Cricklewood residents surprised by wall art

 A new work by Kevin vincenzo keating  ( KVK) has  surprised  Criklewood residents

  

  A work is on the corner of Cricklewood lane, called the Cross roads and is a symbolic interpretation of the four roads and 3 boroughs that meet in( Cricklewood, The tree symbol in the centre with 5 branches and 5 roots ) The coloured bird in the middle of the tree, represents the harmonisation between these factors and the added elements of community cohesion and art .

 The mural is sparse and unlike the normal approach to murals. and it is designed so that the spaces are filled and coloured by pedestrians and passing traffic. Work may only be up a shot while  Snappy Snaps the owners of the wall space were surprised by the graffiti  and said that it evokes novelty, design and precision  and shows how a place can be improved with artistic expression.  The work is an ode to Cricklewood and the community effort tha tontines to make Criklewood a more vibrant place. 

Threat to part of Barnet's original "Brent Cross, Cricklewood and West Hendon Development Framework" area.

The "Coalition for a Sustainable Brent Cross Cricklewood Development" would like to draw your attention - URGENTLY! - to this threat to part of Barnet's original "Brent Cross, Cricklewood and West Hendon Development Framework" area.

 

(That Framework is the one that estimates over 29,000 extra cars every day in the area, which is what prompted us to promote a possible DLR light-rail solution, east-west across outer north London.)

 

 The northern part of the Framework area, West Hendon, is alongside the Site of Special Scientific Interest, the Welsh Harp.

 

The West Hendon estate needs rebuilding, but project after project has collapsed over the years. The latest one is to include several high-rise blocks of flats, up to 29 storeys, only 20 metres from the edge of the SSSI !

 

Here is an article in the "Barnet Press" this week:

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-GXqHD3y27QU/UYz--LnpahI/AAAAAAAAdxE/biIIi_j9C9Y/s1600/2013-05-09+Barnet+Press+Welsh+Harp.jpg

 

This email is to ask you to kindly read the web sitehttp://www.saveourwelshharp.blogspot.co.uk/ 

and to OPPOSE the planning application.

 

You will see the arguments on the web site, including a detailed document in the right-hand column, submitted by Brent Council to Barnet.

 

After reading the detailed case, please use the information there to make a submission to Barnet Council, to OPPOSE the planning application.

 

(Quote the application number, and your name and address, and use whatever arguments you feel are most appropriate.)

 

Consultation closes very shortly - you need to submit your opposition byMonday evening, 13 May, to Barnet Council !

  

ACTION THIS DAY, PLEASE!

 Please forward this email, as much as possible, as quickly as possible!

 

At 9am on Tuesday the Barnet planning department will end the consultation on their West Hendon development plans at Welsh Harp. If you have not already responded to the planning application you can still email your objections toThomas.Wyld@barnet.gov.uk.

 

Here is a pro-forma letter as promised if you want to object. All you have to do is add your name to the letter and send in by email, or you can add your own views. 

 

.Click here for Brent council’s objections.

At 11am on Monday various groups from Brent and Barnet are handing in petitions at Hendon Town Hall.

The local media will be there so we need a good turnout. Join us there and help us make some noise!

Please delete this message before forwarding the letter below

 

 

Dear Mr Wyld,

 

I am writing in response to planning application H/01054/13. I specifically object on the following grounds:

 

1. Tall Buildings

 

The height of the buildings in this planning application is not in fitting with planning rules outlined in Barnet’s core strategy or the Mayor of London’s London Plan.

 

The Barnet Core Strategy

 

The West Hendon development plans would see buildings of up to 29 storeys. The Barnet’s core strategy CS5 designates the proposed site as suitable for buildings 8-20 storeys high, not 29 storeys. 

 

The London Plan

 

Section 7.7e of the London Plan says “The impact of tall buildings proposed in sensitive locations should be given particular consideration.”

 

Section 7.7d says tall buildings must not “affect their surroundings adversely in terms of microclimate, wind turbulence, overshadowing, noise, reflected glare, aviation, navigation and telecommunication interference” and “should not impact on local or strategic views adversely”.

 

Section 7.8e of the London Plan says “New development should make provision for the protection of archaeological resources, landscapes and significant memorials.”

 

2. Nature & Wildlife

 

I am concerned about the impact of this development on the Welsh Harp’s unique wildlife and nature for the following reasons:

 

• The Welsh Harp is home to the country’s largest breeding group of great crested grebe and significant numbers of waterfowl. The plan does not give serious consideration to the impact on its wildlife.
• The proposed buildings would be much closer to the water’s edge than the current development.
• The proposed footbridges crossing the reservoir and SSSI are likely to cause disturbance to the wildlife by users.
• The impact of the development on bats caused by the felling of trees as well as the additional lighting from the development.

 

 

3. Infrastructure

 

The building of 2,000 properties would require significant enhancements to infrastructure to cope with demand.

 

1. Health services – GP services are already stretched to the limit. The plan makes no mention of additional health services to meet the needs of the increased population.
2. Schools – One additional 2 form primary school as mentioned in the plan will not be adequate to deal with the education needs of this many people.
3. Roads – The transport infrastructure will struggle to cope; the substantial volume of extra traffic could bring Cool Oak Lane to a daily standstill.

 

Sincerely,

 

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"We am exuded by no Hamsters" and "A Portrait of the Universe as a Young Halibut"

SEE ARTWORKS by P>MURRY "We am exuded by no Hamsters" and "A Portrait of the Universe as a Young Halibut" in...

BAR GOES ELECTRIC

BAR GOES  ELECTRIC BAR has been through many changes,  with a  change in gallery co-ordinator,  location and new board members. Our aim  bring Brent artists of  all levels together.  We can finally tell  you that  ELECTRIC HOUSE  is our new home! Until the end of June, at least. Our FIRST SHOW  ‘Explorations’  IS A MEMBER'S WORK ONLY SHOW  and a response to the new space... We are planning to be open on Saturday 11th May  between 5-8PM, We want as many of you to come along and be part of BAR's future at  ELECTRIC HOUSE Making work that will RE-INVENT the space. This is YOUR Gallery. PRIVATE VIEW ‘Explorations’  14TH MAY 6-8  JUNE SHOW A showcase for all organisations and  individuals that are in transition. More details to follow soon... BAR – Brent Artist’s Resource is an artist led voluntary  organization founded in 1984.  We aim to: serve the cultural needs of the people of Brent  and North West London, provide a supportive  environment for artists in their professional development  create opportunities to participate in the  Visual Arts through exhibitions, workshops,  mentoring schemes and information. If you have more QUESTIONS? Just email  info@brentartistsresource.org.uk  or find more info here:  www.brentartistsresource.org.uk

Caroline Lucas: "I plan to join striking City Clean workers and continue to stand up for workplace rights"

Update on Council pay

08 May 2013

Yesterday around 10% of Brighton and Hove council staff received a settlement offer as part of a process designed to ‘modernise’ pay and allowances.

Since the negotiations began, I have made my opposition to any cuts in take home pay very clear.

I am therefore disappointed that, whilst some will gain from this process, a number will face a reduction in the money they have to live off each week.

This is unacceptable. I know from the many constituents who have written to me about this issue that they agree.

So too does the Brighton and Hove Green Party, whose members voted at a meeting last night to  condemn the offer and also expressed dismay that responsibility for the pay negotiations was handed to council officers.

With the support of the local Green Party, I have pledged to campaign against the offer made to workers, in accordance with the local and national party's democratically agreed anti-cuts and anti- austerity policies.

I plan to join striking City Clean workers and continue to stand up for workplace rights – as I promised to do when I was elected and have consistently prioritised in Parliament.

From: http://www.carolinelucas.com/blog.html/2013/05/08/update-on-council-pay/

Creating Ghosts:Goodbye to the BAR Gallery in Willesden

Creating Ghosts: Artists and members of the local communities creating silhouette paintings in The Brent Artists Resource Gallery at the Willesden Library Centre in north west London. This was the final show in the current gallery before its demolition scheduled for April 2013.The Project as devised and supervised by Kevin Vincenzo Keating.

CLOSING PARTY: GHOSTS

WE LIKE A GOOD PARTY AT BAR GALLERY!     You are invited to celebrate the past and future of BAR, through light and shadow, with Kevin Vincenzo Keating who will be curating: CLOSING PARTY: GHOSTS Thursday April 18th 6-8PM BAR gallery Willesden, 95 High Road, LONDON, NW10 2SF TO MAKE THE SHOW, WE NEED YOUR HELP! COME ALONG ON 16TH AND 17TH APRIL BETWEEN 2-7PM  WHEN WE WILL PAINT YOUR SILHOUETTE IN THE SPACE! OPEN TO ALL TO TAKE PART!   The Gallery has been home to both local and international artists, who've contributed to the creative scene in Brent, through its social impact and strong community. This event will be a recognition of the invaluable achievements of Bar and; the memories that have been created and the bright future yet to come! This unique conceptual show, curated by Kevin, will involve the results of projecting and painting the Ghosts of resident artists onto the gallery walls. The event will offer an opportunity to interact in a new way with the gallery space, and make a mark on what has long been the home of many local artists'.  Kevin says "Ghosts is an expression of what I, and other artists feel is an abrupt end to an exciting gallery.  A feeling of not wanting to leave and leaving something of ourselves attached onto the walls of our past.  But this closure will enable us to look forward, face new challenges, using the uncertainty of space and funding to our advantage by making work that is reactive and pushing new boundaries.  And as we work under this new light, we ask our selves is it possible that our best work is yet to be created?' BAR are looking for a new space which will become the new home for the now Nomadic Artists' of BAR gallery. The non-profit organisation is presently in negotiations with Brent council who've supported the organisation for the last several years.  Ghosts will also be hosting poetry and music. Everyone is welcome!  For more info contact info@brentartistsresource.org.uk

THIS SATURDAY! 15TH DECEMBER. AS PART OF DON'T FORGET// OUR CURRENT SHOW AT BAR IS STILL RUNNING UNTIL:  12 / 4 / 13

Letter of the Week: Brent Greens in solidarity with Gladstone Park Primary Against Forced Academisation



Letter of the Week in Brent Times, 21 Feb 2013 (click image to enlarge)

Climate chaos and the food crisis - meeting tonight

Passport not sufficient ID to get into Brent Council meeting

Passport not sufficient ID to get into Brent Council meeting

(first posted by Martin Francis on http://wembleymatters.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/passport-not-sufficient-id-to-get-into.html)

There was increased security at last night's meeting of Brent Council and a ticket system for getting into the building. When I arrived there was a small group of lobbyists outside from the Counihan Family Campaign and Brent Fightback. Brent Fightback had been giving out a leaflet making the case for the Council to set a needs based budget. Railings had been erected at the foot of the Town Hall steps and two police cars were in attendance.

When I asked if they were going to observe the meeting one of the lobbyists told me that the council meetings were so tedious and mind-numbing that she did not wish to go in.  Others however said that they had been denied entry by an officer from Democratic Services who stood at the door with a security guard. He told them that they were going to keep out the people who had caused trouble at the previous meetings. or who might cause trouble because previous meetings had been interrupted and they wanted the business of the Council meeting to be completed that evening.

The officer's action seemed particularly targeted at the Counihan Family Campaign but was applied in a blanket way to everyone who had been lobbying.. Three women who tried to get in were asked for ID in order to gain admittance. Carol, a retired TfL worker went all the way home to collect her passport and library card but the officer refused to look at it saying, 'We know you are part of the campaign' without saying which campaign.

I was granted admittance and a woman was also allowed in but only after she had to ask that the officer to ring  Carol Shaw, her local councillor,  to check her credentials.

When we eventually arrived in the public gallery we were the only two people in attendance with 50 empty seats and more on the floor of the council chamber.  After half an hour or so two young women joined us but soon got bored and went home. Ex- Democratic Conservative Councillor Robert Dunwell, who has his moments in the Town Hall, was happily trotting around the Council Chamber.

Clearly this raises issues about democratic accountability if the public are not allowed to attend full meetings of the council.  The 'Summons to attend council meeting' clearly states 'The press and public are welcome to attend this meeting'. How can democracy be seen to be done if the electorate are not allowed to see it in action? Is it legal or moral for the council to decide which members of the public are acceptable?

A further troubling aspects is the question of how the council has identified previous and potential trouble makers?  I have never been a conspiracy theorist but is there a list or photographic record? Does the council believe in guilt by association? If you are opposed to council policy does that make you a 'trouble maker'. Would library campaigners have been asked for their ID?

Interesting Lib Dem Cllr Jack Beck who tweets as @digitalliberal tweeted during the meeting:

Brent Fightback at the Town Hall tonight, very unimaginative literature, looks like a member of the Brent Labour Party wrote it. 

So a Labour Council bars entry to a group of people, some of whom are Labour supporters, who are advocating a policy supported by many on the left of the Labour Party as well as other socialist groups including Green Left,  as well as those supporting a Brent family suffering as a result of the housing crisis.  Brent Fightback is the same campaigning group that Brent Council Muhammed Butt  leader went to speak to earlier this year LINK and stressed that he wanted to have a dialogue with them and return to 'what Labour stands for and why we are here'. Asked how he would organise a fightback against Coalition cuts he said:

Me being here is just a start. I am willing to go anywhere, whether to a warm reception or a hostile one, to have a dialogue.

In the same meeting he said that he had not ruled out a needs based budget.We are entitled to ask, what has happened to that dialogue, but more importantly, what has happened to democracy?

Recently I attended an Extraordinary Meeting of Barnet Council where the Labour group had tabled a motion of 'no confidence' in the Conservative Leader of the council calling for him to be replaced. Feelings were running high but not only was the public gallery full but the council had provided seats in an overflow room with a television link. Officers from the council politely greeted us and showed us to the viewing room. There was some spirited heckling but the Mayor was able to keep things under control and a proper debate took place.

Natalie Bennett addresses Brent Greens

Brent Greens welcomed Green Party Leader, Natalie Bennett to Wembley on 18 November 2012. Natalie was in her element talking about the Green solution to transport - ranging from how to return the railways, currently heavily subsidised by the tax payer, to public ownership to how to bring about a modal shift away from the motor car to walking and cycling. She then broadened out the theme to identify how transport affected every part of our lives and was one of the keys to building a sustainable society, such as breaking the dominance of the supermarket supply chain by a return to local, seasonal food production. We were honoured also to have Waiting for the Banjo, a local band, perform a Celtic folk set.

Natalie Bennett addresses Brent Greens, 18 Nov 2012

Waiting for the Banjo, Mark, Mary and Mike.

Musical Joy

Brent Green Party Submission to Ealing Council

FROM: BRENT GREEN PARTY

TO: Ealing Planning Dept, 13 November 2012

Further to the consultation letter from Ealing Council regarding the Planning Application Ref. PP/2012/3267 at Channel Gate Road, Park Royal, Brent Green Party submits this OBJECTION:

CONTEXT

Brent Green Party is concerned about the negative environmental impact of the major part of the planning application, relating to the pyrolysis plant. We do not have equal objection to the anaerobic digestion part of the plant, since we recognise the potential benefit of utilizing CH4 released by biomass for energy rather than putting it in landfill, where it would be released anyway, contributing to climate change.

However, we cannot support the application taken as a whole and state our OBJECTIONS here:

AIR QUALITY

-         Insufficient modelling of potential air quality impacts and their assessment and foreclosure of the need for additional health impact assessments in line with Environmental Agency stipulations.

-         Insufficient assessment of the need for appropriate mitigation measures in light of potential air quality impacts at the planning application stage in line with EA stipulations.

CO2

-         Pyrolysis produces bio-oil and syngas which when combusted for energy, produce vast amounts of CO2, wholly inconsistent with the achievement of EU emission targets.

WATER COURSES

-         Contamination of London canals from run off pollutants during construction, not sufficiently mitigated by drainage measures.

-         Region is water stressed in terms of supply of mains water and site water demand will exacerbate this, in excess to the rainwater-harvesting techniques designed to reduce onsite mains water demand.

PEDESTRIANS

-         During construction, adverse effects on users of playground in Harley road, residential properties and pedestrians in Old Oak Lane Conservation Area, users of the Grand Union Canal and pedestrians walking through Metro Multi Trading Estate.

CONSTRUCTION

-         Adverse noise pollution during construction.

-         Medium to low risk impact of dust generated during construction.

-         Potential for ground contamination during construction period.

-         Potential for ground contamination from storage/handling of oils, chemicals & waste materials from the new plant, not met by proposal to place in storage facilities.

For these reasons we strongly object to the proposal in its current form.

Yours sincerely,

Dr Shahrar Ali, Spokesperson for Planning and Environment
Brent Green Party, PO Box 54786, London NW9 1FL
Contact shahrar.ali@greenparty.org.uk

"austerity kills":LETTER TO THE GUARDIAN 13/11/12

The government's response to increased coverage of cyclist fatalities has been to set aside £30m for improving safety at road junctions across the UK (If Wiggins can get hit … Safety campaigners fear effect of Tour de France winner's crash, 9 November). This is far too little – it's even less than the amount the mayor of London has already cut from the capital's annual road safety budget.

We can't stop death and injury on our roads unless local authorities and the government understand the social and economic value of road safety budgets. They not only prevent avoidable tragedies for many families but also reduce NHS and emergency service costs.

London used to have an exceptional record of reducing road casualties. By 2010 there were 685 fewer children a year killed or seriously injured on London's roads than in the late 1990s. As the previous mayor's road safety ambassador for seven years, I'm sure that if we hadn't spent the money we did and made the changes we did, many of those 685 would not be walking around today.

Last year we had a 23% increase in cycling casualties and a significant jump in the number of pedestrians killed or seriously injured. This trend has quickened as the road safety budget has been squeezed down to less than a quarter of what it was. Put simply, austerity kills.
Jenny Jones AM
Green party group leader, London Assembly

Brent Civic Centre Tours: By Appointment Only

Martin Francis and Shahrar Ali: A "Green" White Elephant is Still a White Elephant, outside Brent Civic Centre

Brent Civic Centre opened its doors this weekend to public tours, by appointment only. Brent Greens joined a demonstration outside the Civic Centre, in protest at the gross implausibility of the Council claim that money would be saved through building this new behemoth - that nobody wanted or needed - in a time of fiscal crisis. We have exposed the financial unsustainability of the project before now (history) - the financing of a £100m debt over 25 years, plus interest, at a time when essential public services are being cut, with local ratepayers losing their libraries and families facing eviction in the weeks to come.

Brent Civic Centre £102m over 25 years plus intersest

Despite the requirement to pre-book, I and others were surprised not to be allowed onto a tour, given that there were plenty of no shows. I was asked whether I had "tried to register" or whether "I was with them" (the staff pointing to the demonstration). This obstructive attitude compares rather unfavourably to the more reasonable treatment one would expect of public visits to buildings. I and others were recently admitted on to a tour of the Paddocks war bunker, featuring in the Brent Open House London season, due to no-shows on the day.

NACHO MUSTACHO AND THE TRAVELLING PIG

Acknowledgements to Romayne Phoenix