Cheaper street parties

Hosting street parties in Brent have been been made cheaper after Brent Council approved plans to reduce the fee. Members voted in favour of proposals which will see the charge to hold special events slashed to £200. The cost of holding commemorative functions had previously totalled to more than £1,300. The council reviewed the process and requirements for road closures, including removing the need to place expensive advertisements and notices in the local press, enabling the fee to be significantly reduced. Under these new rules, the time it takes to process permission for street parties will also be reduced from 8 weeks to just 6 weeks. The council has listened to residents who have asked for ways that they can hold more of these events.  We hope to see lots of street parties and special events in Brent in the future.

Walm Lane clean up

Congratulations to Deborah Mahs and the rest of the Willesden Town Team for organising this clean up. 30+ residents, with brooms and brushes and water provided by the fire brigade, gave Walm Lane shop fronts a very welcome 'wash and brush up', supported by Veolia and London Transport staff and local shopkeepers. The event highlighted that while the council has a duty to keep streets clean, whether we live, work or just pass through an area, we have a responsibility to respect neighbourhoods and not to litter the streets. We hope there will be similar events in other parts of Willesden.

Taxicard scheme - important information for users

Changes are being made to the Taxicard scheme database. The Taxicard scheme is paid for by the London boroughs and TfL and is managed by London Councils on the boroughs’ behalf. The scheme provides subsidised transport in taxis and private hire vehicles for people who have mobility impairments and difficulty in using public transport. To ensure only active users are kept on the Taxicard database, holders who have not used their card in the last two years have been identified and could have their membership cancelled at the end of the month. The review is to ensure that the database is kept up to date and to remove records of members who no longer use the scheme. This will ensure that data handling is more efficient and will prevent sending unnecessary information to members who no longer use the scheme. In addition, the exercise will ensure that boroughs are able to forecast their budgets more accurately. If a Taxicard holder wishes to reapply for the scheme they can contact London Councils’ Taxicard team for advice.

Should you or a Taxicard holder have any further queries, email taxicard@londoncouncils.gov.uk or contact the Taxicard helpline on 020 7934 9791.