UPDATE: Thames Water says sewer service at Wembley Triangle restored and traffic should be back to normal by the end of today.

 

I was told to expect a statement from Thames Water about the situation at Wembley Triangle yesterday but none was forthcoming by midday today so I tweeted them at midday.  The incident began on Thursday. LINK

Their answer is above. 

UPDATE - Neil Levy of Thames Water has sent the following message:

We managed to work all night yesterday to repair the sewer and we have demobilised from the site now.

 
We found that the sewer was severely blocked with rubble, bricks and fat, which we believe may have caused a break in the pipe.

 
We have restored the sewer service and there has been no further flooding or pollution impact to the environment.

 
We apologise for any inconvenience this has caused but traffic should be back to normal by the end of today.

Wembley Hill Road application: Quality of life of residents versus the demands of Wembley Growth Area - a fair balance?

 

The Allied Irish Bank site (by the bus) and St George Hotel

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Linden Avenue from Wembley Hill Road - an additional storey will be added to St George Hotel on left

Traditional 2 storey house on Linden Avenue already dwarfed by the hotel before a storey is added

 Mostyn Avenue from Wembley Hll Road (Allied Irish Bank building to right)

From left to right - current 2 storey building heights (Mostyn Ave) the St George's Hotel development (Linden Avenue) & Cottrell House

There are no huge Wembley Park developments on the agenda for Wednesday's Planning Committee but this one for the ex-Allied Irish Bank building and the St George Hotel sums up some of the issues  facing long-standing local residents, too readily dismissed as NIMBYs, when the Wembley Park development begins to spill over into their streets and overshadow  their traditional 2 storey dwellings.  Gradually new developments appear to be creeping up Wembley Hill from Wembley Hill Road.

The proposal adds a floor to  the St George Hotel and demolishes the Allied Irish Bank building to make way for an hotel extension and a two storey basement.

In this case planners cite the Wembley Growth Area to justify the impact on the residents (my emphasis) :

Overall given urban context of the area and dense nature of development in the area the proposed development would allow for an appropriate relationship with the neighbouring properties within the vicinity of the application site. The NPPF outlines that  local authorities should take a positive approach to applications for alternative uses which is currently developed but not allocated for a specific purpose and applications for alternative uses on the land should be supported, where the proposed use would contribute to meeting an unmet need for development in the area. There is some expectation for the development not to fully comply with the daylight and sunlight guidance given that the site is located within the Wembley Growth Area whereby additional height is expected when considering the surrounding context of traditional two storey dwellings to the west of the site.

 

The additional storey above Crown House would increase the degree of impact on the amenities of the occupants of No. 1 Linden Avenue beyond that envisaged within SPD 1when viewed from their rear garden in terms of overbearing appearance and sense of enclosure. However, the impact must be balanced against the benefits of the scheme. The proposal would contribute towards providing visitor facilities within the Growth Area meeting the objectives of both local and regional policy.

 

There are only 5 comments on the proposal  (all Object) and three of those, unsurpisingly, come from 1 Linden Avenue.  When you read the comments, as for other applications, it is as if the planners and residents occupy two different universes: This is one set of comments:

 The demolition of the existing building will cause serious health and safety issues for the local residents, neighbours and my family, as being an old building the amount of dust and pollution can be detrimental effect on health of my elderly retired parents and their grandchildren (who they babysit). Also being an old building I would like to see the asbestos reports and require assurances that if present it will be disposed of according to Health & Safety laws. The time and duration of the demolition will be on-going for a substantial period of time and also will create unnecessary noise thought out the day. Another note is that I am worried about the vibrations from the work being carried out.

With regards to the proposed building the block will overlook our property and with the amount of new levels this will invade our privacy even more than it is already, as it will be able to look onto the back of the house and will certainly impact on the peaceful enjoyment of our home and garden and the building will be visually overbearing. It is an inappropriate design for this part of the road and such a large building would be totally out of keeping with the neighbouring properties.

Parking restriction are already in affect and the limit of spaces is already scarce since the hotel has been using residence bays for their patrons. Currently, the terrace road is already busy and congested so bigger building would mean will be a problem both at night and day.

Please note that I have received this information late, and speaking to other residence they have not even seen any literature for every household that will have an impact by this development. Therefore, I am concerned that not all objections will be aired in time.

Finally, I would just like to add that since the adjacent hotel hs been a hinderance since it has been built, talking to local residence there has been a number of complaints to the council for antisocial and noise pollition in exisiting building thus if owners care little about local residence, they would care even less when this building goes up.

 

Attending Planning Committee I see time and time again residents' concerns brushed aside and non-compliance with planning guidelines justified for the sake of these 'balances' that officers' cite.

 

It is interesting that recently objections have not just come from pensioners occupying some of the older properties but from new residents such as those at Shams Court and those in the new tower blocks who find that there are plans for additional blocks wedged between the existing ones depriving them of light and space. Perhaps alliances can be built?

 

By the way I better mention a condition attached to the recommended consent.  The number of rooms in the hotel will be increased by 63 to a total of 112. Officers are concerned about coaches dropping off customers at the hotel on a busy road and narrow one-way side streets so are calling for a 'coach management strategy.' How practical the proposed arrangem nts are remains to be seen.

The site would not have capacity to accommodate any coach parking. Therefore, any potential coach parties arriving to the site would be required to use other coach parking areas (e.g. those associated with the Stadium) to load and unload guests. A coach management strategy has been required through a S106 planning obligation to ensure the management of coaches arriving on site is conducted appropriately to avoid coaches arriving at the site itself. This would look to contain agreement for nearby car parks such as Wembley Park before coach bookings can be accepted. The applicant would therefore provide a shuttle bus service that would pick up and drop off guests from the relevant coach park. These arrangements would also be secured as part of the coach management strategy.

 

PLANNING COMMITTEE LINK

From ruin to restoration – What makes good planning?

Guest Post by Philip Grant in a personal capacity

The ruined Wembley Park Lodge in 2017

 For the past few years, the former Wembley Park Lodge at the corner of Wembley Hill Road and Wembley Park Drive has looked a sorry sight. Badly damaged in a fire in 2013, and with its roof missing, many wondered whether this historic cottage, dating from the 1790s or early 1800s, could ever be saved.

 

Wembley Park Lodge in a postcard from c.1900. (Brent Archives online image 7742)

 

Last autumn, there was an application (20/3027) for permission to demolish the 1930s extension to this Grade II listed building. With my interest in Wembley’s history, I submitted a comment, to say that although I did not object to the remains of the more modern structure being demolished, great care should be taken to ensure that the original parts were properly preserved and safeguarded, for incorporation in any restoration of the cottage.

 

As a result of my earlier comment, I received a letter from Brent Council last week, advising of a new application (21/0703) for full planning permission at 114 Wembley Hill Road (the Lodge’s modern address). This proposes the restoration of the cottage, and the construction of a new house on the site, to help cover the cost of making good the heritage building. As the “footprint” of both homes will be relatively small, the plans include basements under a new extension to the Lodge and the new house, to provide laundry and media rooms, plus storage.

 

Elevation drawings showing the rebuilt Lodge. (From planning application drawings)

 

The proposals for the restoration of the Lodge have been closely discussed with the experts at Historic England (formerly “English Heritage”, who oversee listed buildings). While the 1930s extension had a tiled roof, these proposals include a thatched roof for the whole building. That may seem odd, but a look at the 120-year-old postcard above shows that the single-storey section of the cottage then, on the left of the picture, was also thatched.

 

Re-thatching Wembley Park Lodge in 1976. (Brent Archives online image 9547)

 

The Lodge is on a prominent corner site, in an area of mainly inter-war suburban housing. Corner sites play an important part in defining the character of an area (as I will mention later), so it was important to get the location and style of the new house right.

 

The proposed site plan for 114 Wembley Hill Road. (From planning application drawings)

 

In this case, the architects have positioned the proposed new house so that the front follows the existing building line for Wembley Park Drive, even though this means that is at an odd angle to the Lodge. But how do you design a new house that will sit close to both a restored heritage building and the much later homes next door?

 

The proposed elevations drawing, as seen from across Wembley Park Drive.
(From planning application drawings, with notes added in blue)

 

The Lodge, which was by the gate to the drive leading up to the Wembley Park mansion, was built in the “cottage orné” style, which was popular in the late 18^th and early 19^th centuries, giving a picturesque rustic feel to the gate-keepers cottages on country estates. This one may well have been designed by Humphry Repton, as part of his landscaping for Wembley Park in 1793. 

 

For the new house, the architects have borrowed features from “orné” cottages built at Blaise Hamlet in 1810. These were a collaboration between Humphry Repton and the architect John Nash, and show marked similarities in their chimneys and other characteristics to the lodge at Wembley Park. The Blaise Hamlet cottages (now a National Trust property on the outskirts of Bristol) were built of the local Cotswold stone, but the proposed new house has a tiled roof and white rendered walls, to match with the neighbouring houses in Wembley Park Drive.

 

I would not claim that the proposals for 114 Wembley Hill Road are perfect (I do have some doubts, especially over excavating for basements so close to existing buildings). However, I think that overall they offer a good solution to a tricky planning problem, and one which would see an important local historic building restored, and back in use. If you would like to look more closely at the plans, make your own judgement and submit any comments (by 27 May), you can do so here.

 

I said above that corner sites are important in shaping the character of an area, and I will give two more examples of this from recent planning applications. Last August, Brent’s Planning Committee voted, by a 5-2 majority, to approve Brent Council’s own application to demolish the locally listed Victorian villa at 1 Morland Gardens. This beautiful building would make way for a new adult education building, with up to nine floors of flats above it. The decision went against Brent’s heritage assets planning policies, and ignored objections from many residents, and from the Victorian Society and an expert on historic architecture.

 

“Altamira”, the Victorian villa at the corner of Hillside and Brentfield Road.

 

Updated college facilities and new affordable homes are an attractive proposition. But to demolish a beautiful and still useful building, part of the original Stonebridge Park from the 1870s, and replace it with a modern block, will ruin the character of the area. That is especially so as the plans also involve building out over the existing community garden on the corner.

 

Another application approved last year, again despite strong opposition from local residents, was for a three-storey block of flats at the corner of Queens Walk and Salmon Street. Objectors pointed to Brent’s planning policy that developments should respect the suburban character of areas such as this, and said that the proposed building, on a prominent site, would be out of character, a ‘blot on suburbia’ and ‘an eyesore’.

 

In their report to Planning Committee, recommending approval for the scheme, planning officers argued that it would not be an eyesore. They said: ‘The corner plot presents an opportunity for a building of a differing architectural style and slightly greater prominence to sit comfortably without detracting from the character along either of the streets it adjoins.’ The plans were approved, and the new building is now taking shape. Readers can judge from these photos whether or not it detracts from the character of the streets it adjoins.

 

A view along Salmon Street towards the new development and Queens Walk.

 

Close up of the new 44 Queens Walk development. (Both photos by Martin Francis, April 2021)

 

I asked in my title ‘What makes good planning? You are all entitled to your own views, and are welcome to share them as comments below. I would compare planning in Brent to a “spaghetti western”, and suggest that my three examples above show the Good, the Bad and the Ugly.

Philip Grant.

'Greens best placed to represent us' - Wembley resident

 

The Heron House development

A prominent local resident has taken the unusual decision to write to friends and neighbours about the forthcoming local election.

This is what she had to say:

 Save Wembley From Becoming A Total Concrete Jungle - Please Read Urgently!

Dear Friends and Neighbours,

I would never normally try to influence you on how to vote on Thursday, but desperate times call for desperate measures!

Who can best represent us on the contentious issues of the Regeneration of Wembley? The GREEN PARTY are fielding candidates and in other wards, hopefully an INDEPENDENT.  These may be the very best people to represent us.

I am certainly not against progress and the Regeneration will hopefully bring jobs and prosperity to Brent, but there has to be a sensible balance! This has not happened. Do we really want to see the future of Wembley to be entirely covered in concrete with multi-storey buildings? It would be a nightmare with all the extra congestion,  but that is the way it appears to be going.   Does the Council not think anything is worth preserving of the existing houses, bungalows and flats in Wembley?  I appreciate that the Regeneration of the Stadium and Wembley High Road areas are a "done deal", but we must do better in preserving the other areas of Wembley, which do not fall within the Regeneration.  These could soon also be under threat, so this is why we must act now.

Once they start knocking down a building on a residential  street to build something higher, do you really think they will stop there? It just sets a dangerous precedent for other smaller construction companies to also apply for permission to do the same. Brook Avenue is a case in point. I am sure it will not be long before all the houses with their gardens will be converted to concrete buildings.

The residents fought long and hard to try and stop Heron House on Wembley Hill Road from being turned into a much higher building, but despite all our efforts they received planning permission. Once built, this will certainly start to change the residential character  of Wembley Hill Road. Where will it end?

Quintain promised the residents that they would not only replace every tree which was destroyed, but plant many others around the tall buildings.  This has not happened either.  They will be building a small park, but that is not the same, as it is amongst the very dense high rises that we need more trees and bushes to combat the increased pollution.

Trees do not only enhance an area, they are vital for our good health and well being.  Pollution levels will rise due to the density of the new buildings and this will adversely affect everyone.  We desperately need cleaner air and amongst other things, the best way is to plant as many trees as possible.  I strongly feel that the GREEN PARTY would be the very best party to achieve this and to help us preserve the areas of Wembley we want to continue to live in.

The future of what Wembley will look like in the next 4 years is down to us. Vote wisely!

Warmest wishes

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Sewers again - Wembley Hill Road works until February 14th

Wembley residents sighing with relief after the completion of the sewer works in Wembley High Road now have another set of works to cope with.

Brent Council have announced:

There are emergency road works on Wembley Hill Road near the junction of South Way which require three way temporary traffic signals to control traffic. These works are essential due to the sewer backing up into a property on Wembley Hill Road.

Thames Water will be working extended hours and seven days a week to complete these works as soon as possible.

Advice to motorists is where possible please avoid the area especially during peak times.

Avoid Wembley during November! Deep excavation works will close High Road east bound and have severe impact on wider area

Hot on the heels of my story about concrete blocking the main sewer in Wembley High Road LINK  comes a warning about major works resulting from the blockage circulated by Rubie Charalambous, Wembley and Ealing Road Town Centre Manager.

Click on image to enlarge

URGENT WORKS -High Road, Wembley - Blocked Sewer - Eastbound Road Closure 2/11/17 to 30/11/17

The Sewer on High Road, Wembley is blocked near the junction of Ecclestone Place and unfortunately deep excavation works are required to rectify the problem. 

High Road, Wembley will be closed to eastbound traffic from the junction of Park Lane. Traffic will be diverted via Park Lane and Wembley Hill Road, a signed diversion will be in place for the duration of the works.

Westbound traffic will continue to use High Road, Wembley as normal.

The impact to the road network in the Wembley area is expected to be severe, especially in peak times. Where possible please avoid the area.

Unfortunately this period coincides with a number of events at Wembley Stadium although Spur's Real Madrid fixture at 90,000 capacity just squeezes in the day before the works start:
 

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Wednesday  1/11/2017     19.45  Tottenham Hotspur v Real Madrid (UEFA Group Stage)

Sunday         05/11/2017   12:00 Tottenham Hotspur v Crystal Palace

Friday           10/11/2017   20.00  England v Germany (Friendly)

Tuesday        14/11/2017   20.00  England v Brazil (Friendly)

Saturday        25/11/2017   15:00 Tottenham Hotspur v West Bromwich Albion

Heron House campaigners issue urgent call for support before October 25th deadline

The site

Second Pre-application design

From campaigners against Heron House redevelopment plans LINK

We urgently need your support to sign this Letter of Objection to stop the  huge redevelopment of Heron House, Wembley Hill Road, Wembley.  Please make any changes you see fit.

The deadline for comments/objections is October 25th 2016 

1)  Copy the letter below making any alterations you think fit. Insert your full name and address, including postcode, in FROM
2)  Paste into an email with Heron House Ref: 16/4156 in subject line and send  to: mandeep.chaggar@brent.gov.uk
3)  Now please forward to family members over 18 years and as many people as possible anywhere in the UK.

FROM:  

I strongly object to the proposed redevelopment of Heron House, Wembley Hill Road, Wembley by Plowden Limited,  for the following reasons and I urge Brent Council to refuse planning permission.  Brent Council Ref:  16/4156

1)  Stadium & High Road Regeneration: Those who live in Wembley can expect 11,000 high rise dwellings in the massive Regeneration of the Stadium and High Road Areas ("Regeneration").  As this regeneration was planned and agreed many decades ago, its progress will continue and one can only hope it will  be of benefit to all the residents of Brent. Will this now be copied in other locations throughout the country?

2) Smaller High Rise Developments: Our greatest fear is the  smaller high rise developments, which are intrusive and are rapidly creeping into residential streets everywhere,  whose impact is adversely affecting our quality of life.  One of these is the proposed redevelopment  of Heron House on Wembley Hill Road, into expensive higher rise flats and commercial businesses and I am very concerned that if permission is granted, similar developments could very well happen on my street next!

3) Not in Keeping with the Character of the Street:  Wembley Hill Road and all the street off it are totally residential and the existing Heron House was built in the '60s and is not as intrusive, overbearing or dense as the proposed development will be. The proposed development is much larger and certainly not in keeping with the character of the streets  and its visual effect will totally spoil the area.   Our streets consist of houses, bungalows, maisonettes, small blocks of flats and gardens.

4) Too close To Existing Regeneration:  As  the "Regeneration"  has already planned 11,000 dwellings, any more higher buildings in the same vicinity is surely excessive and would have a negative impact on the area, overshadowing all the houses around it, with an increase in noise pollution.

5) Loss of light, privacy and the existing outlook:  Although the Developers apparently plan to block some of the balcony glass partitions, they cannot possibly do this in all directions, so many residents will still be overlooked and lose their privacy and existing outlook. The dense building will also block out a significant amount of light for all the nearby residents.

6) Parking:   The proposal by Plowden mentioned a number of parking spaces smaller than the number of flats proposed. Therefore there will not be enough parking spaces for all the vehicles from the flats and the commercial businesses.   This will be putting even more pressure on the streets around  Wembley Hill Road, where there is already a huge demand for parking spaces and it is almost impossible to find one.

7) Traffic and Air Quality:  The transport implications have not been taken fully in consideration. The traffic at the nearby junction at the London Designer Outlet  is already gridlocked every day, so how will our roads cope with all the extra traffic that will be generated? There will always be disruptions around this junction, as road works never seem to stop and with all the extra traffic from the "Regeneration", we cannot allow even more traffic chaos from this new development.
The air quality in the area which has already been impacted by the "Regeneration", will only get worse. The main pollutants of concern, nitrogen oxides,  are lung irritant and especially liable to harm children and those with chest problems such as asthma. Surely the Council has a duty to enhance the health and wellbeing of the local community and not encourage every one of these smaller developments?  Heron House in particular  is right on the door step of the "Regeneration", it surely is not vital?

8)  Setting A Dangerous Precedent:  If this large higher development is allowed in a residential area, it will also set a dangerous precedent and before long even more developers will want to do the same. How much more destructive impact on our residential areas is the Council going to allow, despite huge opposition from its residents?  It is very unfair, as we are all already trying to retain the residential areas we live in, despite the looming high rises of the "Regeneration"

9)  Likely Purchase of Land Opposite:  These same developers have already expressed an interest in purchasing St Joseph's,  the land opposite Heron house, with a view to building yet another higher rise block! We cannot just sit back and do nothing and allow the development of these buildings, as local people are being priced out of the area, which impacts on other areas of the Borough.

10)  Other Sites:  There are many brown-filled and derelict sites in Brent, where these part/commercial development can be situated and these should be used before encroaching onto our residential streets.

11) Impact on Infrastructure:  What provision has been made for the infrastructure needed to cope with the extra people? As this is a new development,  provision obviously was not made when creating the "Regeneration".

12) A Concrete Jungle:  I am trying not to be too pessimistic, but  these smaller high rise dense developments,  which are causing great concern amongst residents, could happen anywhere and before you know it the whole of Brent could  become a concrete jungle!  I wish I could say with certainty that this will not happen, but the speed with which  these smaller high rises are going up, makes me and my neighbours truly fearful. The lack of transparency when making these decisions is very worrying, as they have an adverse effect on all our lives.

13) Love Where You Live:  On the one hand Brent Council is encouraging residents to "love where you live" and improve our environment and yet on the other forcing us to accept even more higher rise developments.  I know things have to change and progress, but do we have to loose our precious existing residential areas for even more high rises? Surely Brent Council should be aiming for both?

14) The Attitude of Developers: Developers everywhere are undermining and exploiting planning authorities, with planning performance agreements and other inducements.  They must be opposed and cannot continue to completely ignore the wishes of residents.

 15)  Historical Significance: High Street which runs along one side of the proposed development is of great historical significance, more so since there is little left of the old Wembley after the thatched cottage down the road was burnt down. High Street was the main street in Wembley 250 years ago and it is the only public way in Wembley which carries the name "street". As such, we ask the Council to give this due consideration and protect this area and not allow such a massive redevelopment to spoil the character of this quiet historic part of Wembley, , which is so much part of our low rise suburban area.

16)  Lower Level Affordable Housing: We of course appreciate that more houses are needed, so we propose and would be happy to support lower level affordable family accommodation perhaps some with small private gardens, as this is just the sort of dwelling which is in very short supply in the borough. The proposed plans for Heron House are excessive, damaging and totally inappropriate for the area and as such they should be rejected.

(Petition Organiser: Zerine Tata, Tokyington Ward, Email: zerinetata@hotmail.com)

Residents prepare to fight Heron House development on Wembley Hill Road

When high-rise redevelopment began around Wembley Station it was clear that it would impinge on the bordering  suburban residential areas and particularly the main thoroughfares of Empire Way, Wembley Hill Road and Bridge Road.

Local resident Zerine Tata is drawing residents' attention to a proposed development at the Heron House site at 109-115 Wembley Hill Road:

"The Wembley Residents Pressure Group Against The Large Redevelopment of Heron House"  are preparing to fight this and we really need your support to sign our petition, which will be emailed to you in due course.


zerinetata@hotmail.com

I will  send you the petition to sign, after the developers  apply for planning permission. This will be at the end of this month. (Their usual ploy to do it in high holiday season!)  We  will then only have 21 days to object, so we need to be prepared.

Zerine

THE HIGH RISE DEVELOPEMENT OF HERON HOUSE, WEMBLEY HILL ROAD, WEMBLEY

Those of us who live in Wembley can expect 11,000 high rise dwellings in the regeneration of the Stadium and High Road Areas. As this regeneration was planned many decades ago, it is a "done deal" and their progress will continue and we can only hope that it will be of benefit to all the residents of Brent.

But, there are still the  smaller high rise developments, which are intrusive and are creeping into residential streets, completely destroying our way of life.  One of those is the proposed redevelopment  of Heron House on Wembley Hill Road,  into expensive high rise flats and commercial businesses.

Wembley Hill Road and all the street off it are totally residential and the existing Heron House was built in the '60s and is not as intrusive, overbearing or dense as the new development will be. The new development is much larger and certainly not in keeping with the character of the streets on and off Wembley Hill Road, which consists of houses, bungalows, small blocks of flats and gardens.

As the Stadium and High Road regeneration  has already planned 11,000 dwellings,  any more high rises in the very near vicinity would have an negative impact on the area with loss of light, privacy and the existing outlook.

It is very unlikely that there will be enough parking space for all the vehicles from the flats and the commercial businesses.   This will be putting even more pressure on the streets around  Wembley Hill Road, where there is already a huge demand for parking spaces and it is almost impossible to find one.

If this large high development is allowed, it will also set a dangerous precedent and before long more developers will want to do the same. This will completely destroy our residential areas,  which we are all trying to hold onto, despite the looming high rises of the Stadium and High Road areas.

These same developers have already expressed an interest in purchasing St Joseph's,  the land opposite Heron house, with a view to building yet another high rise block! We cannot just sit back and do nothing. The more signatures we can get on our petition, the better our chances of stopping these high rise buildings, which are so out of character for Wembley Hill Road and the streets off it.

Due to the height and proximity of this development, it will also devalue our properties, most of which were built in the 1930's and were part of conservation areas before the law changed.

There are many brown-field sites in Brent, where this part/commercial development can be situated and these should be used before encroaching onto our streets and furthermore, what provision has been made for the infrastructure needed?

I am trying not to be too pessimistic, but  these smaller high rise dense developments,  which are causing great concern amongst residents, could happen anywhere and before you know it the whole of Brent could  become a concrete jungle!  I wish I could say with certainty that this will not happen, but the speed with which  these smaller high rises are going up, I am truly fearful.

I love where I live and have lived in the same area for almost 60 years. I know things have to change and progress, but do we have to lose our precious existing residential areas for even more high rises? Surely Brent Council should be aiming for both?

We of course appreciate that more houses are needed, so we propose and would be happy to support lower level affordable family accommodation perhaps some with small private gardens, as this is just the sort of dwelling which is in very short supply

Wembley bomb - current road diversions

Brent Council has issued the map below this morning. There is due to be a controlled explosion of the bomb today.