Martin Francis has picked up on a government grant for build for rent properties in Wembley. None of the units appear to be "affordable", let alone socially rented. The Conservative minister Alok Sharma is quoted as approving this scheme. Cllr Muhammed Butt, normally keen on publicity, does not seem to appear in the coverage I have seen.
Of course, now that the Council has delivered planning permission to the developers as well as money for substantial public realm improvements, Brent Council has no real leverage in trying to get anything else. The Council appears to have consigned itself to irrelevance.
The minister and the developer meanwhile are looking forward to a massive expansion in car parking in the Wembley area. This threatens to reverse the gains made in recent years in air quality, worsen traffic congestion which is increasing anyway because of Spurs and return the area to the failed car dependent model that made the area require regeneration in the first place.
When the Stadium was first up for rebuilding, Brent Council (under Paul Daisley's leadership) successfully argued for more than £100 million of public transport improvements to deliver a public transport venue. It appears his successor has failed even to get a seat at the table.
Meanwhile Polly Toynbee suggests that Brent loses £178 per week for each family in B&B.
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