These are the members of the Brent Executive who took the decision that resulted in the closure of the Willesden Bookshop. Read the e-mail below from a Brent resident who is yet to receive a reply and let the councillors know what you think about their actions:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Dear Cllrs Butt
and Crane,
Thank you for the meeting last week. I would like to clarify an issue that I promised to email you about.
Thank you for the meeting last week. I would like to clarify an issue that I promised to email you about.
I want to
reiterate that a huge proportion of people objecting to the current design
of the WGCC originally came on board because they do not want to lose The
Willesden Bookshop. Schools, families, locals of all races and ages have
benefited from its presence over the 23 years it has existed and feel indebted
to its influence and mortified by its loss. All blame Brent Council for the
fact that it is no longer there.
I will set the
record straight re efforts made by Brent Council and its officers to relocate
the Willesden Bookshop.
·
The lease
of the bookshop was extended to 31 August 2012.
·
The Council's
Property Department forwarded the proprietor a link to some properties on Dutch
and Dutch's website, which he had already seen as he was himself scouring
commercial websites for suitable properties.
·
They told
him the rent on the Parking Shop (which the Council was vacating) was
£50,000 - far beyond what the bookshop could afford.
·
Beth Kay
showed him a unit on Queen's Parade, which she offered to have fitted out at
the Council's expense. However it was far too small and only available for six
months.
So, some
properties he had already seen via a basic internet search, a shop that was too
expensive, and another that was too small with a lease six months short of the
minimum required for a business of this kind. That's not 'bending over
backwards' to provide a viable alternative. Meanwhile, the lease has not been
renewed and the bookshop is now closed.
I would
also like to put right a couple of rumours that originated from Brent
Councillors:
·
At no
point has The Willesden Bookshop ever been 'subsidised' by Brent
Council. The only subsidy it could be claimed that the bookshop has
ever received is one quarter rent's waiver subsequent to extensive
refurbishment of the Library Centre, during which the front of the
building was boarded up causing loss of business.
·
It has
never failed to pay - or been let off paying - its utility bills.
In fact, the
Council Property Departement's unwillingness to raise its rent at the last
review date was probably because it had already lost the cafe and cinema, and
the bookshop was preventing the front of the building from becoming a derelict
shell, vulnerable to vandalism. Moreover, the bookshop provided guidance, help
and parking permits to library users and, as I've said, always paid its rent.
In other words, the council itself recognised that the bookshop was an asset.
Cllr Crane, you
have said on several occasions that you feel no love for the old Library
building, which you would have happily seen demolished 20-odd years ago. You
implied in our meeting that reinstating the 1894 building into the design of
the WGCC represents a significant compromise on your part and evidence that you
are attuned to public opinion. I ask that you pay the same heed to
the wishes of local people over the bookshop.
The
Willesden Bookshop (not just 'a cafe bookshop', ie 4 shelves of art books by a
coffee counter) should be included in the plans for the Cultural Centre. Its
space allocation has been lopped off the final calculations for the WGCC, along
with the cinema and 'dead space', yet is a much-used space and a much-valued
one, too! After all, it entirely fits with your vision of
regenerating the High Road with highly valued upmarket businesses, and it makes
no sense at all, and very bad PR, for the Council to be the perpetrators behind
its closure.
Can you please
make a genuine effort to save this treasured local business and important
building block for the regeneration of Willesden Green.
I have copied in
Steve Adams at the Willesden Bookshop, so you can contact him directly. Here is
a link to an article in The Guardian that accurately describes the situation
and how Willesden residents feel about the bookshop's closure: http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2012/jul/27/willesden-bookshop-closure-brent-council
Yours
faithfully
Miki
Berenyi
Although the ten members of Brent's Executive listed in this item have ultimate responsibility for the overall policy decision to approve the Regeneration Department's scheme for WGLC, taken at their meeting in January 2012, I think it is a bit unfair to blame them for the way in which that decision has been carried out in practice. The actual day-to-day handling of relations with the Willesden Bookshop lies at the door of Richard Barrett, Brent's Assistant Director for Property & Asset Management. Is it any coincidence that he is Andy Donald's deputy at Regeneration & Major Projects, and was the man who organised the early morning raid to remove the contents of Kensal Rise Library?
ReplyDeletePhilip Grant.