Brent Xtra International Reggae Day Day UK 2023 Friday June 30th - events across Willesden and Harlesden

 I am honoured to have been asked to take part in this event. See you there!

Come join in us, as we usher in International Reggae Day Brent stylee!! From a walk, to talks, performances, community stalls, prostate cancer awareness and fund-raiser, to a DJ set marking "the Global Influence of 80s and 90s Dancehall" IRD 2023 theme: 

 

FRIDAY JUNE 30 2023

 

1. 4.00-5.00pm The Brent Black Music History Walk

 

Starts from Willesden Bus Garage, Pound Lane, London NW10 2HW (full details provided upon booking). The walk is led by Brent resident and author of 'Brent Black Music History Project book and DVD Kwaku BBM. Discover some of the hidden music histories along the route to Harlesden, the heart of black music and reggae in Britain. £5 adult; £10 2 adults (plus 2 youths under 18 years).

 

2. 5.15-6.15pm Gathering Around The Reggae Tree

 

Join The Reggae Tree Ambassador Diane Shrouder Johnson and local dignitaries by The Reggae Tree in front of the Hawkeye record shop (2 Craven Park Road, London NW10 4AB). We will have a short chat about the environment by Wembley Matters blogger Martin Francis to underpin International Reggae Day's Plant A Tree environmental remit. There will be performances by the likes of local singer-songwriter Owen Deacon and others. £Free

 

3. 6.15-9.15pm Talks, Presentations, Screenings, Performances And Community Stalls

DJ Pascoe will welcome attendees to Windrush Hall in Tavistock Hall, 25 High Street, Harlesden, London NW10 4ND (use Tavistock Road entrance; parking by Burger King/Tesco) with a British reggae set.

 

Engagement with local community organisations, with stalls available to book at £15, performances by Music4Causes ft. Kimba (repeating the reggae performance from the same stage last year), singer-songwriter Owen Deacon, plus performance and talk by Sparky Rugged via video, music history presentation by Kwaku BBM, and prostate cancer awareness presentations by prostate cancer advocate Keith Gussy Young and a Cancer Black Care representative.

 

Starts with video featuring artists from Brent, and a preview of the Brent Reggae Album Covers presentation.

 

We will auction off a reggae themed drawing by Mike Hawthorne as part of raising funds for Brent-based charity Cancer Black Care. 

 

We'll end the evening with the Vinyl Xposure of DJ Lady Juicy's lovers rock, whilst DJ Pascoe's selections speak to the International Reggae Day 2023 theme: "From Brukins to Bogle: The Global Influence of 80s and 90s Dancehall".

 

Stalls £15; African Caribbean meal £5 - vegetarian, rice and peas with either fish or chicken can be bought on the day or pre-booked.

 

+Vinyl Xposure

+Videos

+Stalls

+Discussions

+Networking

+Performances

+Photographic Exhibition

+Prostate Cancer Awareness

+African-Caribbean Food on sale

+SURPRISE

 

A family-friendly event organised by BBM/BMC (BritishBlackMusicMusic.com/Black Music Congress) and BTWSC/African Histories Revisited, with support from Serene One and Sparky Rugged.

 

TICKETS

Brent Council adds insult to Barham Park injury: incompetent or taking the piss?

Residents who were involved in the Barham Park application to build on a site within the park, approved by the Planning Committee on Monday, were surprised to get up to four emails today with the same letter attachment correcting the previous letter that had falsely claimed that covid restruction meant that attendance was restricted. The letter was dated June 6th 2023 but received on June 16th.  The meeting was held on June 12th.

The letter contained joining instructions for  joining the meeting which had already happened to speak about a decision already made.

As one resident remarked, 'Are they grossly incompetent or are they taking the piss?'

Celebrate our Eastern Europe communities: Roe Green Park Sunday June 18th 11am-7pm

 

Tribute to Brian Orr: Passionate climate campaigner before the rest of the world woke up to the threat

 

Brian Orr

Republished with permission from Brent Greens blog

Brian Orr of Brent Green Party and a former activist in the London Federation of Green Parties died on Monday 12th June, after an illness which began in Autumn last year.

Brian played a crucial role in re-starting Brent Green Party as an effective political body and went on to steer it through the early decades of this century. He was unstinting as an organiser of campaigns and as a campaigner. As Party Chair and Election agent he ensured that the party stood candidates in local, regional and national elections, and also stood as a candidate himself.

 

Brian Orr's election address to voters in the Stonebridge by-election 2007

Brian also worked with the London Federation of Green Parties as Treasurer during the time Noel Lynch was Chair of the Federation

Brian had a scientific background and training which informed his deep commitment to Green politics and ideas. Long before many others he was aware of the potentially catastrophic impacts of human-caused global climate change and its environmental feedbacks. He argued that this was manifesting itself in loss of biodiversity, especially of insects as the basis of the food chain. However he combined this understanding with a determination to enact these ideas politically as can be seen here 

So, it is no surprise that he welcomed the intervention of Greta Thunberg and Extinction Rebellion in the climate crisis campaign. In fact, he loved the development of ideas and politics through debate with his colleagues and comrades both in person and online. We will sorely miss provocative and insightful discussions with him.

He made a significant contribution, and we will miss him. We send our sympathy and condolences to his partner Liz and the family.

Peter Murry and Martin Francis

Open City reach recognition agreement with the IWGB

 From Open City

Some exciting news this week at Open City is that we have entered into a recognition agreement with Independent Workers’ Union of Great Britain (IWGB). The union will support all workers at the charity and provide a collective voice for staff to have a say in the future of the organisation. Read more from our Union reps Chris Fisher, Simon Vickery and Deborah Denner chair of the Open City board of trustees here 

 

Editor's note this is what Open City do:

 

Open City is charity dedicated to making architecture and neighbourhoods more open, accessible and equitable.

Our mission is to empower communities to learn about, experience and have a role in shaping places where they live. We collaborate with people from diverse communities to widen access to spaces, built heritage, neighbourhoods, knowledge and careers they are often excluded from. We do this by creating educational and cultural programmes discussing, celebrating and opening up historic and contemporary buildings and landscapes.

Our work is organised into 5 strands:

Open House Festivals

Empowering communities, residents’ groups, civic organisations and local businesses to exhibit and learn about buildings and neighbourhoods which matter to them, our Open House Festivals are accessible volunteer-led public celebrations encouraging audiences to explore new places, learn about different communities and experience diverse architecture first-hand. In London our Open House Festival engages tens of thousands of visitors a year across over 800 sites in all 33 boroughs.

Children and Young People

We work with schools and higher education providers to support children and young people from low socioeconomic backgrounds, under-represented communities, and with special education needs and disability to develop the design skills and critical thinking needed for successful careers in creative industries including design, architecture and landscape.

Tours, events and publications

We run year-round programme of events, walking and cycling tours, training courses, publications, podcasts and new media programmes centred on critically exploring built heritage and architecture.

Worldwide Festivals Network

We lead, support and grow an international network of over 50 Open House Festivals from Lagos to New York, creatively engaging over 750,000 citizens a year with architecture of their local communities.

Man charged with murder of Wembley stabbing victim

 

Stabbing victim Tejaswini Kontham

From Brent MPS

A man has been charged with the murder of Tejaswini Kontham and the attempted murder of a second woman at an address in Wembley.

Keven Antonio Lourenco De Morais, 23 [11.9.99], of Neeld Crescent, Wembley was charged on Thursday, 15 June with the murder of Tejaswini Kontham and the attempted murder of a second woman.

He was remanded in custody to appear at Uxbridge Magistrates Court that same day.

The charges follow police being called to a residential address in Neeld Crescent, Wembley at 09:59hrs on Tuesday, 13 June to reports of a stabbing.

Officers attended along with the London Ambulance Service and found 27-year-old Tejaswini Kontham and another woman, aged 28, suffering from knife injuries.

Despite the efforts of emergency services, Tejaswini sadly died at the scene.

Her family has been informed.

The second woman was taken to hospital with stab injuries that were later assessed as not life-threatening.

+ Two other people arrested in connection with this investigation were released with no further action.

Solidarity Rally with St Mungo's workers at Brent Civic Centre at noon, tomorrow

 

There will be a Rally to support the workers at the St Mungo's homelessness charity on Friday June 16th outside Brent Civic Centre at noon.

The main speakers at the Rally, organised by Brent Trades Council, will be local MPs Dawn Butler and Barry Gardiner.

Take along your union banners and placards so that that we make a big declaration of solidarity with workers struggling for a decent wage when executives earn tens of thousands.

 Nearest tube Wembley Park but also accessible from Wembley Central station and multiple bus routes.

 The rally will be preceeded by a short picket outside St Mungo's facility in Pound Lane, Willesden, opposite the bus garage at 9am.

Challenge to Brent Council following Barham Park decision: What is the planning policy, relevant to application 22/4128, which dictates that if an application would not cause harm, that overrides policies such as those in the Sudbury Town Neighbourhood Plan?

 

Sudbury Town Neighbourhood Plan policy LGS1

 

 Sudbury Town Neighbourhood Plan policy BP1

 

 

Following yesterday's Planning Committee meeting Philip Grant has sent the following letter to Gerry Ansell, Brent Council's Head of Planning. (Illustrations are for the benefit of readers amd were not sent to Mr Ansell)

 

Dear Mr Ansell,

I watched and listened to yesterday evening's Planning Committee meeting when application 22/4128 was considered, and there was an important planning policy point which was not explained. I would ask that you do not issue a consent letter on this application until this matter has been resolved.

I will set that point out, in bold type, below, and would ask you to reply to it promptly, please, with copies to the Chair of the Planning Committee, the councillors who are probably as puzzled by this issue as I am, and the Chair of the Sudbury Town Residents' Association.

Cllr. Dixon and several other committee members asked Officers for clarification over the relative importance of the Sudbury Town Neighbourhood Plan policies in considering the application.

 

 

 Slide of site in Barham park displayed at yesterday's Planning Committee Meeting

 

Paragraph 30 of the National Policy Framework on Neighbourhood Plans

It was clear that Officers accepted that the application site was within the Barham Park Local Green Space, so that the Neighbourhood Plan policies LGS1, LGS2 and BP1 applied. Several other more general Local Plan policies were also relevant.

No answer appeared to be given, by either of the Planning Officers who spoke at the meeting, to the question raised over whether policy BP1 took precedence over the more general policies. However, at the end of a long answer by your Development Management Manager he appeared to state that what mattered, more than all of those policies, was that the application would not cause harm.

Planning applications have to be determined 'in accordance with the relevant planning national, strategic, local and neighbourhood policy framework.'


What is the planning policy, relevant to application 22/4128, which dictates that if an application would not cause harm, that overrides policies such as those in the Sudbury Town Neighbourhood Plan? 

Please provide the full text of that policy, as well as its source and policy number, in reply to this email. Thank you. Best wishes,

Philip Grant

 

Philip adds for Wembley Matters readers:

 

 

NOTE: '...The councillors who are probably as puzzled by this issue as I am', who I copied my email to, were the two Sudbury Ward councillors, Paul Lorber (Lib Dem) and Teo Benea (Labour), who spoke against the application at the meeting, Ketan Sheth (Wembley Central, Labour) the Ward councillor whose written statement against the application was read out at the meeting, and Michael Maurice (Kenton, Conservative) who as a member of the Planning Committee clearly understood the arguments involved over planning policy, and voted against the application mainly on the grounds that it went against Neighbourhood Plan policy BP1 (Above image). 

There was three-way cross-party support that the Sudbury Town Neighbourhood Plan and its policy BP1 should be upheld, yet this did not affect the votes of the seven Labour members of the Planning Committee.

 

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