Representing You

E thestraphaelsvoice@gmail.com Twitter @StRaphaelsVoice Address Henderson House YouTube St Raphaels Voice IG straphaelsvoice

Welcome to another edition of the St Raphael’s Voice Official Newsletter, contributed to and written

by the board for all our fellow residents. The purpose of this newsletter is to keep everyone informed

of everything local, we realise not everyone has the time to read our meeting minutes, which are

available online and provide full transparency of our activities and discussions. SRV are working hard

to ensure we get the facts for residents and ensure you are always kept well informed and up to date.

Keep Up to Date With What’s Happening — brent.gov.uk/straphs

#2

MEET YOUR REPRESENTATIVE SRV BOARD

Top from left to right—Asif Zamir (Chair), Roger Hanlon, Taofeeq Sanusi, Natalie Thorpe—Bottom from left to right Brenda Linton (Vice Chair), John Wood, Evelyn Bourne, Oubah Salah, Imran Roy

BRENT

General Enquiries

Support Service

coronavirus@brent.gov.uk

0208 937 1234

Written by Asif Zamir - Chair of SRV Months down the line Covid19 still dominates the media, every news

outlet, every where, absolutely everyone is talking about it, there is no

getting away from it even though that ironically is the ongoing goal to

keep ourselves and our loved ones safe.

As a community we have all been touched by the dreaded pandemic in

some way or another, the virus is indiscriminate to its victims; rich, poor,

old, young. News of countless loved ones that may have contracted it

and recovered, but sadly there are many others that have lost their battle

and left a tragic and devastating void.

The NHS overwhelmed, a devastating daily death toll ,mortuaries above

capacity, funeral directors struggling, queues at supermarkets , people

struggling financially, businesses closed, job losses, loved ones stranded

in far away lands, promises of financial assistance that may be too little

too late for some. Its hard to imagine under the given circumstances,

even a glimmer of light at the end of the proverbial tunnel.

But we still have hope, there is hope. Hope for better days, hope that

things will change, hope we will beat this, hope that we will come out of

this together, hope that we will stand together and rise once again.

God Willing.

I hope you will all join us in the remembrance and honour those souls

that have departed; our beloved family, neighbours and friends. We

thank, clap, support and salute all those frontline staff and volunteers

whom have stepped up and are working tirelessly and are truly the back-

bone of our society. The realisation that they are all an essential service

and even though their hard work and devotion to supporting and saving

lives is a fundamental of being human, we should hail them without a

doubt as the real heroes; NHS, Emergency Services, Carers, Transport,

Logistics, Shop staff, House people etc, all those volunteers across the

country that have given up their time and effort to help their neighbours

and offered their services to support their local community.

#respect #love #brenttogether #physicaldistancing #staysafe

Visit Brent.gov.uk/coronavirus for information and assistance

May 2020

St Raphael’s Voice—Unite Our Estate—Lets Develop The Best Outcomes For Both Options and Let’s Empower Residents To Decide

Contact PPCR— Your Independent Advisors — Rose & Lurline 07946 185 863

Lock Down

Please Be Considerate

To Your Neighbours

Keep Noise to A Minimum

Practice Physical Distancing

DO YOU NEED

EMERGENCY FOOD SUPPORT

Brent can connect you to a local

food bank

Call Mohamoud—

07776 665 226

Food Bank Referral

For St Raphael’s Estate

Stonebridge Ward COVID19 Support

Shopping Assistance,

Prescription Pickup, Meals & Phone

Call Support

Asif Zamir 07950 99 44 11

- Volunteers Needed -

Join The WhatsApp Group

For Updates On The Consultation

We would like to honour and pay tribute to a beloved pillar of our community; Imam Qari

Muhammad Rafique of the St Raphael ’s Estate Masjid, may his soul rest in peace. He

Passed away due to COVID19 on 01/04/20, he has been laid to rest in The Vale Cemetery,

Luton, He was a lovely personality and made lots of great friends who honoured him as

family, he spent his life devoted to passing knowledge on to the next generations.

A special thank you to all the community for all your hard work and kind donations.

We Are Recruiting for Board Members To Join The Team - Especially Homeowners, Private Tenants and Temporary Accommodation—EMAIL US

Representing You

E thestraphaelsvoice@gmail.com Twitter @StRaphaelsVoice Address Henderson House YouTube St Raphaels Voice IG straphaelsvoice

#2

Written Roger Hanlon

Redevelopment, An Opportunity for Improvement ?

The current timeline states that the St. Raphael’s estate community will this

autumn, be asked to choose between infill or redevelopment of their estate.

There has been newsletters, meetings, workshops and exhibitions on the

proposals, to name a few.

Brent Council and KCA (the architects) have promised to listen to the views of

the community and design the options through a comprehensive resident led

process to develop a mixed development site of houses, flats and maisonettes.

Nothing has been decided yet of course, but there is a clear brief as to what

the architects are trying to achieve with the three options they displayed at

the exhibition on the 7th, 10th and 11th of March this year. Residents who

attended the exhibition were asked to offer feedback on the design. Of course

not everything was met with approval, but a picture did emerge on what they

did like, the architects will take on board the views expressed by the people to

develop the final option, whom will ultimately live on the estate if

redevelopment is preferred when the ballot takes place.

So what do the residents see as an improved redeveloped estate?

Certainly they want to see better housing and a better road layout

with improved parking together with better transport links. A community hub

with facilities centrally situated is a necessity, preferably with local shops

attached. Waste disposal and recycling have always been a problem and need

a radical approach to avoid dumping. Communal lighting, lifts, cycle ways and

improved security over the whole estate will encourage residents to use the

green spaces around the estate. Finally, and probably most importantly, If

residents vote for redevelopment, as well as catering for current residents

more homes will become available for families on the housing waiting list that

are desperate for a decent place to live.

Written by Evelyn Bourne

Infill, An Opportunity for Improvement?

Three options were presented at public exhibitions for the infill options, KCA

developed the options and designs from the feedback provided by the St

Raphael’s residents who took part in the residents co-design work shops. At

the public exhibitions held in March, residents were asked to provide

additional feedback on the three options presented. This feedback would

enable KCA to design and develop the most popular option. Some aspects

people liked and others disliked, this was a good opportunity for the architects

to understand what residents felt could be improved for this option and

collate feedback to create the final option as they would be doing with the

redevelopment option.

Infill means using the existing suitable greenspace, garages and suitable gaps

and filling them with blocks of flats and a mixture of town houses and

maisonettes with a possibility of some additional improvements to community

facilities and possibly the refurbishment of shop premises on the estate.

With this option residents are able to stay in their homes, which will not be

included in the infill works. The council will continue to maintain the

properties as they are currently obligated to do so, as landlords and

freeholders. For council tenants cyclical works that have historically been

improved will continue as normal, the 20 year plan is available from Brent.

Lease holders should also check to see the cyclical plan from Brent to see what

the block improvement proposal and cost of works is for the next 20 years.

We would like to honour one of our senior and much loved

residents Dorothy Hanlon. She is survived by husband Roger,

they were married 58 years. Dot was a gentle soul who loved

wildlife and animals, she was a dinner lady at Oakington Manor

for a number of years. Dot sadly lost the battle with Covid19 and

has left a gap in the community. We will all miss your presence.

RIP Dot

Meet Niko aka the ’Head Hunter ’, one of the upcoming and hidden talents of St Raphael ’s Estate;

this successful young buck is a proud national gold medallist and Team GB cadets squad member

in WTF Taekwondo. Training with the CMS academy, his mother took him to begin training due to

the rise in knife and violent crime in the borough. In June 2017 he had his first competitive fight,

which unfortunately he lost due to inexperience and just having entered the sport, a month later

he eagerly returned vowing to win, and deliver on that promise he did, bringing home the gold.

PRO’S OF RE-DEVELOPMENT

New Build Properties through-out, delivered in phases. Target is to move

residents only once so no one will have to move off the estate unless they wish

to do so.

Compensation/Offer packages for all that need to move or be rehoused

Rents for existing council tenants are likely to remain the same or very close,

and the right to buy will remain for those eligible

Better communal services and facilities and improved landscaping, lighting,

drainage systems, security and treat contaminated land. Energy Efficient

properties resulting in reduced energy usage and cost savings for residents

New community facilities and sustainable retail offerings

New approach to waste disposal recycling and bio sustainability

Homes will be built for those on the estate that are overcrowded and will be

provided suitable housing to their needs, Homes will be built for those on the

council waiting list and temporary accommodation as well as affordable

private homes. All residents that are eligible will have a right to return

Equity Transfer for existing homeowners, No extra rent to pay on the

remaining share if shared ownership property

PRO’S OF INFILL DEVELOPMENT

Residents will not have to move out of their current properties

Rents for existing tenants will be unaffected by the infill, with an annual

increase in rent as it is currently doing so

Service Charges for existing leaseholders will be unaffected by the

infill. Service charges will increase proportionally due to any increase in block

services such as CCTV, repairs and any planned cyclical improvements

The timescale for the completion of the infill options is significantly shorter

Brent Council will continue to maintain the homes of council tenants as it is

currently doing so

Homes will be built for those who are high priority waiting on the council’s

housing list and those living in temporary accommodation outside the estate.

Current Properties will not be part of the Improvement works

Community Facilities may be improved as well as the shops

Right to buy unaffected for those eligible