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Wembley Central Area Profile

www.biglocalwembleycentral.org https://twitter.com/WembleyBigLocal https://www.facebook.com/BigLocalWembleyCentral

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Introduction to Big Local Wembley Central : the Project Background Big Local Wembley Central (BLWC) is the Big Local Area for Wembley Central, London Borough of Brent. This area was selected in December 2012 as part of the final 50 Big Local Areas in Wave Three of the overall Big Local Programme.

The initial stages of BLWC In the ‘Pre­Getting Started’ phase, our Big Local Representative, Micah Gold, worked with local stakeholders to research initial areas of focus, and to identify a local trusted organisation to manage the project. With the creation of a loose network of people and stakeholders, a nascent steering group was formed, which soon selected CVS Brent as the local trusted organisation (LTO).

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Getting Started A part time BLWC coordinator was employed for 3 days a week (started 16th October), together with match funding secured from Brent Council. At the start of November 2013, the BLWC survey of those who live, work and study in the area was compiled and launched. The intention was to gather the views of 10% of the BLWC area’s population, by collecting online responses via www.biglocalwembleycentral.org, and using paper surveys in door­to­door collections, circulation to and through local community groups, and other outlets eg. the library, Safer Neighbourhoods, youth engagement team; and through creating a Big Local presence at ‘roadshows’ and special events. The BLWC Steering Group met regularly every month at Ealing Road Library or Wembley Youth Centre. A good number of community events (clean­ups, door knocking, drop­ins, road shows, etc) have been run, with a number of local volunteers, though residents of the BLWC map have been in a minority on the fast­changing team. We have managed to build and create an up­to­date website with full social media integration, together with a calendar of events; regular Big Local Coordinator reports have been produced, and some newsletter bulletins. A Big Local “Happening” on 21st June 2014 was held as a “Development Day”, and two Community Markets in September and December 2104 have helped us come together with local residents, stakeholders, and councillors, giving further opportunity to take into account their views. November 2014 saw an unexpected breakthrough when the Hub Group, who now own Chesterfield House, gave us the keys to a vacant unit in Wembley Central (formerly Brent Council’s Children and Families Information Service had been until 2012). We have a lease to use the premises until November 2015. Several busy weeks were spent on making the unit useable, with a team of volunteers to clean the place and we have ‘hit the ground running’, proving the potential of valuable community space in the centre of Wembley. The finer details of a regular programme are still being finalised, but as well as Drop­Ins we are already hosting a Job Club, an Advice Session, IT training, music and dance opportunities; a weekly family support day is about to be launched; English Conversation training and sessions are coming soon. Other ideas are in the pipeline.

Profile and Visioning stage All of the above has been giving us opportunities not just to talk with locals about the vision for the area, but to test out some of it as it emerges, and feed the results back into the discussion. As we look at the survey results and

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continue the conversations, new ideas are being fed in faster than we can follow them up. This is an exciting phase. People of the Big Local area, now is your time! About The Area Profile What it is A Big Local profile is designed to provide a useful overview of your Big Local area. It is about ‘where are we now?’ and ‘where do we want Wembley Central to be?’ The profile is designed to highlight current local strengths and challenges, and will describe what it could look and feel like for the local area to be an even better place to live. Local people and organisations from the area have been giving input and help in producing it, and we offer it as a useful resource for residents and anybody working in the area. Why we need a profile The Profile will help us form our Big Local Plan and make decisions about Big Local spending. It will also help us look back and assess change over time. Profiling BigLocalWembleyCentral This document is the result of analysis of the BLWC survey data and a wealth of other statistics relating to the area from various sources. It also contains participant observation, informal interview material, stories and anecdotes collected by volunteers and the co­ordinator; instead of just relying on statistics, this ‘soft’ data, it is hoped, helps us to go deep in discovering what makes this vibrant area tick. A number of people have given input of various kinds, for which we are grateful. It is a ‘work in progress,’ and your comments and feedback are welcome.

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The geography of BLWC The map (see page 2) is bisected North to South by wide railway tracks, and West to East by Wembley High Road; these four sections seem to relate outwards more than they relate towards each other. The western boundary of the Ealing Road is often referred to as part of ‘Little India’ (most of which lies just to the South of the map). North of the High Road, the map boundary runs through the base of King Edward’s Park. Unlike many of the 150 Big Local areas, Wembley Central does not have a sense of identity as a bounded area relating to the BLWC map. In common with the rest of London, people expect their lives to be lived across a fairly wide area as they travel to work, for leisure, or for

social life. If you ask someone on the High Road whether they are local, (unless they are heading for the station on their hour­or­more commute home), the response is usually “YES I’m local! I live in Monks Park” or “..Kilburn” or “..Preston Road” or “Sudbury”. Many people feel strongly that this is ‘their patch’ because they grew up here and still spend a lot of time here.

If a resident of Lonsdale Avenue opens the door to you at an evening, there is a strong chance they have returned home from college in Stanmore or work in another part of London. “It’s great having the station here. You can easily get all over.”

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“Lively & busy” “The new plaza is well lit, with up to date skyscrapers” Wembley High Road is a bustling thoroughfare bringing workers and shoppers from far and wide into the BLWC area. The road is heavy with buses, lorries and cars. Seldom does a few minutes pass without the sound of a siren; and the pavements are just as crowded, with queues at the bus stops and people shopping or heading in and out of the station.The redevelopment in Central Square includes high street brands but Tesco’s and others have been struggling to attract footfall, and are hoping things will improve once the years of building contractors are behind us. Primark and Wilkinsons do a brisk trade on the High Road amongst the pawnbrokers and betting shops, including, above BetGeorge, modest registered headquarters of the vastly successful Irwin empire. Beauty shops abound, and Bright Choice offers rent­to­buy furniture and household items. There are three charity shops and several banks, though two of these are just moving out. Ealing Road has an abundance of jewellers. Money exchange facilities and mobile phone and network vendors remind us that this short

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stretch of High Road reaches round the globe.

Perhaps the most notable trademark of the area is the number of different shopfronts that lead into small arcades, containing not just the grocers or money exchange but a cabbie's, internet cafe, etc. These places each function as a community centre in themselves, for those who relate to a small region of another country usually on another continent, making it possible to rent or find a room or a tutor or a musician from ‘home’. They are a valuable source of identity and cohesion within these communities. A Town Centre Partnership of businesses was formed a decade ago but since 2012 has fallen into abeyance. Wembley Crime Prevention Team and the Safer Neighbourhoods Team work hard trying to keep some cooperation between businesses alive. “No decent fashion shops; no decent pubs, nightlife. It’s a shambles, gone downhill” The story of ‘How things used to be’ is a favourite theme amongst long­term Wembley residents. 30­40 years ago, before Watford and Brent Cross, let alone Westfields, people used to visit Wembley High Road from ‘all over’, to shop at Marks and Spencer, C&A, and other fashionable department stores, as well as a thriving local market. Primark, TK Maxx and Wilkinsons now serve as similar attractions, and people travel here for culturally­specific shopping, especially to Ealing Road. But there is no avoiding the fact that the aspirational

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character of Wembley life has been replaced with a certain sense of disappointment. Although some of the famous brands are now only down the road at the London Designer Outlet (opened in 2013), a sense of abandonment is often voiced by those who remember the ‘old days’. This is not invisible to the Council: The corner of Wembley High Road and Ealing Road is receiving special attention ”As a designated Opportunity Site, the area is seen to be key to the continued improvement of the town centre. However due to the

complexity of the site… a series of development schemes have not been progressed resulting in steady decline over a number of years.”(SPD12) 1

A council study on retail need in Brent in 2006 contained a whole chapter on Wembley , 2

saying “At a national, strategic and local level Wembley is the primary town centre in the borough.” It recognises that Brent Cross, Harrow, Ealing, White City all compete for local shoppers’ attention, though. “It’s good having the London Designer Outlet near” ­ but early observation of this new retail venture close to Wembley Central shows many empty units. Whatever your choice of fast­food outlet, you will find it on the High Road, as well as restaurants serving food from all over the globe. At night time these attract unwelcome noise. Kiosks spring up and close down: a man sawing wood to build a display counter whilst serving up dabeli and toasties to the bus stop queue lasted less than two months. With Wembley Stadium a 20 minute walk away, at least a couple of pubs welcome the match day crowds.

1 Supplementary Planning Document (SPD 12) http://brent.gov.uk/media/867630/WWE%20SPD12.pdf?_ga=1.264901132.245386204.1394792559 2http://brent.gov.uk/media/331495/Brent%20retail%20need%20and%20capacity%20study%20final%20report%20February%202006%20Roger%20Tym%20and%20Partners.pdf?_ga=1.265894540.245386204.1394792559

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“Wembley Stadium is nearby”

“The state of the place” The constant mess of rubbish, fast food packaging and waste from homes, shops and eateries is one of the things at the top of the local agenda. Unemptied bins overflow in every corner and alleyway; mountains of discarded mattresses bear witness to the fast turnover of tenants, and some of the piles of refuse are six foot tall and twice as wide. The bin­barrow men are a frequent sight but fail to scratch the surface of the problem. Residents who roll up their sleeves and join in with Big Local clean­up events are a tiny minority, though others watch in disbelief and are proved right in their predictions that it will soon be just as bad again; food outlets blame the residents and vice versa, but rubbish collection services are costly and careless landlords seem to evade responsibility. Brent runs a collection service for large items which is now free, though not all residents are aware of this; smartphone users can report fly tipping etc through the Cleaner Brent app, but conversations with locals around Big Local Clean­Up events suggest the scale of the problem leaves us all feeling defeated. “Make the place clean and healthy like it was in the ‘50s and ‘60s”

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Housing Rapid expansion of new developments has been changing the face of Wembley Central for at least a decade, but has not kept pace with the influx of more people. The population density of 91.9 persons per ha is higher than the population density for Brent 72 persons per ha. Within Wembley Central the population density varies from 73.3 to 139.0 persons per ha. The number of households in Wembley Central increased from 3,639 in 2001 to 4,380 in 2011, resulting in an increase in the mean household size from 3.0 persons in 2001 to 3.4 persons in 2011. Across the ward, the mean household size varied from 2.9 to 3.8 persons.(WCDiversityProfile) The housing market, still buoyant locally, is predominantly private rented, much of it Edwardian or 1930’s stock. There is some social housing (flats at either end of Station Grove). Dwellings in the north of the map, more likely to be owner­occupied and more settled,

are next to patches belonging to entrepreneurial landlords; in Elm Road a terrace of houses has become an extension to a budget hotel, for example. In the centre of Wembley Central blocks of flats, social housing like Lodge Court, run­down and devoid of recent investment, sit alongside others newly­built; significant works are still in progress. The new hotel blocks the view of some of the social housing flats, but across the square residents at the top of Central Apartments are proud of their views and their comfortable up­to­date living spaces. Down to the South East, there are a handful of streets between the railway and the school playing fields; some of the residents of these houses relate more to the streets below Wembley Triangle around their children's’ school; they use the High Road for shopping and public transport, but have little to do with their immediate area. “My

family has lived here for fourteen years! I didn’t know there was a youth club round the corner”. These streets (London Road, Lonsdale Ave, Cecil Ave and their neighbours) are a mix of owner­occupied and, increasingly, privately rented dwellings. Across the map, most women spoken to during the day rightly take enormous pride in their beautiful homes, but it is common to hear bitter complaints. “I don’t let my children play there; people urinate through the railings” With much new high­density housing is being introduced, developers like St Modwen are releasing figures showing better­than­expected profits. Offices are being converted into flats,

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and new­build high rise apartments are under construction, in common with Alperton and Wembley Park close by. Typically for London, house prices are often beyond the reach of working families; there is a trend of properties being bought by developers as they become vacant, and sometimes without any further investment becoming Houses in Multiple Occupation. “too many flats being built, cramming more and more people into the area; multiple occupancy rental properties with untidy front gardens” Some are shared by a surprising number of people, who pay by ‘cot’; ‘hot­bed’ arrangements are fixed up through informal networks of street vendors and the like. The constant supply of tenants seeking to live amongst their own people affirms cultural identity and community cohesion. The owners of local shops and restaurants invest in local property in this way, and no doubt the clustering is good for business as well as ensuring members of the same community look out for each other. Unfortunately a by­product of this is a sense of displacement by more long­term inhabitants, which is often expressed (blatantly or with a sense of awkwardness) as a racial issue.”Certain areas are not clean; certain shops do not clean up their mess.” We are yet to see how new regulations to license landlords will improve the situation. There are currently a high number of homes where each room might have four or five mattresses or just sleeping bags on the floor, or bunk beds with families sharing beds up to ten people per room, no other furniture, condensation streaming down the walls. These situations are by no means limited to one or two ethnic groupings. Dividing ‘walls’ are held up with duct tape, landings are used by families as the only communal area or the only space for children to do homework. There are reports of cockroach and ant infestations in kitchens. The situation undoubtedly has a high impact on the way people feel about their area and their neighbours. People living in these houses do not invite visitors in; perhaps they wish to stay invisible, or maybe they are ashamed of the fleas and rats. Energy efficiency issues, unsurprisingly, are low on the agenda of absentee landlords. Meanwhile, rough sleepers, up to five at a time, have found shelter in the loading area of Argos; language difficulties make it hard to ascertain how long individuals have been there, but the ‘shanty town’, tucked away out of public sight, is a long­term feature by local standards. These seem to be new arrivals in the country and tend to be young adults; older ‘gentlemen and women of the road’, often of fragile physical and mental health, are familiar on the High Road and treated with a mixture of good­humoured tolerance and annoyance. It’s not all run­down. Many have houses or flats here that are lavishly and luxuriously furnished and immaculately clean. Some of these report that they are looking to move out, or wish they could afford to. Others have no intention or desire to go.

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As postgraduates from the RCA note, the Wembley Growth area (BLWC plus Wembley Triangle and parts of Wembley Park) contains a “high percentage of professionals living in the area but very few work locally”. It would certainly make a difference to the BLWC volunteering situation to “Increase the number of people who live and work in Wembley”.They recommend in their report: “ Address lack of community cohesion...Investigate housing types to target transience whilst addressing housing shortage” WCU1.67 The local prevalence of extremely poor housing conditions is shocking to many of us. But some of those who live there are shocked instead by our lifestyles, or how much we take for granted. Some are very content here, and their survey responses highlight what differing priorities people here often have: “It’s all good. There is nothing bad about this place”. Transport ”Easy access to bus stops, multiple bus services” ”Fantastic to go to work, good service” Wembley Central Station serves the Bakerloo, Overground, Southern and Midland networks so it’s a major route in and out of London as well as a gateway to Wembley Stadium. Typically during off peak times ten trains an hour pass through. For some years now the entrance has been dominated by construction work by St Modwen in the Central Square area.

“Paan on the walls and the dirty bus stops” Bus services: There are around twenty bus stops in the BLWC area serving ten bus routes including some round­the­clock services, and local buses are often full to bursting at peak times. A number of mini­cab firms operate out of the area too. Traffic is always heavy along the High Road, and parking is a contentious local issue, especially for those flats built with no car park facility and whose residents are not eligible for the residents’ parking permit scheme “because all the spaces

have already been taken up”. St Modwen run a multi­storey car park in Central Square and there is a large car park in Curtis Lane, unpopular because the area is run down. People often comment on the difficulty of finding parking spaces when they visit local doctors’ surgeries, and how hard (and expensive) it is when visitors come by car. The problem becomes even worse when there is a match on at Wembley Stadium.

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Event Day parking restrictions mean that less spaces are available. People living, working or worshipping in the area have to apply for special permits in order to get where they need to be. In London Road some residents claim they cannot get to their own homes because the road gets blocked off. “Too many bookies and markets on the road; it’s turning into a slum. No room, too many prams and cars; needs widening” Open spaces adjoin the map (King Edward VII Park, Ark Elvin school playing fields). Although part of King Edward VII Park (the bowls pavilion and the bowls greens) is located within the map, there are no sizable communal green spaces in the BLWC area. Both these

valued areas have recently mobilised locals in campaigns to prevent open park land being lost to developers: in the case of the playing field, decisions had already been made, but there is hope that residents at some stage might at least get some say in the details of the plans for the remaining space. The discussions are ongoing about a possible Welsh School using park land backing on to Princes Court and Keswick Gardens, although planning application to occupy the Bowls Pavilion and build an additional classroom in the park was rejected at the March planning committee Two issues are

highlighted here: the perceived lack of transparency in the planning and consultation process, and the sense of encroaching development adding to the overcrowding (and subtracting from the more pleasant parts of the area, such as this tranquil western half of the park). The Library in Ealing Road has a patch of land behind it which is increasingly being opened up for summer activities. Access is necessarily limited to times when staff can supervise it, but outdoor activities there are well attended. There are allotments behind Cecil Avenue but very few front gardens or established trees other than along the railway north of the High Road. There is no publicly­owned open paved space either, although the square outside the station is gradually emerging from behind the builder's’ hoardings, and the stone seating blocks are well used even in the winter winds. Play areas are similarly hard to find, despite a strong sense of being family­oriented locally;

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one resident whose flat overlooks the only public playground, tucked away in Copland Road, has appointed himself its defender against drug dealers who operate openly. It is extremely rare to see a child there. Burnaby Court has a communal playground, but mothers express anxiety about goings­on in the service road adjoining it and are asking for it to be walled off. “people drinking in alleyways and back of buildings, teenagers behaving inappropriately” As other reports show, environmental issues are high on the agenda: This is how The Wembley Growth Area document produced by Meanwhile Space puts it: “Their living environment is in poor quality especially the outdoor environment: strong feeling of wider barriers to its surrounding environment”. Support Services The level of support given by some citizens of Wembley to each other proves that community spirit is still alive and kicking. Statutory support services, however, are less accessible to BLWC residents since council agencies which used to be based on Wembley High Road recently moved down to the new Civic Centre in Wembley Park. A number of welfare associations such as the Brent Indian Association provide free advice services for members (it is usual for these bodies to be operating across Brent as a whole). There is a Jobcentre in St John’s Road. The ‘local’ Citizens’ Advice Bureau, at which only those arriving before 8am are likely to get an appointment, requires a 45 minute journey by public transport. For those less able to easily travel around (or those whose neighbours prevent them from sleeping at night) this provides extra challenges. Agencies such as Age UK tend to have their nearest base at Stonebridge and Harlesden, the other side of the physical and psychological barrier of the North Circular Road. Since changes to Legal Aid, residents unable to afford solicitor’s fees have little or no access to legal support; some travel out of the borough to Harrow Women’s Centre, or attempt to represent themselves. Housing disputes and benefit sanctions cases are a cause of stress to many, and although people do not talk about debt much, moneylenders and pawnshops thrive. Big Local has begun discussions about credit unions and debt management courses but those most in need do not easily find help. At this time when we hear discussions in the news about welfare cuts and benefits sanctioning of people with mental health problems, there is plenty of anecdotal evidence that the complex stresses people are under leads to a sense of spiralling downwards. As The Meanwhile Space document on the Wembley Growth area puts it, “In Wembley Central and Ealing Road, barriers to housing and services are quite

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high... The index of deprivation for old people is quite significant” Leisure facilities All that London has to offer is within reach for those who can travel. Less than half an hour’s walk away Wembley Park has the Arena and Stadium visited from all over the country. The BLWC area includes a couple of privately­owned gyms near the station which seem to be predominantly appealing to commuters, and a large number of betting shops on the High Road, which are mainly a male domain. Community facilities seem at a glance to be abundant: the BLWC map includes the following: Mandhata Youth and Community Centre, Rosemead Avenue: a long­established base run by a Hindu management team, supporting yoga sessions, lunches for elderly people, summer outings for young people etc., and rented out to other groups and for parties etc. Patidar House, London Road: the headquarters of a federation with 17,000 families in membership, described as a Gujarati Hindu Patel organisation. A purpose­built community centre with nursery, auditorium, dance studios etc, rented out for (amongst other things) Council consultative meetings; used for festival celebrations whose wide catchment makes the BLWC map seem tiny. http://www.patidars.org/ Sahabah Scout Hut, Station Grove: A thriving scout troop and an Islamic Friday night Youth Club use the premises by the railway tracks, and muslim families come here from far and wide. The dedicated leaders report frustrations in their efforts to engage with the local community and are keen to work with other groups but resources (especially human ones) are very overstretched. Brent Indian Association, Ealing Road Established as an organisation since the mid 1960’s and on the Ealing Road site since 1976, this pioneering association supports members with free advice on immigration and other matters and has a large number of affiliated organisations. http://www.biauk.com/content/about­bia.html Friends of Barham Library, Wembley High Road The campaigning group formed to oppose the closing and subsequent selling­off of Barham Library (just west of the area) has been running what is now effectively a second­hand bookshop and point of contact for local active citizens on Wembley High Road. It is not clear what will happen soon when the premises are no longer available to them. Ealing Road Library is one of Brent’s surviving public libraries and a busy hub where elderly men of the Ealing Road area go to relax and children use the computers after school. The facilities are in great demand and the staff do the best they can to deal with the demands of teenagers and others. A full programme of children's activities runs in the school holidays and a film club at weekends, but the after school homework support has been cut back and in the evening there are no staff around except the security man.”If I need internet or computers then I will go to libraries and finish my homework”.

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Lodge Court Tenants & Residents Association room, Station Grove: a rare example of shared space, but lacking investment of people and money; occasionally used for a tenants & Residents Association which is struggling to revive. Wembley Central Mosque is the largest of the places of worship on the map and has recently undergone considerable renovation and improvement work. Language classes and faith teaching happen daily www.wembleycentralmasjid.co.uk “Inner Space”, opposite Wembley Central station, is a bookshop and complex of rooms from which Brahma Kumaris, a Willesden­based run courses, meditation sessions and teaching events; it has been closed for some months but has just reopened after refurbishment. www.innerspace.org/wembley Shiva Temple is the Hindu temple next door to the mosque. It occupies an old Labour hall and serves many meals a day. Like all local faith groups is almost entirely staffed by volunteers www.eelapatheeswarar.com Shri Baba Temple, across Union Road from this, is another adapted old building which may not have glamorous facilities but is well used. www.shirdisai.org.uk Ealing Road Methodist Church is home to the Wembley Prayer fellowship (most churches with buildings seem to host other congregations) and a Day Centre uses the hall behind it. The Church of God in Wembley meets on Wednesday evenings and Sundays on premises near the railway line. Wembley Spiritualist Church has a small building in St John’s Road. ­Wembley Youth and Community Centre is just off the edge of the map: a well­established and well­used facility run by a Brent Council Youth Worker with strong long­term local connections, in a somewhat tired converted and extended cricket pavilion, but with a gym, boxing ring, meeting room etc. Although many people pass through the Centre, it seems surprising how few of them inhabit the BLWC map. It is signposted on the ground; the fly­tipping outside has been addressed, and efforts to make the dark path from London Road less intimidating are in place. A large number of faith groups meet outside the area but are represented by BLWC residents, notably St Joseph’s Roman Catholic church at Wembley Triangle, Jehovah’s Witnesses also at the Triangle, Gurdwaras some distance away, Synagogues in Forty Avenue and further afield; many churches meeting in schools and other venues as well as their own buildings, and the rest of the wide variety London has to offer. The BLWC is part of two Anglican parishes, St John’s Wembley and St James’ Alperton, both of which are active in the community, sharing buildings with nurseries and other­language fellowships, etc.; Alperton Baptist, the (pentecostal), and Bethel Fellowship (which has an impressive complex of buildings) are not far away; and other fellowships meet in schools. Another methodist church, Park Lane, is just outside the border; as are two more temples, including the recently­built Shree Sanatan Mandir www.svnuk.org. Shri Swaminaryan, a mile or two away in Neasden, also serves many residents of the area. These last two famous and very impressive buildings are examples of what resources can be mustered and what a motivated local community can achieve.“people get a chance to explore all celebrations”

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Wembley Central People “Multicultural societies living in harmony” Perhaps the most wonderful thing about the BLWC area is the diversity of people. It would surely be hard to find another area of its size in which so many different ethnicities and cultural groups are represented and which, on the whole, peaceably co­exist. The third most frequently­posted comment in answer to “What is good about Wembley Central” (after ‘shops & restaurants’ and proximity to the Stadium) was this diversity. (The Council website reports that 22.9% of households in Wembley Central have no one who can speak English; although this may be a fair daytime estimate, as those who have volunteered for BLWC door­knocking can tell you, there seems to be some problem with the calculation­)

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The electoral ward of which we are a part of has a higher incidence of non­English speakers than Brent as a whole:

A table from the JSNA report shows the low proportion of white ethnicity in the population but does not discriminate between different whites or asians; in Wembley Central identity is spoken of in terms of Algerian or Romanian, Tamil or Gujarati, Somali or Jamaican. Our frequent failure to distinguish between “the Indians” or “the blacks” undoubtedly fuels each group's’ sense that they are a minority:

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The Wembley Central Diversity Profile goes into a bit more detail.

Recent figures for the Wembley Growth area tell us 37% of the population were born in the UK. A high proportion of local people are recent arrivals from Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe or the Middle East. As the Big Local team demonstrates, once people are working together it doesn’t matter who we are; the challenge to those of us on the inside is to keep working to

include those who do not yet share this privilege. When collecting survey data door­to­door we were often mistaken for ‘officials’ from the council or somewhere. It is hard to know how this influences people’s responses, especially if language is a barrier. Newcomers frequently report high levels of satisfaction with life in Wembley, sometimes saying there is nothing they don’t like about it. The significant numbers of people who dwell here for the short­term are by no means all in the Multiple­Occupancy situation where immigration status may be uncertain and new

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arrivals are yet to settle. Large numbers of professionals are temporary residents; for example, the Bank of India owns several floors of Central Apartments, in which workers and families are housed, maybe for a few months, maybe for years, but often not staying long­term. The statistics show that we live in an area in which no one group dominates; this is reflected in local discourse where people of every race feel themselves to be an outnumbered minority. This is expressed in that well known and often­heard phrase “I’m not racist, but…” Religious affiliation A very high proportion of residents are people of faith, with all major world faiths strongly represented. The following table represents six electoral wards and the BLWC population is very approximately a third of one of them, but it allows comparisons:

(Source: JNSA)

It will be seen that Wembley Central ward is unusual in having the smallest percentage with no religion and the smallest percentage of Christians. The table below, from Brent’s Diversity Profile, describes recent shifts in religious allegiance in the ward: (for “this report”, see references on final page of Profile document)

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Incidentally: Lottery issues: There were some hesitations (from all three major faiths) about involvement with the lottery (representatives of each admitted ambivalent attitudes to it on gambling grounds) but a desire to bring any improvements to the life of Wembley people is something all people strongly held in common. “Where are they all” Consistently the faith and community groups in the area who have been open to Big Local have discovered the residents of the BLWC area are under­represented in their membership. Without exception, all the faith groups contacted claimed to have good local connections, but the challenge of producing a handful of surveys from residents of ‘the map’, even with a financial incentive towards running activities to engage people, proved far greater than anticipated. A similar situation was evident in other community groups: at two different Elders’ Lunches (one at Mandhata and the Brent Elders Group at the BIA), amongst approx 200 people on each occasion, one or none local resident was present. It was the same amongst similar numbers at the Scouts’ Iftar party, and at a Ramadan Comedy Night: visitors had come from all over London, but only the BLWC volunteers were from Wembley Central. The same is true in local acts of worship, football tournaments, toddlers’ groups and even to a large extent in the local secondary schools (aspiring locals send their children out of the area and local schools are largely populated by families from elsewhere in the borough). It seems BLWC residents are very dispersed in their community life, much of which takes place elsewhere. Supporting cohesion across diverse community groups is a challenge. It is human nature, especially when under stress, to display our tribal tendencies, and none of us find it easy when language barriers are immense and where there is no one place, except perhaps the bus stop or the station, where we meet together; even food and clothing shops are not shared in common. Representatives of every group spoken to claim to be inclusive and welcoming. “Anyone can come here!” But in practice, when a group shares lunch, or books a coach to the seaside, it is highly unusual to have a “visitor”.

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Countering the fragmentation, buildings like Patidar House, rented out for Brent Connects meetings etc; schools; and places of worship, play an important role. Coming together does happen, but cultural differences are cited by one Wembley resident who, rightly or wrongly, commented on the different approaches of West Indians and Indian people: “We should work together, but some of us don’t want to be stressing; most important thing is, relax! But some of us respect punctuality and if you can’t be organised, you aren’t showing respect”. Employment People do, however, live alongside each other more or less in harmony. BLWC residents tend to work outside the area, commuting into London against the flow of Council workers from Croydon and catering staff from Southall. Obviously this has implications for the local economy and for community cohesion. Males are unusually highly represented in the local population below the age of 65, after which there is a swing to an unusually high number of females. Overall in London, there are slightly more females than males, but the opposite is true here. There is a higher than expected number of working­age men. In the Wembley Locality (6 wards), 26% of the population is under 20 and 65% under 45, a relatively young population. The statistics for financial exclusion cite the ward as one of Brent’s most financially excluded and most in need of affordable credit. Household income shows the ward is significantly less well­off than surroundings:

Efforts have been made, notably by Meanwhile Space and the Coming Soon Club, to encourage local enterprise, and this month their work within the Big Local area (previously just outside) begins. Use of empty space is attracting much interest, but it remains to be seen whether any BLWC residents will find means of affording it. Provision for Students and Children BACES, an adult educational establishment, has recently closed down, and there is only one school on the Big Local map, Park Lane Primary. Breakfast and After­school clubs are on offer in common with other local schools. Relevant primary provision includes Elsley and St Joseph’s, Barham Primary and others further afield, and secondary provision includes Ark Elvin (formerly Copland, just under new management as an Academy since September 2014) which adjoins the map; Alperton High, Wembley High, Preston Manor and a number of faith schools including Swaminarayan. Schooling choice means that pupils are rarely educated

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with their neighbours, and efforts to engage schools with the Big Local project run up against the familiar problem: “the map is too small” for teachers and pupils whose concern is over a wider catchment area. The number of nurseries around the area reflects the daytime influx of workers. Patidar, Brent Indian Association, St John’s, Honeypot, mean parental choice for those who can afford it. School nurseries are thriving too, though these are off the BLWC map except at Park Lane. There is one toddler group run at Ealing Road Methodist and others further afield but the usual pattern of under­representation can be seen to indicate our map accurately highlights an area of need. Children's Centres are located in Chaplin Road and Alperton, again both off the map. McDonald's, KFC and the like provide most of the available shelter for teenagers after school; youth workers employed by groups of churches do what work they can but are based off our map and cover wide areas. “The index of deprivation for children is significant in Wembley Central and North of Wembley Central” (IDACI). Local Governance One of the arenas where different people come together is in matters of government and local policy­making. An active but tiny majority of residents appear at all sorts of meetings­ council consultations, Coming soon Club, Wembley Civic University, Big Local and so on. Our area again is poorly represented, but not without good support from the neighbouring streets. Big Local would not have made it this far without a handful of keen volunteers dedicated to the area although they live just outside it. We are proud that our steering group has strong representation from all major faith groups and racial backgrounds, and although the racial balance is not an exact replica of the BLWC demographic, it is not far off.

English conversation sessions and drop­ins are being facilitated by Big Local, but harder to address is widespread antipathy and cynicism about what perceived failure on the part of those in power to get to grips with the concerns of local people. Strong feelings were expressed by many, some of whom said they did not want anything to do with BLWC in the early stages, associating us with previous disappointments. Strong feelings were often expressed: “They are in the pockets of [developers], and they are squeezing us out”. These are supported by stories of failed investments and allegedly dubious consultation processes. Faith in the democratic process appears to have been damaged and

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there is a widespread mistrust.. “Public opinions don’t reach people who can make a difference; too lengthy a process”.For their part, councillors and council employees tell us they share our difficulties in mobilising locals. People have been interested to learn more about the community­led design of the Big Local programme, but we have had to work hard to convince them of the value of yet another survey.

Cllr Wilhelmina Mitchell­Murray, Cllr Sam Stopp, Cllr Krupa Sheth

­ Wembley Central Ward Councillors The current ward priorities for Wembley Central are rubbish dumping, youth engagement, apprenticeships and job opportunities. The latest ward working fund allocations reflect the findings about difficulties engaging the BLWC part of their area, having gone mostly to initiatives which, though they may stand to benefit BLWC people too, are based outside our map towards Sudbury or Alperton.

Community Safety “kids getting into trouble not enough for them to do”

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Many residents are reluctant to open their front doors, so much so that door­knocking volunteers declared that being waved away from behind the net curtains counted as one of our better results. Safety concerns may not be the only reason, of course, but there is no doubt that some live in considerable fear of their neighbourhood. “I hate it that my daughter has to come home from school past all this [squalor]. It’s unhygienic and some of these people...they’re not nice” Actual or perceived intimidation by neighbours is reported as a feature of some residents’ lives. The Safer Neighbourhood Team (SNT), based in Park Lane, work hard in the face of staff shortage and turnover, especially around the fast­food outlets in the evenings. One shopkeeper on the High Road told me he did not have the time to report the frequent incidences of drug­dealing witnessed; a more time­rich resident of Copland Road watches the drug­drop points and recently reported a gun in the bushes. The climate of fear is exacerbated by the sense of racial and cultural alienation, but many have decided they won’t let it rule their lives and go about their business anyway.

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The diagram above shows the most recent crime figures for the Super Output Area relating to the north of the BLWC map. Comparison with the diagram below shows us the extent of reported Anti­Social Behaviour concentrated on the High Road:

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“Gangs hanging around”

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Health and Wellbeing Wembley Health Centre, close by in Chaplin Road, always seems to be busy. Recent closure of services at Central Middlesex mean that Northwick Park is the nearest A&E hospital. There is one doctors’ practice in the BLWC area, meaning most patients have a considerable walk to a surgery. In the Wembley Locality, the Wembley Central ward reported least satisfaction with healthcare services. The abundance of fruit and veg available here from around the globe, often at cheaper than supermarket prices, should make healthy eating possible. Some of those with no cooking facilities keep fast food outlets busy, or enjoy the hospitality of the temple. JSNA reports that 8 out of 14 people across the six electoral wards do not eat the recommended amount of fruit and vegetables; levels of obesity are high and exercise low. The statistics also tell us that local life expectancy is up to 8.5 years lower than the highest in Brent. Incidence of TB is the highest in Brent. Mental illness is the largest cause of morbidity in the Wembley Locality, a sad fact that will probably not surprise any of us. The recorded incidence in Brent is 1 in 6, but no more localised figures are accessible; our survey results suggest it is not easy to articulate the concerns that many of us seem to share. The Brent Health and Wellbeing strategy 2014­2017 supports the objective to “Improve support in the community to help people remain independent”. “Wembley seems to have lost its sense of local community”

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About our research Collecting survey data has taken longer than expected, and the process itself has revealed some truth behind the statement made by several council staff and other community workers, that Wembley Central is notoriously hard to engage. The 412 surveys feeding in to this data have almost all been collected by volunteers on hard copies. Language problems are immense; several attempts to get BLWC materials translated have been thwarted by the unusually high number of languages required and problems of volunteer commitment to other priorities. Door­knocking can be a thankless task and it is common to spend up to two hours in the cold before managing to get two or three surveys completed. Overcrowding on the pavements and lack of public spaces has meant that volunteers outside the station had to work hard to get beyond the handful of people who kept coming back for the free treats on offer, to catch those rushing to and from work; typically for every 20 people who stopped, only 2 would be local residents. The Big Local steering group attempted to commission local youth groups and faith groups to the task, giving small grants in exchange for completed surveys, but they too reported difficulties and the number produced from this was small. The fuller picture requires that we use all the statistics available to us. JNSA surveys pertain to ‘The Wembley Locality’, which includes five other electoral wards as well as ours; they give useful London­wide and country­wide comparisons. Figures for Wembley Central electoral ward are focussed closer to home but cover a significantly wider area than BLWC. (see appendix for maps) It is important to acknowledge that BLWC survey data is inevitably skewed: for a start, non­English speakers and those wishing to remain invisible have not taken part; many women called their husbands to the door and would not be persuaded to have their own say; and there are subjects­ personal mental health issues, debt, etc.­ which are not often discussed with strangers at the door. For these reasons this Profile, based on ‘soft’ data, is subjective and opinionated; but it aims to represent truths about Wembley via input from a number of different sources. By consulting widely, researching through participant observation and informal interviews, it is offered as a tool for further work. Much further statistical analysis could be done: eg, see ONS Neighbourhood Statistics for further study. Volunteer support has, for a number of good reasons, been hard to find and harder to retain. We have worked hard to recruit volunteers who can prioritise turning up when they say they will, and who can understand each other and the processes. Training has been on offer for committee procedures, for example, but our pool of minute­takers remains small. The problem is not that Wembley people are unreliable; more that many of them are volunteering despite significant other challenges. In November 2014 BLWC acquired use of a unit in Chesterfield House, Park Lane, and this has proved a great asset, raising our profile and enabling us to pass the word out through fresh contacts made ‘on the ground’, where the need could be communicated in a more hospitable setting. True to form, most of the people coming forward live off the map, but we

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have a hardworking core very connected to the heart of Wembley. Social media and perseverance have done the rest. Survey analysis How long have you been in Wembley Central:

It is unclear how much this reflects the demographic, but it does show that those who have known the area for longer are motivated to answer questions about it. Gender of respondents

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Age of respondents

I feel that I belong here

A score of 1 shows those who strongly agree that they feel that they belong here, 3 is ‘don’t know’ and 5 is those who ‘strongly disagree’. (Many we spoke to hesitated a long time before answering this question, expressing a high degree of ambivalence­ before settling on a high score for allegiance.)

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I would like to do what I can to help make Wembley Central a better place

How would you like to be kept in touch

The open questions making up the bulk of the survey gave respondents freedom to suggest answers in a way that multiple choice does not. Some responses were grouped (eg. references to buses, cars etc were collected under transport; ‘shops’ covers all mentions of cafes etc. too...) Statistically insignificant responses do not show up here; these first graphs are simplified from 33% of the sample

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The best things about Wembley Central

The not so good things

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Where do we want to be “The difference I would like to see in ten years is…” Regretfully we have no count of the people who responded “Like it used to be” or “I hope i’m not here”. Both would probably have been statistically significant but we tended when interviewing people to push for a constructive response. This pie chart groups responses into the main areas mentioned. Priorities for spending the £1Million I would like the money to be spent on...FIRST CHOICE Sports & leisure 8%

Community activities 15%

Children & young people 24%

Older people 5%

Improving the environment 14%

Wellbeing & healthy

lifestyles 6%

Jobs & enterprise support 13%

Community safety 9%

Other 2%

blank 4%

I would like the money to be spent on...SECOND CHOICE Sports & leisure 11

Community activities 20

Children & young people 15

Older people 16

Improving the environment 12

Wellbeing & healthy

lifestyles 10

Jobs & enterprise support 6

Community safety 3

Other 3

blank 4

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­

“Ideas I have…” People found it harder to offer solutions than tell us about the problems! Some of their suggestions are presented in the following pages. The order of priorities given is: 1. Children and young people 2. Community activities 3. Improving the Environment 4. Jobs and Enterprise Support 5. Community safety 6. For sports and leisure 7. Health and wellbeing 8. For Older people

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1.“Ideas I have for CHILDREN & YOUNG PEOPLE are…”

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2.“Ideas I have for COMMUNITY ACTIVITIES are…”

Events

BOOKSHOPS AND LIBRARIES more local jobs

community centre

Community trips

king Edward’s park

Development of Chesterfield House

CREATIVE WEMBLEY MARKET.

community farms and farm shops,

farmers market

public fair, markets

play stuff for children

A RANGE OF COMMUNITY ACTIVITIES FOR VARIOUS AGES THAT CAN SUPPORT PEOPLE FOR LEISURE AND SELF DEVELOPMENT

Good activities for people to meet each other (like at the library) TO GET TOGETHER ONCE A YEAR TO HELP THE NEEDY, OLD AND YOUNG BY LISTENING community spaces where events can be held that include the whole community not just part of it!

A permanent venue to hold our community activities under the Big Local umbrella. Advice Centre

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3.“Ideas I have for IMPROVING THE ENVIRONMENT are…”

MORE SKIPS IN THE AREA

NO MORE BOOKIES

fine for fly tipping playgrounds and parks MORE PARKING

more cleaners

More shops, small businesses, libraries, schools, hospitals, old peoples homes, markets

FLOWERS, FRONTAGE, SOMEWHERE TO SIT IN SQUARE - FOUNTAIN

CCTV COMMUNITY GARDENING

more homes

wider streets/better pavements

DISABLED ACCESS EVERYWHERE

IMPROVE WEMBLEY CENTRAL STATION better bus stops/more frequent buses

paan spitting fine follow through

SWIMMING POOL community areas for elderly traffic improvement on high road and ealing road

educate people on how to dispose large rubbish

DEMOLISH WEMBLEY STADIUM

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4.“Ideas I have for JOBS & ENTERPRISE SUPPORT are…”

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5.“Ideas I have for COMMUNITY SAFETY are…”

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6.“Ideas I have for SPORTS & LEISURE are…”

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7.“Ideas I have for WELLBEING & HEALTHY LIFESTYLES are…”

“Mental health drop in”

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8.“Ideas I have for OLDER PEOPLE are…

YOUNG PEOPLE DOING THINGS WITH ELDERLY

SPORTS ACTIVITIES, WALKS, LIBRARIES STAY OPEN

community clubs/drop in centres

MORE TAXIS/TRANSPORT

Public conveniences

OPEN DAYS FOR PEOPLE TO VISIT AND HELP

volunteers to help

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References:

LBB Supplementary Planning Document (SPD 12) http://brent.gov.uk/media/867630/WWE%20SPD12.pdf?_ga=1.264901132.245386204.1394792559 LBB Retail Need & Capacity Study 2006 http://brent.gov.uk/media/331495/Brent%20retail%20need%20and%20capacity%20study%20final%20report%20February%202006%20Roger%20Tym%20and%20Partners.pdf?_ga=1.265894540.245386204.1394792559 http://brent.gov.uk/your­community/ward­working/whats­happening­in­my­ward/wembley­central/ Wembley Central Diversity Profile ©2014 Brent Civic Centre. Engineers Way, Wembley, HA9 0FJ https://intelligence.brent.gov.uk/BrentDocuments/Wembley%20Central%20Diversity%20Profile.pdf CACI; Office for National Statistics (ONS)Period covered: 2011 to 2014 Copyright: Adapted from data from the Office for National Statistics licensed under the Open Government Licence v.1.0 http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadDatasetList.do?a=7&b=13688611&c=Wembley+Central&d=14&g=6320280&i=1001x1003&m=0&r=1&s=1422288178742&enc=1&domainId=7 Christopher Young LBB Financial Inclusion presentation Glossary & Abbreviations: “Big Local area”: the area defined by the BLWC map “Wembley Central Ward”: the electoral ward, of which BLWC makes up approx a quarter of the land space but a greater proportion of the population. (see map in appendix) “Wembley Growth Area”: as focussed on by planning initiatives and WCU; includes BLWC but also Wembley Triangle and some of Wembley Park “Wembley Locality”: term used by JNSA and health authority: six wards including Wembley Central (Northwick Park, Preston, Sudbury, Tokyngton, Wembley Central and Alperton) BLWC Big Local Wembley Central IDACI Income Deprivation Affecting Children Index, an index of deprivation used in the UK LBB London Borough of Brent LSOA lower super output area (see map in appendix) ONS Office of National Statistics SNT Safer Neighbourhoods Team SPD Supplementary Planning Document WCU Wembley Civic University: a project involving graduate students from the RCA (Royal College of Art)

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APPENDIX

Map of Electoral Wards: The pin in the centre is Wembley Central station. The Wembley Central ward is surrounded by (clockwise from the top) Preston, Tokyngton, Alperton and Sudbury wards.

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Map of Big Local Wembley Central showing ward boundaries: The red line represents the BLWC area, part of the Wembley Central ward (green line). The numbers refer to the Office of National Statistics’ Super Output Areas; BLWC approximates to two of these, referred to in the Profile as North and South BLWC.