Agenda item

Wembley Brent Connects Meeting

Minutes and Action Log

1

Soapbox – Chaired by Councillor Ihtesham Afzal

Councillor Afzal introduced the Soap Box section of the meeting setting out the ground rules and time allocated for each speaker.

·        The session was opened by a representative from Brent Council’s marketing tem, who made an appeal for more foster carers in Brent. It was updated that the team was seeking to have more local people become foster carers, alongside a programme of support and training. Further information was signposted at: https://www.brent.gov.uk/children-young-people-and-families/fostering-and-adoption/fostering

Email: fostering@brent.gov.uk

·        A representative from the Brent Indian Association spoke briefly about their service and the projects that communities, particularly the elderly community, could access at their venue. A telephone contact was provided in the chat. 

·        A representative from the Grand Union Community Hub (GUCH) spoke about the community space that had recently been opened in the Alperton area and appealed for volunteers to come forward.

·        Brent Health Matters publicised their advice line for matters relating to health which was available from Monday to Friday. They were also running monthly health drop ins across the borough. For further information, the audience were directed to the link below:

https://www.brent.gov.uk/adult-social-care/health-and-wellbeing/brent-health-matters#whatisbrenthealthmatters

2

Draft Air Quality Action Plan (AQAP)

The meeting received a presentation from Judah Bajela (National Management Trainee), who gave an overview of the council’s upcoming Air Quality Action Plan, as well as information regarding the consultation which was planned to begin by the end of March.

The presentation detailed that across London, there had been 4,100 deaths attributed to air pollution in 2019, and it was known that poor air quality had a negative effect on children’s lungs. Harlesden was identified as a hot spot for poor air quality in Brent.

In closing, the three key aims of the plan to improve Brent’s air quality were set out: namely reducing Nitrogen Oxide, raising awareness of health impacts of poor air quality, and introducing change by leading.  

The audience were then invited to ask questions and provide feedback, which is captured below:

·        There was positive feedback from the audience around Brent’s plan to tackle air quality in the area

·        It was raised that alongside the plan, a change in culture would be required in order to make impactful change.

Actions

·        Community Engagement Team to share slides and information about upcoming engagement events for the Air Quality Action Plan

3

Unique Community Charity

The meeting received a presentation from Natalyia Kharina from Unique Community Charity, explaining how their organisation had used Neighbourhood Community Infrastructure Levy (NCIL) funding received from the council. In the update, she gave an overview of the projects that the charity had been running for young people, including through the Brent Youth Theatre, the Music Den, and a schools ‘DYCE’ project, which helped young people develop skills including critical thinking and empathy.

Following the presentation, Natalyia shared details of the organisation’s website, which is below:

 https://www.uniquecommunity.org/

Actions

·        Community Engagement team to share details of presentation to all attendants and those registered to attend the Wembley Connects meeting.

4

Neighbourhood Priorities

Che-Kwon Sterling (Community Engagement Lead) introduced an Interactive Menti exercise, discussing the council’s Borough Plan priorities.

During the interactive Menti session, five priorities from the brough plan were detailed, with the audience invited to vote on aspects of the priorities most relevant to them in Wembley. The five priorities that the audience voted for were.

·        Priority One - Easing the Cost-of-Living crisis

·        Priority Two - A Cleaner Borough

·        Priority Three - A Safer Borough

·        Priority Four - Raised aspirations and attainment

·        Priority Five - Localised services for local needs

The audience were then invited to raise questions and provide feedback, which is captured below:

·        A member of the audience spoke to say that she felt that there was too much construction taking place in Wembley, which was contributing to air pollution.

·        It was expressed that fly tipping in the area was affecting the cleanliness and aesthetic beauty of Wembley. 

·        The audience also highlighted the need for the area to change attitudes and culture around the environment, which would require further education of everyone.

·        A member of the audience felt that successful local businesses in Brent would help the area to thrive and regenerate the area. 

·        A member of the audience raised concerns around the future of Vale Farm Leisure Centre. The Director of Communities confirmed that the site was not planned to close in the near future.

5

Keeping Young People Safe – Community Safety and Children’s Services

The item opened with a short Menti exercise asking the audience about their ideas on what the council and community could do to keep young people safe in Brent. Some of the key themes highlighted included a Brent Youth Service, wider support for families, increased knife awareness and training for volunteers and parents to carry out street patrols.   

Following this the Davina Smith (Community Safety Manager) delivered their presentation, which gave a detailed overview the importance of Contextual Safeguarding, the Safer Brent Priorities and how they were working on a Public Health centred approach in conjunction with commissioned services, to divert young people from criminal and violent behaviour, as well as a general understanding of the dangers they could face.  

The audience were then invited to ask questions and provide feedback, which is captured below:

·        An audience member informed the meeting that they believed that more stop and search powers were required as a deterrent to knife crime.

Actions

·        Community Engagement team to share details of presentation to all attendants and those registered to attend the Wembley Connects meeting.

6

Community Well Being Project

Aman S Jaswal (Community Engagement Officer) gave a presentation detailing a joint initiative from Brent Hubs and Sufra food bank. The project was taking place at Bridge Park Leisure Centre and was currently running on Mondays and Tuesdays. It was updated that the venue was providing a community shop and kitchen, where members could get a hot drink, snack, dinner as well as reduced goods. This was through a £3.50 a week membership and was aimed at providing assistance to residents who had been affected by the ongoing Cost of Living Crisis. 

Action

·        Community Engagement Team to share slides of presentation to participants