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| Link to David Hencke web site |
"Citizen journalists have as much right as anyone to attend and to share their views, and council ‘monitoring officers’ shouldn’t hide behind bogus concerns about ‘data protection’ or ‘human rights’."
2011-02-28
Friern Barnet 'New Depot to create Incinerator Fuel' - only one more day of consultation!
 |
Click above for 'Pinkham Way Incinerator' web site [picture: Barnet Times] |
Anyway, we suggest you send any comments you have to BOTH. And why not demand a reasonable length of time for this 'pre-application' consultation?
Waste Consultation TODAY in London Borough of Brent
 | |
Click above for details: BRENT - today, 28 Feb. HOUNSLOW - tomorrow, 1 March |
2011-02-26
2011-02-25
Department of Communities demands Barnet allows recording of meetings
 |
| Link to the web site |
"Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government Eric Pickles said today:
"Local Government Minister Bob Neill has written to all councils, urging greater openness and calling on them to adopt a modern day approach, so that credible community or 'hyper-local' bloggers and online broadcasters get the same routine access to council meetings as the traditional accredited media have.
"The letter sent today reminds councils that local authority meetings are already open to the general public, which raises concerns about why in some cases bloggers and press have been barred."
Barnet Times: "Service to help residents keep up to date with planning applications"
 |
| Link above to web site |
"Councillor Richard Cornelius, cabinet member for housing, planning and regeneration, said:
"The public's involvement in the planning process is incredibly important, and anything that contributes to more people becoming involved, and potentially making their views known, is something to be welcomed."[We say: No, really - he (or the Press Office) did say that!]
Link to "Richard is delighted".
2011-02-24
2011-02-22
The Guardian: "Simon Birkett explains why he gave up top job to campaign for cleaner air in London"
 |
| Link to The Guardian |
"His frustrations with the Labour government over its failure to act has been compounded by the Tory-led coalition. He believes it attempted to 'mislead' the European Commission in September, on the scale of breaches on dangerous particles, known as PM10s."
Muswell Hill Golf Course will never be the same again! Planning stitch-up at Friern Barnet (Pinkham Way) Incinerator Fuel Plant (fuel to be shipped to Brent Cross?)
 |
| Link to Pinkham Way web site |
but try finding that from the website front page - it is not obvious!
The equivalent Barnet Council consultation period is a lot longer - until next Monday!
2011-02-21
BBC: "Hammerson sees strong profits at shopping centres"
 |
| Link to BBC News |
"The effects of increased taxation and restrictions on government spending may mean that some tenants, principally in the UK retail sector, face difficult operating conditions.
"There is a risk that they will be unable to pay their rents."
Link to earlier Hammerson Watch.
stockmarketwire: "Hammerson NAV* up 17.6% at year end"
 |
| Link to web site |
"Shopping mall owner Hammerson reported a strong financial performance for the year to end-December 2010."
[We say: So stick to shopping malls.]
* NAV stands for "net asset value" and equals a company's total assets minus its liabilities.
Construction Enquirer: "Hammerson work on hold as hunt for tenants continues"
 |
| Link to 'Construction Enquirer' (Like the 'National Enquirer' but without the celebrity gossip) |
"John Nelson, Chairman of Hammerson, said:
“Looking forward, our financial flexibility, and continued asset recycling, will allow us to continue to take advantage of opportunities which we believe will arise in the coming period.”
[We say: Not if we've got anything to do with it, you won't.]
Link to later Hammerson Watch.
Link to earlier Hammerson Watch.
2011-02-20
Bostock & Pollitt: Hammerson comments on "brand identity"
 |
| Link to really cool-looking Bostock & Pollitt web site |
"Martin Jepson, MD London Group, Hammerson:
"In any marketplace you have always got to be aware of the threats. The minute you become complacent is the minute that you lose your edge and your position.[Well, we think we're strong, Martin. So start 'overly worrying'!]
At the same time, whilst not being complacent, you should be playing on your strengths, and not worrying overly about other people's strengths."
Link to later Hammerson Watch.
Link to earlier Hammerson Watch.
The Economist: "London might be about to embrace a rural way of governing"
 |
| Link to The Economist |
"The lowest tier of government in London is its 32 borough councils, serving an average population of around 250,000. But activists are hoping to set up new representative bodies, at a much more local level."
2011-02-18
Hammerson - there's only 332 of the little rascals!
 |
Link above to 'bis/ed' web site, for Hammerson company profile |
Link to later Hammerson Watch.
Link to earlier Hammerson Watch.
'Barnet Planning' vote for strike action
Statement from UNISON (source: vickim57.)
"Council staff working in the following services: cemeteries, planning, highways, land charges, registrars, environmental health, building control, and trading standards have overwhelmingly voted to take action short of strike, and strike action, in a ballot conducted over the last three weeks.
"There was a 58% turn-out, with 92% agreeing to action short of strike, and 77% agreeing to strike action.
"Barnet UNISON is organising union meetings with members to discuss the next steps."
Also in the Barnet Times.
[Other news: Planning staff had previously already walked out, en mass, from a meeting with the Director of Planning.]
2011-02-17
'Don't meddle with US, you mere governments!' (BPF represents UK REITS, including Land Securities, Hammerson and British Land)
 |
| Link to LSE London South East |
Link to later Hammerson Watch.
Ventures and Adventures in Topography (even topography has its ups and downs)
 |
| Link to 'Resonance FM Podcasts' |
"In this final episode, John Rogers and Nick Papadimitriou take us on a lop-sided perambulation through ‘remote London’ - from the North-West Passage at Brent Cross."
Also link to a 'Brent Cross Vortex Sutra'.
Barnet Press, and Willesden & Brent Times
(As with most graphics on this web site, you may be able to click a second time, to enlarge an image further.)
 |
| Click above to enlarge. Our note: Brent's objections are only a few weeks old, and the comments above, by the developers and Barnet Council, only apply to earlier representations. |
Hendon Waste Transfer - moving from the east to the west of the railway
 |
| Link to 2003 NLWA document |
"The North London Waste Authority is working ... to identify the facilities that will be required to ensure that statutory requirements for diversion from landfill are met. This strategic framework is now nearing completion [in 2003!], at which point a North London Waste Local Plan will be needed to identify the actual locations of the facilities identified within the strategy. Experience elsewhere suggests that the development of a Waste Local Plan, will take a minimum of two years further to complete."
Late news, just in:
There seems an intention to transport ALL the 'Solid Recovered Fuel' from the seven north London boroughs, by lorry along the North Circular Road, to Brent Cross (to add to any SRF produced at Brent Cross itself). That is, all the SRF produced at Pinkham Way and at the current Edmonton incinerator site (and anywhere else).
Just thought you'd like to know. Carry on.
2011-02-15
Anaerobic Digestion at Pinkham Way, Friern Barnet: "I wouldn't go in there till the air has cleared, if I were you." (Ricky Tomlinson as Jim in 'The Royle Family')
 |
| EXPLOSION! - click above then read pages 10 and 11 of 'AD & Biogas News' |
"A biogas plant is not 'plug and go': you feed it carefully, you nurse it when it is not well and, most importantly, you must know what to do when something goes wrong."
"Safety issues ... include risk of explosion, confined space asphyxiation, hydrogen sulphide poisoning, gas poisoning, and risk of accidents."
Biogas future at Pinkham Way: "Nigel, don't go up on that AD digester roof! Nigel!" "Aaaaaaaaaagh!" (Tumpty-tum, te-tumpty-tum; tumpty-tum, ...)
 |
| Link to 'Anaerobic Digestion News' web site |
"The Anaerobic Digestion and Biogas Association predicts that 1,000 anaerobic digestion biogas plants will be built in the next five years, at a cost of £5 billion, mostly funded by the private sector.
"We are currently way behind many of our EU counterparts when it comes to AD - it's embarrassing really. There are two main opportunities, either
- farm-scale, self-sufficient in feedstock [like on BBC's 'The Archers'], or
- commercial-scale, handling external feedstock such as food waste."
Barnet Eye: "Barnet Council Budget Meeting : Bunfight at the KO Coral"
 |
| Link to Barnet Cabinet meeting report |
"We had the usual Lynn Hillan own goal, when she announced to a hostile crowd:
"I could have sworn Brian Coleman looked at me, smiled, and winked as she said it. He knew that the bloggers had their quote."
"There are places for discussion, and the cabinet is not one of them."
"I could have sworn Brian Coleman looked at me, smiled, and winked as she said it. He knew that the bloggers had their quote."
2011-02-13
Evening Standard: "Boris Johnson recruits troubleshooter for the suburbs" and jump-starts the 'Outer London Commission' corpse [updated]
 |
| Link to Evening Standard |
11 Feb: "The Mayor has asked Tory Bexley council leader Teresa O'Neill to help him tackle problems with housing, transport and employment in the outer boroughs."
 |
| Evening Standard, 14 February |
The Spectator: "Councils of despair" - including Barnet
"Barnet, which revealed last week that it was thinking of doing away with school crossing patrols ..., voted last year to increase its leader’s allowance by 55 per cent, to £54,000."
2011-02-12
Daily Telegraph: Tuesday 1 March, the second "Age of Energy" debate
"The question of how we source, use and conserve energy is growing ever more pressing. Sustainable transport requires that the transport needs of society are met with due regard to human and environmental health."
And this week's guest publication is 'AD & Biogas News'. And the first quotation is: "Can you ********** smell *****************************?"
 |
| Link to the aforementioned |
"Defra's Anaerobic Digestion Framework Document should agree a delivery plan for achieving the Coalition Government's commitment to a 'huge increase' in AD.
Link to Pinkham Way Incinerator web site
North London Waste Authority: Eight years is a long time in politics
Letsrecycle.com, from 2003:
 |
| Link above to the 2003 report |
Mechanical Biological Treatment (MBT)
has limitations in its role for North London's waste, ... compared to
Biological and Mechanical Treatment (BMT)
2011-02-11
Bull Ring, Brent Cross and Brentcross are not trade marks
Hammerson's shopping centre in Birmingham is built on a historic site called the Bull Ring, but it has been given a new name, "Bullring" shopping centre. That name is a trade mark. The "Bullring" web site says (including its spelling mistake):
Bullring (and respective logos where appropriate) are trade marks of The Birmingham Alliance or its affilated companies.
From the Brent Cross Anti-Incinerator people, to the South London Anti-Incinerator people - "Greetings"!
 |
| Link above to Sarf of the River |
"The only technology not on the table is an 'old fashioned mass-burn incinerator' "
Harrow Times: "Boris Johnson's Crossrail levy could 'wipe out' development"
 |
| Link to Harrow Times |
"Harrow now wants to campaign against what is known as the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) and claims to have the backing of other councils"
'Fife Today': Hammerson being not just pleased
 |
| Link above to 'Fife Today' web site |
"We're very excited."
Link to Hammerson being "thrilled".
PropertyWeek: "Eternal shoptimists" [Analysis from shopping centre hoodies]
 |
Link to PropertyWeek.com (Four hits, then you must register) |
"Phased development is a trick Shaw wants to bring to retail from the office market. Other developers, among them Hammerson at its Eastgate Quarter scheme in Leeds, will follow suit, and revise their schemes to make them more affordable, and to reduce risk."
2011-02-10
Cricklewood Town Talk: "Brent Council has said it will continue to oppose plans"
 |
| Link above to web site |
"Opponets of the plans insist the traffic projections of 9,000 extra cars being brought to the area every day, as a previous transport assessment had put the number at 29,000 more vehicles."
(Yes, they even copied the Barnet Times's spelling mistake!)
NLWA: Consultation Sessions on Pinkham Way, Friern Barnet
The public exhibition on
12 February (2.30pm - 7pm) and
15 February (6pm - 8.30pm)
will be held at
Hollickwood Primary School,
Sydney Road,Muswell Hill, N10 2NL
Directions from Muswell Hill Broadway
• Head north along Colney Hatch Lane
• Go straight across at traffic lights/Shell garage
• Turn right at Sydney Road (3rd right after lights)
• Continue along Sydney Road
• Hollickwood School is on your left just past Roman Road and Oak Avenue
Directions from A406 North Circular Road/Pinkham Way, heading east
• Exit the A406 at the Tesco Extra Supermarket (signposted 'Muswell Hill')
• Turn right at the traffic lights, crossing over the A406, heading south along Colney Hatch Lane
• Turn left at Hampden Road (1st available left after joining Colney Hatch Lane)
• Continue to the end of Hampden Road and turn right onto Sydney Road
• Hollickwood School is on your right just past Audley Close.
The exhibition on
16 February (2pm - 7pm)
will be held at
St Paul's Church Parish Hall,
High Road / Woodland Road, New Southgate, N11 1PN
Link to Pinkham Way Incinerator web site
North London Waste Authority met on Wednesday 9 February ...
Report of the Director of Procurement
This includes:
- a review of the Government’s October decision in relation to PFI credit support,
- action taken in the form of an extended Outline Solutions stage,
- a revised procurement timetable,
- work on possible alternatives to the current procurement,
- sites and planning activity,
- the procurement budget for 2011-12, and
- risk issues.
LocalGov / The Surveyor: Brent voices concerns over regeneration scheme
 |
| Link to LocalGov web site |
"[Brent LBC] requests neighbouring Barnet LBC shelves the scheme until revised modelling and assessments are carried out."
2011-02-09
Cough, Cough, it's the traffic...
 |
| Link to The Guardian |
"From 3 January 2012. around 75,000 heavey [sic - it was an urgent press release!] goods vehicles (HGVs), buses and coaches will have to meet tighter Low Emission Zone (LEZ) standards.
"For the first time, around 72,000 larger vans and minibuses will have to meet emissions standards."
"For the first time, around 72,000 larger vans and minibuses will have to meet emissions standards."
Barnet wants your views on at least one waste site
"We would like to obtain your views on the draft scheme so we can finalise our proposals prior to submitting a planning application in late spring 2011.
 |
| Link to Barnet web site |
"This consultation will open on 12 February 2011. Please come back on or after this date to give us your views."
Biffa - FCC Skanska - SITA Lend Lease - Urbaser SA - Veolia ES Aurora - Covanta Energy - E.ON Energy from Waste - SSE Generation - Veolia (again!) - Viridor Waste Management (that should trigger monitoring software)
NLWA PRESS STATEMENT: 8 February
Further to the North London Waste Authority (NLWA) announcement regarding the next stage of its revised procurement process (4 February). The NLWA has today received outline solutions (ISOS) submissions from five bidders on each procurement, as expected.
The bidders are:
- On Waste Services:
2. FCC Skanska (Fomento de Construcciones y Contratas SA and
Skanska Infrastructure Development UK Ltd) (consortium)
3. SITA Lend Lease (SITA UK Ltd and Catalyst Lend Lease
(consortium)
4. Urbaser SA (with Shanks PFI Investment Ltd , Covanta Energy Ltd
and Balfour Beatty) (consortium)
5. Veolia ES Aurora Ltd
- On Fuel Use:
2. E.ON Energy from Waste AG / Wheelabrator Technologies Inc
(consortium)
3. SSE Generation Ltd
4. Veolia ES Aurora Ltd
5. Viridor Waste Management Ltd (Viridor and Keppel Seghers
Engineering Singapore Pte Ltd (consortium).
The evaluation of these plans will be completed in April 2011, and a report will be submitted to the April meeting of the NLWA.
(Thanks to Pinkham Way Incinerator)
North London Waste Authority Rises From the Dead. Even at Brent Cross?
4 February
The NLWA has announced the next stage of its revised procurement process.
Its plans were hit following the comprehensive spending review (October 2010), when £258.4m in PFI credit support was unexpectedly cut. The announcement came just months after the new Government had confirmed the funding (July 2010) and that its proposals matched their waste management priorities.
Since last October, the NLWA has been considering its position and next steps. This included the option of pursuing a judicial review.
Cllr Clyde Loakes, Chair of the NLWA, said:
The NLWA has announced the next stage of its revised procurement process.
Its plans were hit following the comprehensive spending review (October 2010), when £258.4m in PFI credit support was unexpectedly cut. The announcement came just months after the new Government had confirmed the funding (July 2010) and that its proposals matched their waste management priorities.
Since last October, the NLWA has been considering its position and next steps. This included the option of pursuing a judicial review.
"We remain disappointed at DEFRA's decision to cut our £258.4m in PFI credit support. The decision was unexpected, in large part because our plans had so recently been given the green light. It also goes against the Government's waste management priorities.Under the revised timetable, invitations to submit outline solutions (ISOS) has been extended to 8 February 2011. The evaluation of these plans will be completed in April 2011, and a report will be submitted to the April meeting of the NLWA.
"However, we need to focus on what is the best course of action for the NLWA, which will enable us to achieve our ambition of providing a modern sustainable waste management solution, which offers best value for money to local Council tax payers.
"We felt on balance that pursuing a judicial review, while justified on many levels, would not have been in the best interests of local residents.
"We have instead set out a revised timetable, which will provide additional time for bidders to update their solutions and to resubmit. We have received an excellent market response from many of the leading waste and energy companies, and we look forward to continuing to work with them as our plans progress."
National comment on Barnet's proposed constitutional changes
 |
| Link above to The Guardian Diary |
 |
| Picture of Barnet Mayor David Hencke web site |
"Barnet Council, already notorious for cuts as a no-frills Easy Council, is about to make dubious history as the first borough to curb free speech."
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