Letter in Harrow Times: Pear Wood Reserve

Letter in Harrow Times, 12 April 2012 edition, 'Pear wood reserve: It is imperative we protect land'

I applaud the Harrow conservationists and local residents for pursuing their long-term goal of biodiversity protection despite Harrow Council's proposals for Pear Wood.

I am particularly relieved to hear that the proposal to sell land currently occupied by the derelict cottage over to property development has fallen through, for the time being (‘Pear Wood open space is protected ‘for now’’, Harrow Times, 5 April).

As Harrow Nature Conservation forum has so diligently recorded, in both words and pictures, the former cottage has practically been reclaimed by nature; snakes, deer and wild fora are all in evidence. The despoliation of this part of the wood, for human habitation, should not be part of the negotiation.

In 2010, I was part of a widespread grassroots campaign in Brent to protect part of the Welsh Harp nature reserve, and metropolitan open land, from similar housing development.

It is imperative that we preserve spaces such as Pear Wood and Welsh Harp as welcome breathing spaces today, for the enjoyment of future generations tomorrow, and for other species with which we share this beautiful planet.

In its manifesto for the London Assembly, the Green Party advocates the Green Grid, an enhanced network of green spaces across London, with protection for trees and wildlife and greater access to nature for all.

Shahrar Ali
Green Party London Assembly candidate for Brent and Harrow
PO Box 54785
London NW9 1FL

Photo: Young grass snake in Pear Wood (picture by Claire Abbott, Harrow Nature Conservation Forum, by permission)

Greens Launch London Assembly Manfiesto

The Green Party launched its 2012 GLA Manifesto on Thursday 12 April, our vision for a more equal, healthy and affordable London, available to download HERE or here (with alternative language translations of key policies). Picture of Jenny Jones, Green Mayoral Candidate with Shahrar Ali, Green Party London assembly candidate for Brent and Harrow.

Letter in Brent Times: Consultation, Brent has just got it so wrong

Letter in Brent Times, 5 April 2012 edition, p. 16 [e-edition here] Transcript follows:

'Consultation: Brent has just got it so wrong'

Your lament, ‘Consultation means very little to Brent residents’ is right on the money (editorial, 29 March).

The Oxford Advanced Learners Dictionary, which has entries by language experts prioritised for their importance and usefulness, defines consultation as: “The act of discussing something with somebody or with a group of people before making a decision about it.”

Unfortunately, the Brent administration would have us believe that when the people would argue vociferously against their plans, it is instead because we wanted them all along but just didn’t realise it yet.

The people of Brent wanted to have half of their libraries closed but just sought to have the decision overturned at the High Court for the fun of it, not once but twice, right? Wrong.

The people of Brent wanted to build a £102.4 million HQ in Wembley at a cost of £4 million every year for at least 25 years, not including the cost of financing the debt, in order to mask job losses as “efficiency savings”, right? Wrong again.

The people of Brent want to demolish a perfectly usable, and popular, library centre in Willesden in order to allow a building contractor to profit from the sale of the flats they would build on it for a smaller library in return, right? Wrong again.

The people of Brent want to demolish the locally listed original Victorian library in Willesden, too, because they just can’t stand the few remaining bits of heritage that give character and soul to the borough, right? Wrong again.

Brent Council is so wrong, and wrong again, about consultation, that they would have us believe that we have been consulted when we know we haven’t because that is even less incredulous a proposition than that their plans could have been agreed to by any reasonable person.

As the Green candidate in the upcoming election, I will fight for the right of all electors to have meaningful input into political decisions carried out in their name. That includes calling a thing by its proper name.

This same dictionary defines doublespeak as, “language that is intended to make people believe something which is not true.”

Dr Shahrar Ali
Green Party London Assembly candidate for Brent and Harrow

Picture: Neasden Library boarded up (taken 16 October 2011)

Official Nominations for Barnhill Byelection

Our candidate for the Barnhill by-election, taking place on 3 May 2012 will be Martin Francis (pictured above with a local resident). The full list of nominations appears here, or in shorthand:

Martin Francis, Green Party
Charles Pavey, Labour
Ratna Pindoria, Conservative
Venilal Vaghela, [no description]

My comrade Martin has already commented on the mystery of no duly nominated LibDem candidate. It could be for any number of reasons, ranging from deliberate to accidental, although it is unlikely to have been as a result of a technical reason - for then we would probably have seen a mark against an additional row in the official declaration. However, it is also unusual to see a candidate marked without a description, if only "Independent".

I have only illustrious things to say about Martin, as I have been privileged to work closely alongside him in local campaigns and Green politics. The thought did cross my mind that the LibDems have chosen to stand aside in this by-election, either out of fear or respect for Martin's political stature. He has breadth of local knowledge, political insight and boundless energy. Let the people of Barnhill ward seize this opportunity to elect their first Green councillor for Brent.

By-election voters also face the prospect of being spared the deluge of LibDem literature which has characterised recent by-elections, notably Dollis Hill.

Election Campaigning: Kensal Green, Queens Park & Barnhill

Greens were out in force at the weekend, both south and north in the borough. We met campaigners supervising the pop-up library outside Kensal Rise library on Bathurst Gardens (pictured above).

I spent an afternoon distributing literature in Chalkhill estate in Barnhill, a stone's throw from the Town Hall. My comrade, Martin Francis is pictured above catching up on local politics with local resident, Kathleen.

This was a warm afternoon and the locals were equally warm. There were a variety of cooking smells to be had around every street corner, always enticing us. People were going about their play and their neighbourly conversation, and engaging us at the earliest opporunity. I was particularly charmed by the kid writing a love poem for another on the street - it seemed to have landed on the pavement without a recipient, but the children were quick to identify its destination, with a little teasing for good measure.

Pictured (above) raised beds form part of a gardening project for the local primary school on the estate, bounded by the railway to one side.

Picture without an apparent owner in Victoria Road, Queens Park.