Tubbs Pocket Park Artwork

Some may recall that in the distance past, Tubbs Road Pocket Park was upgraded.  Part of the planned investment was for a steel bird table by Helena Roden.  This never actually arrived, although a concrete base was installed for it some time ago.  However, I understand that the table was constructed, and I have finally managed to track it down. It should be installed at some point in November.  I am glad it is finally getting here,but it really should not have taken that length of time.

Grim London Housing

The grim state of the London housing market is covered by the Evening Standard today.  What I find even more worrying is that our politics seem to totally fail to address these issues.  Without a sigmificant increase in housing our already unaffordable rents will continue to spiral. Yet Boris Johnson simply claims credit for delivering the pipeline of homes that Ken Livingstone bequeathed him without himself addressing him.  The government has been systematically dismantling social housing so that the "affordable" housing in a new development is now usually a complete misnomer.

Kilburn Library Under Fives

I was amazed to be told that the average attendance for an under fives session at the refurbished Kilburn Library is about 95 people (both children and adults).  It looks as if the refitted Library is rapidly establishing itself as one of our most successful.

Park House Demolition

I see that the demolition of Park House on Manor Park Road is underway. It is good to see that some building projects are still going ahead despite the dragging semi-slump that has followed the Tory government's austerity programme.

Book Issues Outside Buildings

Looking at the most recent data on Brent library issues, I notice that more than a quarter of book issues do not involve visiting buildings in Quarter 2 this year (i.e. July to September).  Taken together, the outreach service and the home library service have issued more books than have gone out from Harlesden Library.  That is quite a stark demonstration of how outreach and online services are becoming more and more important.

Summer Reading Challenge Success

This year's Summer Reading Challenge had even more joiners and completers than last year.  Last year, Brent Libraries attracted 4,244 joiners compared to 4,344 this year.  The rise in completers was even better, with 1,974 finishing six books last year compared to 2,313 this year.  This is a huge achievement by the Brent Library staff.

Council Tax Support

The government's most recent manoeuvre over Council Tax strikes me as even more cynical than usual.  The announcement of what makes a good scheme in the government's opinion comes so late that many Councils simply won't be able to change their plans.  But, in any case, wasn't the point of "localism" supposed to be getting each authority to design their own schemes? How does that square with then announcing a new central set of demands? What makes it even more bizarre is that the parliamentary statement ignores what the government has previously announced as a prime concern, encouraging people into work.

Harlesden Waste Plant

There has been some disquiet about a proposed waste plant in the Ealing part of Park Royal.  This obviously raises questions over transport and good neighbour concerns.  It has been wrongly put about that Brent Planning officers have not been concerned about these.  In fact, Brent Planning officers have already had informal contacts.  A formal response has not yet been sent in but it will be ahead of the deadline.  Again, contrary to some of the rumours going round, Ealing have written to about 1,000 Brent residents in the area south of Harlesden High Street.

The relevant Planning Authority of course is Ealing, and the case officer is Peter Lee (LeeP@ealing.gov.uk).

The site is currently industrial land, and has a number of uses.  The developers claim that the transport movements will be reduced by replacing these with the new plant.  I am still waiting to see if Brent's transport experts agree. Similarly, Brent's environmental health staff are examining the emissions data.

Kensal Green Puzzle

An anonymous commentator has suggested I use derogatory terms about local residents at the bottom of this post.  Having reread the post, I can't see anything derogatory.  As far as I can see s/he is complaining about a point of view that they don't like.

Can anyone explain to me otherwise?

I am always happy to publish comments provided that they are not libellous or offensive, but it seems to me that some people simply can't take a different point of view.

UPDATE

Thank you to the anonymous commentators.  As promised, provided comments are not offensive or libellous, I have published them.

The statistics used are all valid.  The process gone through, as a result of the litigants' legal action, was examined exhaustively.  The text of the judgement in High Court is on the side bar next to this post.  I have attended numerous public and private meetings on this subject, over a period adding up to many hours.  The litigants were unable to prove their case in court, or through the political process.

Brent Libraries service is now going ahead with the agreed strategy.  This strategy has had a number of successes, often enumerated in this blog.

I think that the key thing that those of us who do not directly work in Brent Library service can best do now is to support the library staff in their role in promoting library services around the Borough.

Responding to the last comment to date, my previous post explicitly refers to the 12 libraries and compares to the six.  The comparison (again) is that visits in September this year were only 1.5% down on September last year.  My view is that, after an admittedly rocky period in October to April, our libraries are definitely on the way up and anyone who believes in library services should celebrate the fact.

School Finance Problems

Some of the problems facing school finace can be found here.  This is obviously a major national problem that affects schools across the country that have effectively been targeted in scams. It is notable that free schools are felt to be more vulnerable to such deals than standard schools.  The whole move to less and less authority supervision has simply gone too far as there just aren't adequate safeguards for public money.

Red Velvet

I went to see Red Velvet at the Tricycle this evening, which is the most extraordinary production I have seen in a long while.  It is a brilliantly successful combination of comedy, tragedy and racial politics.  A really impressive combination of good writing and acting.

Cautionary Tale on Procurement

Yesterday, the Independent carried a story about the government debacle meant on rail franchises.  It suggested that the stripping out of senior staff had gone so far that the department was no longer able to manage contract awards competently.  This entirely plausible argument demonstrates how self defeating the government's austerity programme has become.

Fairtrade Artwork by Kensal Green Tube

I forgot to publish the Fairtrade picture that I promised.  Here it is.  In terms of the number of people who see it, it should be as good as a billboard.

John Keble School

Greatly enjoyed my visit to John Keble primary school this morning for their school assembly as part of Local Democracy Week.  I was particularly impressed by how well behaved all the children were.

Volunteer Libraries in Lewisham

Lewisham were somewhat ahead of us in tackling their library service. Like Brent, they had to cope with financial cutbacks, but unlike us they have tried going down the volunteer route.  The results seem to have been less than successful.  The volunteer libraries languish at the bottom of the figures as Lewisham's least popular.  The linked report particularly looks at Blackheath, which has the lowest usage of all.  The quoted figures show a fall of 80% as a volunteer run library compared to the former Council run facility.  This is despite the charity that took it over being given £200k to run it.  That kind of money to run a facility using by about 1,000 people per month doesn't sound like good value for money.

St Marks Church Kensal Green

I am glad to see that St Marks Church Kensal Green has finally finished its building project. A small part df the cost of this came from Kensal Green ward working funds.  The work means a new kitchen, a redecorated Church Hall, new replacement toilets, and most importantly the introduction of a disabled toilet for the first time.

Libraries Transformation Update

The most recent figures for Brent Library visits and issues are now available.  The most recent quarter (July to September) shows a 17% rise in issues, and a 5.2% rise in visits compared to the same period last year.  This is despite Kilburn Library being closed between 22 May and 10 September for its refurbishment.  Indeed, the most startling figure in the report is the increase in visit numbers at Kilburn Library this September compared to September last year.  There has been a 106% jump despite, the library being open for only 21 days in September.

Altogether, I am surprised at how the Libraries Transformation has made such a big difference so quickly.  I was expecting a slower rate of progress.  Partly this is because I imagined that there would be a falling off in visits at our biggest library in Willesden during the redevelopment there.  Although we have designed a robust interim service, interim services tend not to attract the same footfall as a permanent facility.  The delay in the redevelopment means that this effect has yet to be fully felt. 

I expect a second major effect when the new Wembley Library opens in June next year.  This will be in the most prominent parts of the Civic Centre, and I expect it to rapidly become one of the most popular libraries in the UK.

The figures seem to me to confirm the strategy we decided to pursue.  Contrary to some people's expectation, people are willing to travel to our libraries.  We seem to have a better record than areas like Hertfordshire, which went down the route of cutting opening hours (although I suspect travelling to another branch is harder in Hertfordshire).  I suspect that our decision to protect and enhance the bookstock in each library is also important in maintaining their attractiveness.

The litigants of course, asked the opposite question.  They asked why numbers fell upon the closure of the libraries on 11 October last year.  The answer to that is multiple. 

Firstly, it was always the case that there would be a period of adjustment from one system to the other.  The litigants prolonged this somewhat, so that we weren't able to start to fully implement our system until quite a long way into 2012.  The legal action did not end until February, whereupon the litigants instantly decided to threaten the Secretary of State with legal action.  This obviously created some uncertainity for Brent Libraries Service, which was only fully lifted when the new Secretary of State announced there would be no inquiry in September. 

Secondly, we were hampered with getting on with key parts of our offer.  Most noticeably, we did not have full access to our bookstock until late May.  Again, this was partly the result of legal objections. 

Thirdly, many elements of the strategy require time to develop.  The school library card scheme seems to me to have the potential to be a highly effective innovation, but it takes time to get schools to partner and develop the model.  Other parts of the strategy, such as outreach, the online offer, services for the housebound, free legal advice, high quality promotions, online courses, and physical refurbishments all take time. 

A fourth reason that has been suggested to me, although it is not a proveable statement either way, is that the huge negative publicity that the litigants generated in itself damaged library usage.  Partly this would be through deterring the public, and partly by demoralising the staff.  This may be true.  I am sure that had we gone down the route of cutting opening hours and hollowing out the service, the effect would have been immensely demoralising for both staff and customers alike.

UPDATE

In response to the comments, the overall visits this September are about 1.5% down from September last year.  I suspect that if I had said a year ago that Brent libraries would be only 1.5% down in visits with six libraries than with 12 I would have been disbelieved.  The Harrow Observer story refers to a different set of numbers.  My point is that the dip immediately after the closures is now being reversed as we have started to progress the strategy. 

Willesden Junction and Station Approach

The proposed enhancement to Station Approach seems to have led to confusion, not least at the Brent Connects event the other day.

After much lobbying, a scheme costing about £600k has been put together. Most of this is from Network Rail for embankment work. However Brent Council and TfL are also contributing to resurface the road and improve the pavement. Although the site is in Hammersmith, Brent is contributing because more than 90% of users come from the Brent side (I.e. northern) side.  Therefore it is proposed to widen the northern pavement, and remove those dreadful railings that force people into the middle of the road and thereby endanger pedestrians rather than help them.  Most of the southern pavement will be removed to allow room for vehicles, although the Station Road And Station Approach junction will have a lowered kerb type arrangement to allow crossing.

The whole scheme should bring a major improvement for pedestrian safety, which I have been campaigning for for some years.

Highways Committee Tonight

This evening I shall be going to the Highways Committee, where the main item appears to be the concerns about parking in Harlesden Town Centre.  I am surprised that parking does not get more publicity, given that lots of people are closely affected and we are implementing far reaching changes not just in Harlesden and Kensal Green, but across Brent.

Does the Government have a Clue?

I can't decide whether the Tory / Liberal Democrat government has a cunning plan to distract its opponents with a bewildering array of initiatives, or whether they are just a bunch of wallis.  We have extreme liberalisation for planning regulations for major developments or household expansion.  This is supposed to release pent up economic energies. At the same time, the Localism Act allows for a six month delay to property disposals if "the community" regards it as a community asset. This is likely to curtail those same entrepreneurs whose property developments are supposedly coming to our rescue.

Brent Council Procurement Dilemma

I have been thinking more about Brent Council's procurement policies, which seem to set up a fundamental question for us.  A little while ago, I went to training on the subject, which turned out to be exceptionally interesting. 

Previously, I had been worried about the possibilities of legal action, which still concern me.  The requirements of the Social Value Act, the Localism Act and the longstanding EU procurement rules all give plenty of tripwires for local Councils to fall over. 

Changes in EU procurement have made suing public bodies a much more profitable exercise.  The old way of doing things meant that if you successfully challenged a procurement as being unfair, the process had to be rerun.  This didn't particularly advantage the company making the challenge.  The new situation is that a successful challenger can be awarded the profits it would have made had it won the contract.  Legal challenges are thereby encouraged, and I have heard rumours that some companies are building a number of challenges into their business models.

However, the bigger challenge is to using procurement policy to encourage the local economy in Brent.  This is a key objective of Brent Labour Party, but it runs into a difficult choice.  Certain measures, such as designing contracts in smaller lots to make them open to smaller companies (i.e. the kind that might be based in Brent), could lead to a higher cost for the taxpayer.  Failing to achieve all possible savings in procurement means finding savings elsewhere in the Budget.  In other words, seeking to design procurement policy to benefit local companies may well end up in deeper cuts to public services and hurt Brent residents as service users.

A difficult choice.

Brent Connects at All Souls Church

Brent Connects is the new name given to the former Area Consultative Forums (ACFs) as part of an effort to reform the Council's consultations that my Labour colleague Cllr Lesley Jones has been leading. 

The first meeting under the new name occurs at All Souls Church in Harlesden High Street at 7pm tonight.  Topics include the future of A&E at Central Middlesex Hospital and an update on Station Approach outside Willesden Junction _ a subject I have been campaigning on for years.

Brent Civic Centre and BREEAM Status

I asked for a more systematic account of the environmental benefits of Brent Council's new Civic Centre.  I got back an extremely impressive list of the full range of benefits.  This is what I was sent: 

Energy

Energy efficiency measures introduced to the building will reduce carbon emissions by 33 per cent. Total energy improvements over Building Regulations are >65
Total energy consumption is estimated to be 93.5kWh/m2 comparative to 220kWh/m2 for a conventional similar building.
Regulated energy is estimated to produce carbon emissions in the order of 13 kgCo2/m2.
Specific measures include
• Passive design, such as orientation, natural ventilation and a highly efficient building fabric, which maximises daylight at the same time as providing shade from solar penetration;

• Energy efficient measures, such as voltage optimisation, mixed mode ventilation, heat recovery (MVHR), sub metering and an intelligent Building Management System (BMS)

• Design of effective external shading on the dominantly East and West elevations reduces cooling requirements. The use of daylighting to replace artificial lighting, which also reduces the need for cooling in summer.

• Zoned lighting and movement sensors in lighting will be implemented.

• Low energy lighting solutions throughout the building.

• Thermostatic Radiator Valves (TRVs) will be provided for all heating and cooling devices.

• Low energy IT solutions through the building using the latest low energy devices.

• Low energy consuming audio visual equipment.

• Air source heat pumps absorb heat from outside air and release it inside during winter, and the converse in summer. Offer central heating solution and domestic hot water up to 80°C.

• A CCHP system using Waste fish oil will be used on site.

• Hand dryers are energy efficient models. Minimal use of paper towels within building.

• Multi-functional devices (MFD’s) will be energy efficient and use ‘colorcube’ technology which reduces toner waste.
Water
• Low flow aerated taps or spray taps for wash basins with a flow rate of 6 l/min as opposed to standard taps, which consume about 12 litres/min of water

• All WC's will be either dual flush or have an effective flush volume of 3 Litres or less and be specified with a delayed action inlet valve to reduce water consumption.

• Urinals will be either fitted with presence detectors to control flushing or will be ultra low flush or waterless.

• Showers with a flow rate of less than 9 litres/min or less, as opposed to standard showers, which use about 14 litres/min.

• Sub-metering

• A rainwater storage tank with a volume of 75m3 for harvesting rainwater for use in flushing WC’s and for irrigation.
Construction Waste
The following targets are required on site:

• Non-hazardous construction waste generated will be less than 9.2m3 or less than 4.7 tonnes per 100m2 of gross internal floor area

• 90% by weight or 80% by volume of non-hazardous construction waste generated by the project will be diverted from landfill

• 95% by weight or 85% by volume of non-hazardous demolition waste will be diverted from landfill
Operational waste
• Envac pipework installed beneath the basement slab to allow for the future connection to the wider Wembley City infrastructure.

• Organic waste, comprising food waste generated from office and catering activities and potentially any green waste generated from internal green spaces (e.g. Community Hall Winter Garden), will be composted.

• Compactor facility in basement for reducing waste volumes.
Materials
• 80% of all materials within the External Walls; Internal Walls; Roof; Upper Floor Slabs; Windows; and Floor Finishes/ Coverings (by total area), are either ‘A’ or ‘A+’ rated under The Green Guide to Specification, 2008”. At least 50% of all materials within these elements have received either an ‘A’ or ‘A+’ rating.

• The design team will aim for over 80% of materials in building and finishing elements to be responsibly sourced.

• Over 80% of the timber is FSC certified, or Chain of Custody certified.
Transport
• A green transport plan has been developed

• 150 cycle spaces for an estimated 2300 building users, and 100 cycle spaces for visitors. 17 showers for building users will be provided (8x male, 8x female and 1x disabled)

• 47 electric vehicle charging points within basement car park

• Travel information point in building foyer with information on local train, tube and bus departure times.

• Excellent local public transport links.

Ecology
• Landscaped garden planted with carefully selected naturalistic, drought tolerant species

• An indoor winter garden will be provided

• 180m2 of Green roofs will be provided above the building cores

• Bat boxes and bird boxes will be provided for a range of nesting birds such as the Black Redstart.

• Planters will be provided around the site and within the building.

Internal Environment

Daylight: The atrium and ‘drum’ area are covered with ETFE, a semi-opaque, light material which allows daylight in without the exposure that glass provides. In addition, it is 1% the weight of glass. 80% of the development has been designed to achieve a minimum daylight factor of 2-3% as a minimum.

• Comfort: Occupant control for heating and cooling systems and lighting have been specified. Automatic detection systems and daylight sensors for lighting have been specified. Finishing elements and fixtures with low volatile organic compound (VOC) content will be used throughout the development.

• Light Pollution: External night time lighting for the site has been designed to minimise the intensity of each light source in potentially obtrusive directions beyond the site boundaries.

Community
• The Brent Civic Centre proposal was subject to a period of consultation with key stakeholders including members of the public, community representatives, interest groups and staff from March 2008 to October 2009.

• Community garden.

• The design for the Brent Civic Centre has embraced inclusiveness.

3D Printing and Copyright

The Economist has an interesting piece around the copyright complications of 3D printing.  Using this technology in a way that safeguards copyright might be a way in which libraries could play a role.

Housing Depression

While trying to look on the bright side on various issues, it becomes difficult when you look at the state of London homelessness.  Brent is managing its B+B for the moment, but it is overwhelmingly likely that there will be a huge surge over the coming year, and it may well take many years to claw back the position. Meanwhile, government ministers simply appear to want to shuffle the blame rather than prevent the problem.

Tubbs Road Pocket Park Water Supply

I have had confirmation that ward working is paying for a water connection to Tubbs Road pocket park as soon as Thames Water engineers are ready.  Hopefully this will enhance the quality of the park.

Virtual and Real

I find the way the virtual world and the real world overlap still rather disconcerting, but they do, and people have started studying it.  Like it or not, the pace of change is accelerating and all institutions, including local government, have to adapt.

Fairtrade Art in Hazel Road Open Space

We are finally installing the Fairtrade artwork that Ward Working commissioned last year.  This is one of those projects that has been subject to all sorts of delays and snarl ups.  The idea was to have a Fairtrade logo made from recycled plastic visible to the huge numbers of people who pass down the Harrow Road near Kensal Green Tube.  The artwork is located in Hazel Road Open Space.

Although the project was approved ages ago, it is newly topical.  Fairtrade can be seen as a form of predistribution, which Ed Miliband has suggested could be the next Big Idea for the Labour Party going into the next General Election.

Queens Park Exposure

I notice my colleague Cllr James Denselow is planning to expose himself in Queens Park for the benefit of local residents.

Coalition Government Failing by Design

The former Cabinet Secretary has attacked the current government for denuding itself of ability, resulting in the current rail franchise fiasco.  What he doesn't say is that this is not happenstance, but a deliberate part of the plan.  The more inept government seems, the more people will lose faith in it and adopt the old private good, public bad mantra.

The problem for the likes of David Cameron is that, as the public sector employees responsible for the government as a whole, they inevitably share the blame.

Brent Council Mortuary

This morning I am going up to look at Brent Council's mortuary service at Northwick Park Hospital.  This is a shared service with Haringey, and we are looking at developing our co-operation with other London Boroughs.  It is one of those neighbourhood services that I suspect many people are completely unaware the Council runs.

Barham Park Future Options

This morning I am going up to Barham Park to look at the plans to develop the park.  This follows from the Executive decision in March to do a feasibility study on its future.  That was the same meeting where Cllr Paul Lorber confessed that Barham Park had suffered "years of neglect" under his leadership.  Indeed the only proposal I can recall for Barham Park during his leadership was to build on it. 

By contrast, we want to improve it as green space and a source of biodiversity.  The main problem is that the financial climate is much less benign than when Cllr Lorber was in control.  Therefore, we will have to take an incremental approach as and when we can obtain funding.

Alternate Weekly Collections Confirmed

Confirmation that Eric Pickles attempt to reintroduce weekly landfill collections have failed comes from Materials Recycling Week.  The magazine did a survey of all English Councils and found only one had applied for money to return to a weekly service for landfill.  The Civil servants must have seen this coming, as they swiftly broadened the fund to apply to food waste collections as well, so at least something will come out of the Pickles vanity project.

Why is the prospect of returning to weekly collections so unattractive?  Firstly, it goes against the established trend of the waste hierarchy , which is designed to reduce waste and increase the recycling of what waste is produced.  Increasing the number of landfill collections simply encourages a throw away society.  Secondly, rubbish collections need a long term infrastructure of vehicles, bins and public education.  A one off grant from a hopefully here today and gone tomorrow politician like Eric Pickles is not something anyone organising such contracts would want to rely on.

Ebook Piracy

Some interesting answers to problems of ebook piracy here.  It really is essential to solve this problem if libraries are to survive.

Recycling Publicity

A recent WRAP article reminds us of the importance of communications.  This is a widely ignored issue in local government. A huge amount of what Councils now do is about behaviour change. This is not political. Reducing landfill, promoting public health, reducing litter etc. are all heavily dependent on communications but should be pretty much non partisan. Why the myths about Council propaganda?

Brian Coleman Gets Away

The appalling Brian Coleman has had another run in with the Standards system, as reported in the Standard.  Unfortunately the new Tory government has effectively emasculated the Standards system, so that it no longer has any sanctions for non compliance, making the whole process rather pointless.

Steve Reed Response

Steve Reed has written a response to those calling for a 1980s style response to the cuts here.  I am shocked that Lambeth is still paying off £20 million in interest dating back from those times. I had no idea that the consequences were so far reaching. As he says, those who do the loony left posturing are not those who pay the price.

Brent Population Growth

The Guardian reports on the increasing population of East London.  Brent has also seen a massive increase in population.  The 2011 census shows a population figure of 312,200, an increase of more than 58,000 compared to 2001.  That is enormous, and makes us the fifth biggest Borough in London, with all sorts of spending pressures as a result.

Ebook Lending

I found the Channel 4 broadcast on ebook lending the other day too short to be informative, but they now have a longer item online (appropriately).  Some of the comments on the piracy issue are interesting.

Willesden Social Club Update

I had a recent conversation to confirm that the development of the old Willesden Social Club is going ahead.  This site has been a centre for anti social behaviour for so many years and I have campaigned for it to be sorted for so long, I shall be delighted when it finally comes to fruition.

Legal Actions and Planning

Eric Pickles is eager to encourage people to sue their local Councils over planning.  He seems to think that relaxing planning restrictions will be popular; much as he assumed alternate weekly collections would be unpopular.  I suspect, however, that more people will find new developments objectionable than will want to build them.  It also strikes me as being rather beside the point. The economy is in recession because of lack of demand, not because we have had planning laws all these decades.  Still, one should not expect Eric Pickles to want to be confused by the facts.

Word up in Brent

Word Up had its first event at Kilburn Library last night.  Unfortunately, I had to attend the Planning Committee, but the programme has events at Brent libraries throughout the Autumn.

Planning Committee Again

I find myself attending Planning Committee again tonight.  One of the cases coming up is for outdoor gym equipment in King Edward VII Park, Wembley.  This is the first of several sites that have been put forward for outdoor gym equipment around the Borough.

Anglesey and Local Democracy

Anglesey has had its powers returned to it after a break down in governance there.  Anglesey is a salutary warning to any authority that try's to set a deficit budget.  Ultimately the government can do as the Welsh government did in Anglesey, and simply appoint commissioners to run the authority because the local councillors are incapable.  That is likely to lead to short term budgeting, longer term disruption and a democratic deficit.  Not outcomes with any appeal beyond a tiny number of people on the loony left.

Technological change and Town Centres

Some concerning research on Town centres reported by the BBC.  Coping with new technology is a huge challenge for all sorts of parts of society, but I don't believe this is widely recognised.

Red Tape Returns

At the same time as claiming that red tape is holding back the private sector, the Tory/liberal Democrat coalition appears to be increasing red tape in the public sector. It has drastically broadened the definition of which decisions need a written description of why they were made.  Imagine the kind of hullabaloo that be made by the same ministers if private sector companies had to do this kind of thing.

Well Done Brent Parks

I am delighted to see the success of Brent Parks in the most recent London inBloom awards.  Mapesbury Dell got a gold award in the small park category.  Fryer Country Park got a SilverGilt award in the country park category.  Brent parks as a whole got third prize in the biodiversity award for the changes we have recently made to bedding in a more sustainable way.  Overall, Brent got a Silver Gilt award in the large city category.

The Rise of Ukip

Yesterday,s Observer suggested that Ukip have overtaken the Liberal Democrats for the first time, making the party of Nick Clegg Britain's fourth party.  That is no great surprise given the way the Liberal Democrats have turned their backs on their former supporters to join the current exceptionally righting government.  However, it might not just be a blip but become permanent.

If Ukip are seen as more credible by pollsters, it means that they are likely to become one of the party names used to prompt interviewees.  That may appear minor, but it will almost certainly lead to Ukip automatically seeing their poll ratings rise, and therefore being taken more seriously. That means more influence for Ukip's anti-European ideas and probably lots more people in the TOry Party calling for a shift (even further) to the right.

If Ukip can overcome the traditional weaknesses of smaller parties in translating votes into seats, it might mean that they hold the balance of power in any future hung Parliament.  That looks like leading to a majority for some very rightwing and nationalistic policies in future.

Harlesden in The Guardian

The Harlesden and Willesden Junction area has appeared in the Guardian.  The fact that this kind of article can appear these days is an encouraging sign.

Ebook Prices

I note that there is an ebook price war going on with some prices as low as 20 pence for a novel.  Presumably, this is the same publishing industry that resists allow libraries to lend ebooks on the ground that it would price them out of the market.

Cutting Library Opening Hours

One of the objections we had to our libraries plans was the suggestion that it would be better to cut opening hours instead.  We didn't go down that route, but an analysis has been done on Hertfordshire Council which did. It demonstrates how falls in usage follow from cutting opening hours, although there is some people do seem to alter their patterns of access to suit the new hours.  Of course, the issues around library services in Hertfordshire are quite different to Brent, not least in terms of public transport.  But I think it illustrates how budget reductions are bound to affect services, and therefore the important thing is to analyse the best way to minimise them.

Tax Evasion

The Economist, of all sources, does a good job of exposing the legerdemain of confusing tax in general with in come taxes.  The article focuses on America, but really this confusion was pioneered by Mrs Thatcher and Geoffrey Howe in the early 1980s.

Basically, a successful confidence trick is pulled off where income taxes (inherently progressive) but paid by all but the poorest are defined as "real tax".  Other taxes, like VAT, are ignored despite everyone paying a flat rate and the tax base being broader. Hence the poor are stereotyped as parasites.

Willesden Library Lab

The work done at the Willesden Library lab, based in a vacant space at Willesden Green Library Centre deserves to be better known.. Here is a short video about it.

Election Petitions

The Electoral Commission is calling for the law on election petitions to be reformed.  It is not clear whether they want to make it harder or easier. 

I attended the Court hearing in the only case that Brent has had of an election petition in the past decade _ that contesting Liberal Democrat councillor Pawan Gupta in Dudden Hill in 2006.  It certainly gave me the impression that electoral law was less than straightforward.  I recall the Judge at one point asked Gavin Millar QC for references to precedent.  The response came that there might well be precedents on both sides of the point.   Election law seems to have developed in quite a haphazard way partly through Common Law and partly via occasional and isolated bits of legislation.

I suppose that is precisely the kind of thing that Harold Wilson set up the Law Commission to sort out. 

In any case, even if the cost of challenging is reduced, I suspect that challenges will will remain rare, as even if a new election is called the challenger is often unsuccessful.  This was true of Pawan Gupta's case.  He lost in Court, forcing a by election, but won the by election in 2007 by a narrow margin.  The successful challenge by a Liberal Democrat to Phil Woolas in 2010 also led to a by election in Oldham and Saddleworth, which Debbie Abrahams wn for Labour by a fair margin.

Healthy Eating in Brent Schools

There are reports of cutbacks in Breakfast Clubs, as well as the apread of junk food in free schools.  This is worrying as the only way to get funding for a new school is to accept it being a free school, and even existing schools are increasingly becoming free schools. 

In Brent one of the principles that we are insisting on for any new free school to be built will be a committment to providing healthy food in its catering.

3D Printing

Thinking more of the 3D printing issues that I mentioned in my post on Monday, the implications for society at large could be quite dramatic.

Of course, the present technology remains primitive.  One imagine that it will develop over time to allow a greater variety of materials.    It presumably would only apply to simpler products.  In the video a bike is mentioned, but I wonder how good a bike it is.  A high quality bike needs a number of different components to be fitted together, and I would have thought it would remain a lot easier to buy one rather than try to make one yourself.  However, lower end manufacturing should probably see this kind of thing as a real threat as making, say, a coathook would become something anyone could do.

More interesting, would be machines that allowed a greater degree of customisation so that you could alter the designs.  John Ruskin famously denounced modern manufacturing (i.e. Victorian) for being soulless and mechanical compared to workmanship in a medieval cathedral.  Perhaps this kind of mass customisation might restore a greater element of creativity?

Death of Localism

Peter Hetherington writes on the death of localism for the Guardian here.  In fact, I suspect localism was never more than a slogan for the government, intended to localise blame for their programme of budget cuts on anyone but themselves.  Eric Pickles attempt to micromanage all kinds of local decisions such as frequency of bin collection or the even the exact wording of letters sent by councils to council tenants show his cast of mind.

Redefining Libraries

Hidden away in yesterday's letter from Maria Miller confirming that there is no need for an Enquirey into Brent library services is the statement that the number of PCs in Brent libraries is not "a relevant matter under the 1964 Act".  This is quite startling.

During the High Court action, both the claimants and the Council regarded the provision of IT services in libraries as an intrinsic part of the library service.  The judge made no ruling on that as it was not brought up as a matter of dispute. The SoS now appears to be saying that not only ebooks are not part of the service, but also any electronically transmitted materials.  This is effectively legally defining libraries out of existence, and a far greater threat to public library services than any number of building closures.

It underlines the need for a new legal definition to bring the 1964 Act into the modern age.

Brent Civic Centre Rated

Brent Council's Civic Centre has achieved its BREEAM Outstanding rating in fine style.  It is the greenest public office building in the UK, according to the BREEAM system.

No Library Enquiry in Brent

The DCMS has written to Brent Council confirming that there is no need for a public enquiry into library provision in Brent.

Challenge Close Again

As well as the Kilburn Library opening, I went to the consultation event at Challenge Close on Saturday.  It was fairly well attended, and a number of people expressed opinions, but I think the project needs to solidify around a proposal fairly soon.  The next difficulty will be obtaining funding.

More Library Speculation

Quite the most mind blowing piece of speculation I have seen on the future of public libraries I have seen can be found here.  I doubt the stuff about prohibiting 3D printers by law, but I can imagine libraries as technical instruction centres. It would be an extraordinary transition back to analogue learning and demonstration when for decades knowledge transference has been increasingly digitalised.

Separatism Challenges

It seems open to question whether a separated Scotland would be part of the EU automatically.  This raises all sorts of problems for Mr Salmond. What conditions would the EU put on entry. For instance, would Scotland be forced to join the Euro? Would the remainder of the UK use EU membership as a lever to extract concessions?

Adele Parks at Kilburn Library

Adele Parks has kindly agreed to be the guest speaker at the launch day of the refurbished Kilburn Library today.  She should be there round about 1.30.  Incidentally, the latest figures for library visits show only a 4% drop in August this year compared to August last year. Many people will find this hard to believe, as they assume that having 12 libraries last year must mean a bigger drop now that we have only six libraries this year.  Still more striking, Kilburn Library was not open at all during that time because of all the building work, so the comparison is actually between 5 and 12.  It does indicate that one of the essential principles of the Libraries Transformation Project was correct. People will travel to a library if they think the offer is good enough.

Twitter

A friend of mine has been urging me to take up twitter, but I see little point in it. The messages are so short that only an accomplished writer of haikus could convey any real meaning in them.  However, it is undeniable that many people use it. Can anyone explain to me why?

A Barnet Mystery

I must admit that I am somewhat mystified by Barnet Council's approach to squatters in Friern Barnet library.  They decided to close the library. They have no objections to volunteer libraries in principle, as they support one in Hampstead Garden Suburb, but they felt those who wanted to start a community library in Friern Barnet weren't up to it. A group of people have entered the building and now occupy it. Barnet's reaction was to go to them and suggest that they might start a community library where the local resident group were not suitable.

I am not making a partisan point. I just find the whole sequence of events very strange.

Brent Council Procurement

I went to some training about Council procurement yesterday, largely because the new Social Value Act could easily involve Councils in yet more legal action if we are not careful. However, it also threw up a number of interesting ideas about promoting the local economy. I have always suspected that many people have over optimistic expectations in this area, but there are still a number of things we can do. To make it work, we would need to look beyond the Borough boundaries.

Recovering Costs in Brent Parks

I will have just one report at the next Brent Executive, entitled "Recovering Costs in Brent Parks".  This is really about ensuring that people who want to hold events in a Brent Park are clear about the various safety requirements and have thought through the other things you need to consider when organising an event (some of which can involve thousands of people).  The actual fees that the Council will charge are deliberately low so as not to discourage people from event attendence.

Kilburn Library

Here is a picture of the renovated Kilburn Library.  I will try to get hold of some better quality pictures to post within the next few days.

Yesterday's Full Council

Yesterday's full Council meeting was inconsequential, but notable for one reason.  It is the only time I can recall a Council meeting being so disrupted by protesters that it had to be moved to another room.  The protest was about some housing casework that was not even on the agenda of the meeting.

Refurbished Library in Salusbury Road

Work on refurbishing the library on Salusbury Road in Queens Park is now complete, meaning that four of our six libraries have had a make over since 2008.  The plans for Willesden Green are still under development, and the new Wembley Library will open in June next year.  The official launch of the Salusbury Road library will be on 15 September.

Of course, we would not have a refurbished library in Salusbury Road if the various "library campaigners" had had their way.  Instead we would have had a serious of run down buildings with greatly diminished opening hours and services.

Public Libraries News Post

Public Libraries News has published a post from me about our libraries policy. It can be found here. 

Closing the Olympics

This afternoon Gladstone Park will host a festival to mark reg closing of the Olympics.  The events start at noon and last until 7pm, with plenty of music, food, stalls and of course sporting activities.

Improved Road Safety at Princess Frederica School

Brent Council is currently considering improving the safety measures around Princess Frederica School.  Princess Frederica certainly has a fairly high traffic volume, and a pretty constricted street pattern.  The ideas that are being mooted are:

• Introduction of a zebra crossing in College Road near the school
• Extension of some of the guard rails
• Changes to the waiting restrictions.

Moberly Sports Centre Development

I understand Westminster Council have now confirmed that they want to redevelop Moberly Sports Centre in Queens Park.  We can therefore look forward to a planning application for the site.  As the building is actually located in Brent, it will be the Brent Planning Committee that makes the decision.

Brent Civic Centre as an Arts Venue

Brent Council has announced a consultation on what kind of events it should hold at the new Civic Centre once it opens in 2013.  The Civic Centre, among other things, will be a key venue for encouraging arts in the Borough.  This was a feature of the Arts Strategy that the new Labour administration passed. I think it is essential that we continue to drive innovations despite the budgetary difficulties we are in.

Brent Civic Centre and Carbon Emissions

Reducing greenhouse gas emissions is one of the main justifications for the new Civic Centre, and one I promised to cover.  Whilst I accept this is a subject of little interest to Brent Green Party, I hope others will be interested.

As a BREEAM Outstanding building, the new Civic Centre will use every imaginable device to reduce emissions.  The building is designed so that it should only require mechnaical ventilation on one or two days a year (although encroaching climate change may alter that).There will be an air source heat pump.  The lighting will be low zoned and equipped with sensors.  There will be a bio-fuel based boiler, possibly using fish oil.  This could be connected to the other buildings in the Wembley area as part of a district heating scheme (which is envisaged in the Wembley Masterplan).  The new building will also be equipped with a comprehensive suite of paperless technology which is already being rolled out across Brent Council.

This is in addition to measures to discourage car use, which reduce transport related carbon emissions. 

Altogether, the new Civic Centre should be by far the biggest single contributor to cutting Brent Council's carbon footprint.

More on Animal Welfare in Brent

Brent Council has a specific animal welfare department, which puts it ahead of neighbours such as Westminster and Barnet.  As the current Liberal Democrat/Tory government continues to strip away local government funding, non-statutory services such as animal welfare come under more and more pressure.  In the past year, Brent's animal welfare service has achieved:

• The microchipping of 28 dogs
• Six BARK patrols
• A dood to door survey of the Stonebridge estate (alongside Hillside Housing) to give advice around dog ownership
• Stalls to promote responsible dog ownership with partners like BHP
• A gold footprint award from the RSPCA for its procedures with stray dogs

Doncaster Budget Decision

The Doncaster budget decision which puzzled me earlier in the year has since been subjected to further analysis by LocalGovernmentLawyer.  The upshot appears to be that Full Council cannot bind the Executive to spend on any specific item, but merely has the ability to calculate the overall rate of Council Tax.

Brent Civic Centre and Water Conservation

I promised some posts on the environmental benefits of Brent Council's new Civic Centre, so here is one about water conservation.  This subject doesn't exactly hit the headlines, but our planning guidelines give a lot of attention to it, and the effects of climate change are likely to make it more and more important as time goes on. 

All large planning applications are asked to consider sustainable urban drainage systems (SUDs) to reduce surface water flooding , and the Civic Centre was no exception.  The Civic Centre also uses rainwater harvesting, low water use plumbing and grey water recycling to further reduce water use.

All this is in the public domain, but never mentioned by the building's critics.

Permit Free Developments

Conversations I have had before and following the Park House planning permission suggest that the point of the Council's "permit free" policy is not widely understood. 

When the Council gives planning permission to a new block of flats in an area with good transport links (such as Harlesden Town Centre) it usually does so with a permit free condition.  This means that if the residents of the new block find themselves in a controlled parking zone, they will not be allowed to apply for a permit for themselves or a temporary permit for visiters. 

The purose of this draconian restriction is to reduce the number of car users in a given area to make parking  and traffic congestion more managable.  It also has the effect of reducing air pollution.  Officers believe it is linked to the measureable improvement in air quality in Brent in the past few years which should help improve life expectency.  Of course, it is also linked to the reduction of carbon emissions and therefore retarding climate change.

Pickles Taken to Task on Trading Standards

Trading Standards professionals have taken Eric Pickles to task for misleading people about the use of investigatory powers.  I am sure they are correct that Eric Pickles is misleading people about how these powers are used, and that in fact they are essential to the important work Trading Standards do.  What worries me is that I suspect Eric Pickles does not care.

Paralympic Flame in Brent

The Paralympic flame went through Brent with great success, as can be seen here.  I often think the dedication and grit of the paralympians is even more impressive than that of the able bodied athletes.

Willesden Green Comparison

Critics of Brent Council's plans to redevelop Willesden Green Library Centre might like to look at the new library at the Mary Seacole Centre in Clapham (Lambeth).  This was successfully developed using proceeds from property sales on the site _ a very similar model to Willesden Green.  Even the objective of using the property development to help a wider regeneration of the area is similar.

Reducing Carbon Emissions in Construction at Brent Civic Centre

As part of their rather strange campaign against the Brent Council Civic Centre, members of the Green Party have criticised the carbon costs of constructing the building.  Of course, they don't try to source any figures for this, merely assert it.

In fact as part of the BREEAM process, the construction is monitored to minimise carbon emissions.  Hence materials are locally sourced wherever possible, and Skanska employ sophisticated building techniques to minimise "embodied carbon".  For example, the concrete is a mix of Portland cement and blast furnace slag that reduces the embodied carbon by about a third.

As far as I can see, Brent Green Party would have preferred Brent Council to concentrate resources on maintaining as big a building portfolio as possible regardless of the suitability of the buildings, or the higher rate of carbon emissions.

EBooks Transforming Public Libraries

Dan Jarvis has quite rightly demanded a report into the effect of ebooks on public libraries in the UK, but I am not sure that people have realised just how dramatic the change is in both speed and scale. 

Physical sales have declined in the last years as ebook sales have gone up by 366%.  Although ebooks still only account for 6% of the market at present, maintaining anything like that rate of growth for say two or three years would mean that the majority of books sold in this country will be ebooks by 2015.  In other words, printed books are likely to be restricted to niche areas of the market within (say) five years.  I would imagine that there will also be a spreading of ereaders, along with a drop in prices as more units are sold.

At present, it would be entirely possible for public libraries to be cut off from what will soon be the majority of book titles.  There is no compulsion to offer free ebook lending, as I pointed out a while ago.  Indeed only a minority of authorities offer ebook lending at the moment in England, either free or for a fee (although increasing numbers are planning to).  However, there is currently no compulsion to do so, and all authorities are being hit by the current government's programme of savage cuts, which forces them to concentrate resources on what they are obliged to do.  Unless free ebook lending becomes part of the "comprehensive and efficient" library duty, public libraries will simply wither away. 

Over time, I would expect publishers to increasingly publish in electronic format only, which would lead to a shrinking of the number of titles available in print, further hollowing out library services that don't lend electronically.

Thus, the outcome from the ebook taskforce may decide whether this country retains libraries as a free lending facility or whether they go the same way as books from Boots.

A BREEAM Outstanding Civic Centre, Economic Effects

I promised some more detailed  descriptions of the Brent Council Civic Centre, so I thought one might as well start with the wider economic benefits.  One of the conditions of BREEAM status is locally sourced materials, so local companies are benefiting ina very direct way.  When I attended the topping out ceremony, the SKANSKA representative pointed out that the site employed residents living in 20 of Brent's 21 wards.

Additionally, the smaller companies that have unsuccessfully bid for contracts now have a better understanding of the language of public procurements, so they should be better placed to win contracts in future.

In terms of the overall economy of Wembley, the Civic Centre will help to contribute to the flow of activity throughout the day.  The Stadium is both the blessing and curse of Wembley.  It attracts huge numbers of visiters, but only when events are on.  The Civic Centre will help to attract people all the year round, which will help local retailers and therefore employment.

Gove and Teather Cause Free School Chaos

Rather stunned to see that Michael Gove, along with his underling Sarah Teather, have just pulled the plug on a free school in Bradford a week before the start of term.  I assume the children who thought they had places there are now going to be passed to Bradford Council, who will be expected to find places for them in local authority schools.  The irresponsibility of this government in messing around with childrens education in this way beggers belief.

Bulky Waste Re-use

WRAP reports that a huge proportion of bulky waste can be recycled or re-used.  Brent Council is eager to do this.  That is why we are part of the West London Waste Authority pilot for a Reward Club, and why the current Labour administration reversed the Tory/Liberal Democrat decision to impose a £25 charge for collecting bulky waste.

Another Innovation in Brent Libraries

Brent Libraries have come up with another innovative scheme.  This focuses on intergenerational work and new technology.

Legal Interpretations.

Some interesting thoughts on legal intepretation from America can be found here.  The increasing fashion for attempting to overturn public policy decisions by legal means makes this subject not just one for lawyers.

Personal Carbon Budgets and the Green Party

I referred a few days ago to the aspirant Green Party Leader who drives a gas guzzling Jaguar, as interviewed in The Independent. 

I found her reply on the specific point very disappointing.  She makes a comparison with electric cars and argues that they are expensive to buy, do not have an adequate infrastructure and may rely on electricity from coal fired power stations anyway.  All reasonable points, but not an explanation as to why she does not drive a more fuel efficient (perhaps even a hybrid) car.  A more fuel efficient vehicle would allow her to produce fewer carbon emissions but still travel in a way that lots of other people find perfectly acceptable.

What would be more interesting would be a wider look at the implications of this kind of thing.  A traditional environmentalist view is that all emissions should be kept to the absolue minimum, but it is in my view reasonable (and certainly practically inevitable) that people will take into account things like cost and convenience.

From time to time, people have flirted with the idea of a personal carbon budget.  You get a certain accepted level of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions, and create a budget around that.  So for example, you might offset having a fuel inefficent car with limited air travel, or better insulation, or vegetarian eating habits for example.  In a free society, it is certainly worth thinking about an option like this since it would allow individuals to preserve freedom over how they run their lives whilst nonetheless tackling climate change.

Brent Council Civic Centre Yet Again

Those who want to check on the ongoing progress of Brent Council's civic centre can do so here.  Martin Francis also has some photos here.

As usual he also has a string of criticisms and misleading statements about the building.  I have previously explained the various advantages of the Civic Centre.  As usual, Martin shows little interest in the environmental advantages of what will be one of the few BREEAM outstanding buildings in Europe.  Perhaps, I should leave detailed descriptions of those for other postings.

Instead, he concentrates on suggesting that the Civic Centre is extravagant by referring to the net outgoings without mentioning the savings.  The savings amount to between three and four million pounds a year.  In other words, had we chosen to go down the preferred Green Party route, we would have had to find additional annual savings equivalent to roughly double Brent Council's entire parks budget every year.  I doubt whether Martin would relish find alternative service cuts to make up those kinds of numbers.

The savings come from the sale of two major capital assets that Brent owns _ the old Town Hall and Brent House, as well as no longer having to pay rent, utilities and delapidations on various buildings (like, say, Chesterfield House) that the Council leases.

As well as the financial and environmental benefits, the Civic Centre is also driving changes in working practices across the Council, and provides a major contribution to the regeneration of Wembley.  I am sure Martin knows all this; he just likes to repeat his attack lines without regard to how often they are shot down.

Watching these arguments constantly shuffling forward is a bit like watching zombies in a George Romero film.

UPDATE

Martin's comment below seems to indicate he does not comprehend what is meant by a net saving.  The £3 to £4 million saving is the annual saving after the cost of the new centre is deducted from the savings made by moving out of all the then redundent office buildings i.e. it is a net saving.  This is such a common concept that I find it difficult to see how he could not be familiar with it.

Artist in Residence at Kilburn Library

Brent Council is advertising an opportunity for an artist in the visual arts to be artist in residence at the shortly to be re-opened Kilburn Library.  This kind of thing has been tried in other Councils before, although no in Brent.  It is the kind of thing that many Councils will now be cutting back on as they try to make the necessary cuts under George Osborne's austerity agenda.  If it works, it would be interesting if we could extend it beyond the visual arts to the artform most closely associated with libraries _ writing.

Brent Council's Falling Carbon Emissions

It has been a while since I updated on Brent Council's carbon emissions.  The Labour administration set a tough target of a 25% fall by 2014.  As far as I know our Tory/Liberal Democrat predecessors had no target at all.

In 2009/2010, Brent Council had emissions of 34,421 tons (carbon dioxide equivalent). In 2011/2012 this had fallen to 30,821.  The biggest fall in emissions has been through the Council proper, which has seen tonnage go down from 9,255 to 6,988 over that period.  Schools have a smaller drop from 17,215 to 16,070.  Hopefully, this will improve as schools become more aware of the financial benefits of lower energy use. 

The most hopeful thing is that we have yet to move into Brent's new Civic Centre, which as a BREEAM Outstanding building, will have a far lower rate of energy use than our current portfolio.

Park House

Last night's planning committee agreed to extend the lifetime of the permission on Park House. However, during the hearing the applicant's agent claimed that work had already started on the previous permission.  It was unclear whether this constituted a"material start" and whether the possible building work is therefore under the old permission or the one granted last night.  It does, however, mean that a site that has blighted that part of the town centre for years might finally be put to productive use.

The George Osborne Disaster

Contemplating the government deficit figures, I wonder whether George Osborne is the worst office holder in the eight hundred year history of the Chancellor of the Exchequer?

Planning Committee Tonight

For the first time since joining the Executive, I will be a planning committee member tonight as I am substituting for another councillor.  There are two big applications in Kilburn and Wembley where redevelopment is still going on despite the recession.

Green Leadership (or the lack of it)

I read an article in the Independent about the contest for the national Green Party leadership yesterday. What struck me was that only one of the four contenders mentioned was quoted on environmental issues, and then only to defend herself for driving a Jaguar.

This makes me think that our local Brent Greens are not the outliers I had assumed. They also seem to be uninterested, or even antagonistic to, environmental objectives.  In the past what one might loosely term Brent's green activists have attacked the new Civic Centre, emissions based parking, the increase in Brent's recycling, efforts to spread messages around climate change by the Borough. And so on.

Perhaps this is more common within their movement than I had thought.  Just as well for them that political parties are not covered by the Trade Descriptions Act.

Brent Executive

The Brent Council Executive went forward quite straightforwardly tonight. Cllr Lorber made several objections. We seem to grant him much greater indulgence than he did anyone else when he was Council Leader.

 Nonetheless, all reports went through without amendment.