Monthly Archives: August 2010

Outrage as Labour plan multi-million pound cuts from expensive Country Hotel in Buckinghamshire

Posted on August 3, 2010 | Leave a comment

Residents will be outraged that Brent’s ruling Labour Executive took themselves to an all expenses paid Awayday to plan multi-million pound Budget cuts from a hotel in Buckinghamshire.

News shot around the Town Hall this week that Brent Labour have re-introduced their policy of holding “Awaydays” at Latimer Place in Chesham, instead of in Brent.

As one of their first moves to save Council Tax payers’ money on taking control of the Council in 2006, the Liberal Democrat leadership scrapped the expense of having the Executive and senior Council officers stay away in expensive Hotel venues.  Under the Liberal Democrats, these meetings were held at Bridge Park Community Centre or the Council’s training centre in Wembley, without overnight stays.

Despite the financial crisis facing Brent, the Labour Administration has reinstated the more expensive and unnecessary stays – at a time when the Labour-run Council is complaining loudly about having to make cuts to services.

Brent Liberal Democrat Opposition Leader, Councillor Paul Lorber said:

” It is morally outrageous that the first decision of any consequence that Labour have made  regarding their Budget is to spend days away at an expensive Hotel complex in order to set it.”

“This action completely undermines Labour’s credibility and their complaints about Government cuts.”

“Clearly Bridge Park is not good enough for the Labour councillors for Harlesden, Stonebridge or Kensal Green.  It is totally irresponsible for Labour councillors to spend residents money on expensive hotels while cutting services for residents.  Taxpayers’ money should not be wasted in this way, and this decision cannot be justified in any way.”

Information about Latimer Place in Chesham (formerly the Latimer House Hotel) can be found at:  http://www.devere.co.uk/our-locations/latimer-place

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Posted in Finance, Labour Failure

Third time unlucky for the Environment under Labour

Posted on August 3, 2010 | Leave a comment

Brent Labour Councillors last night voted to axe a popular award-winning scheme to encourage local people to recycle – despite the fact that Brent Council pays more than £6million in landfill tax and that the £90,000 scheme would help to reduce this

Brent Council, now under Labour control following the local elections in May, say they will cease the Green Zones work begun by the then Liberal Democrat-led Council. There will be some tidying up to do with a number of open projects, and the Council will try to move the volunteers into other opportunities where they are still available from the Council.

The Labour-run Council confirmed that with the Green Zones funding to date Brent have 12 confirmed Green Zones, with the most recent being Campbell Gordon Way. The innovative projects reached over 2000 residents.

As part of the scheme, Brent Council also audited a number of businesses as part of a trial to establish a business waste recycling advice service, ran a Bag Free Wembley project in association with the town centre management, and started work with the Lexi Cinema to establish it as a green hub for the local community.  All this is likely to end.

The abolition of the popular resident scheme is the third anti-environmental measure by Labour to emerge recently.   The Labour Executive are also considering cutting the only paid position that oversees the implementation of Brent’s Climate Change strategy.  The strategy, put in place when the Liberal Democrats ran Brent Council, prepares Brent to cope with and respond to the challenges and opportunities climate change will bring.  Labour also voted with the Conservatives to scupper the Council’s Green Travel Plan.

Liberal Democrat Deputy Leader, Councillor Daniel Brown said :

” Axing the Green Zone scheme is an extremely short-sighted move by the Labour Executive as it will almost certainly cost residents more than the £90,000 it saves.  But we should hardly be surprised.  After all, Labour are already targeting the dedicated Climate Change post within the Council, and they worked with the Tories to scupper the Council’s own Green Travel plan a little while back.”

” On Brent Council, only the Liberal Democrats seem to be working to promote green issues and deal with the huge environmental challenges we face.”

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Posted in Environment, Labour Failure

Brent still has THREE of London’s worst Bus routes

Posted on August 3, 2010 | Leave a comment

Research by the Liberal Democrats has revealed that around a third of the capital’s worst bus routes run through Brent.

The 220, 452 and 228 all fell within the ten worst performing routes in London, according to independent watchdog TravelWatch.  The service on the 228 was singled out for particular concern by the Chair of London Travelwatch.

  • The 220 runs from Willesden Junction, through Harlesden, to Wandsworth.
  • The 452 – designated as a “high frequency” route – runs from Kensal Rise Station to Wandsworth Road.
  • The 228 runs from Park Royal (Central Middlesex Hospital) to Chippenham Gardens (Maida Hill), via Harlesden and Willesden.

As recently as March, Lib Dem GLA Leader Caroline Pidgeon revealed through a written question to Mayor Boris Johnson that four Brent routes had been in the top 10, with the 79, 114 and 226 featuring alongside the 228.  This was based on the length of time that people have to wait over and above the published frequency of service.

While these 3 routes narrowly dropped out the top 10, the Liberal Democrats say it is both depressing and typical that 2 other Brent routes have taken their place.

Liberal Democrat Transportation spokesperson, Councillor Daniel Brown said

“It’s regrettable that Brent’s bus passengers have been consistently badly served, with around a third of London’s worst routes at any time.  The 228 is known to have ongoing problems, which is particularly disappointing as the new route was only introduced last year. You would think they would want to get it right from the start.”

“With a recent report revealing that the Jubilee Line works may continue into 2011, and with all three Tube routes through Brent closed some weekends, why must we also put up with London’s poorest overall bus service?  Mayor Boris Johnson must act immediately to bring about improvements given the dreadful inconvenience our residents already face.”

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Posted in Mayor of London, Transport

Jubilee Line work a shambles, official report confirms

Posted on August 3, 2010 | Leave a comment

Nearly a year after the Mayor of London Boris Johnson read the riot act to Tube Lines over “grave doubts” whether the £500 million upgrade to the Jubilee line would be completed by the end of 2009, an independent report to the Transport for London Board on the 21st July has revealed the true picture of the state of the Jubilee Line upgrade which has caused misery at weekends for Brent residents.

The independent report updates the TfL Board on how work on the Jubilee line is progressing, in particular how the implementation of the new signalling system is developing.  The report details how the original strategy for migrating the old signalling system to the new one slipped further and further behind schedule.  Tube Lines, the firm originally tasked with the job, encountered more and more problems when trying to test the new system – over the Easter period the tests revealed that using the new system would lead to delays of between 750 – 1000 minutes.

The report also reveals TfL are having difficulty training drivers on the new signalling system as “It is not possible to train drivers on a system that is not working” (Paragraph 3.3).

Worryingly the report states that for the area “including Neasden Depot, the prognosis is not so good: while basic correspondence testing has commenced, the intense system level tests are only just commencing.”

With this level of delay in the basic installation programme it seems Brent’s Liberal Democrat Councillors, who were concerned that works on the Jubilee Line might not be completed in time for this Christmas, are right to be concerned.  Brent residents, who have already had to deal with well over a hundred Jubilee Line clsoures since work started in 2008, look set to have to deal with many more before the work has been completed.

Councillor Daniel Brown, Liberal Democrat Transport Spokesperson at Brent Council, said:

“At least Transport for London have a clearer picture of what is going wrong from this report. However I have invited the Mayor, who now has full control of the mess, to experience the problems that this is causing to local people by accompanying me on a Rail Replacement bus this weekend, when both the Metropolitan Line and Jubilee Line are closed.”

Brent’s Liberal Democrat MP Sarah Teather, working with Liberal Democrat Councillors, last year persuaded London Underground to get Metropolitan line trains to stop at Willesden Green station when engineering work closes the Jubilee Line, to help the many London Underground customers who continue to lose their access to the Tube system on a regular basis while these works are carried out.

Despite this, London Mayor Boris Johnson continues to refuse to bow to Liberal Democrat calls to take a similar approach at Neasden station.

Liberal Democrat Councillor Daniel Brown added:

“We will continue to impress upon Transport for London and the Mayor that they must make every effort to minimise the impact of line closures as bus replacement services are only a minimum substitute of service; and that they must bring the works to an end as soon as possible.”

The full report on the problems affecting the Jubilee Line can be found here.

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Posted in Campaigns, Mayor of London, Transport

Residents anger at neglect of Sudbury and Harrow Road Station

Posted on August 3, 2010 | Leave a comment

A Liberal Democrat Councillor today spoke of the anger local residents were feeling at the state of their local railway station.  Local residents have been campaigning to get Sudbury and Harrow Road Station, in Harrow Road, Sudbury improved for years and were recently dismayed to learn that in January 2010 the Labour Government announced the extension of the franchise to Chiltern Railways without any requirement to upgrade the station.

Local people are angry that far too few trains are serving the local station and that there is a lack of toilet facilities and poor cleaning of the neglected station.

In 2002 Chiltern Railways got a long term franchise which provided for a potential extension in return for improved service.  The original franchise required Chiltern to operate only seven trains per day from Sudbury and Harrow Road.  Local travellers have been campaigning for more frequent trains and for the provision of a public toilet on the station forecourt.  Brent Council offered to contribute to the cost of the toilet but the railway authorities have been haggling for months about a lease arrangement – and now say that no toilet will be provided this year.

In January Chiltern Railways were granted an extension to their rail franchise in return for making £250 million of improvements elsewhere, Liberal Democrat Councillors are calling for some of this investment to go into Sudbury and Harrow Road Station.

There should have been formal consultation with local authorities when franchises are being let, but Liberal Democrats can find no record of a formal consultation being announced in relation to the extension negotiations with Chiltern.

Speaking about the station, Cllr Paul Lorber, Liberal Democrat Councillor for Sudbury, said,

“I think it’s outrageous that Chiltern have been granted an extension to their franchise without it being clearly written that they need to improve the service for Sudbury and Harrow Road Station. Sudbury residents have a genuine grievance over this problem.  Also the station area is being used as a toilet area and it’s high time Chiltern Railways and Network Rail delivered toilets to solve this problem.”

The Department for Transport press release for 15 January 2010 announcing the franchise extension in here.

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Posted in Community, Transport

Labour fail to stand up for Brent Voluntary Groups

Posted on August 3, 2010 | Leave a comment

Liberal Democrats today expressed concern that the Labour Party could have dealt a blow to the voluntary sector in Brent by not turning up to a crucial London borough grants committee.

The London-wide committee has a representative from every borough on it and Cllr Ruth Moher failed to show or send a deputy to take part in key discussions on the future of around £25m worth of grants to voluntary groups, many of who are based in and service the community in Brent.

There are big changes happening at London Councils regarding the way the London-wide grants scheme is run.  The London borough grants committee is planning to cease funding to many London projects and give funding back to boroughs to make those funding decisions locally.

Liberal Democrats are calling on the Labour Administration to give voluntary sector organisations reassurance that they will not use the change in the funding allocation system to make cuts.

The news comes only a few weeks after Labour Council Leader Ann John failed to show (or send a Deputy) for a crucial meeting of London Leaders and Boris Johnson, Mayor of London.

Liberal Democrat Leader Cllr Paul Lorber said

“This is an important committee whose decisions will impact on many organisations in Brent. It’s very worrying that they failed to take part in the discussion about the future of London-wide organisations such as the London Cycling Campaign or Advice UK which are used by thousands of Brent residents, but also that local charities like the Tricycle Theatre were discussed with no one from Brent to stand up for them.  Our concern now is that they have no idea what they will do with the funds when they come back to Brent.

Our fears are that the nearly £700,000 coming back to Brent could get swallowed up in the extra £40 million of cuts Labour have announced since they took over in May. We urge the Labour Town Hall bosses not do this and use this money and the financial circumstances the authority finds itself in to rethink how the voluntary sector and the council can work together to provide services cost effectively for the people of Brent.

It really is a poor show though, that two cabinet members, including the Leader, have now missed two crucial meetings in only 9 weeks. Labour need to start taking this seriously and representing Brent.”

London borough grants was set up in 1985 to support voluntary organisations operating in more than one borough or London-wide.  All 33 boroughs contribute to the scheme on a per capita basis and every borough has a representative on the committee. This representative has to be a cabinet member in their authority.  £24.6m of services are commissioned to the 350 voluntary organisations from this grants programme every year.

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Posted in Finance, Labour Failure, Voluntary Sector