Forum Topic

The Brentford Picnic

It was good to read that the Brentford Picnic was a great success but did any of the Hounslow Councillors have the cheek to turn up after the farce earlier in the year?

Paul Fisher ● 4950d12 Comments

I didn't say that Theo so I'm more than happy to confirm it wasn't what I meant.

Phil Andrews ● 4949d

The 6k will have morphed into 8k by next year I shouldn't wonder.

Keith Iddon ● 4949d

We lost a festival and gained a picnic - I know we are all agreed that next year we would like the community to come together and have a great time - celebrating our community through a community led event IN BRENTFORD.Apols to Northfields and beyond who would be welcome too

Theo Dennison ● 4949d

I agree with all of that excepting your accusation that Labour councillors have a mindset that requires the subservience of others - heck, I know politicians aren't perfect but that's a tad far.

Theo Dennison ● 4949d

Well at least it shouldn't happen again then,thanks Theo

Ian Speed ● 4949d

Not to everyone.But yes it could and was found.  But the organisers felt the tab should be picked up by Laings not the taxpayer (as if Laings had ever taken it on the chin) and the offer was for them too late to do all the prep they needed - hence me making it clear that next year the money is already available and should be taken.

Theo Dennison ● 4949d

£6k is bugger all in council finance terms so the lack of a festival in 2012 must effectively have been due to maladministration and lack of initiative taking between the council and Laing's

Ian Speed ● 4949d

I accept that.  But surely squeezing Laing to extract savings was a means of gathering as much capital in a time of difficulty to finance your own political priorities?  And would it be so unreasonable to point out that Labour's priorities have historically been in those areas where individuals and groups of individuals within the community are in a state of dependency upon the benevolence of the regime?  I'm not criticising the notion of helping the vulnerable, by the way, but merely trying to provide a snapshot of a particular mindset.I accept too that through one means or another the public picks up the tab in any case.  It is always a question of whether one considers the cause of encouraging major community-led initiatives important enough in the wider scheme of things to want to help.  That and a recognition of the fact that our parks and leisure facilities are assets that actually belong to the community in the first place.Our society only exists in any meaningful sense due to the efforts of people like Linda Massey and those in her team.  Sadly they are in a small minority.  We can assist their efforts as a matter of the utmost priority or we can take the contrary view that actually there is no such thing as society.  But we all know where that kind of thinking leads.

Phil Andrews ● 4949d

I'm happy enough with that concession Phil because I am not blaming you.  You set out to do your best and are candid that the job of getting Hounslow community focussed wasn't finished - and we both know there's still a long way to go.But I don't accept that Labour councillors didn't move swiftly when Laings imposed a charge for the Brentford Festival. There was no dither or farce.  And I don't accept that Laings did this because your administration wielded the Excalibur of commitment to community-led initiatives and ours doesn't - it all came down to money and we'd squeezed the contract to extract savings and pretty well exhausted the slack upon which the 'harmony' of which you spoke is based.  Council tax payers always paid for the concession, all Laings did was put that cost back in the public domain.  Sure, the concession wasn't Laing's priority but picking up the cost was always ours.

Theo Dennison ● 4949d

I'm sorry Theo but this one didn't wash when Councillor Harmer first said it and it ain't sounding too convincing right now old mate.Yes, I guess it would have helped if it had been written into the contract that community events must be exempt from charge.  But any contractor or sub-contractor working for a local authority would expect to operate in harmony with the political priorities of whatever administration happened to be in office.  To do otherwise would simply be absurd.Why do you think Laing didn't make a charge for this event under the precious administration?  It was because promoting community-led initiatives such as this was an integral part of our programme and we would not have permitted it to happen.Clearly Laing, and the Environment Department which it works alongside, didn't regard this as being a priority for the current administration and history would appear to vindicate them in reaching this conclusion.  You may recall, as I do, one of the first IBAC meetings post-May 2010 when a member of the public made reference to the Borough Council motion on Community Empowerment committing the local authority to taking a resident-led approach to its work and a certain senior officer from Environment put his hands behind his head, sank back into his chair, grinned a very wide grin and announced triumphantly "that was the last administration"?It is reassuring to know that the local authority has committed to resourcing this wonderful event but it really shouldn't need to.  All it needs is for the principle of maximum Community Engagement to be fully integrated into the mindset of the Labour Group and of the administration it leads, and for this principle to be filtered down to the bureaucracy along with a clear message about who is in charge.Despite what some of your colleagues may think, I really don't believe such an approach need be considered incompatible with your general political priorities. It's really just a question of trusting your own constituents a little more.

Phil Andrews ● 4949d

Well I have to say that the Parks portfolio was not one of mine when I was a councillor Theo though you are of course quite correct that provisions should have been made at the time for community letsEven so I am still amazed that it took so long earlier this year for the local councillors to het involved and let matters get so far out of hand and I would certainly not have allowed it to happen during my watch if the event was to have been held in the ward I once representedI am though very encouraged that the Council now intends covering the costs for future years and I wish you and your colleagues good luck in doing so and also that all the hard working volunteers involved every year will continue to keep the event in Brentford

Paul Fisher ● 4949d

I confess I was at home helping my girls with their homework so missed the picnic.But since you raise the issue, let's try and keep the record straight here Paul:  Hounslow Council in response to a request from all six Brentford Labour councillors agreed to cover the park hiring costs of the Brentford Festival immediately - without having to be asked - as soon as the organisers said they were going to be charged by Laings.The contract that allows Laings to charge community groups for using the parks was agreed when the Conservatives and ICG were in control - not under Labour.  No provision was put in that contract by you or any of your colleagues to allow for community lets.  Now I could harp on about the irony of that Paul but these mistakes happen, the key is what do we do about it, and the offer the Council made to cover the costs this year, next year and any other year still stands because having it in Brentford would be great.

Theo Dennison ● 4950d