Fryent Councillors visit Bush Grove Estate

Fryent Councillors visited the Bush Grove estates, Kingsbury over the weekend. We were delighted to meet over 100 residents on the doorstep.

We received lots of feedback on issues in the area but it was also  disappointing to see “fly tipping” on the estate.  We will tackle this and try and catch persistent offenders. This anti social action is not necessary, you can phone Brent Council  (020 8937 5050) and they will collect bulky rubbish free of charge.

We also noticed the poor state of the footpath between Church lane and Sycamore Grove and will try and get the area tidied up.

If we missed you please contact us, either comment on this blog or subscribe. 

George, Jim and Ruth.

Protest at Kingsbury High School Academy conversion decision.

I read in the Willesden and Brent Times (28/07) that hundreds of pupils protested against Kingsbury High School becoming an Academy. The pupils refused to go to classes and the Head Teacher hastily arranged a meeting in the school hall. This follows the Kingsbury High School governors having decided at a meeting on 14/07 to go ahead with an application for academy status.

This decision was taken despite opposition from Teachers Unions and complaints from Parents that they have not been adequately consulted. This follows similar disquiet over the recent decision of Claremont High school to seek academy status.

The decision appears to be driven by both Head teachers with little or no support from Teachers or parents.

A concerned parent recently contacted us saying “this decision has been taken but most parents are either not aware of what is happening or don’t know what the implications are for the future of the school.”

Councillor Jim Moher said on hearing the news, ”It is  a shame that the governors did not consult the parents before making such a controversial move, which the teaching staff are so concerned about”.

Please contact your Fryent Councillors by subscribing to the blog or becoming a follower.

YOUR WASTE COLLECTION SERVICE IS CHANGING FROM 3RD OCTOBER 2011

Do you know what the changes are and how they will affect you?

Check out this link http://www.brent.gov.uk/recyclemore.

It’s expensive to keep sending rubbish to landfill. Much of what we throw away can be recycled, reused or composted. Brent Council pays a landfill tax at £48/tonne in 2011. This will increase by £8 per tonne until 2014, when it will be £80 per tonne in 2014.

A little more thought about what we throw away could save a lot of money, be better for the economy and the environment. Lets put a stop to this!


Fryent Councillors, helping the Environment.

Churches oppose benefit cuts.

The Head of the Roman Catholic Church in England, the Most Rev Vincent Nichols, Archbishop of Westminster has condemned the coalition Government cuts in welfare benefit, particularly housing benefit. He is concerned that thousands of poor families may be forced out of their homes.

His letter to Ian Duncan Smith MP, reported in the Times,  follows similar concerns raised by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams who recently wrote a quest editorial in the New Statesman. The Churches are particularly anxious about the cuts as they help the worst affected.

Sadly I don’t think anyone in Government is  listening 

KINGSBURY & KENTON AREA FORUM

The next meeting of the Kingsbury Kenton Area Forum takes place on Tuesday 19^th July at Kingsbury High School, Princess Ave NW9 starting at 7.00 pm

Cllr Ann John, Leader of Brent Council will make a presentation on the progress of the new Civic Centre development in Wembley. The Construction Company Skanska will also attend the meeting.

Two further items will be the Green Charter consultation, from Michael Read, Asst Director of Environment, Brent Council and Sgt Sashi Vagadia, Metropolitan Police who will talk and answer questions on local policing issues.

It will also be an opportunity to meet your local Councillors, not just Fryent Councillors. There are refreshments in the break and you can find out what’s  happening in your area.

Fryent Councillors.

Ward Working Walkabout

We had a very successful Ward Working walkabout on Sat 18^th June. We were joined by Vik Mistry from Brent Council and Edward Oniba from the Fryent Safer Neighbourhood Team.

We met in Kingsbury High Road and spoke to residents and traders about recent thefts of gold chains. These are opportunistic robberies and the Safer Neighbourhood teams are very vigilant in the area.  Don’t wear Gold Chains to go shopping unless really necessary, and certainly keep concealed.

We will report areas that we considered needed attention regarding poor state of pavements and will ask streetcare to attend to some fly tipping that we noticed.

Thanks to those residents that found time to meet us during the walkabout, it’s always interesting to get feedback about how the area is perceived.  

If you missed us on the day you can always sign in and post a comment and we will get back to you.

George, Jim and Ruth.

Fryent Councillors.

The Village School

As a result of concerns expressed  from local residents Jim Moher and George Crane, your Fryent Councillors, met Brent Council Regeneration Team and the appointed Village School contractors, Leadbitters, to present concerns and clarify plans.  The Head Teacher of the Village School, Kay Johnson, joined us for the meeting.

We discussed the building programme, community consultation and managing traffic. There has been considerable discussion and extensive consultation on the complicated subject of managing traffic both at Kingsbury High school and Grove Park sites. 

To progress the rebuilding of the school, work has begun on the temporary building at Kingsbury High School and is due for completion at the end of August for the next academic year. Further discussions are planned with the Council Transportation and Planning Teams on traffic management and a travel plan for the school.

The contractors, Leadbitters, have appointed a Community Liaison person to keep residents informed and to respond to any concerns during the project. The contractor will also have a local labour initiative including training and apprenticeships as a boost to the local economy.