The Coronavirus crisis has cost Brent £44m - but the government have broken their promise to stand behind us. Key workers needed support but they got a slap in the face. The Conservatives have let us down. THEIR Spending Review means cuts to OUR local services.
Detectives are appealing for witnesses after a man was injured in a shooting outside a Tube station in Harrow.
Police were called at 18:40hrs on Wednesday, 18 October after reports a man had been shot near Sudbury Hill Underground Station on Greenford Lane.
Officers attended along with the London Ambulance Service. A 19-year-old man was found with gunshot wounds.
He was taken to hospital where his injuries are being assessed, but are not thought to be life-threatening.
Officers from the Specialist Crime Command (Trident) are investigating and want to hear from anyone with information about the shooting.
It’s believed the victim was chased along the street before being shot a number of times.
At this early stage of the investigation, there have been no arrests.
Anyone with information is asked to call 101, or tweet @MetCC, quoting reference Cad 5795/18Nov.
Alternatively, contact the independently charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
I previously reported on the announcement of an initial £10m investment from the Mayor of London on a Green New Deal. The investment will be broken down into three areas:
Here is what that means in turn;
Decarbonising the Built Environment
North London District Energy
Building on £30 million of investment already secured, the funding provides the capacity to capture a further 20MW of waste heat from the Edmonton Energy Recovery Facility to enable the supersizing and extension of the heat network from Enfield into Hackney and Haringey, providing near zero carbon heating to a further 8,000 properties, an increase of 50 percent on the original project.
London Community Energy Fund
The fourth phase of the London Community Energy Fund will support community energy projects such as solar panels on schools and community centres and electric vehicle charge points. The new fund includes up to £500,000 for community energy groups to deliver projects, as well as £165,000 for project development. The previous rounds of funding enabled 48 community energy projects across 81 buildings, saving up to 1,500 tonnes of carbon per year. Applications for grants will be open by the end of this month.
Old Oak and Park Royal Solar PV programme
This programme will develop and deliver solar panels on rooftops across the Old Oak and Park Royal industrial estates over a three-year period.
Phase one will install around 10,000 m2 of solar panels across ten business premises on the Park Royal estate. The wider opportunity across industrial roofs in the OPDC area has been assessed as capable of providing 213 MW of power, which could save up to one million tonnes of CO2e over 25 years and creating 820 installation jobs over a five year period. It will also support further EV charging points for other vehicles
Solar Together London
Solar Together has so far successfully supported the installation of solar panels on almost 1,000 London homes. It uses a group-buying model to unlock significant savings from suppliers (up to 35 per cent in previous rounds) which makes solar more affordable for Londoners. This round of funding will drive a London-wide programme which will also include up to £60,000 to support installers to boost their training and employment opportunities and grow the supply chain.
Green Transport and Public Realm
Bus electrification and electric vehicle charging
The project will invest in the design and delivery of power infrastructure for bus garages in London, which will ultimately enable the transformation of London’s 9,000 buses into a zero-tailpipe emission fleet.
2030 Future Neighbourhoods
2030 Future Neighbourhoods will support exemplar projects that transform whole neighbourhoods in the capital into zero emission neighbourhoods but also providing benefits across a range of environmental priorities. The programme will support projects that include:
Green Foundations
Advance London
The Advance London programme managed by the London Waste and Recycling Board (LWARB) has supported over 200 SMEs over the last 3.5 years to transition to circular business models and scale their circular economy ventures, resulting in a combined turnover of £50m.
Additional funding will broaden the existing Advance London programme by supporting start-ups and SMEs to launch and pilot circular economy ventures that will protect jobs and enable good quality businesses to be part of a green recovery. It will prioritise support to businesses in either geographic areas or sectors impacted most severely by the pandemic.
Better Futures
Tailored support to SMEs to improve the success rate and speed of low-carbon enterprises supporting London’s transition. By expanding the existing Better Futures programme, funding will provide additional and enhanced, tailored business and technical development, with a proactive focus on under-represented groups in the Cleantech sector whilst supporting internships to access the sector.
New programmes also launched
Local Energy Accelerator
A brand new £6m programme to provide expertise and support organisations to develop clean and locally generated energy projects. These projects will include district energy networks that use renewable heat sources (including river water and waste heat from London Underground), and energy technologies such as heat pumps, solar panels, batteries and smart electric vehicle charging to transform the way London generates, supplies and uses clean local energy in buildings and transport.
Retrofit Accelerator - Innovation Partnership
Social landlords are committed to decarbonising their housing stock, but current approaches to procuring deep retrofit works are cumbersome, expensive and to date have not driven the expansion of the market required to meet London’s climate change targets.
To address this, the Mayor’s Retrofit Accelerator – Homes programme has developed an ‘Innovation Partnership’ model. This new procurement approach brings together social landlords and the supply chain together in order to develop scalable solutions that accelerate the pace of deep, whole-house retrofit while driving down costs and growing jobs in the supply chain.
Grow Back Greener Fund
COVID-19 has shone a spotlight on the importance of accessible green space for Londoners’ health and wellbeing, but it has also highlighted that not everyone has easy access to green spaces. To help address this the Mayor has provide an additional £650,000 to support greening projects through his Grow Back Greener fund, on top of the £1.1 million he allocated at the beginning of this year to green urban areas, including those with limited access to green space. Charities and community groups affected by the crisis were able to apply for funding, helping them retain jobs and support people to develop their skills, while delivering new greening projects in areas of need. Successful projects will be announced in the coming weeks.
The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, today launched the first part of London’s Green New Deal fund with £10 million invested in projects to boost green jobs, tackle the climate emergency and address inequalities. This sits alongside the investment he is making to support action on the climate and ecological emergency through other City Hall programmes on housing, adult education, skills and transport.
The first phase of the fund will secure around 1,000 jobs for Londoners, and support the green industries that are crucial to meeting the city’s climate targets and recover from the economic and social impacts of COVID-19. The jobs will be in areas such as solar panel installation and other programmes to make homes more energy efficient.
New data shows that London’s £48 billion green economy now supports five per cent of jobs in the capital – it is worth more than the construction and manufacturing sectors combined and has grown rapidly over the last decade, creating more than 161,000 new jobs in that time*. The Mayor’s Green New Deal Fund supports the London Recovery Board’s ambition to double the size of the green economy in London to £100 billion by 2030, an ambition that would kick-start greater job growth over the next decade. The pan-London Recovery Board – co-chaired by the Mayor of London – co-ordinates the planning for London's future post-COVID.
The fund will also tackle inequalities exposed by the COVID-19 crisis. London has some of the highest levels of fuel poverty in the country with one in nine** London households unable to meet the cost of heating their homes. Energy efficiency and low-carbon heat projects will cut energy bills and improve living conditions for thousands of Londoners. Funding will be provided to green London Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), in particular supporting Black Asian Minority Ethnic and female-led enterprises, and also support London Living Wage paid internships for those starting their careers into cleantech businesses – which are business that develops solutions to environmental challenges through technology.
The Mayor’s Green New Deal demonstrates Sadiq’s world-leading commitments to tackle the climate emergency including setting a bold target to make London a zero carbon city by 2030 and having a climate plan for London that is compatible with the highest ambition of the Paris Climate Agreement. Once projects from the first £10m fund are completed, they will save up to 20,000 tonnes of CO2 per year directly and support the ability to rapidly scale up further carbon savings across London.
The new fund will boost the green economy by supporting SME jobs as well as creating and retaining a range of jobs such as solar panel installers, designers, engineers and various jobs in construction including site managers, supervisors and builders.
This initial £10m investment from the GLA will be broken down into three areas:
The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan said: “I am delighted to be investing £10 million in projects that will create green collar jobs in London as part of our Green New Deal that will both support our economic recovery from COVID, and tackle inequalities faced in our city.
“The funding will directly help those most likely to experience cold and damp homes, and also support Londoners with limited access to green space. We must rebuild our city post COVID so that it’s cleaner, greener and fairer.
“With just under a year to go until the UK hosts COP26, the government this week set out its ambition for meeting its climate targets, but this can only be achieved if the Government gives cities the power and funding they need to deliver. We have a proven track record that shows when cities are empowered to deliver, they are given the ability to deliver the transformation that we need to our economy and society.”
Lord Karan Bilimoria, CBE DL, CBI President, said: “London’s Green New Deal prioritises bold, low-carbon investment which will be welcomed by business who want a green recovery from the pandemic that helps us towards net-zero emissions.
“The creation of 1,000 new skilled jobs for Londoners, and support for SMEs, are welcome moves. This will help bring about the green energy upgrades for homes, and clean transport links, that will give Londoners more opportunities to reduce their carbon emissions.
“Establishing effective partnerships between public and private sectors will be vital if London is to meet the Mayor’s goal of becoming a zero carbon city by 2030. Firms across London’s fast-growing green economy stand ready to support this.”
Mark Watts, Executive Director of C40 Cities, said: "Achieving a green and just recovery from the COVID crisis is essential to create jobs, save lives and build the foundations for a zero carbon economy. London is a global leader on climate and with this Fund, Mayor Khan once again is setting an example for others to follow. Actions like these are how cities around the world can collectively deliver a Global Green New Deal."
Jayne Clare, Managing Director, Energetik said: “We’re delighted to receive this funding which will be spent in two distinct areas. The first element will allow us to pilot and establish a methodology for retrofit connections at scale. Space heating and hot water accounts for over 20% of the UK’s carbon emissions and is one of the biggest challenges to decarbonising the UK. This project will help Energetik retrofit future-proofed, very low carbon heating infrastructure to existing homes to supporting Enfield and London with its decarbonisation targets. In addition, we’re very pleased to receive funding which will support the creation of a cross-borough, large scale heat network in north London. By providing our neighbouring boroughs with the same low-carbon heat we have access to, we are able to directly assist in their local decarbonisation plans.”
Syed Ahmed, Chair of Community Energy London said: "The Mayor's London Community Energy Fund has been hugely successful in driving community-led action on carbon reduction and fuel poverty projects across the city. London is now in the vanguard of community energy and at the same time we are seeing more and more Londoners who want to get involved. We are excited with this new expanded fourth round of the London Community Energy Fund, and groups will continue to focus on delivering projects that support those communities most affected by the pandemic."
16th November to 22nd November is Self Care Week.
I was invited by Dollhaus London to do a short Instagram piece to camera about what Self Care means to me.
Self Care is about taking that time out to take care of your self. People may do this in different ways. For me personally I have found that staying physically well and mentally well have gone together hand in hand.
I always make sure I take that time out to stay physically and mentally well. Even if it has been a really long and draining day.
Follow Dollhaus London on Instagram here https://www.instagram.com/dollhauslondon/
Detectives investigating a murder in north London are renewing appeals for information as they name the teenage victim.
Police were called at 15:50hrs on Thursday, 12 November to Northwick Park in Harrow, following reports of a stabbing close to the underpass leading to Northwick Park Underground Station.
Officers attended, and a 17-year-old was found suffering from stab injuries. He was given first aid at the scene by officers prior to the arrival of the London Ambulance Service.
Despite the best efforts of emergency services, he was pronounced dead at 16:31hrs.
He has been named as Jamalie Maleek Deacon Matthew, from the Harrow area. His next of kin have been informed.
Detectives from the Specialist Crime Command (Homicide) are investigating.
Detective Chief Inspector Jane Topping, said: “I am urging anyone who witnessed the moments leading up to Jamalie’s murder, or the stabbing itself, to come forward and speak with us. A young man has lost his life in the most tragic and needless of circumstances. His, and his family’s future, has been taken from them.
“I need to hear from anyone who was in the area at the time; I am certain that someone has that piece of information that will help us to trace the person responsible. Please do the right thing, and come forward.”
Jamalie’s family, said: “The whole family is deeply saddened and utterly devastated about the passing of Jamalie. We all knew of his ambition to study Law, and coming to terms with the tragedy that has unfolded still feels so surreal. We are pleading with the public to share any piece of information regarding this incident.”
There have been no arrests made at this time and enquiries continue.
Anyone who has information, video / images that could assist police is asked to call the incident room on 020 8358 0100 or via 101 quoting reference Cad 4735/12Nov.
If you don’t want to speak to the police, contact Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
My thoughts and condolences go to the friends and family of the victim whose life was tragically taken away. Please help if you have any information that could help.
Krupesh Hirani
Today I need to share some bad news with you. Confirmed cases of coronavirus in Brent are rising quickly again. This is serious and the human cost is real and truly devastating. We see in the news every day that people are dying from coronavirus, including here in Brent at Northwick Park Hospital. Older people and particularly Asian men seem to be most affected. If you want to protect your loved ones – your parents, aunties, uncles and grandparents – you cannot afford to ignore the rules.
The current national restrictions mean that we all must stay at home, avoid seeing relatives or friends who we do not live with and follow the Public Health Rules. The rules are slightly different to the lockdown earlier this year. Schools and other types of education have stayed open. But the only way to lower the rate of infection in Brent, and protect our freedoms, is to stick to the rules. This is life and death.
This weekend Hindus, Sikhs and Jains will be celebrating Diwali, the festival of lights. Religious festivals and celebrations are such a big part of what makes Brent so special. I know how incredibly difficult the pandemic has been for people of all faiths. Earlier this year, Eid was very different. It’s likely that Hanukkah and Christmas won’t be the same either.
As a person of faith, I feel for you. These celebrations are normally a time when families, friends and neighbours come together. None of us wants to stop seeing our loved ones – particularly at such important times of the year. I know how disappointed many of you who were looking forward to celebrating Diwali with your loved ones, at a time when we need hope and light more than ever, will be. But the terrible reality is that we have got to make hard sacrifices together.
Temples in Brent have decided to remain closed this weekend. I want to thank everyone involved for making this responsible choice. I also want to personally thank everyone who will be celebrating at home and online instead, and wish you a Diwali that brings happiness and joy to you and your family. By staying at home you’ll be helping to protect those closest to you – especially older relatives who may be extremely clinically vulnerable, and are at risk of becoming very seriously ill if they pick up the virus. Although the celebrations will be different, there are still plenty of ways to mark Diwali safely. There is also a virtual Diwali event online
The current restrictions are essential to keep Brent safe, and we must all play our part together. There is no single outbreak in the borough. Instead, we believe COVID-19 is being passed on through community transmission. Most likely, this means people are transferring the virus to family and friends by visiting them in their homes.
So please, stay at home and follow the important Hands, Face, Space guidance. If you do develop symptoms of the virus, stay at home and book a free test straight away by calling 020 8937 4440.
If we all follow the rules and stop the virus spreading among our communities, we will be able to look to better times ahead.