Forgotten Industry in Kingsbury

Wembley History Society are holding a talk about the forgotten aircraft and motor industries in Kingsbury at its next meeting on Friday 2nd December at the English Martyr`s Church Hall, Blackbird Hill, Wembley. (Opposite the petrol station) Starts at 7pm

The talk is being presented by Jim Moher (former Fryent Councillor 2002 - 2014)

The project which was supported from "ward working" funds will be used for local history projects in schools. 

Kingsbury was a cradle of the early aircraft industry employing many thousands of workers before, during and after the world wars. Some housing estates in the Kingsbury area were built by aircraft manufacturing companies to house its workers. The modern civil airline industry developed from the area together with Vanden Plas the motor manufacturer. You can learn much more about the area and its history. 

Jim has found some fascinating local history and his talk will be illustrated with old photos. Visitors interested in local history are very welcome at their meetings - please try and come along.

Fryent Councillors

London Mayor holds "Question Time" in Brent

Dear Fryent Residents,

Thursday 03 November 2016

Time:7:00pm to 9:00pm

Venue: Brent Civic Centre, Brent Civic Centre, Engineers Way, Wembley, HA9 0FJ, United Kingdom

Tickets: Free

People’s Question Time will be taking place in Brent Civic Centre on the above date and time. Navin Shah your Brent Assembly Member  will be chairing the meeting.

Please come and also encourage your friend/family  to attend. The Mayor, Sadiq Khan, and the London Assembly will talk about what is happening in London and it will be a great opportunity for residents to find out what the plans and priorities are for the city.

I have listed below the web link for residents to register for a free ticket:

https://www.london.gov.uk/events/2016-11-03/peoples-question-time-brent


Cllr George Crane
Fryent Councillor

Consultation on Council Tax Increase

Brent Council's Cabinet will meet on Monday 24 October to consider a report that proposes increasing Council tax by nearly 4%. The report outlines the challenges still facing local Councils which includes a proposal to protect local services. The cost to householders at the proposed level would work out at 0.85 pence per week on a Band D property.

The report sets out how councils are still in an era of austerity and are facing further cuts in Government funding despite growing demand for local services from an increasing and ageing population. The paper also includes some savings proposals although these are relatively small compared to recent council budgets.

Last year was the first year council tax had risen in Brent for six years after successive freezes despite Government funding being slashed by £117million since 2010.

Cllr Muhammed Butt, Leader of Brent Council, said:

"Imagine your household bills went up every year, but your salary kept being cut. You would have to make some tough choices and find new ways to make your money go further.

"That's what this council has been doing in finding new, more efficient ways to maintain and improve the services that we all need, but it has also meant making some very difficult decisions.

"We know how important our local services are to the people of Brent which is why, rather than cutting back on those vital services, the option of raising income through a small council tax increase to protect these services is being considered.

"The choice we face in Brent is this: will we pay a bit extra each month to keep our services available to those who need them, or will we let the Government's cuts to our budget further limit the services we can provide?

"As a Cabinet, we will discuss the draft proposals set out in the report at our next meeting and, if approved, will then put them to residents to have their say in a detailed budget consultation."

The budget consultation is set to run from November to December with a series of public meetings arranged for January. A final decision on the budget will be taken by Full Council in February 2017.

Protecting local services is the top priority for your local Councillors and we would welcome your views.

Fryent Councillors Shama Tatler, Ruth Moher and George Crane



You can read the Cabinet papers here :http://democracy.brent.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=455&MId=3214&_ga=1.215284823.1392537760.1476786642

Richard Tatler

It is with very great sadness that we have learned that Richard Tatler, the husband of Fryent Councillor Shama Tatler passed away earlier this week.
He had fought a courageous battle with Cancer for over 8 years. He passed away peacefully with his family by his side.
Our deepest sympathy goes to his wife Shama, Family and Friends.

George Crane and Ruth Moher
Colleague Fryent Councillors.

Carriageway resurfacing and Pavement replacement in Fryent.

Good news for Fryent residents if you live in the following streets in Fryent - the Council has recently announced plans to resurface some roads and pavements. This is part of a large annual maintenance programme throughout the Borough costing over 5 million pounds.

Lewgars Avenue and Wakemans Hill Avenue  have been selected for road surface renewal and and Elthorne Way and Townsend Lane for pavement replacement.

The work on Wakemans Hill Ave will start soon and hopefully be completed within a week. The work on Lewgars Ave will commence on 29th July and should take about 2 days, all the schemes are subject to suitable weather conditions.

Work on pavement improvements will commence on 25 th July and residents will receive letters telling them when the contractors will start in their road. Parking restrictions, if applicable, will be suspended. Some pavements slabs are being replaced with Tarmac which is both cheaper and more resilient. Residents can also apply for extensions to vehicle crossovers.

Residents in affected roads will also be advised that vehicles left on roads will be removed and relocated by the contractor if it impedes the work.

The work is being undertaken by the Council contractor Conway Aecom.

Fryent Councillors

Teachers do not want to strike - BUT!

Why are teachers striking?

Teachers who are members of the National Union of Teachers (NUT) went on strike on Tuesday 5th July 2016 in long running dispute with the government over working conditions.

As a teacher, I’d like to take the opportunity to present why many teachers are choosing to take industrial action.

This is isn’t about pay – actually as teachers, we do get a good a salary and for most teachers, the profession is not a career but a vocation. We love working with and inspiring children and young people. However, Government initiatives have already started to change the environment we work in to the detriment for the children we teach. In addition, current proposals will compound problems already in the system.
Class sizes – the last few years have seen class sizes regularly go over 30 per class. When I started teaching the average was 25. Educational standards are bound to fall and children who need support will be neglected. Its hard for teachers to get to know each individual child in a large class, behaviour can be difficult to manage and anxiety for teachers increase, especially as performance related pay is determined with how a class performs. Marking and planning for large classes is difficult too.
Teacher recruitment and retention – so many teachers are leaving the profession and universities are finding it difficult to fill spaces on their teacher training courses. Morale is low, workload is unmanageable, with added pressures of budget cuts (where teachers are told the school cannot afford enough exercise books) and constant, unnecessary testing of students; the teaching environment is becoming unbearable. Is this what we really want for our children in schools? The Government doesn’t want to listen or trust teachers.
Workload – Each teacher takes their responsibility for each child they teach extremely seriously. I know most teachers come in to school at around 7.30am, do not leave until 6.00pm (some stay until caretakers ask them to leave) and then continue work at home often until late. Many experienced teachers also have families and as such often sacrifice family life. This is not sustainable and certainly was not the case when I started teaching 10 years ago. There has also been a big increase in bureaucracy – such as data entry for each child. More and more the increase in workload has meant that teachers cannot offer the extra-curricula clubs that help enrich our children.
Exam focused curriculum – the current focus on exams and results means that we are cutting creativity out of the children we teach. English and Maths are dominating the timetable because league tables are based on that data. It means schools inevitably focus resources on those two areas at the detriment of other subject areas particularly the arts. Children are all different, not robots and as such the education system should reflect that diversity. Secondly, the introduction of testing at KS1 and KS2 (7 and 11year old) is causing stress and anxiety for children and teachers alike. This can’t be right. The Government do not seem to trust teachers (as we do continually assess our students in a variety of ways) and say these tests are to drive up standards. This pressure on children is not healthy and numbers of children needing mental health support has risen. Furthermore, this sort of testing does nothing for the children who have special educational needs.
Budget cuts – schools, like other areas of public service are facing huge financial cuts. I know of schools and departments struggling to adequately resource schools even with exercise books.
Academisation and free schools – there are so many issues around this: no local elected accountability, unqualified teachers, run-for-profit, academy chains removing students from exams so not to impact data, to name but a few. (This is a massive issue in education and probably needs another article on this)


The Government are refusing to address the big problems of budget cuts, teacher shortages and class sizes. They dismiss teacher concerns and push an ideological agenda of academisation (which holds no local accountability as well as a host of other issues) and pushing for testing system that ignores advances in pedagogy  expects our individual and unique children to all be the same.

I hope, by writing this, you can see why teachers have chosen to strike and hope that you as residents, parents and former students support teachers. I am sure there are other additional reasons why teachers have chosen to strike. It’s not an easy decision, but I wholeheartedly believe each striking teacher is fighting for the future of education and children they teach.

As for me, I had to take the difficult decision to leave the profession a couple of months ago as the pressures of the workload, meant that I could not meet the needs of my family. Nevertheless, now as parent and former teacher, I stand with my former colleagues.

Cllr Shama Tatler

AFFORDALE ART SALE - THE INSTITUTE, KINGSBURY

A guest blog by Rubena Jafrey, Head of Community Engagement, The Institute.

The Institute based at Masons House, Valley Drive, Kingsbury NW9 9NG is holding a fund raising Affordable Art Sale. The purpose is to raise funds to support its work as a community education charity.

The Affordable Art Sale preview day is on Thursday 30th June from 6pm to 8.00pm - you can browse and buy!  If you need more time to make up your mind or can`t make Thursday the second exhibition will be on Saturday 2nd July from 10.00am until 6.00 pm.

The Institute is a registered charity and depends on fees, donations and fund raising events to carry on its work in Fryent and Kingsbury. Our building is a short walk from Kingsbury Jubilee line Station and buses pass the door.

The public are welcome and please be generous.

Kingsbury and Kenton resident forum, Brent Connects

The next Kingsbury and Kenton resident forum, Brent Connects, is on Weds 22rd June the day before the EU referendum. It will be held at Kingsbury High school, the Lower School in Bacon Lane and will start promptly at 7pm.


Council Leader, Muhammed Butt and Deputy Leader, Margaret McLennan would like to meet residents at the forum to hear their issues first hand and will take the opportunity to talk about the council’s vision for the borough. This is an excellent opportunity to put the two Cabinet members on the spot about the issues that affect you as a resident of Fryent. They will be discussing: how the council can improve the way it works, what the council is doing well and will be exploring what residents want to see happen in the future to make Brent a better place to live, work and play.
Do you have an issue that you want discussed, now is your chance?

Councillor Ketan Sheth, Chair, Community and Wellbeing Scrutiny Committee and councillor Matt Kelcher, Chair, Brent Overview and Scrutiny Committee will be discussing ways of making scrutiny count in Brent. Effective scrutiny is a vital part of local government and helps to improve decision-making, service provision and cost-effectiveness.

It’s Time to Talk is a campaign which aims to empower residents and community leaders to talk about difficult issues. We will be discussing a planned event in July to encourage attendance and promote the need for communities in Brent to come together.

Please come along either to have your say or just listen to local issues that affect you and other residents.

Please note the venue is the lower school in Bacon Lane, make a note in your diary now to come along.

Fryent Councillors

Open Day at The Institute, Kingsbury

The Institute at Masons House, 1-3 Valley Drive, Kingsbury is holding it`s Open Day on Saturday 25th June from 11am to 4pm.

The Institute runs courses for adults and young people including Painting and Drawing, Pottery, Crafts - ranging from Asian Sewing to Furniture Upholstery. There are a range of computer courses and modern language classes and lots more. The open day is designed to give local residents an opportunity to meet and see some students work and talk with teachers about the courses on offer.

The Institute is a short walk from Kingsbury tube station on the Jubilee line.

Everyone is welcome, just walk in, during the day to wander around and look at what is on offer on your doorstep. They are very keen for local residents to use the facilities.

The Institute receives no funding from either Government or Brent Council, they are a registered charity and rely wholly on donations and modest student fees.

You can find out more at the following link: http://www.hgsi.ac.uk or call 020 8829 4229

George Crane
Fryent Councillor




 

EU Referendum, have you decided?

With only a few weeks to go before polling day in the EU Referendum you can be forgiven if you are maxed out from TV debates, and politicians telling you to vote IN or OUT. However this referendum is probably the most important decision voters will be asked to decide, except for the next General election.

As your elected Councillors we are supporting the REMAIN or IN Campaign and we thought we would share with you our reasons for voting this way on June 23rd.

We are in Europe currently and therefore we know what we have - lots of jobs are linked to trade with Europe. Over 50% of our exports are sold in Europe. We don't believe we have been told what would happen to our economy if we left.

The Treasury and leading economists, the Confederation of Business Industry (CBI) and Trade Unions all support the case for remaining within the EU.

Cllr Ruth Moher said " Our finances, our exports and imports are so tied up with the EU we could have several years of chaos trying to reorganise outside the EU. We also risk losing some of the safeguards we have through the EU, for example the Human Rights Act, the Social Chapter which supports our rights in the workforce".


Britain is stronger and more influential as a member of the EU - we can voice our opinions and have a say - we have no voice if we leave. We believe we are safer within the EU and are better  protected against crime, terrorism and threats to our security.

Cllr George Crane said "the EU is not perfect but I know what I have at the moment but I don't know what will happen if we leave"

We are proud that over many generations Britain has seen people come from abroad to work in our public services, and build businesses and contribute to our economy and growth. Migrants who come to this country pay taxes work hard and increase our prosperity.   We do not believe that leaving the EU will stop desperate people seeking sanctuary here and end the crisis in places like Syria or Iran.


Cllr Shama Tatler said "The hundreds of years before the creation on the EU saw the continent go from war to war with the most horrific results from 1939 to 1945. The EU was created to bring peace and stability to the region as well as allowing countries to work together for economic prosperity and social justice. Now, in the 21st century remaining in the EU will enable the UK to help lead in combating challenges such as climate change. The EU is not perfect, but I believe we need to be in the middle of decision making in Europe and help mould it and be a global player rather than isolate ourselves. This is why I will vote to remain."


We believe we are better off in Europe for jobs, wages, workers rights, prices in the shops and our security.

VOTE REMAIN X on June 23rd.

Fryent Labour Councillors
Cllr Ruth Moher, Cllr Shama Tatler and cllr George Crane

Councillor Ruth Moher

Councillor Ruth Moher is currently in hospital following an accident at home, she fell badly and has broken her ankle. She has had an number of operations and is expected to be in hospital for a few more days.


When she returns home she is unlikely to be able to undertake Council activities for a number of weeks while she recovers.


I am sure all Fryent residents will wish Ruth a very speedy recover.


George Crane and Shama Tatler


 

More Money for Pot Holes and Pavement Repairs

As your Councillors we are sure Fryent residents will join us in welcoming plans to spend an additional £2 million on improving roads and pavements around the borough.  The money has been agreed as part of  the recent budget by reducing contingency reserves elsewhere.

 

 

Despite significant cuts in funding from central government, the council's Cabinet agreed to spend an additional £2million, on top of the existing £3.55million annual budget, to improve the maintenance and upkeep of roads and pavements around the borough.

 

 

While Brent is performing better than the London average for the state of its main roads, the number of faults being identified and reported on the roads is on the rise. The council is determined to improve how we tackle potholes and cracked, rocking or protruding slabs on roads and pavements.

 

 

The £2million cash boost will allow the council to extend the life of roads and pavements and reduce the need for multiple return visits. This will mean that more can be done to reduce trip hazards and potentially damaging potholes, and to keep the streets of Brent safe for all to use.

 

 

Cllr Shama Tatler said: "During the consultation on Imagine Kingsbury last year and the recent activity on the doorstep during the Mayoral election. Fryent residents told us in no uncertain terms the state of Kingsbury High Road and many roads and pavements in Fryent needed attention".

 

 

The Council would need to spend about 100 million pounds to bring all roads and pavements up to acceptable modern day standards. Clearly the extra money will be spread all over Brent, but hopefully although we can't promise we will try and get the the worst parts within Fryent dealt with.

 

The plan will see slabs being replaced with tarmac when doing full pavement renewals in some places, which will help to make pavements more resilient and durable, and fit for purpose for the demands of today. The use of tarmac will also help to make limited resources stretch further, meaning more pavements can be repaired

 

 

 If residents want to nominate your road for attention let us know. You can also use the CLEANER BRENT APP. Just download onto your phone and you can report all types of environmental issues.

 

 

Fryent Councillors.

 

The Future of The Institute - Kingsbury

Below is a Guest blog from the new Chair of The Institute, Fay Naylor.
The Institute is based at Masons House, Valley Drive, NW9 9NG
and has been a very valuable education resource in Fryent,

Fay writes:

"I am delighted to confirm that our lovely 107 year old Institute has been rescued from the attempts by the previous management to close it down. Staff will shortly be planning the range of courses to be offered in September which will include not only constantly popular subjects like sculpture and pottery but many new ones to tempt the vibrant community in our new location. The Institute, since it was founded by Dame Henrietta Barnett, has always provided opportunities for students of all ages and interest to join with others to develop their skills, have fun and make friends. We have been given a very warm welcome by the Brent community and the Council and hope to be in the borough for many years. Soon, we will be issuing information about out short summer courses, which is a great opportunity to test the water if you have never been before. The Institute has always had a reputation for quality and many people like several of our new trustees attend classes for decades. We do not get any funding from the state so rely on the enrolments of our students who have always supported us. We hope to see many of you in the months ahead including some Councilor’s if they can fit a class into their busy lives. Best wishes and I look forward to seeing you."

We are delighted to support The Institute and hope that many Fryent and Brent residents take an opportunity to visit and find out what they have to offer.

You can find out more by visiting:

www.hgsi.ac.uk or Tel 0208 829 4229

Fryent Cllrs.

 

This Government is trashing our schools.

Guest blog from Paul -  a Fryent resident and teacher.

Anyone would think that this government is using Toby Young's How to lose friends and alienate people as an instructive text for their members in cities. 

Not only are they freezing the overall education budget by 2020, which means an 8% cut across the board, they are also proposing a sharp shift in spending away from cities to rural areas*.

The most cautious estimate is that inner London would be hit with an additional 9% cut, with a comparable impact on Birmingham, Manchester and Liverpool. This, an accumulated cut of 17%, has been described by one director of children's services as "catastrophic".

If carried out it would mean the most significant disinvestment in education in the cities in modern times. The last years of the lean cow in the 1990s, also under a Conservative government, saw an overall drop of 4%.

Imagine your child's school with 1 in 5 fewer teachers and TAs and resources cut back to match.

The Conservatives describe their proposals as "fair funding", but this is fair in the same way as flat tax is fair. Their redistribution would hit the most deprived areas the hardest.

This would have drastic knock on effects on everything from crime to how sophisticated the workforce is going to be. It is a recipe for national decline. A country that can't afford to invest in its future citizens is on its way down and out and the Conservatives are leading it there; doubtless straightening their ties and singing the national anthem as they do so.

In London there is a very broad campaign opposing this, involving MPs, councillors, council officers, Heads, teachers, support staff, parents and students. http://keeplondonschoolsgreat.org/ At present it has been concentrating on pushing counter arguments in the governments consultation, but teachers and TAs have already been out pushing hard copies of the petition in playgrounds and leaflets have been going up in local shops, so the word is getting out.

This too is an issue that should be shouted out loud and clear by Labour in the run up to the May elections. Turn out is traditionally low in local elections, but parents care very deeply about the prospects for their children, so everyone opposed to these proposals should be making sure that people know how hard hit their children's schools will be; and vote accordingly.

*The underfunding of rural areas reflects a historic pattern of under spending by Conservative councils more concerned to keep the rates down than investing in local children. 

We welcome guest blogs from Fryent residents and are published on the undertanding we may or may not agree with the contents. Please contact us if you want to respond to the debate.

Fryent Councillors. 

Kingsbury pub ordered to tighten security

The Kingsbury pub in Church Lane where police found Kinder Eggs filled with drugs hidden inside bins, bricks and in a man's underwear has been warned to tighten its security - or face further action from the council.

Brent Council's Alcohol and Entertainment Licensing Sub-Committee on Thursday ordered Jono's Bar, to improve security by alarming its doors, using doormen, carrying out regular toilet checks and by keeping a detailed log of incidents which can then be made available to police and the council.

The pub was also ordered to display proper signage of its no-drugs policy and staff, including the licence holder, Mr Kenneth McCormack, were told to undertake training to help ensure the prevention of crime and disorder on the premises.

The new security measures ordered are part of twelve additional conditions to the pub's licence which were requested by police.

All twelve conditions were approved by Brent Council's Alcohol and Entertainment Licensing Sub-Committee after details from the police of their raid on the premises and a number of reports of disorder were heard at the meeting.

Cllr James Denselow, Brent Council's Cabinet Member responsible for licencing, said:

"Using children's confectionery to conceal illegal, Class A substances is an extremely sinister and shocking thing to do, so I am of course delighted that the committee have taken action to help ensure that this kind of activity by individuals at Jono's Bar is stamped out for good.

"We are committed to making Brent a safer borough and we will not hesitate to take further action should these new licence conditions be breached or this criminal activity continue at the pub."

Vitality North London Half Marathon - Road Closures

We have received the following communication from the organisers of the Vitality North London Half Marathon which will affect a number of roads in Fryent on Sunday 20th March.
We have copied the details and relevant roads affected in Fryent below, contact detail of the organisers are also below.

The  Vitality  North  London  Half  Marathon  is  returning  for  its  second  year  on  Sunday  20th  March  2016.    This  exciting  event  takes place  across  the  London  Boroughs  of  Brent  and  Barnet  and  expects  to  attract  up  to  8,000  runners,  many  of  whom  will  be fundraising for local and national charities.   The  event  continues  to  be  supported  by  both  Brent  and  Barnet  Councils,  and  by  working  in  partnership  with  a  strategic  long-term aim,  the  event  will  continue  to  support  a  number  of  public  health  and  active  lifestyle  initiatives,  by  encouraging  local  residents  of both  boroughs  to  get  involved  in  sport  and  physical  exercise,  as  well  as  by  offering  a  number  of  volunteering  and  community engagement opportunities.    Using  the  roads  of  Brent  and  Barnet  for  the  race  will  cause  some  changes  to  usual  traffic  routes  for  a  limited  period,  during  the morning  of  Sunday  20th  March.   In  planning  this  event,  every  effort  is  made  to  minimise  the  disruption  caused  due  to  the  closure of  these  roads.    The  route  has  been  carefully  considered,  and  we  are  working  in  close  consultation  with  the  London  Boroughs  of Barnet  and  Brent,  Transport  for  London  and  all  emergency  services.    We  are  now  contacting  local  business  and  organisations  to provide a copy of the 2016 race route, along with the list of road closures that will be in place.     We  will  be  operating  a  dynamic  reopening  schedule  to  ensure  that  roads  are  reopened  as  soon  as  possible,  once  runners  have completed each section of the route, and when it is safe and feasible to do so.

Roads to  be  closed,  or  partially  closed,  on  Sunday  20th  March:
Fryent Way (between The Paddocks and Valley Drive).
Valley Drive
Kingsbury Road (between Valley Drive and Roe Ggreen)
Roe Green.
Hay Lane.
Slough Lane
Salmon Street.

The  majority  of  roads  around  the  route  will  close  at  7.15am,  except  where  shown  otherwise  above*.  A  number  of  local  access points  will  be  kept  open  to  allow  traffic  to  cross  the  route,  until  approximately  8.15am.  Further  information  regarding  these crossing points will be provided in subsequent communication in early March.     The  race  is  due  to  start  at  8.45am  and  the  reopening  schedule  will  begin  from  10.00am.   The  majority  of  roads  will  be  reopened by  1:00pm,  with  Brook  Avenue  and  Bridge  Road  being  the  final  roads  to  reopen,  by  1.30pm.    Parking  suspensions  will  also  be  in place  on  a  number  of  the  above  roads  -  further  information  regarding  these  will  be  provided  on  subsequent  communications and displayed in the affected areas nearer the event date.  Please  do  allow  extra time  for  your  journey,  and  where  possible,  avoid  driving  in  the  area during  the  closure  period.   If  you  do need  to  drive  on  the  morning  of  Sunday  20th  March,  please  consider  parking  on  an  alternative  street  on  the  evening  of Saturday 19th March, to enable you to carry out your journey.

We are very grateful for the support of local residents and hope that this advance notice helps with your planning around the closures. We appreciate your understanding with any inconvenience experienced due to these restrictions, and if you would like to discuss further please get in contact by emailing northlondon@go2events.org.uk or calling 0845 308 4002.

http://www.northlondonhalf.com/sites/northlondonhalf.com/files/nlhm_16_resident_comms_1_-_online.pdf


Fryent Councillors

Changes to Waste Collection in Kingsbury Road.

The Council is about to change when your waste is collected if you live or have a business along the Kingsbury Road.

The next stage of timed waste collection will be implemented at the end of February.

The following sections of the road will be involved:

·         235 – 289 Kingsbury Road (odds and evens)
·         417 – 660 Kingsbury Road (odds and evens)
·         1-5 Fryent Way

 The times for the collections will be 7.00am -8.00am in the morning and 6.30pm to 7.30pm in the evening.

The intention of timed waste collections is to make streets cleaner and free of dumped rubbish by restricting the times shops and those living above shops can put their waste out for collection.

Currently, there are no restrictions and bags are placed on the street from morning to night.
Under this scheme, which operates in many of our Town centres, bags can only be collected between two one-hour time slots per day. Residents and businesses can only put their bags out in the half hour before these time slots. This will be monitored and will mean the streets are free of bags at all other times.

It also means that residents here will get many opportunities to have their waste collected, i.e. twice per day, every day of the week. They will also enjoy cleaner streets as a result.

The initiative was agreed with our contractor Veolia as part of their task to achieve their main contract target commitments, i.e. reducing residual waste and making streets cleaner.

This change will come into affect on Monday 22nd February. Veolia will spend two weeks prior to this date talking with businesses and residents who will be affected, making sure they understand the new rules and helping them with any questions they may have.

The Council will vigorously monitor and enforce the new requirements from this date.

You can find out more information from the link below.

http://www.brent.gov.uk/timedcollections

If you have any queries please send an e mail to timedcollections@brent.gov.uk


Fryent Councillors.

Brent Connects - Kingsbury and Kenton Forum

The next meeting of the Kingsbury and Kenton Brent Connects will take place on Wednesday 3rd Febuary at 7pm. The venue will be Kingsbury High School, Princess Ave. NW9.

The main item for discussion is likely to be Brent Council future budget and wether the Council should increase Council Tax as Government Chancellor George Osborne is suggesting or make further cuts to services to residents.

These decisions affect you and your opinion is important, please try and come along and listen and take part in the debate.

Fryent Councillors

Should Brent Council increase Council Tax?

This is the question that your Councillors will have to consider over the next few months. Should the Council increase Council Tax by more than the permitted 2% to 4% or more? A Council Tax increase of 2% generates approximately £1.8 million pounds. This level of increase would cost a band D resident £21 or just over 40 pence per week.  The Government have ruled for many years that Council tax increases above 2% without a local referendum would not be allowed.

In Chancellor Osborne recent Autumn statement he is now encouraging and allowing Councils to increase Council Tax to pay for the care costs of the elderly. The elderly population is growing as their life expectancy grows but this puts additional burdens on Council spending. 

Brent Council tax has been frozen for the last 6 years - no increase since 2009.

Your Fryent Councillors have argued for an increase in previous years because our base budget is years out of date. The Government has given the Council 1% in the past to freeze Council tax but this has not kept pace with funding additional or even existing services.

This is not an easy decision, we realise that it will impact some residents adversely. The Council will have to review its Council Tax support scheme to protect the most vulnerable residents. The Council will still have to make cuts and make huge savings because of continued Government austerity measures.

So why should Council Tax increase? Any public service has to be paid for - if the Government reduces the grant it previously gave to the Council the money has to come from somewhere. Brent has cut £145 million from its budget - this is money the government has taken away from Brent residents over the last 4/5 years. Brent has made efficiencies, transformed services, shared services with other boroughs, cut jobs and some services and increased and added new charges, the payment for collecting Green waste , is an example. The cuts are so severe that the Council is now faced with cutting services which will adversely affect people lives, particularly the elderly housebound, residents with a disability, and environmental services such as street cleaning and repairing pot holes.

You can have your say, either post a comment on this blog or come to the next Kingsbury and Kenton Brent Connects. It takes place on Wednesday 3rd Feb at Kingsbury high School, Prince Ave, Kingsbury And starts at 7pm.

Your views are important - be part of the discussion.

Cllrs George Crane, Ruth Moher and Shama Tatler.