KINGSBURY TOWN CENTRE - PROPOSED PUBLIC REALM IMPROVEMENT SCHEME

Back in March 2017 Brent Council consulted on Kingsbury Town Centre improvement scheme. 

(See earlier post) Although the proposed improvements were supported, during the consultation period we received a number of comments and suggestions from local businesses, residents, as well as other stakeholders such as London Buses and Brent cyclists. As your ward Councillors we met with Council officers together with Queensbury Councillors as this scheme covers two wards. The Council has tried to encompass as many of your comments and suggestions. The Council has also managed to secure additional funding to develop an alternative scheme which addresses these comments and concerns. The Council is therefore consulting again on revised proposals. These proposals align with the aspirations of the Imagine Kingsbury study which set out the community’s vision for improving Kingsbury Town Centre over the next 5 -15 years.

Some of the consultation document is copied below and a link to the full proposal can be found at the end.

What are the proposed improvements?

 The proposed improvements are summarised below;

• Reorganised and de-cluttered footway and reconstruction

• Multi-purpose verge for trees, street furniture, etc.

• Additional formal and informal pedestrian crossing facilities

• New tree planting

• New suite of street furniture

• Improved street lighting and signage

• 1.5-meter cycle tracks on each side separating cyclists and vehicular traffic, and new cycle parking

• Redesigned parking and loading facilities

• Road resurfacing

• 20mph speed limit

• Two new raised speed tables and one new raised zebra crossing

• A provision of an Electrical Vehicle Charging Point (EVCP) with a dedicated parking bay

There will a Public Exhibition in Kingsbury Library, 522-524 Kingsbury Road NW9 to be held on;

   Thursday 9th, Friday 10th and Saturday 11th November while the Library is open.

Your views are really important, response to this consultation must be submitted by 1st December 2017. The scheme is designed to be implemented in two phases. If agreed the first phase will start in January 2018 on the southern side or odd numbers on Kingsbury Road. The second phase will start when phase one is completed.

The whole scheme is likely to take about 15 months and there will be some delays and traffic congestion and reductions in some of the existing parking arrangements during the improvement works.

A very detailed map and plan describing the layout can be seen if you follow this link: http://brent-consult.objective.co.uk/portal/ens/htdel/kingsbury_tc_oct_2017

You can also complete the consultation questionnaires on line but responses will only be considered from within the consultation area.

Fryent Councillors  George Crane, Shama Tatler and Ruth Moher

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

Highways Maintenance Programme 2016/17

HIGHWAYS MAINTENANCE

Every year your local Councillors nominate Roads and pavements that need to be included in a maintenance programme. We rely on residents telling us which Roads and Pavements are the worst in Fryent.

It is not possible to include all nominated streets in a future programme but it will mean they are examined and the condition assessed. The next programme is 2016/17 and will be decided by Brent Council in December this year.

There are 2 separate list`s one for the condition of the road, i.e. potholes, frost damage, uneven surface, poor quality repairs. The other list is for Pavements, loose or broken, tree root damage are just some of the factors considered.

Is your Road or Street a problem? Let us know and we will come and have a look. We can only nominate 3 Roads and 3 Pavements  so we will only include the worst that we are told about.

You have to hurry as we only have 1 week before our suggestions have to be submitted.

Fryent Councillors,
George Crane, Shama Tatler and Ruth Moher.

A Cycle Strategy for Brent

What do you think?

Brent Council is developing a cycle strategy for Brent. It`s aims is to make Brent a borough where everyone can cycle safely with confidence. It has devised a questionnaire to understand the needs of people of all ages and abilities  from every section of Brent`s diverse communities to see cycling as a good option for everyday travel.

What are the most important factors in making Brent a place that is great to cycle in?

Can you help - please let us know?

The questionnaire is available online at www.brent.gov.uk/consultation or you can find a paper copy at Kingsbury Library - no postage is necessary.

The consultation closes on 19 th December 2014.

Fryent Councillors.

• 
  

ARE YOU REGISTERED TO VOTE ON 7th MAY2015

The way you register to vote has changed, some people say the Government has made it harder.
The system where one individual in a household can register all members is changing to a system where people have to register individually.
There is a real fear on the impact this will have on getting young people, in particular, just registered to vote.

You should have received a registration form from Brent Council, have you returned it?

If you haven`t received a letter and want to vote next year go to www.gov.uk/registertovote or phone 0208 937 1372 ask for Electoral Registration.

Your vote counts - don't lose it.

Fryent Councillors

CHANGES TO WASTE SERVICES IN BRENT

A recent decision by Brent Council executive will introduce a new charge of £40, forty pounds, per annum to collect garden waste.  This will be an optional charge, which means you the resident will decide if you want to pay or not. Senior Citizens will be eligible for a 20% discount. You can also agree to share a green bin with your neighbour and share the cost. The cost works out at less than 80 pence per week.

Why are we doing this?

Government cuts mean we have to find 53million pounds of savings this year. This means cutting out some services and charging for others. It means difficult choices on where we spend limited resources. We also need to increase recycling to reduce overall waste collection that goes to expensive landfill. (See previous blogs on the need to recycle)

We do not have to collect garden waste as a statutory service for nothing; many other Councils have levied an annual charge for years or do not collect at all.  Not every house in Brent even has a green bin, including many in Fryent.

Weekly Food waste collection.

A new initiative will be the introduction of a new weekly collection of food waste. Every household in Brent, approx. 11000, and 8500 in Fryent will receive a new 23 litre sealable food waste container. A new recycling vehicle will collect food waste and dry recycling, your blue bin waste, ever week which will increase re cycling and save money. How? Any recycled waste is £70 pounds cheaper than anything in a grey bin going to landfill. Your collection day should not change and the new service should start in Spring next year 2015.Your Grey bin will collected every other week as now.

But it’s your choice, you can compost garden waste for free, you can take it to the Civic Amenity site in Abbey Road NW10 for free or pay to keep the green bin.

We hope these changes will make Brent a greener, cleaner borough that cares about future generations and thinks about recycling first.

Fryent Councillors  

Kingsbury and Kenton - Brent Connects

The next meeting of the Kingsbury Brent Connects will be held on Wednesday 16th July at the Oshwai Centre, 366 Stag Lane - close to the old Library. It will start at 7pm sharp.

An item on the agenda includes a consultation on draft Planning policies - come and have your say. The Council is keen to prevent too many takeaway, betting shops, pawnbrokers, and payday lenders in our town centres. If you can`t get to the meeting check out this link:
http://brent-consult.objective.co.uk/portal

Other items will include a discussion on Community Infrastrcture Levy - how should Brent spend money it receives from developers when they approve planning applications.

The Forum will also need to select a local representative to the Brent Safer Neighbourhood Board.

The usual Soapbox item is included and refreshments are available during the break and it`s an opportunity to meet your local councillors. I am sorry I can`t make it that night but hopefully Ruth or Shama will be able to attend.

Cllr George Crane
Fryent Councillor

Travellers arrive in Roe Green Park

Late last night about 20 traveller caravans arrived in Roe Green Park. Council officers have started the process to remove them by taking legal action. They have also requested help from the Police who can use other powers to remove them when requested by the landowner, in this case, the Council.

Brent provide a traveller site close to the North Circular Road near the Ikea retail outlet so it is disappointing that this group have decided set up a camp in a local park.

Fryent Councillors

New Health Centre for Kingsbury

Multi-million pound plans to build “urgently needed” doctors surgeries in Kingsbury have been approved to cope with a growing number of new patients.

The empty patch of land in Stag Lane, Kingsbury, near the Village School will be transformed into a new centre including a pharmacy and 11 new flats.

The Fryent Medical Centre in Church Lane and the Willow Tree Doctors Surgery, which operate from small residential houses in Kingsbury, will relocate to the new centre to accommodate the growing need for improved health care facilities in the area.


The 11 flats are expected to be completed by winter 2014 and the medical centres will be built by summer 2015.

The housing will consist of one, two and three bedroom apartments for shared ownership, and priority will be given to social tenants, people on the housing register and first-time buyers.

Fryent Councillors have been working closely with the GP Practices and the wider NHS, Brent Council and the Network Housing Association. We are delighted that this scheme has finally been approved, this scheme delivers a solution with great benefits for Kingsbury and its residents and patients and adds much needed housing.

Cllr George Crane, Cllr Ruth Moher and Cllr Jim Moher.

Brent Connects - Kingsbury and Kenton Forum

The next meeting of Brent Connects, Kingsbury and Kenton will be held at a new venue on Tuesday 23rd July at 7pm.

The new venue will be the Oshwal Ekta Centre, 366 Stag Lane, Kingsbury NW9 9AA

We will post a blog nearer the time when the agenda has been decided but make a note of the date now.

George Crane
Fryent Councillors.

Walkabout in Wakemans Hill

Thanks to all the residents we met over the weekend during our walkabout around Springfield Mount and Wakemans Hill. We were shocked to hear about the road accident to an elderly lady on the Edgware Road. Anti social dumping of rubbish on the streets was high on your list of concerns. It is such a shame that some thoughtless residents continue to do this. We are thinking about installing secret cameras to try and catch people dumping.

We were joined the weekend by Shama Tatler who is a member of Fryent Labour Action team. She is also Chair of Brent North Labour Party. Shama really liked meeting residents and chatting about the area.

Waste Dumping Enforcement

WASTE DUMPING ENFORCEMENT Watch out if you are dumping rubbish illegally in Fryent, or any other parts of Brent. Brent Council has started a new waste enforcement strategy. The contractor is leaving dumped rubbish and alerting the Council enforcement team. Before it is collected the Council will investigate and collect evidence of where it comes from. Apart from being anti social and unsightly, it costs all Council tax payers more as it is additional to the normal collection. If you are caught for a minor offence it will incur a Fixed Penalty Notice (FPN) which will cost you £80 pounds. For more serious dumping you will receive a caution and prosecution in the courts which may incur a heavy fine. There is also no excuse for dumping waste or fly tipping, if you ring Brent Council streetcare they will arrange to collect bulky waste free. Don't dump rubbish - put it in the correct bin, preferably recycling or phone and get it collected. Fryent Councillors.

Measles - are your children protected?

Measles - are your children protected? Overall the number of cases of measles across London and in Brent remains at low levels. However, parents need to be aware that children are not fully protected against measles unless they have had the required two jabs of the MMR vaccine. The measles outbreak in Swansea may have caused concern among some parents about their children possibly contracting measles. At the weekend there was conflicting reports in the Times and Sunday Times who were reporting different levels of vaccination rates for Brent. The Sunday Times reported Brent has one of the lowest uptake of MMR vaccinations between 10 and 12 year olds in London.It is clear that the recent outbreak in Swansea could have been avoided if more parents had not opted out of vaccinating their children against MMR. It is never too late for children and young people to get vaccinated against measles. Parents of unvaccinated children, teenagers and young adults living in Fryent who have missed out on MMR should arrange for them to be vaccinated by their GP. If you are unsure whether your child has had two doses of the vaccine, speak to your GP who will have a record. Fryent Councillors Brent.

WEMBLEY STADIUM - OPEN HOUSE TOURS

To celebrate Wembley's 90th birthday, they are offering a special behind the scenes tour of Wembley Stadium on Saturday 27 or Sunday 28 April, for a celebratory price of £1.50 per person. To enjoy your tour please visit www.wembleystadium.com/tours and book your place. Places are limited and will be reserved on a first response basis, so booking in advance is essential. Fryent Councillors

ENERGY SOLUTIONS ADVICE - BEAT YOUR MONEY WORRIES

Are you struggling to pay energy bills - do you need help with how to get the right payment plan? Have you thought about how to insulate your home or replace an old inefficient boiler? There are ways to beat the cold and not get into debt. Why not join Energy Solutions at Brent Town Hall on 16th April between 10.00 am and 3.00 pm. The beat your money worries advice sessions are free and funded by Fryent Councillors using Ward Working money. You can also visit www.sustainablebrent.org.uk George Crane Fryent Councillors

Brent Budget - Discussion

Local people are being invited to attend one of two public meetings about Brent's budget proposals for the forthcoming financial year.

The Brent Connects budget discussions will outline the difficult choices facing local government in the current economic climate and the council's proposals to continue making Brent a fairer borough and promote economic growth during 2013/14.

Local people will have the opportunity to question, and raise issues of concern, with Brent Council Leader, Cllr Muhammed Butt, and members of the council's Executive.

Both meetings will take place in Brent Town Hall, Forty Lane, Wembley, HA9 9HD on:

·         Monday, 4 February, 2:30 - 4:30pm, in Committee Rooms 1, 2 and 3

·         

     Thursday, 7 February, 7 - 9pm, in Paul Daisley Hall.

Anyone can attend. No booking is required. 

Fryent Councillors

Starbucks, Amazon and Google - avoid corporation tax.

Every now and then I have a rant about large multinational companies avoiding tax, it's perfectly legal but socially immoral. Starbucks, Amazon and Google are now in the frame and join the ranks of Vodafone, (see blog June 2012). 

I read with interest calls for boycotts of the 3 companies and have some sympathy with this approach. I have already stopped using Starbucks. Somehow I don`t think it will have much impact on coffee drinkers, internet searchers and book buyers.

The real question must be what are the Government doing to make sure companies pay more corporation tax on profits earned in the UK? Why can`t they stop multinationals just shifting profits around the world to avoid tax?  John Lewis recently called for action to put everyone on a level playing field. At the very least the Government should publish who pays and who avoids, or who are the most creative. I think we have the right to know.

I was going to Café Nero but just heard on the radio that they are tainted to, so I am off to Costa for a coffee..

Cllr George Crane

Cheap Energy Tariffs -Government Promise

Good news for consumers as David Cameron announced yesterday at PMQ’s (prime ministers questions) that the Energy Bill will compel companies by law to guarantee customers the best deal.

Good news indeed, I have never really understood why wholesale prices of Gas and Electricity are lower but consumers are being charged even higher prices. The same applies to petrol, crude oil is lower but pump prices remain high, Why?

What we really need is to know exactly what the price of a unit of electricity or gas is or how it is calculated, so we can compare each company’s price – in other words transparency. The other thing we need is to make it easier to switch suppliers – have you tried to compare tariffs lately? Why can’t we shop for energy like we shop at Tesco and Sainsbury and see the price on the shelf.

I am really looking forward to this Government Energy Bill, are you?

George Crane

Fryent Councillor.

Council agrees to expansion of Fryent Primary School.

Following a Stautory consultation process Brent Council in agreement with the Governing Body are planning to expand Fryent primary school in Church Road, Kingsbury. The expansion will be by 2 forms of entry (2 FE) from January 2013.

The plans include demolition of the existing dining hall and some huts to be replaced with new classrooms a new hall and kitchen. The expansion plans will need approval by the planning committee anticipated in August 2012. The building programme will start shortly after with completion due April 2013.

KINGSBURY AND KENTON AREA FORUM

DATE CHANGED

The next meeting of the Kingsbury and Kenton Area Consultative Forum has had the date changed.

The meeting will now take place on TUESDAY 7^TH FEB not on the 8^th Feb as previously stated in our blog in December. The venue remains Kingsbury High School, Princess Ave, Kingsbury and the meeting will start at 7.00pm.

The topic for the meeting will still be “Have your Say” it will be an opportunity to listen to the Leader of Brent Council, Councillor Ann John who will outline the issues for next year’s Council Budget and Council Tax. The Council is facing difficult financial decisions due to reductions in the level of Government grant for the last few years. Many Council services will either have to be reduced or priorities changed due to less money being available.

You will have an opportunity to ask questions.

Please pass on this message to anyone you think attends the meeting who may not know of the date change.

Cllr George Crane