More Dumping in Kensal Green

Another load of rubbish recently dumped in Kensal Green, this time on Longstone Avenue, thanks to Brent Liberal Democrats. Surely it is the Liberal Democrats who deserve to be carpeted.

Dumped Rubbish In Kensal Green

On Thursday morning I walked the short walk it takes me to get to Kensal Green Tube station, and passed no fewer than four flytips in about five minutes.

In Lushington Road:

In Lushington Road again:

In Victor Road:

In Hazel Road:

Yet the Liberal Democrats on Brent Council would have us believe that flytipping is actually going down since they introduced their £25 charge for collecting bulky items like these!

First Reading

I understand that the so-called First Reading debate last Monday, which was the first Full Council meeting I have not attended since election in 2006, was largely meaningless. At the previous Full Council we put forward a motion suggesting various changes to Full Council, including the abolition of First Reading debates.

First Reading debates were originally supposed to provide an opportunity for backbench (now called “frontline”) councillors to suggest items for inclusion in the Council Budget. These might be related to a ward, or of a more general nature. For example, I think it would be a good idea for a section of the Youth Services budget to be top sliced and linked to anti-social behaviour projects. This would certainly simplify efforts to tackle anti social behaviour.

The subject has been on my mind as a result of all the problems in the Hazel Road area. Incidentally, the sole Tory councillor for Kensal Green apparently quoted local residents as saying that “It was better under a Labour Council”. I agree, but I am surprised to find a Tory saying so, as it does seem an admittance of failure.

One of the issues in getting a comprehensive solution to the Hazel Road issues was funding youth work, which was eventually done through Neighbourhood Working. If there were a dedicated fund instead it would make the whole thing much more speedy and easier to organise.

However, there is not much point in raising such an issue under the current Lib Dem / Tory administration as in the almost four years I have been a councillor, they have not adopted any issue raised at First Reading by any councillor, Labour, Tory or Liberal Democrat. Perhaps that explains why, this time round, not a single non-Executive councillor spoke at the meeting.

Dawn Butler MP at the LEAP Centre in Hazel Road

Along with Cllr Bobby Thomas, I went to the residents meeting about the anti-social behaviour in Hazel Road on Wednesday. Although it went on a bit too long, I thought it was fairly productive, and certainly seemed calmer than the event I remember going to in 2006.

Width Limit in Tubbs Road

One of the issues that came up in the Tubbs Road site visit the other day was the width restriction part way down the road. The Council could reasonably make the signage clearer, which might limit the number of lorries finding themselves caught out and forced into a three point turn. Hopefully, it might also limit damage like that in the photo below.

Brian Coleman's U Turn

Barneteye reveals that Brent Liberal Democrats are not the only politicians to reverse their positions without explanation, as can be seen from Brian Coleman's comments here.

Site Visit to Tubbs Road

We had a site visit to Tubbs Road with the head of transportation and people from the Overview & Scrutiny Committee this morning. Incidentally, I passed members of the Parks Service working on Furness Pocket Park on my way there, work which is paid for out of Neighbourhood Working money.

There were several suggestions, although the problem remains intractable. Hopefully, there will be some solutions at the Overview & Scrutiny Committee on 8 December.

Lib Dems Admit Breaking Promises

I notice that the Liberal Democrats' own figures show that they have raised the amount spent on Council publicity by 8% during their administration. That is a long way from the Tax Payers Alliance figure, but also very different from their repeated promises to reduce publicity spend. The question facing Paul Lorber, as we come up to the vote next year, is if he has broken so many of his pledges in the past, why should we trust him now?

Wrottesley Road Traffic Lights (Again)

I have now had some feedback on the new traffic lights at the Wrottesley Road / Harrow Road junction. Readers may recall that I organised a petition for these lights.

Most of the people I have spoken to, both car drivers and pedestrians, have welcomed the new lights, although there has been some concern about slowing up the traffic. Unfortunately, slowing the traffic is part of the price to be paid for making it safer for pedestrians, such as the kids going to Kenmont Primary School.

Ask No Questions

Incidentally, looking at the Council records of who asks questions, I am struck that the Liberal Democrats in Brent almost never do. Brent Council rules allow each non-Executive councillor to ask a formal question at every Council meeting (with a couple of exceptions). The Tory and Labour councillors make full use of this, but the Liberal Democrats seldom do. For instance, the July 2009 meeting saw the Liberal Democrats ask only five questions when they could have asked a total of 21. Why should there be such a big gap between the parties?

Efficiency Drive

I understand that Brent Council's efficiency programme, designed to increase value for money by among other things reducing the number of managers, is being implemented by a team of 31 staff. 15 of them are workers, and the other 16 are managers, giving a manager:worker ratio of worse than one to one. Another efficiency triumph from Brent Liberal Democrats.

Tubbs Road Site Visit

There will be a site visit to Tubbs Road by the Overview & Scrutiny Committee on Tuesday 24 November at 8.30am. It will start outside Open Door Ministries and go down the road. I will be there and any residents who want to explain about the avarious issues are welcome.

Liberal Democrats and the Mayor

Want another example of Brent Liberal Democrats being useless? What about the post of Mayor?

Back in 2003, Paul Lorber, the Lib Dem "Leader" had a very clear view. Brent Liberal Democrats said they wanted "to free up money for improving services in the borough by abolishing the post of Deputy Mayor, cutting the cost of the Mayor's Office by ending the many trips outside of Brent and the "Gravy train" of Mayors attending each other's events, and deleting the new extra assistant for the Mayor."

Since the Liberal Democrats have done none of these things, I assume that they are no longer interested in "improving services in the borough."

Liberal Democrats Losing Here

Brent Liberal Democrats have a remarkable tendency to claim that they are the biggest party. They are still putting out the 2005 Brent East result all over the Borough. In fact, in Brent they came third in terms of the popular vote in 2006, the GLA elections in 2008, and the European elections in 2009.

Liberal Democrats and Guns

Clearing out recently, I came across a Liberal Democrat leaflet from the 2008 GLA Elections. It states that his top priority would be to take knives and guns off the streets. Could this be the same Liberal Democrat Party that voted against mandated tough sentences for the possession of firearms?

Work Starts on Furness Road Pocket Park

Here is a picture I took about an hour ago of Community Payback people working on Furness Road Pocket Park.

The original grant for upgrading the park last year under the Neighbourhood Working scheme. However, for reasons that aren’t entirely clear, the project was not progressed.

Cllr Bobby Thomas and I have now reviewed the scheme, and come up with something more ambitious (although the improvements will still be modest). The new grant will be combined with the old and implemented over the next few weeks by the Brent Parks Service. They will:

· Plant shrubs by the fence next to Di Sottos, hopefully discouraging any future graffiti on the fence.
· Plant a couple of new cherry trees
· Plant some flowers (probably daffodils)
· Remove some dead vegetation
· Create a wild area at the bottom of the slope of the park, to enhance biodiversity.
· Improve the fencing of the park.

The Community Payback workers have been convicted of petty offences and are required to do community service as part of their sentence.

Liberal Democrat Collapse in Glasgow

The Liberal Democrats have come sixth in the Glasgow North East By election. What happened there? Okay they have the SNP in Scotland, but for the Lib Dems to come behind the BNP and lose their deposit is extraordinary. I am sure that they won't be putting that on any of their leaflets in a hurry.

Hazel Road Public Meeting

There will be a public meeting about the anti-social behaviour in the Hazel Road area on 25 November at 7.30pm. The meeting will be held in the LEAP Centre on Hazel Road. Brent Council's anti-social behaviour team will be there as well as a senior police officer.

Bendy buses on the Route 18

The Tory Troll reminds us, for example HERE, that the bendy buses have more space than double deckers or standard single buses. Boris Johnson originally justified this on the grounds that the bendies have led to cyclists getting killed. Post-election he admitted this wasn't actually the case. However, Bungle is still intent on phasing them out. His efforts so far are recorded by boriswatch HERE.

So what does that mean for the route 18? Firstly, we will have even more congestion if the system converts to single deckers (and let's face it, its not exactly wonderful at the moment). Second, we can expect more delays and probably more anti-social behaviour as a result of the congestion. Third, Brent Liberal Democrats' demand that the 18 buses extend their route to Northwick Park is even less likely to be acceded. With delays on the route 18 already worsening, London Transport are hardly likely to make the route even longer as that would make the delays even worse.



Why aren't Brent Liberal Democrats pursuing this issue?

Carbon Emissions and Brent's Civic Centre

A further note on Brent Council's retreat on carbon emissions concerns recent changes to the plans for the Civic Centre. This 80 million pound project was supposed to be a leader in @gree@ technology. Indeed officers (who have to defend the Council's record as the Liberal Democrat / Tory Executive seem incapable of doing so) have argued that one of its key advantages is in cutting carbon emissions.

It may still reduce heating costs, but the Executive have slipped in conditions designed to increase the number of parking spaces at the new site. Discouraging people from driving cars to work was supposed to be one of the main ways in which the Council could cut its emissions. The changes to the Civic Centre brief are effectively a confession that the Council is no longer interesting in cutting carbon emissions beyond a bare mimimum imposed by central government.

Lots of people driving to a Civic Centre next to Wembley Stadium probably won't be wonderful for traffic congestion either, especially on event days.