Brent Council Budget Agreed

A BUDGET FOR SOCIAL MOBILITY AND LOCAL DEMOCRACY

Labour’s budget for 2012/13 has two main themes, social mobility and local democracy. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has cited the UK as one of the worst countries for levels of social mobility and this is in the number one priority in Brent.

Most Brent residents have incomes lower than the £26,000 benefit cap, 12,000 (9.3%) of them are unemployed and youth unemployment is a particular problem. One third of Brent children are living in poverty (that is living in households where the household income is below £15,000 a year) and the changes in the welfare reform bill and localisation of housing benefit will make the situation even worse. Children born into poverty are most likely to become poor adults.

In Labour’s budget proposals is a pledge to establish a Commission on Social Mobility to be chaired by an academic to ensure that council policy is geared towards enabling local people to achieve their full potential. Meanwhile, the Council is providing £350,000 as starter funding to develop a new employment service to work in partnership with other agencies to help local residents back into work.

Meanwhile, in order to address the democratic deficit caused by the Coalition government’s removal of powers from local government, Labour Brent is to double the budget for ward working whereby local people working with their local councillors determine activities and projects within their own communities. From now on every ward will receive £40,000 to spend on local initiatives that matter to them.

Brent Council’s Labour Leader, Cllr Ann M John, OBE, said:

“The gap between rich and poor is growing all the time with the top ten per cent of earners now earning twelve times as much as the bottom ten per cent. In Brent average earnings are only just at the national average whilst house prices are twice the national average. Social mobility and getting people back to work has to be our number one priority. But we are also giving local people a say in projects in their area by doubling the ward working budget. The government may talk about localism but we practice it”. 

NEW WATER MAINS IN KINGSBURY

The information below has been received from Veolia Water, if your Road is affected it will be listed below.  These works will probably create traffic problems from time to time.

Please pass this message on to as many local people as possible either through our blog link or from your e mail contacts.

Replacing the water mains – NW9/Kingsbury area

Veolia Water is upgrading 4.4km of the underground network of pipes that supply water each day to residents, businesses and schools in­ the Kingsbury area of Brent. This work represents an investment of just over £0.75 million. 

Some of the existing water mains were laid more than 70 years ago and have given many years of good service, but have now reached the end of their useful lives. The majority of these pipes are cast iron, which have begun to weaken and this has made them vulnerable to leaks and bursts. By replacing targeted sections of the water mains network, Veolia Water will be able to continue supplying water to the local community for many years to come.

This work is expected to start on Monday, 13 February and is being carried out by our contractor Balfour Beatty Utility Solutions Ltd. Work is due for completion by early September.  The following roads will be affected by the work:

Ash Tree Dell	Kingsbury Road
Buck Lane	Oak Tree Dell
Charlotte Place	Roe Green
Fairfield Crescent	Summit Avenue
Hay Lane	The Grove
Highfield Avenue	Townsend Lane
High Meadow Crescent	Uphill Drive
Hillside	Wakemans Hill Avenue

All customers affected by the work will receive a letter and customer leaflet (copy attached) before works start in their street to advise them of the project.  We are working closely with Brent Highways Department to ensure that this scheme runs as smoothly as possible and residents, businesses and schools are kept informed.   

Vulnerable and elderly customers are being encouraged to notify Veolia Water of their special needs by registering on our Safeguard scheme. This can be done online at www.veoliawater.co.uk/central or through our call centre on 0845 782 3333.

Additional information while work is taking place in specific streets can be found online at www.veoliawater.co.uk/customerzone

Proposed new gaming centre for Edgware Road

Many of you will know that there is a planning application to turn the off licence at 165 Edgware Road into a gaming centre with slot machines etc. There is also another application being considered which proposes an extension of the premises, presumably to make way for more equipment. The first application has been deferred by the planning committee following my intervention and that of the SERA secretary, Keith Martin and will not now be heard again until March. We have asked Safer Neighbourhood Team  to report on the possibility of such an establishment increasing anti-social behaviour in the area. Any interested residents should also make their voices heard by writing to the Panning Department, and, if possible, attending the meeting of the Planning Committee. At the last meeting only I and  two residents were present to put the point of view of people in the area.

Cllr Ruth Moher

Kingsbury Lodge

Sadly, the council are now proposing to pull down this old building at the entrance to Roe Green Park on Kingsbury Road. They say, with some justification, that it has become a blight on the local area.

Originally built as the lodge of Kingsbury Manor for Lady Mary Caroline, Duchess of Sutherland in 1899. John Logie Baird received the first TV signals from Berlin here in 1929, when Kingsbury (now Brent) Council acquired the manor and lodge. In recent years it was used as a service tenancy for Parks staff, until it was condemned due to its poor structural condition in the 1990s. Since then it had been used as a squat, drug den and general 'hot spot' of anti-social behaviour. It is now completely dilapidated and in a dangerous condition. It is overrun with rats and other vermin, which are spreading into the park and the Council regularly get complaints from local residents and parks users. We are advised that it would cost too much to repair as significant structural defects exist and it requires underpinning.

So, another piece of our history must go, but at least the area will be returned to the park. We will also press for a suitable recording of the site history and soon we will have the new tennis courts further along.

Parking in Town Centres

Parking and the fees now charged by local councils is a hot topic these days. With the growth in vehicles on the road, parking space is at a premium. Everybody naturally expects to be able to park and shop where they wish, but there is increasingly a price to be paid - one of the costs of motoring and maintaining our roads and pavements as government grants are withdrawn.

But many complain about the level of charges the council makes to cover its roads and pavements maintenance program. Traders particularly point to this one factor as the main cause of their loss of business, though Mary Portas' recent report for the government on other factors such as on-line shopping and supermarket discount competition, seem more compelling.

Brent Council's Highways Committee will be debating this and other transportation issues next Tuesday (7th February) in relation to it's proposal of up to one hour free parking at Preston Road Car Park. This could be a pilot project for other town centres. Come along and let us have your ideas.

cllr jim moher

Bankers Pay

Not for the first time the announcement of another huge Bankers bonus payment has sparked furious response and condemnation from a wide range of organisations. The latest award is for the Head of state owned Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) Stephen Hester.

The Bank is 83% owned by the taxpayer; yes that’s you and me. Mr Hester is already receiving a salary in excess of 1 million pounds so can hardly be described as “on the bread line”.

David Cameron is believed to have demanded” that any bonus should be below the symbolic 1 million pound level.”  I think this just shows how out of touch he is with real life and how ordinary people see these types of wage rewards. They see them as unnecessary, extravagant and obscene. What’s wrong with him just getting a salary like the rest of us?

I think Mr Cameron should tell the board of RBS to think again and tell Mr Hester that his salary should be enough in this difficult economic climate.  The problem with this is that the board of RBS are all in the same boat, many are members of other companies Board of Directors, all scratching each others backs.  

If Mr Hester is not happy with just a salary he can always leave. I am sure there are plenty of good bankers out there who could do an equally good job. How difficult must it be to sell off some businesses, make thousands redundant, and watch the share price fall to all time low? Maybe I should apply? 

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