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5.1      Rebuild & renovate Roe
Green Playground, Kingsbury
 
Councillor Muhammed Butt (as Leader of the
Council) welcomed Anna & Julia Cenalia (representing local
residents and families from the area surrounding Roe Green Park,
Kingsbury) to the meeting who he advised were attending to present
a petition seeking the rebuild and upgrade of facilities within Roe
Green Playground and Park in Kingsbury.
 
In thanking the Leader of the Council for the
opportunity to present the petition, Julia Cenalia (speaking on
behalf of Anna Cenalia as the lead petitioner) highlighted the
importance of Roe Green Playground and the surrounding park to
local residents as a valued and much-loved local community
facility.  Unfortunately, however, she
advised that the playground and park was now regarded as being
tired, worn and neglected with reference made to examples of broken
and outdated equipment, damaged gates, cracked and uneven pathways,
a lack of benches & bins and broken lighting.  These were identified as issues which those in
support of the petition felt needed to be resolved in order to
encourage renewed use and address concerns relating to safety, with
some residents (it was pointed out) now preferring to travel
outside of the area to find a cleaner, more usable playground.
 
Disappointment was also expressed that a
playground and park which had previously provided so much joy and
happiness to residents was now seen as uninviting, empty, and dirty
despite the fact that Roe Green Park was still regarded as one of
the largest and most beautiful green spaces in Kingsbury and an
area that should be able to serve as the heart of the local
community bringing children, families and older residents
together.
 
In seeking a way forward, Julia Cenalia
advised that the petition was therefore calling on the Council to
support the rebuilding, renovation and modernisation of Roe Green
Playground and the surrounding area in order to deliver a space
that was safe and inclusive, well-lit and maintained, equipped with
modern play equipment accessible paths for prams, wheelchairs and
bikes adequate benches and bins and with a regular maintenance
schedule to keep the area falling back into disrepair.  It was pointed out that petitioners saw this as an
opportunity for the Council to work in partnership with residents
to create a meaningful community space, highlighting that the
community needed space not only for small children but also
teenagers and young adults with the potential also identified for
this to include youth club or leisure facilities that would provide
a safe place for socialising, learning and growing and give a sense
of purpose and belonging.
 
In recognising that these type of improvements
would require planning and funding, the Council was urged to work
in partnership with residents to explore grant opportunities,
design options and community involvement so that Roe Green Park
could become a space everyone was proud of, highlighting that when
investment was made in public spaces this in turn created cleaner,
safer and more connected neighbourhoods and gave a sense of
ownership and care over the spaces that were shared.
 
In bringing her presentation to close, Julia
Cenalia asked members to visualise Roe Green Park one year from now
as an accessible, well-lit and maintained space where children were
able to enjoy using safe and modern play equipment and hoped the
Council would be able to support the delivery of that vision for
Brent’s children, families and future generations.
 
In response, Councillor Krupa Sheth (as
Cabinet Member for Public Realm and Enforcement) thanked Anna &
Julia Cenalia along with the other residents present for attending
Cabinet to ensure their views were represented and in order to
present the petition.  As a starting
point, Councillor Krupa Sheth felt it important to confirm that the
Council had already recognised the need for improvements in Roe
Green Park and as a result allocated funding towards refurbishment
of the area.  In seeking to develop
these proposals an initial site visit and meeting with local
residents had recently been held, with the Village School and ward
councillors also involved and the Council committed to working with
local stakeholders in terms of the design and delivery of the
improvements and refurbishment, based around an initial target date
of 2026.  In recognising and welcoming
the allocation of funding already identified by the Council to
support the improvements being sought, Anna Cenalia (speaking as
lead petitioner) also felt it important to highlight the scale of
the park which it was felt would also benefit from the ability to
explore all available options to attract additional funding in
order to deliver the improvements residents were keen to
support.
 
In summing up and bringing consideration of
the item to a close, Councillor Muhammed Butt (as Leader of the
Council) also took the opportunity to thank Ann & Julia Cenalia
for attending the meeting to present the petition.  In assuring the petitioners of the Council’s
aim to ensure that all of the borough’s parks and open spaces
remained open, inviting and safe for all, he also welcomed the
acknowledgement of the financial challenges currently faced by the
Council in seeking to meet these commitments.  In recognition of these pressures, he confirmed
the Council remained open and willing to explore all available
funding opportunities, including external grant funding, in order
to support delivery of the improvements being sought working in
partnership with local stakeholders. 
Taken alongside the commitment outlined by the Councillor Krupa
Sheth (as Cabinet Member for Public Realm and Enforcement) he ended
by once again assuring the petitioners of the work being undertaken
to support delivery of the improvements being sought which he hoped
they would also be able to engage with as relevant
stakeholders.
 

5.2      Addressing
the mess and nuisance being caused by pigeons under the Network
Rail Green Bridge, Kilburn Station
 
Councillor Muhammed Butt (as Leader of the
Council) advised that following consultation with the lead
petitioner, presentation of the petition had been rescheduled for
the next Cabinet meeting on 10 November 25.