Monday February 1st: Second Brent Webinar for those hesitant about vaccination

Brent Council are running another webinar about the COVID vaccine this coming Monday (1st February) at the same time (between 6pm and 7.30pm).

 

Go to:https://vaccinewebinar2.eventbrite.co.uk to register for the webinar, which is titled ‘Are you hesitant to take the COVID vaccine?’

 

The webinar will aim to build trust amongst those in the community who are showing signs of hesitancy when it comes to having the vaccine. This will be achieved by outlining the facts, addressing all the pertinent issues and explaining the science.

 

The webinar will include presentations to help explain how the virus affects people’s immune system, the science behind the vaccine, and the issues of trust and doubt that local people might have in relation to the vaccine.

 

 

Brent Pension Fund loses £8m from failure to divest from fossil fuels - but others fare worse and the Council is making progress

 

Simon Erskine campaigning outside City Hall

Divest Brent, the campaign calling on the Council to sell their holdings in fossil fuel companies like Shell, BP and ExxonMobil, received a boost after submitting a Freedom of Information request to the Council. In responding to this request the Council admitted that over the last year the Pension Fund was worth £8 million less as a result of not having divested the Fund from fossil fuel investments before the Covid pandemic. The Council is actually doing significantly better than many authorities – over the last 4 years local authority pension funds have lost £2 billion of value in fossil fuel stocks. 

 

Up until now the leading argument against divestment had been the consistently high returns from these investments. Divest Brent Co-ordinator, Simon Erskine, said that historically it was true that fossil fuel companies had been a key part of any pension fund – and indeed any investment portfolio – due to the high level of returns:

 

The world has moved on and now not only do many people think that it is inappropriate to lend support, through investment, to fossil fuel companies but the entire economic situation has changed, with plunging share values. If we are to meet the net zero by 2050 target (i.e. reduce carbon emissions by 2050 so that they are no more than the amount absorbed by planting trees and other means) we have to make dramatic reductions in the amount of fossil fuels that we burn – and ultimately stop burning them altogether. 

 

If governments fail in their duty to bring about those cuts through legislation then fossil fuel companies are also facing a world where electric vehicles are rapidly catching up with, and set to overtake, petrol and diesel vehicles; and where renewable and nuclear energy are rapidly taking over from fossil fuels as the main generators of electricity.

 

In the meantime Divest Brent has been increasing its support base through its petition, which now boasts nearly 1,400 signatories – including well over 1,100 Brent residents. 

 

Simon Erskine praised the action taken by the Council to date:

 

Not only has the Council changed its investment policy by recognising the risks of fossil fuel investments but it has also made a specifically low carbon investment as part of its Stock Market holdings – as well as making investments in renewable energy as part of its loan-stock holdings. We warmly welcome these developments – but the low carbon investment represents only 3% of the Pension Fund’s total investments. 

 

The Council has suggested that more money could be invested in the low carbon fund but there is no commitment to do so, despite it having committed to divest as part of its resolution last year to declare a climate and ecological emergency. It is not only Divest Brent that is looking for the Council to divest – more than half of the Councillors want the same thing.

 

Divest Brent is working with sympathetic councillors and is hopeful that, with the Council currently consulting on its ambitious Climate Emergency Strategy, divestment will be seen as a key part of that strategy.

 

Brent Council gives residents 2 weeks to comment on the impact of anticipated developments in their local area

 

Extracts from the survey

 

 Brent Council has written to Brent residents' associations notifying them of a 2 week survey being carried out 'around' the relaunch of the Neighbourhood Community Infrastructure Levy (NCIL) expected to be in late February.

They want to gather information from the survey and the application process focus groups that were held following th Black Community Action Plan and the NCIL report agreed at Cabinet on September 20th.

There are details (sparse) of the expected housing developments in each area (see  the survey LINKS as illustrated above in  2.)

They say:

We would like grass roots comments on the impacts of anticipated developments in each neighbourhood and only require the relevant neighbourhood completed. We have included a  brief summary of anticipated development in each area as the brief indicates at the beginning. We would be grateful if you could complete yourselves and also pass on to any interested parties.

 

We are also emailing the neighbourhood and town centre managers, Brent Connects members and  ward Cllrs. 

 

Ideally, we would like you to do online by clicking on this link 

 

NCIL Impact of Development Survey

 

If this is not possible, please complete the relevant neighbourhood on the attached form and email back to  ncil@brent.gov.uk  by Sunday 7^thFebruary 2021 to ncil@brent.gov.uk.

 

Please feel free to circulate to your members.

 

This is very short-notice for a very short consultation period but I am sure that many residents who are not members of a residents' association would count themselves as  'interested parties' and I urge you to take part.

Brent Council respond to Welsh Harp litter issues after ITN report on the beauty spot's sad state

 

ITN REPORT CLICK HERE

ITV London News yesterday reported on the 'plague of litter' at the Welsh Harp Reservoir after local residents had despaired at the huge amount of litter and dumping revealed when the reservoir depth was lowered by one metre for maintenance.

 After the link to the report was widely distributed on social media many residents expressed shock at the state of the local beauty spot and Site of Special Scientific Interest and the threat the littering posed to animals and birds and their habitats.

Cllr Anton Georgiou wrote expressing his concern to Brent Council and received the following response.

 

We have been discussing the images that we have seen at Welsh Harp with Councillor Krupa Sheth as Lead Member.

 

As you may be aware, the Canal and Rivers Trust (CRT) have purposely reduced the water level by one metre for maintenance purposes. Inevitably (and sadly) this has revealed a significant amount of detritus at watermark level that has built up over many years and demonstrates how some people act so irresponsibly in relation to such a significant asset within an urban area.

 

The Council has well defined responsibilities for the greenspace in Welsh Harp and we take those responsibilities seriously. We will add more bins, improve signage, ensure Veolia prioritise litter removal so our area is kept better and commit to supporting any longer term proposals for the whole site. Our remit does not stretch to the reservoir itself which is a CRT responsibility and one that the Environment Agency would also have some responsibility for as a water course.

 

Officers are therefore discussing with CRT and the EA their proposals to clean up the reservoir. We understand there are immediate plans to clear the more accessible rubbish from traps at either end of the reservoir, and that local volunteers assisted with a clean-up last weekend. Removing the more problematic detritus in the silted areas will be a longer term consideration given the likely cost and the operational difficulties.

 

You are correct that this goes beyond what volunteers could and should undertake. The silt is very dangerous and the clean-up will need to be undertaken professionally.

 

When CRT / EA have responded as to how they intend to approach this problem, I will liaise with Councillor Sheth and contact you again in order to update you.

 

 

 

Last night's Brent Council Webinar on Covid19 vaccination

 

Brent organisations supporting Windrush scandal victims urged to apply for funds - Zoom meeting Thursday January 28th 10am

 

From Brent Council

About this Event

About the Windrush Community Fund

The Windrush Community Fund (WCF) is a £500,000 fund for charitable, voluntary and community sector and grassroots organisations across the UK that work with communities from the Windrush generation.

Interested organisations can bid for an award from £2,500 up to £25,000, with projects that are designed to ensure that all people affected by Windrush are aware of the support available and are not missing out on the compensation schemes or latest information.

For more information on the fund itself, please visit the Windrush Community Fund page or read our News piece on the Voice4Change England Website.

Key Event Details

Date: Thursday 28th January

Time: 10am-Midday

Place: Zoom (Online event)*

The purpose of the event is to give organisations who are interested in applying for an award from the Windrush Community Fund more information on the fund. We will also have plenty of time and space for questions. We will focus on providing:

• Information on the purpose of the Windrush Community Fund

• An overview of the eligibility criteria for the fund

• A summary of the application process for the fund

• Ideas / key components that are likely to make a strong application

• Information about the monitoring and evaluation requirements if awarded a grant from the fund.

• A chance to speak with Grants Officers from V4CE and ask any questions that you may have.

The event will also provide background information and context to the development of the fund, with representation from the Home Office and Windrush Cross-Governmental Working Group.

*The link will be sent out to all participants who have signed up at 11am on the morning of the event. 

The closing date for phase 1 applications is 12 February 2021. Phase 2 will open for applications on 1 April 2021 and will close on 30 June 2021. Applications are welcomed from organisations representing all communities and nationalities, as well as organisations who have links with communities overseas. More information can be found at http://bit.ly/2Wl6ih6.

NEU launch 'Help A Child to Learn' campaign alongside the Daily Mirror with an initial £1million donation

Help a Child to Learn campaign

The National Education Union (NEU) is today launching a campaign to Help a Child to Learn at home during the pandemic. 

With our partners, the Daily Mirror and Viking, we are pledging a million pounds to help schools provide the pens, pencils, and paper some children need to help them learn at home and are encouraging others to donate.

Click here to donate to our Help a Child to Learn appeal.

Throughout the pandemic, the NEU has fought to ensure the safety of our members. We have also launched an online resource hub to help members teach remotely. And later this week, we will be publishing our education recovery plan to outline what we need to reopen our schools safely and well.

However, in a survey last week, you told us the lack of resources means a great many children are struggling to learn at home – not just in terms of access to laptops or broadband, but also pens, pencils, paper, and art materials.

We want to do all we can to support these children so that they can learn from home.

So, the NEU is pledging £1 million to be distributed to selected schools to help buy the stationery needed for pupils to work at home.

Contributions will range between £500 and £1,500 depending on school size.

The Daily Mirror will help publicise our campaign and raise awareness of the needs of children and families by talking to our members about the challenges they face every day.

We know that far more than £1 million pounds is needed so we are also asking members to sign this petition calling on Government to provide the funding our children need. Click here to sign the petition.

Wembley Stadium bids to hold 9 additional up to 100k capacity non-sports events annually - comments close tomorrow

 

I missed out on a consultation about Wembley Stadium's bid to host more full capacity events at Wembley Stadium because leaflets were not circulated in our area despite the estate being affected greatly by such events, including the curtailing of the 206 bus on event days. The leaflets appear to have been delivered on Christmas Eve.

The consultation closes tomorrow. Follow this LINK to comment.

So far there have been only 18 comments on the Brent Council Planning Portal. Most are against citing the impact of traffic congestion, lack of infrastructure, residents effectively imprisoned at home on event days, almost one major event a week and behaviour of fans. There are also references to the lessons of the Pandemic regarding contagion amongst large, densely packed crowds.

The applicant states LINK :

The amendment to Condition 1 of planning permission LPA ref: 18/4307 would allow the use the Stadium, on a permanent basis, for up to 9 additional non-sporting events. These would be in addition to the 22 full capacity sporting events and 15 non-sporting events currently allowed per calendar year.

The major sporting events would be at full capacity. For non-sporting events, it is expected that capacity would be circa. 77,000 spectators for 15 major non-sporting events and circa. 100,000 spectators for 9 major non-sporting events. These estimates reflect the different capacities which can be achieved within the stadium with different configurations and the expected variation in demand generated by different artists.

Condition 1 also allows up to three additional sporting events in any calendar year provided that for each additional sporting event there is a reduction of two non-sporting events in the same year. The effect of this ‘swap provision’ is that 25 major sporting events could take place at the stadium within the scope of the current planning permission, provided the number of major non-sporting major events reduced to 9. It is proposed that this swap provision would remain to allow up to 25 major sporting events if the number of major non-sporting events decreased to 18 with the ‘one-for-two’ mechanism set out.

Given Wembley Stadium is unrestricted in terms of the number of events for up to circa 51,000 spectators, the effect of the proposal is, in practice, to allow up to an additional 49,000 for the 9 additional non-sporting events (concerts). Not all events would be expected to be fully attended to these levels, but to ensure a robust assessment the planning analysis and environmental impact assessment (EIA) assume full attendance at all additional events.

The applicants make it clear that the main reasons for the proposed increase are economic based on market competition:

As is the case for a number of businesses across the country, WNSL and the FA have been heavily impacted both operationally and commercially by the COVID pandemic. The Stadium was scheduled to host 30 events (including the Euro 2020 finals) in 2020, with an estimated attendance of over 2 million spectators. Only 1 of these events was actually held with spectators in attendance with a further 15 events held behind closed doors. The impact of these forced cancellations manifested itself immediately in the form of an estimated loss of circa. £300m and 124 redundancies.

  It is hoped that by the Spring/Summer of 2021 the Stadium will be able to return to hosting events with a proportion of visitors being in attendance. However, WNSL are working on the basis that a full calendar of “normal” events will most likely only be possible from 2022 onwards and as such want to ensure the Stadium can host the right number and mix of events to support a commercial recovery from the impacts of COVID by both the Stadium and the wider Brent community.

The focus of this future recovery programme is ensuring that the Stadium remains an iconic multi-use venue in London, the United Kingdom and across the world and continues to showcase Brent to this audience. The emergence of Twickenham, the Olympic Stadium and Tottenham Hotspur Stadium as large outdoor venues with the ability to host a range of events has created a more crowded marketplace in which Wembley must compete. In order to do so the Stadium needs the flexibility to respond to the changing commercial booking process for music events. This sees artists looking to book “runs” of events in a block to provide flexibility for (additional) events dates in order to fit into large tour schedules.

The current restriction on music events at the Stadium makes it difficult to provide this level of flexibility and limits the ability of the Stadium to compete against other venues that operate with fewer restrictions and have much greater freedom. It is within this context that the proposed change to the event cap detailed below are being sought. 

Meanwhile I have been sent this news which seems rather optimistic:

This season’s Carabao Cup Final between Spurs and Manchester City has been rescheduled and will now take place on Sunday 25 April 2021, with a 4pm kick-off. 
 
It is the objective of the League to stage the Final with as many supporters in attendance as possible and the decision has therefore been taken to move the Final from its original date of Sunday 28 February 2021 to later in the year.
 
The number of fans permitted will be dependent on Government guidance in place at the time and it is hoped that moving the date to later in the year will give Clubs and their fans the best opportunity to attend in person.