After the July floods urgent action needed on the depleted flood defences of South Kilburn as densification continues - Guest Post

 Cambridge Gardens, Kilburn July 2021 (Kilburn Times)

The Westbourne 1790

 

 The culverted Westbourne

Sign in the former Bird In Hand Pub, West End Lane
 

Guest blog by David Walton of FLASK (Flood Local Action South Kilburn. The views expressed are those of the author.

 

The raw sewage river flooding 'major incident' of July 2021 in  South Kilburn and North Westminster, has meant that scores of residents are still housed in temporary accommodation, claims are being made and homes are being dried-out and repaired. Why did this happened? Who pays now and for future major floods?

Householders should beware that new experiments, regressions, crisis and disruptions  are being knowingly allowed in specific new city zonings. In starting to examine this 'major incident' covering Environment Agency policies, unsound growth area, tall buildings, very large site zonings, local flood authority responsibilities, planning law and emergency planning,  a complex picture of government and political indifference  emerges with baked-in environment/ climate denial in regard to the South Kilburn Estate version of 'build back better' where five times the number of homes it had in the year 2000 are being towered, forced and packed onto the River Westbourne's flood plain by year 2041.

The key strategic decision change seems to have been around 20 years ago when the Environment Agency chose, as does the Greater London Authority and Brent Council, that developers could totally deny the existence of the River Westbourne and its tributaries running underneath South Kilburn. Note that South Kilburn's river delta shape is still apparent today and also how early nineteenth century maps of South Kilburn show these rivers set in dairy farm fields, rivers which though in culverts for over 100 years now are natural and still very much here, live and ever present however much denied by government, agencies and politicians.

Taking the Environment Agencies lead and despite all too apparent on site water facts, for Brent Local Flood Authority the River Westbourne and its tributaries simply do not exist anymore (see clause 6.55 Brent Strategic Flood Risk Assessment 2007). A Strategic Flood Risk Assessment process is meant in law to be a 'live' document yet seems to have been rather abandoned at Brent Civic Centre. How 'live' these rivers become in the major incident investigation of 2021 for South Kilburn 'very large site' will be public knowledge soon.

For example, of neighbouring local authorities: Kensington and Chelsea Strategic Flood Risk Assessment highlights the River Westbourne as its second major flood risk after the River Thames and marks the entire river course and tributaries from Hampstead Heath down to the Thames at Chelsea. Camden Strategic Flood Risk Assessment map helpfully indicates historic flooding of South Kilburn and maps how the south west of Camden drains down into South Kilburn vale in Brent. The City of Westminster Strategic Flood Risk Assessment map helpfully indicates historic flooding of Chippenham Gardens, South Kilburn located north of the Westminster boundary.

Since first being built on in the mid nineteenth century South Kilburn was notorious for its flood risk to homes and this kept the area unpopular with new houses being difficult to sell and poverty  concentrated there. This memory of urban trauma inspired progressive architects and planners post World War 2 to protect and transform this flood risk and literally bad land by building a new public owned estate of housing for 6,000 people, with social and health infrastructure set in an impressive recreational parkland of public owned flood defences where flood water could stand, pool and be absorbed by woodland environments naturally- a major London success much celebrated at that time.

 

The protection/ sustainability long-term problem for this massive public investment however was that all public owned estate community new diverse specific land uses were and remain unregistered at the UK Land Registry and later 1970's phase built large panel blocks were unmortgageable as they had catastrophic build defects baked-in.

 

From year 2010 the South Kilburn Growth Area with its green parkland public flood defences total removal policies and resultant ever increased flood risk being manufactured, led to a deal being struck with Westminster. The then City of Westminster Plan highlighted the South Kilburn Growth Area policy as being a major risk to its residents. 

 

So, to protect Maida Vale/ North Westminster in 2015 a £17.5 million flood defence mitigation scheme was built by Thames Water in the form of two large underground rivers flood sewage storage reservoirs sited within North Westminster. However, July 2021, one month’s worth of rain fell in one hour and the River Westbourne and its tributaries sewage waters rose above ground on to streets and flowed into ever reduced flood protections South Kilburn and then horror on into £17.5 million extra flood protection designed North Westminster homes as well! South Kilburn is become a sinking sink and is now proof positive that rivers sewage flood risk, crisis impact and misery can't be neatly corporate zoned in by design anymore.

 

Government responsibility finally has to be taken and the River Westbourne and its tributaries need to be recognised as existing acknowledged as a real problem again for politicians, public servants, shell company freeholders and developers. Often already off-shored and hard to trace new owners of South Kilburn enclosures/ towers built on former public owned flood defences already will certainly not accept responsibility for the massive costs involved in totally predictable and accelerating future major flood incidents. After all the Environment Agency ‘disappeared’ the River Westbourne and its tributaries in South Kilburn, so that is the current 'live' get out of jail free card/loophole still in place legally for South Kilburn developers. Instead help-to-buy and affordable rent families will have to pay government backed massive repairs loans and forced to pay increased charges. The parallels here with the ongoing inflammable building materials crisis facing leaseholders and tenants since the Grenfell fire disaster are remarkable - a predatory political forward strategy of government by debt in South Kilburn tall building zone? Build back inflammable, build back no health and social wellbeing infrastructure to be retained and build back wetter!

 

Granville New Homes was built on Granville Road Public Open Space which was designed  as a major South Kilburn flood defence and Higgins are building at Chippenham Gardens in 2021, taking part of another flood fence open space.

 

The positive news October 2021 is that half of South Kilburn’s public owned green flood defences still exist and function (hence not all of South Kilburn was flooded), even though in parallel they are also Brent 'site allocations' in the unsound as proposed Brent Local Plan towards 2041 (where flood defences are all to be denied and total destroyed). Strong legal protection of the remaining flood defence system for South Kilburn is still possible, while flood defences already market destroyed can and should be urgently restored to raise flood protection back to where it was back in year 2000 as the humane bare minimum. What is the massive Community Infrastructure Levy already raised inside South Kilburn from private developers for if not also to reduce rather than grow multiple deprivations for people living in this zoned experiment in mega population density?

More shocking pictures of the state of the Higgins built Granville New Homes

 

Cllr McLennan claims that a Granville New Homes situation would not occur today as Council has improved procurement procedures and would not tolerate such poor workmanship

 Recording of the Granville New Homes item at Cabinet this morning.

 

Cllr Margaret McLennan, Deputy Leader of Brent Coucil and lead on Finance, told colleagues at today's Brent Council Cabinet that the poor build of the Granville New Homes back in 2009 would not happen today because the council has improved robust procurement procedures in place and the present council   would not tolerate such poor workmanship.

 

McLennan did not directly address the fact that the project was built by Higgins who are currently building for the council in Stonebridge, but at the same time said that the recommendations from Scrutiny were 'pertinent and valid' and would ensure that such an issue would not occur again. LINK

 

However Scrutiny's recommendations were not put to a formal Cabinet vote so their status is unclear.

 

Cabinet agreed to transfer 84 social housing units to the Housing Revenue Account  and 25 intermediate units to i4B and refinance the debt after consultation with those residents involved. Details of the consultation were not given, nor consideration of what would happen if they did not agree with the option the council put forward.

 

Cllr McLennan said that financial issues aside the first and foremost concern of the Council was to make sure tenants were safe. 

 

It is worth noting that in 2019 in a guest post on Wembley Matters, Pete Firmin raised issues about building quality in another South Kilburn development LINK illustrated with this photograph.

The voice of a far from happy Granville New Homes resident

 These are the questions that a Granville New Homes residentr was unable to put to Scrutiny Committee.  I felt it important to publish them to counter the claim that the residents are happy.

These are the following bullet points that I would like Brent Council to answer..
* why were we robbed of the property that was promised to us when the first regeneration was taken place and told that the property that was shown to us was what we viewed in the first place ( first lie ).
* why were we  lied to in the past that is still continuing  up to the present date.
* why were we shown a derelict property in order to  force us to move.
* why were we not  one of the first tenants be rehoused and left to the last and still awaiting 
* why has seven different housing office discussed moving then vanished
* why have all our complaints been ignored
* why were we threaten to be thrown out on the streets
* why was a eviction  notice served by Brent 
* why were we being bullied 
* why have we got seven fire alarm in the property that are faulty of late
* why are we constantly being  threaten to be taken to court and were taken to court.
* why are we forced to live in a property that is a danger to our health 
* why are we being forced to leave the area as it has clearly been stated the reason why we should remain in the area 
* why has Brent not  recognised the stress that these actions has caused and is still ongoing
* why have certain members of Brent staff  proved to be untrustworthy 
* why is a certain member of Brent staff blocking the process of us being moved
* And the list goes on these are a few things that I would like to be resolved

The resident has sent photographs (below) of the state of the building - built in 2009 for £17.5m.

Fill in this survey if you want to see improved public toilet facilities in London

 Public toilet in Wembley Park

 

 

London is open - but what about its toilets? There are just 3 weeks left to complete this important survey on public toilet provision. The survey is part of the London Assembly Health Committee’s investigation on Access to public toilets 

 

Public toilets in London - Introduction

The London Assembly represents the interests of Londoners and holds the Mayor to account. Your opinions will help the London Assembly with its research. We can share your experiences and inform the Mayor of your views on public toilets in London. This survey will be included in a report which we hope will provide a snapshot of public toilet provision in London and inform us about what needs to happen next.

By ‘public toilet’, we mean any toilet that is publicly accessible. This could be a toilet run by a local council (in a park, for example), a toilet available to use in a public building such as a library, or toilets in a privately run space but available to any member of the public, such as a shopping centre. Also included are toilets in places such as cafés and shops when they are part of a scheme (such as a Community Toilet Scheme) which means they are specifically open to non-customers (i.e. you don’t have to purchase something to use the toilet).

You don’t have to answer all the questions if you don’t feel like it. Here’s what this survey is about:

 
In part 1, we’re asking some questions to understand your experiences of using public toilets in London.
In part 2, we’d like to know a little bit about you.
It will take 10-15 minutes to complete.


The details...
All responses will be treated confidentially. Answers will be grouped together, and no individual will be identified in any publications.

The GDPR bit...
You are in control of any personal data that you have provided to us in your response. You can contact us at any time to have your information changed or deleted. Please contact  daniel.tattersall@london.gov.uk.

We are undertaking this survey to aid the London Assembly to support and represent Londoners.

 

https://survey.alchemer.eu/s3/90382235/Public-toilets-in-London

1 in 14 secondary students have Covid: education unions unite in powerful call for additional safety measures in schools

 

From the Guardian

 

Five education unions have written to the Secretary of State for Education, Nadhim Zahawi, asking him to urgently reconsider the reintroduction of additional safety measures in schools, given the rising rates of Covid infection and absence among school students.

 

The five unions – GMB, NASUWT, NEU, UNISON and UNITE – will also be writing to all local authorities and directors of public health asking them to consider measures in their local areas.

 

The unions have pointed to measures now being readopted in several local authority areas in response to rising cases, including social distancing measures, reintroduction of bubbles, avoidance of large gatherings such as assemblies and meetings, and reintroduction of face coverings in secondary schools.

 

The unions have warned that without such measures, students’ education and the health of students, their families and school staff will all be damaged unnecessarily.

 

Avril Chambers, GMB National Officer, said: "Yet again we appear to have denial of the facts from this Government. Covid cases among school pupils are growing exponentially and it is clear further mitigation measures are needed immediately. School staff have kept our schools open throughout the pandemic: they deserve to stay safe and our children deserve not to have their education interrupted any more than it already has been. The minister needs to act now."

 

Patrick Roach, General Secretary, NASUWT said: “As cases rise, ministers need to look again at supporting schools with onsite testing into the spring term, rather than relying on home testing, which is less effective. There is an urgent need for the Government to consider reinstating the requirement for pupils to self-isolate if they are in close contact with someone who has tested positive. Proportionate safety measures and appropriate support for schools are essential in breaking the continuing chain of virus transmission.”

 

Kevin Courtney, Joint General Secretary, National Education Union, said: ‘We are concerned that the Government is standing by while COVID cases surge across schools. It is evident that more needs to be done, and sooner rather than later, to prevent further massive disruption to children’s education, caused either by children contracting covid-19 or covid-related staff absence. The most effective way of keeping children in educatiois to do more now to prevent the spread of Covid-19 in schools.’

 

Jon Richards, UNISON assistant general secretary, said: “Ministers must do all they can to stop continued disruption to classroom learning as infections rise. To offer pupils and staff greater protection, face masks must return right away, along with school bubbles and other sensible precautions that were ditched. Air filters are also key to limiting the virus spread and ensuring pupils have a more stable academic year.”

 

Jim Kennedy, Unite national officer for education, said: “Education secretary Nadhim Zahawi has a great opportunity to reset the safety agenda for schools, following the departure of Gavin Williamson. With winter fast approaching and with Covid still rampant the whole range of measures to keep school children safe needs to be deployed – the rising level of infections in schools demand it.”

 

The full text of the letter is as follows:

 

The Rt Hon Nadhim Zahawi MP

Secretary of State for Education

Department for Education

20 Great Smith Street

London

SW1P 3BT 8 October 2021

 

Dear Secretary of State

 

We are writing as unions representing school leaders, teachers and support staff to urge you to give all education settings the guidance and resources they need to keep pupils safely learning for the rest of this term. We began this term hoping for better times and a more normal feel across the education system but, as the weeks have gone by it has become clear that the DfE guidance published on 23 August requires urgent updating.

 

Thresholds in the DfE contingency framework for even seeking advice following cases are set too high; meaning that cases can already be spreading across a school before additional measures are considered.

 

Government data shows that confirmed Covid-19 cases amongst school-aged children surged to 102,000 on 30 September, a 67 per cent rise since 16 September. Over 204,000 pupils were absent from school on 30 September for covid-related reasons. Staff absence is also impacting on education with some children suffering disruption as a result of staff absence, and staff and leaders under enormous strain as a result.

 

It is unclear when the impact of the vaccination programme for 12- to 15-year-olds will begin to be felt and so in the meantime more needs to be done to prevent the spread.

 

Many other countries in Europe that have kept in place proportionate mitigation measures in schools, such as face coverings and quarantine of close contacts whilst rolling out a vaccination programme, and have not experienced the back-to-school surge in cases that we have seen in England.

 

In addition, a growing number of councils are now using the freedoms they have under the Department for Education guidance to bring in additional mitigations in schools. This reflects their responsibilities for public health, and also under health and safety legislation.

 

Staffordshire County Council for example is encouraging all schools to introduce a range of measures including to stop whole-school assemblies and bring back classroom bubbles and face coverings; all close contacts to get a PCR test; and reintroduction of staggered start, finish and lunch times because it is "time to be proactive" about rising cases.

 

Additional mitigations have been recommended in areas including Cambridgeshire, City of Wolverhampton Council, Cumbria County Council and in some London boroughs. For example, in Cumbria, siblings of children diagnosed with Covid should be kept at home until their test comes back negative.

 

These are all important measures that we believe need to be implemented across all schools. Combined with a relentless focus on ventilation, with use of HEPA filters where ventilation cannot be improved in any other way (a focus which will reap benefits far beyond the end of the pandemic) these measures could make a real difference in England.

 

Without a change of direction, we risk damaging the education of thousands of children at some point before Christmas. The health of some children, but particularly that of vulnerable staff, parents or grandparents, could be compromised.

 

This is an urgent problem, and we look forward to your swift response. We would also welcome the opportunity for an urgent meeting with you to discuss these matters further.

 Jenny Cooper, Co-Secretary of Brent National Education Union told Wembley Matters:

 We asked Brent Council officers to bring in additional measures in schools that reach the DfE threshold. But they appear to be toeing the government line of minimum disruption to schools so no return to bubbles etc. However we know from our members that in the long term such an approach causes more disruption.

Coal Action Network set up 'climate justice memorial' at Lloyds of London - 'Don't underwrite climate wrecking projects'

 

The memorial outside Lloyds of London

From  Coal Action Network

 

Today, protesters from Coal Action Network set up a climate justice memorial at Lloyd’s of London HQ (1 Lyme Street). The climate memorial was set up to remember communities on the front lines of climate breakdown who are directly impacted by harmful projects and climate impacts. 

The memorial involved hundreds of flowers and floral wreaths (following the visual theme of REMEMBER - RISE - RESIST), being laid outside the HQ. Testaments from communities on the front lines of fossil fuel projects and climate impacts were read out and delivered to staff in the building.

Elara from Coal Action Network said:

 

 Through the memorial we will bring to life the memories of every person harmed by the injustices of the climate crisis. We’ve laid wreaths naming climate wrecking projects we want Lloyd’s to rule out underwriting today, and help to prevent billions of lives being destroyed by climate impacts.

 

Flowers with over 600 individual messages from people across the UK were handed out to staff going in and out of the Lloyd’s building. Staff were asked to speak to senior management in Lloyd’s about ruling out insuring all fossil fuels, as well as, various fossil fuel projects including the Adani Coal mine, tar sands TransMountain pipeline, West Cumbria coal mine, and the Cambo oilfields. The group also called for Lloyd’s to pay compensation for climate impacts. 

Elara from Coal Action Network said:

 

The climate crisis is harming the poorest and least responsible of us first and worst. The blame falls squarely at the feet of executives at corporations like Lloyd’s of London. Day after day they decide to profit from death and chaos, by underwriting projects that will lead to climate breakdown, while refusing to insure everyday people against the floods and wildfires they are helping to create.

This action is the latest to target Lloyd’s of London. Previous actions have included fake coal being dumped outside the building, green paint being thrown on various insurance offices and thousands of people contacting staff to ask them to stop underwriting fossil fuels.

This memorial is the first of many being planned. On the 29th October, as part of a Defund Climate Chaos day of action, groups across the world will take similar actions on the doorsteps of a range of financial and insurance institutions. Coal Action Network confirmed that they will be returning to Lloyd’s HQ on that date.

 

Full Scrutiny recommendations to Brent Council Cabinet after Granville New Homes costly debacle

The full recommendations to the Cabinet from Brent Scrutiny Committee after their meeting last night have now been published as a Supplementary report on the agenda of Monday's 10am Cabinet meeting. LINK

Supplementary Paper – Cabinet: 11 October 2021

Agenda Item 9 (Proposals for ownership & refurbishment of Granville New Homes Blocks)

Scrutiny of implications for BHM (Brent Housing Management) and HRA (Housing Revenue Account) of proposals for ownership and refurbishment of Granville New Homes blocks undertaken by Community & Wellbeing Scrutiny Committee on Thursday 7 October 21

Scrutiny Committee recommendations to Cabinet:

· That the officers give assurance that the council has undertaken due diligence reviews of its subsidiary bodies, including governance, fitness for purpose, financial soundness and reputational risk. 

· That the officers ensure the Ridge report is made available to the scrutiny committee and audit committee. 

· That the officers review arrangements for entering into contracts of this kind, in particular to ensure adequate arrangements are made to ensure appropriate design/build quality – and that the council has appropriate recourse where latent defects are later identified. 

· That the officers ensure all potential contractors are made aware of the standards expected by the council – and to ensure these are met before buildings are formally accepted by the council. 

· That the council provide written assurance that it has taken or will take independent legal and financial advice (including tax) regarding the proposals and next steps. 

· That all contracts procured by the council and its subsidiaries include a review of past delivery of any potential contractors. 

· That the council ensures where issues are evident in a particular project, all remaining projects by the same contractor are reviewed as a matter of urgency. 

· That the officers review the steps that make-up the procurement, commissioning and contract monitoring system to identify any gaps especially in relation to risk and review aspects. Where these are identified that immediate action is taken. 

· That the council put in place arrangements to ensure learning about this case – and any others raising issues of similar significance – is shared across the council as well as with existing and potential future partners/contractors. 

· That the officers establish and publish a comprehensive plan for ongoing engagement with residents.