barratt permission for 462 homes in May.

The mayor said: “I fully support improving social housing on this estate and across the capital, but this scheme falls far short of what I expect of London boroughs.”

Mr Khan pointed to his London Plan, published last month, which said estate regeneration projects must replace homes for social rent on a like-for-like basis.

He added: “Londoners so urgently need more high-quality housing, not less, which makes this scheme completely unacceptable in its current form.”

Housing estate regeneration is a major issue in the capital, with Haringey Council facing fierce opposition to its £2bn plans to regenerate part of Wood Green in north London.

A Barnet Council spokesperson said: “We are clearly disappointed by this decision. We will now be reviewing this with our development partner to agree the next steps.”

A Genesis spokesperson said: “We are very disappointed to hear this decision and are in close dialogue with Barnet Council and the mayor’s office to review next steps.”

NOTE

Genesis Housing Association is associated with the Brent House development where only 30% of units are 'affordable' (ie unaffordable to most local families at up to 80% market rent) and the controversial Minavil House development where  'affordable' is 60% of market rent but only 13% of the units.  It is also facing a campaign by tenants over the merger with Notting Hill Housing Trust and its move away from its original remit of providing housing at social rent.

It will be interesting to see how Mr Khan treats applications from Brent which don't offer Londoners more high quality homes at social rent.

Wembley High Road sewer works until the end of January?

The street signs say the end of January but this is what Brent Council posted on its website yesterday with a completion date of January 5th:

The sewer works on High Road, Wembley, are progressing well and the proposed end date for these works is now 5 January 2018.
To date Thames Water have:

• Removed the traffic island
• Excavated a shaft onto the sewer over seven meters deep
• Tunnelled four meters downstream, towards Park Lane, to a point where there is no concrete in the sewer
• Tunnelled upstream, towards Wembley triangle, eight and a half meters to the lateral connection from the former Brent House site and have tunnelled over fourteen meters to a point where all concrete has been removed.
• Sink another shaft on the sewer
• Replaced the sewer

Next steps:

• Backfill the tunnels
• Backfill the shaft
• Permanent reinstatement of carriageway.

Cabinet approves Wembley Park-Harrow Weald Cycling Quietway

Click bottom right square to enlarge

The Brent Cabinet has approved the Wembley Park to Harrow Weald Quietway (purple on map) for cyclists to go forward for detailed design and consultation.

The plans also contains possible spurs to Wembley Central and along Churchill  Road to Kenton Road. The Council claims that the route will contain improvements for pedestrians as well as cyclists.

A spokesperson for Brent Cyclists said:

This could be a good thing for cycling, depending very much on the detailed design, which we expect to be given input into. 

Cycle routes on narrow, heavily parked, residential roads, as proposed here, can only attract new cyclists if they are really low-traffic, and this can only be achieved with 'mode filtering', whereby only cyclists, pedestrians and emergency vehicles can use the road from end to end (while still allowing motor vehicle access to all properties). 

In the case of the route suggested here, certainly Brook Avenue and Draycott Avenue, which are quite busy roads, and possibly others, would need mode filtering for a satisfactory Quietway route to be achieved.

Cllr Chan opposes The Village School move towards academisation

From this week's Kilburn Times LINK

Click on image to enlarge

Cllr Duffy encounters Kafka in Brent

Councillor John Duffy (Kilburn) recounts his experience of trying to represent workers and relatives over the Paddington Cemetery asbestos dump. Background HERE

-->

A strange thing happened to me last week (Tuesday 5^th December). I was made aware of a Internal Audit meeting concerning the discovery of asbestos in Paddington Cemetery. I had raised the issue sometime ago after the council stopped new burials in the cemetery and would only reopen graves to intern the  “next of kin”. The reopening takes place using a special contractor. The contractors are in breathing masks and white overalls. They remove the old soil and replace it with new uncontaminated soil for the burial.

I requested a copy of the report as the person who raised concerns in June. Originally I had asked for an independent report as I feared that the report would not be transparent and there could be seen as a cover-up, unless it was open to local residents and the relatives (bereaved) of the people who are buried in the area of concern. An independent investigation would allow the public to witness the impartiality of the report and the seriousness of the situation.

However this requested was turned down by the CEO Instead the CEO decided to have an internal audit report which would exclude the press and the public .The reasons given for the secrecy of the report was because there was information relating to financial affairs of a particular person or companies.” 

The Head of Legal informed me via officers that I would not be allowed to have a copy of the report. I challenged this and finally received an email from legal services stating  “All members are entitled to ‘inspect’ reports with certain categories of exempt information, rather than receive a copy. If you would like to come to the Civic Centre prior the meeting to inspect the report physically in this instance.”  Why do senior officer think its necessary to act in this bizarre way to stop me getting information. This was done even though in the terms of reference for the report, it states the reason for the internal audit report is “ following concerns raised by Cllr John Duffy in an email dated 10^th November” so the decision to exclude me from having a copy is strange to say the least.

Anyway I went to the Civic centre at 4pm,2hrs before the meeting was due to take place to read the report .I was met by 2 (male ) members of legal services with the report. I was informed.  I was allowed to read the report only under their supervision, but could not remove it or photograph it. I am bound by the secrecy imposed on me by the Head of legal , which means if I am approached by any member of the public , who has a relative buried on the Hill ,I have to tell them they are not allowed to know what happen or how the asbestos got there….. Now that is what you call transparency Brent Style.

At the meeting I ask the Chair of the Audit committee to overturn the Head of Legal decision  not to allow me a copy of the report.  He did this and his decision was supported by the other members of the  committee which included  Councillors Choudry, Nerva, Davidson and Perrin. However, even though I was then given a copy , I am still not allow to share the information contained within it.

I informed the chair of the meeting I will not make public anything I have read in the report after he released the report to me. I intent to honour that , with one exception .Officers were wrong  and misleading to say the reasons given for the secrecy of the report was because there was information relating to financial affairs of a particular person or companies.” There is no such information in the report and all names have redacted and the names of the companies involved have been disguised, therefore there is no information, which should be kept from the public.

Whereas I am committed not to discuss the contents of the report I will reiterate things I raised in my previous emails. The act of placing the contaminated waste in Paddington Cemetery was deliberate (any ordinary member  of the public could spot the difference between  a delivery of soil and a delivery of builders rubble) it was not an accident. The cost to the council will be well over a million pounds in lost revenue and I have further concerns about the way the public have been treated since the asbestos was discovered in May this year.

The whole thing is  a farce and is right out of a  Kafka  novel .Why senior officers think that it  is necessary  to stop the local residents and the relatives of those buried knowing the truth  so they can make plans for their  future family  burial arrangements is disgraceful..

As I said before this an attempt by senior officers to rely on the Cabinet, who will nod it through without question and ensure that the facts are kept from the public .

I will continue to seek an independent investigation for the sake of the relatives.

Brent councillors urged to attend fossil fuel divestment event January 27th

This is a welcome initiative taking place on Saturday 27th January 2018 10.30am to 1pm at Brent Civic Centre.

Please urge your councillors to attend. BOOKING

Brent Council & Labour Energy Forum invite Labour Councillors and members to come and discuss how divesting from fossils fuel can shape Labour's role in leading on safer pensions and climate action.

With May 2018 local council elections approaching Labour councils should consider their position on continued investment in the fossil fuel industry.

Over £14 billion of LG Pension Funds holdings are invested in oil, gas and coal - but these investments are no longer financially sustainable. Mark Carney, Governor of the Bank of England, has warned that investments into fossil fuels will become stranded assets and contribute to financial instability.

As Labour Groups write their manifestos for the 2018 elections, we invite Labour councillors to come and consider how your local council should move forward in light of the growing consensus of fossil fuels holdings becoming stranded assets. We will interrogate the best approaches to achieving a world unpolluted by the fossil fuel industry, and how to reduce risk while maximising strategic influence over individual companies and the oil/gas/coal extraction sectors.

In September last year, Waltham Forest Council became the UK’s first Local Government Pension Scheme to announce that they will divest their Pension Funds away from fossil fuel companies over the coming 5 years, followed by Southwark Council in December. The place of fossil fuels in the world economy is changing. The Paris Agreement set the UK’s economy on a pathway to taking serious action on climate change that will require significant changes to our economies - changes that are incompatible with the business models of fossil fuel extraction companies. Come and discuss how Labour councils can maximise influence in shaping the transition while minimising the exposure to stranded assets.

The Labour Party can lead in building this new future and laying out how we make this transition just, fast and affordable. Divesting the £14 billion of LG Pension Funds away from fossil fuels would enable reinvestment into local housing and transport, strengthening local economies and supporting job creation.

Pickets at dawn as The Village School strikes against academisation

Pickets at dawn outside The Village School

National Education Union members were out in force this morning from dawn forming a picket as members went on strike against plans by The Village School governors to convert to academy status. In line with the motion recently passed by the CLP the Brent Central Labour Party banner was in attendance.

An NEU spokesperson said:

Around 70 people joined the rally this morning over the two hours. The school was closed to pupils. There was a very determined mood among the crowd to prevent this privatisation of our brilliant Brent school. We were addressed by Stefan Simms, NEU NUT section Executive member, Hank Roberts, NEU ATL section Executive member, Lesley Gouldbourne, Brent NEU joint secretary, Brent Trades Council and the two NEU Reps from the school. There was singing to keep us warm and lots of passing cars and buses tooted to show support. There was a winner of the best placard and then the NEU hosted breakfast at a nearby cafe. 

Further strikes are planned for the New Year, as well as other actions, as the campaign to prevent academisation builds among staff but also in the community.

 

Wembley High Road works to continue until mid-Janaury

Brent Council has confirmed that Thames Water has been given a second extension to complete their main sewer works in Wembley High Road. The new completion date is mind-January 2018.

Responding to a query about the replacement of the mature trees removed as a result of the works, the Council said that they would be replaced in Wembley Central ward but not in the High Road as there was no suitable site there.

Double Whammy Wembley Works

With road works now taking place outside Wembley Central station as well as on Wembley High Road outside the Brent House building site, residents are getting increasingly frustrated as tailbacks develop. Things were not looking great for this evening with wet roads, two sets of works and Spurs playing Brighton!

Brent Council has responded to a resident by setting out the latest position regarding the works:

The works near Wembley Central Station are been undertaken by UK Power Networks (UKPN), these works are urgent because there has been an intermittent power failure which has affected up to seventy five shops along the High Road.

Originally, the footway opposite Wembley Central Station was closed and two new temporary pedestrian crossings were placed either side of the excavation so that pedestrians could safely navigate their way around the closed footway. Unfortunately, pedestrians were not using this facility, instead, pedestrians were walking in live traffic lanes which is clearly unacceptable. The only safe option was provide a safe pedestrian walkway in the carriageway and control traffic with two way temporary signals, the carriageway at this location was not considered wide enough to accommodate two way traffic and a pedestrian walkway.

I have been to site this morning and we have instructed UKPN to back fill and open the footway and open the carriageway to normal two way traffic, this should be in place for the evening rush hour.

There is still a fault on the cable and UKPN will need to undertake more works at this location, where possible these works will be planned to occur in non-traffic sensitive times only.

I can assure you that all planned works have been postponed until after the sewer works are complete but emergency works cannot be postponed.

Anti-academisation strike to go ahead at The Village School after negotiations fail

The  £19m Village School building could be handed over to a MAT

Staff at The Village School in Kingsbury, Brent will take strike action against the proposal to turn the school into an academy, part of a Multi Academy Trust (MAT). 

The strike will be going ahead at this special school on Thursday December 14^th because negotiations so far have failed to change the situation and the governors will not meet again until January. There will be a picket and rally from 7:30am to 9:30am.

An NEU spokesperson said:

In September there were 32 NEU members. Now there are 125. Staff are joining every day because they say they want to strike against the school becoming an academy with the consequences to their terms and conditions and the negative impact on the teaching and learning of the pupils.

The strike has been backed by the Green Party. Pete Murry said:

As Green Party Trade Union Liaison Officer for Brent and for the London Federation of Green Parties, I wish to send support to the teachers at The Village School in Kingsbury who have voted to take strike action against the proposal to turn the school into an academy. If this retrograde step takes place it means the loss of a substantial educational asset for the people of Brent which large amounts of council resources have been paid to develop.

I would like to second the question of NEU (National Education Union) reps who ask why Brent Council is not opposing this proposed academisation, in spite of the reported opposition of Brent Central Constituency Labour party which the council purports to represent on behalf of the communities of Brent.