Kingsbury Road - Public Realm Improvement consultation

The council is proposing to introduce a Public Realm Improvements Scheme in Kingsbury Town Centre between Kingsbury roundabout and Valley Drive. The proposed scheme will include: A new 20 mph Zone, footway renewal, new Cycle lane, new parking and loading arrangements, new crossing facilities and new street furniture including trees, seats, benches and Cycle stands.

The consultation is open until 7th April and to view the scheme you need to log on to the Brent Council web site or use this link:http://brent-consult.objective.co.uk/portal/ens/htdel/kingsbury_town_centre?tab=info

The scheme if approved will probably take about 12 months to complete and will be programmed in two phases - Phase 1 South Side (odd numbers) followed by phase 2 North side (even numbers).

The scheme is a  version of the previous application which was unsuccesful for funding last year. The Council have allocatted a smaller sum of money to take forward some of the previous public realm plans.

The views of residents and business in the area is really important, if you want to comment please use the link above.

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




 

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.

Smash and Grab Jewellery Raid in Kingsbury

I am sure all residents will join with us in thanking and congratulating shop keepers and resident passers by who bravely tackled the armed raiders in Kingsbury High Road yesterday. They showed magnificent courage and community spirit.

The raid took place yesterday afternoon and was filmed on mobile phones and widely seen on local London news programmes.

Police were quickly on the scene and arrested one man who had been apprehended following a chase by local residents and shop keepers. The Police are also appealing for anyone who saw the actual raid to contact them and assist with their continued enquires.    

Fryent Councillors,
Ruth Moher, Shama Tatler and George Crane

Engaging with Busines in Kingsbury

Engaging with Business in Kingsbury

Fryent Councillors, Ruth, Shama and George spent an interesting morning talking to Business Owners and Managers along Kingsbury Road from the Station to Valley Drive.

We would like to thank those individuals for sparing the time on what was a busy time for them.

Almost all the businesses we spoke to were in favour of establishing a Kingsbury Business Network and we were keen to listen to their current concerns. We plan to visit again and hopefully call on those shops which we missed  today.

The  http://imaginekingsbury.com/Events the current consultation on the future of Kingsbury is progressing well - you can visit web site from the link above.      

Fryent Councillors, 

Shama Tatler, Ruth Moher and George Crane

IMAGINE KINGSBURY

IMAGINE KINGSBURY




A Brent Council initiative inviting local people to develop a vision for Kingsbury Town Centre for the next 5 to 15 years.

It`s not about new buildings but how the area can be changed for the better by developing new design ideas for the public realm. How the streets and surrounding area can look in future, reducing traffic congestion, improving and encouraging the cycling experience, removing street clutter, parking pressure and lots more.

The Council has engaged 2 companies "Urban Movement" and "make:good" to help with the consultation, both companies have experience of this type of work. It will organise events between now and November to agree a vision, develop a scheme and help identify funding.

One of the early projects will be to form a Town Team which will bring together interest groups, residents, business, school and faith groups to champion and co create the vision.

You can find out more at:

imaginekingsbury.com and e mail them at kingsbury@make-good.com

Keep watching the blog or sign up for regular updates. Watch out for Pop Up event outside Kingsbury Library next week.

Fryent Councillors,

George, Shama  and Ruth.  

The Instiutue is Opening in Kingsbury on Saturday 24th January

TheThe Institute is Opening on Saturday 24th January
Masons House, 1-3 Valley Drive, Kingsbury NW9 9NG

10.00am Building opens to the Public

10.30am Music - Shree Mukajeeven  Swamibapa Pipe Band
               (Outdoors in garden- weather permitting)

11.00am Official Openning by Brent Deputy Mayor
                Councillor Lesley Jones

Check out the website  http://www.hgsi.ac.uk

So what`s on offer?   Comprehensive, contemporary and exciting range of art, design and creative courses. They will include: Pottery and Sculpture, Stained Glass and Warm Glass, Flower Arranging,Antique and Modern Furniture Restoration, Resin Jewellery and many more."

The Chief Executive said last year when talking to Fryent Councillors "Everyone is welcome to come and study at The Institute. Whatever your age or educational background, our qualified and experienced teachers will offer you the guidance you need to embark on your journey of discovery – however long it is since you were last in a classroom."

"Whether you want to study for personal satisfaction or career progression, you will find an amazingly wide choice of courses right across the subject spectrum as well as a warm welcome and a stimulating and friendly atmosphere."

This is really good news for local residents n Kingsbury and we hope you take the opportunity to look around on Saturday and meet the team at The Institute.

George Crane
Fryent Councillors

FREE PARKING IN KINGSBURY

Brent Council is offering free parking on Saturday and Sunday between now and Christmas in it`s own operated car parks. So Fryent residents can use this opportunity to shop local and support local business and traders.
This offer is available on Sat/ Sun 6-7th, 13-14th, 20-21st Dec and Thurs /Friday 25 - 26th Dec. only any other times you will have to pay.
So please try and support your local businesss and traders this Sat 6th December and "Shop Local"

Other Council owned car parks at the following locations are also free, the machines will be covered.

Elm Road, Lonsdale Avenue, Neasden, Preston Road, Salusbury Road, St Johns Road ,Wendover Road,  Barham Park

This offer is not available for "on street" parking.  


Fryent Councillors

Small Business Saturday 7th December

Brent is celebrating Small Business Saturday on 7th December, for those of you that have not heard Small Business Saturday is about encouraging people to "shop local"

The idea was first talked about by Chuka Umanna,  Labour Shadow Business Minister and the idea is rapidly growing.

To help launch Small Business Saturday, Brent Council is holding a Small Business Exhibition at the Civic Centre on Friday 6 th December. A showcase of local products and business leaders will join Brent Regeneration and Growth officers to help with advice on managing red tape or starting up a business.

Council Leader Cllr Muhammed Butt and Cllr George Crane Lead Member for Regeneration and Growth will be meeting business leaders and listening to ways Brent can help small business grow in Brent.

It is also important that we all get out to our local shopping parades in Kingsbury, Church Lane and The Hyde in Edgware Road to "shop local"

Fryent Councillors.

Shisha is Bad for your Health

Brent is issuing a warning to local residents of the risks associated with shisha pipe smoking following a huge rise in local shisha bars in recent years.

The warning comes as the council cracks down on shisha bars that flout smoke-free legislation. More worrying is that many people think it is safer to smoke shisha than cigarettes.

However, according to Cancer Research UK, a typical hour-long shisha session can see users inhale the same amount of smoke as from more than 100 cigarettes.

What is even more alarming is that shisha tobacco contains over 36 times more tar and twice as much nicotine as cigarette tobacco so it is not only more addictive but carries a far greater risk of causing lung cancer and other respiratory diseases.

In the last three months, the council has prosecuted the owners of three Brent shisha bars for allowing their customers to smoke in their premises in breach of smoke-free legislation.

The law requires that smoking should not take place in buildings or structures that are ‘substantially enclosed' and in all three cases, the bars were not constructed in accordance with this rule.

Fryent Councillors

KINGSBURY- POLICE OFFICERS STABBED

It was meant to be a quiet Saturday at my regular Councillor surgery at Kingsbury Library.
Unfortunately it has been marred by a really nasty incident in Kingsbury High Road. I walked down to the scene and a local resident told me “police chased a man into a local shop. It would appear that the attacker ran into a local butchers, grabbed a knife and attacked and stabbed 3 police officers”

The attacker was arrested and is in custody.
I was told 3 or 4 officers had been hurt and been taken to Hospital.

The area has been cordoned off while police officers undertake further investigations.
It is best to avoid the area at present as traffic conditions are very congested.

Cllr George Crane