Final Boundary Commission constituences published. Brent wards will be covered by a total of 4 MPs. Brent East returns.

 

 

The Boundary Commission has published its final recommendations today. Brent East, formerly Ken Livingstone's seat, is back and largely covers the current Brent Central while Brent West covers the current Brent North.

Harlesden and Kensal Green,  Kilburn and Queens Park become the minority Brent wards in the Queens Park and Maida Vale constituency. The Camden side of Kilburn is in another constituency, Hampstead and Highgate.

Poor Queensbury, often seen as a bit semi-detached, is on its own in Harrow East.

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'Why buy when you can borrow?' Library of Things to open at Willesden Green Library for all Brent residents

 

Why buy, when you can borrow? 

Start saving money this summer by borrowing items like drills, carpet cleaners and angle grinders, rather than forking out for a brand new one.

Brent's first ever Library of Things opens at Willesden Green Library this summer, offering a great opportunity to save money and help the planet by contributing to a more circular, sustainable economy.

80% of household items are used less than once per month, so it is worth checking out the prices on the Library of Things website, as it might be cheaper for you to rent rather than buy.

Although the installation will be physically based in Willesden Green, it will be open and available for all Brent residents to use. The library will include a whole host of items, many of which can be rented for £10 or under. It will store high quality brands, with everything from:

• DIY tools
• Pressure washers
• Hand sanders
• Hedge trimmers
• Or even projectors, games consoles and waffle makers.

Sign up today and get 10% off your first Library of Things booking: CLICK HERE

More than 400 people have signed petition calling on Brent Council to protect parks and green spaces from development. Please sign and circulate.

 

The petition calling on Brent Council to protect parks and green spaces, launched following public disquiet over the recent Planning Committee decision to approve four 3 storey houses in Barham Park, has reached more than 400 signatures.

As non-party political Philip Grant said in a comment on Wembley Matters:

Although the petition is shown in the name of Paul Lorber, the discussions leading up to it involved people from across political parties.

It was not just Lib Dems who stood up for the importance of the Sudbury Town Neighbourhood Plan in considering the application affecting Barham Park.

As well as Cllr. Lorber, the Labour councillor for Sudbury Ward, Teo Benea, also spoke against the application.

The Labour councillor for Wembley Central ward, and former Chair of Planning Committee, Cllr. Ketan Sheth, had a statement read out at the meeting, in support of tje Neighbourhood Plan and the importance of upholding its Local Green Space policies.

A link to the petition has been circulated by Brent Parks Forum, Brent Green Party and Brent Friends of the Earth. 

Meanwhile it has been established that the Covenant on Barham Park is still in place and Brent Council officers are  looking at the process required if it is to be removed, which should include the price developer George Irvin would have to pay. Readers will remember that Brent Council said previously that no steps had been taken to seek a valuation of the Covenant and thus establish the amount George Irvin would have to pay.

The Covenant protection is managed by the Barham Park Trustees, chaired by Brent Council leader Muhammed Butt,  and with a membership consisting only of members of his Cabinet. There is no independent community representation on the Trustees Committee. The Trustees are charged with protection of Barham Park which was left to the people of Wembley for their enjoyment by Titus Barham.

The Barham family made representations to Brent Council opposing the development as against the spirit of the bequest.

I urge people to sign as with an expanding population, and lessons learnt from the pandemic, we cannot afford to lose any more green space. Stonebridge is still smarting from the loss of the green spaces around Stonebridge Adventure playground and outside Stonebridge Primary School.

Signing on Brent Council website is a bit of a palaver but please persevere as loss of space will affect generations to come who will be hit by cliamte breakdown.

SIGN HERE

We the undersigned petition the council to uphold its long standing Strategic Policy of protecting Brent Parks and Open Spaces at all cost.

We are concerned that Brent Council's Planning Committee has ignored Strategic Core Policy of protecting Parks and Open Spaces and also the Sudbury Town Neighbourhood Plan, which designated Barham Park as a Local Green Space and developed a specific Planning Policy BP1 which stated that any housing building or redevelopment in Barham Park should be refused. That decision has effectively undermined Neighbourhood Planning, ignored the views of local people and put at risk other Parks and Open Spaces across Brent

Fields in Trust Interactive Map of Green Spaces LINK

 Brent area

 

Government's Affordable Homes Grant funding can now be used to fund replacement homes as part of estate regeneration plans. Will Brent Council apply?

This announcement from Homes England is likely to make a major impact in Brent if the Council makes a successful bid.

Homes England has today announced that grant funding provided through the Government’s Affordable Homes Programme 2021-26 can now be used to fund replacement homes, alongside new affordable homes, as part of wider estate regeneration plans.

This means that the housing and regeneration agency can better support its partners to replace housing that is outdated and no longer fit-for-purpose, with a larger number of high-quality, energy efficient new affordable homes.

Housing Minister Rachel Maclean said:

We remain committed to building the affordable homes this country needs and a key part of this is improving the quality and supply of social housing.  

The changes I am announcing today will unlock more affordable housing by ensuring we replace old homes with ones that are fit for the future. This is absolutely critical in helping us regenerate communities, speed up housing delivery and provide high-quality homes for more families.

I’ll continue to work with Homes England and developers to get delivering through this scheme as quickly as possible.

Peter Denton, Chief Executive of Homes England, said:

The affordable housing sector has always had to balance the investment it makes in existing homes with the investment in makes in building new homes. Over the past year, increasing financial pressures have made achieving that balance even more difficult to manage.

This change is something the sector has been calling for, and with it there is a real opportunity to accelerate the regeneration of social housing and help level up communities across the country.

We’ll be working quickly to make this funding available to ensure partners can get the maximum benefit from this change, and are ready to use all of the tools, capacity and capability we have available to us to support delivery. We encourage all affordable housing providers and local authorities to come and talk to us as early as possible if they need support to develop their proposals – we’re here to help.

This change to the Affordable Homes Programme has been agreed with the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, and is part of the Agency’s wider efforts to help bolster the affordable housing sector and maintain housing supply.

It also aligns with the agency’s five-year strategic plan, published in May, which clarifies its mandate to drive regeneration and housing delivery to create high quality homes and thriving places across England.

Grant funding for estate regeneration is available to partners looking to replace existing homes with new affordable homes and build additional new affordable homes. Grant funding from the Affordable Homes Programme is also still available to those looking to only build new affordable homes. Providers can apply through Homes England’s continuous market engagement route, while existing Strategic Partners will be able to use grant already allocated to them.

The change will come into effect immediately and funding decisions will be made on a regular basis up until the end of March 2025, subject to availability of funding. Homes England is keen to see proposals that can deliver at pace, maximise the number of new affordable homes, and enhance wider efforts to level up and regenerate communities. All schemes must start on site by 31 March 2025 and will need to complete within the Affordable Homes Programme’s current timeframes.

How you can hold the authorities to account. Effective FoIs with Martin Rosenbaum Preston Community Library Tuesday 7pm-9.30pm

 

 

It may seem a dry topic but this is a absolutely vital topic for anyone wanting to hold the authrities to account and ensure honesty and transparency. You may well be able to think of a number of issues locally where the effective use of FoIs may well be useful.

This is is the invitation from Preston Community Library

An Evening with Martin Rosenbaum Tuesday 27th June 7pm-9.30pm.

Dear All, We would like to invite you to join us for an evening with journalist Martin Rosenbaum, who will be talking about his new book Freedom of Information: A practical guidebook. Until recently Martin was an executive producer in the BBC's political programmes department, and for sixteen years was BBC News's leading specialist in freedom of information. The book is a comprehensive and up-to-date guide to the UK's freedom of information legislation, and will be an invaluable resource for anyone who wants to be better informed about the activities of government, councils and the public sector.  Refreshments available. Parking and Finding Us:  It is not an event day , but it is better to park along Preston Road, on the left as you go uphill towards Wembley.  A map of where we are is below, with directions and details of buses. With Regards, Philip Bromberg, Preston Community Library

 

 

Green jobs - or dangerous green wash? Zoom meeting 6.30pm July 4th on Zoom

 

Campaign Against Climate Change Meeting July 4th, 2023 6:30 PM  to 8PM on ZOOM

BOOK

Speakers: Ellen Robottom, Campaign against Climate Change trade union group, 

 

Stuart Boothman, Stop Burning Trees Coalition,

 

Don Naylor, HyNot (campaigning against HyNet greenwash and the Whitby hydrogen village) 

 

Claire James, Campaign against Climate Change 

 

Greenwash is not always easy to challenge: the claims to offer climate solutions; the PR offensive in local communities; and promises of 'green jobs' that in reality are neither as numerous or as environmentally friendly as promised. But whether it’s a ‘zero carbon’ coal mine, heating homes with hydrogen, importing wood to burn in power stations, ‘sustainable aviation growth’ or offsetting, there are common themes that can enable a reality check on greenwash claims and misleading jobs promises. In this meeting we'll aim to draw these out with the aims of challenging greenwash more effectively, supporting local campaigns, and working towards a genuine Just Transition.

UPDATE: Some restoration of supply. No water in parts of Wembley HA0 and HA9 - likely cause burst water main in Preston Road

 From Affinity Water

 UPDATE

No water in Wembley

We’re really sorry you haven’t got any water. We’ve been made aware of a burst water main on Preston Road in Wembley which may be causing this. Supply has been restored to most of the area and repairs are still underway to restore full supply

What we’re doing

Our repair team are working hard to fix the burst pipe and get your water back to normal. Once we know how long this will take, we’ll let you know as soon as possible.

We’re really sorry about this and thank you for your patience.

We updated this message at 09:45 and we'll update it again after 11:45

---

What's happened so far

(06:40) Technician on route to investigate.

(07:10) Our repair team are fixing the burst pipe.

(09:30) We’ve restored the supply to most of the area but some customers still may be experiencing low pressure or no water.

 

 

Interruption to your water supply - Wembley - HA0 and HA9

Sunday 25th June 2023

No water in Wembley

We’re really sorry you haven’t got any water. We’ve been made aware of a burst water main on Preston Road in Wembley which may be causing this.

What we’re doing

Our technician is on their way to your area to investigate and get your water flowing again soon.

What you can do

Until we’ve sorted this, please avoid using your:

• Washing machine
• Dishwasher
• Electrical appliances that use water

If you still have water, we recommend you put some in your kettle or fridge for drinking in case your water needs switching off for the repair.

We’re really sorry about this, we’re working to get your water back to normal as soon as possible.

We added this message at 07:02 and we'll update it again after 09:02

 

AFFINITY WEBSITE FOR UPDATES

LETTER: Announcing the 'Decolonising Wembley' project

 Dear Editor,

 

I hope you're doing well - I thought I would reach out to you, hoping that you might be able to support our campaign. I am looking to spread the word about ‘Decolonising Wembley.’

 

This project aims to address the imperial nostalgia among urban professionals involved in the construction of Wembley. Specifically, it involves retroactively renaming the streets and buildings that commemorate the 1924 British Empire Exhibition. We're approaching the 100-year anniversary of the British Empire Exhibition at Wembley where the famous Kings Speech took place - by addressing modern commemorations at Wembley, we hope to raise awareness about the legacy of British imperialism and encourage people to reconsider their relationship with it.

 

There will be a few high-profile public talks that we'll be delivering on this.

 

The figure below highlights the 22 known commemorations of the British Empire Exhibition.

 

 

‘Decolonising Wembley’ is a project aimed at challenging the celebration of British imperialism and the legacy of the 1924 British Empire Exhibition. The project aims to investigate the realities of British imperialism, the raison d’etre of the 1924 British Empire Exhibition, and the nomenclature of assets such as roads, buildings, open spaces, etc. at Wembley, London that commemorate and celebrate this contested event in history.

The project dissects the act of naming a street or building after an event, person, or building as an act of celebration that honours and memorializes the Exhibition’s legacy. Thereby preserving and romanticizing a contested narrative in Wembley’s history for generations to come.

Decolonising Wembley is a collaborative project that brings together academics, historians, activists, and community members – that seek to challenge the imperial nostalgia among urban professionals involved in the construction of Wembley and to promote a more critical understanding of the past. One of the key aspects of the project is the retroactive renaming of streets, open spaces and buildings that commemorate the 1924 British Empire Exhibition. This renaming process is an important step towards acknowledging the complexities of history and the impact of colonialism on the world.

The project also investigates the raison d’etre of the 1924 British Empire Exhibition and its role in promoting British imperialism. This research aims to deepen our understanding of the event and its impact, and to provide a more nuanced perspective on the legacy of British imperialism.

The launch of the Decolonising Wembley project is an important initiative that seeks to challenge the celebration of empire and to promote a more critical understanding of the past.

This is a serious cause of concern, especially as Brent is one of Britain’s most diverse boroughs – British imperialism has caused much strife and pain for our communities, Lord Woolley CBE said it best:

“For many, including me, there is nothing, absolutely nothing, to revere about the empire. It means slavery, murder, theft, barbaric cruelty and colonialism. We cannot and must not attempt to erase our history, but we can choose which parts we put on a pedestal.”

 

For more information about the Decolonising Wembley project, please visit our website at www.decolonisingwembley.com and visit the socials @decolonising.wembley

Kind Regards,

 

Nabil Al-Kinani

 

Urbanist // Cultural Producer // Creative Practitioner