Brent Council’sEnvironmentreport 2009/10

www.brent.gov.uk/sustainability

Foreword

The Environment is important to all of us, and coping with changes to it

will be one of our greatest social challenges in the years ahead. Brent

Council is committed to protecting and looking after the environment

around us, with environmental sustainability being one of its main

priorities.

Brent Council has four main routes to promoting sustainability. These are

its own operations, its role as a service provider, its role as a regulator

and its role as a community leader.

Brent Council aims to ensure sustainability is embedded into the day-to-

day work of all services and teams. It has concentrated on promoting environmental sustainability,

encouraging a reduction in the council’s own carbon emissions through the Carbon Management

Strategy and Implementation Plan, developing the borough-wide Climate Change Strategy and

Action Plan, promoting community links and encouraging community involvement in this agenda,

through, for example, Brent Sustainability Forum. The council’s partners, local businesses, voluntary

organisations and individuals have also been working to reduce negative environmental impacts.

This Environment Report for 2009-10 updates last year’s report, giving new information relating to

Brent’s built and natural environment, and the work the council has been doing. Annual updates will

continue to be made, enabling environmental changes to be monitored over time, achievements to

be celebrated, and priority actions to be identified. These reports not only give the opportunity to

acknowledge and celebrate what has been achieved each year, but to both glance back to reflect on

progress made, and to look forward to the vision for the future, and to the actions that need to be

taken over the coming years in order to get there.

Local environmental improvements benefit everyone, both in Brent and internationally - and

everyone can make some contribution, no matter how big or small, to help make Brent a more

sustainable place. It is hoped that these reports will help to encourage action – by the council and its

partners, but also by other organisations, businesses, community groups and individuals – in order

to deliver a more sustainable, positive future for Brent.

Cllr. James Powney

Lead Member for the Environment

Brent Council

What is environmental sustainability?

Sustainability is defined as ‘meeting the needs of the present without compromising the

ability of future generations to meet their needs’ (The Brundtland Commission, 1987).

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Contents

Page

Values and Vision 2

Council Environmental Policy and Management 3

- Environmental Policy

- Environmental Management System

- Green Champions

Climate Change 4

- Climate Change Strategy

- Climate Change and Social Media Project

- Climate Change Champions

- NI188 – Adapting to Climate Change

Carbon Emissions 6

- NI185 – CO2 Reduction from Local Authority Operations

- CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme

- Energy Use

- Schools

- 10:10 Campaign

- IT

- Transport

- Streetlighting

Waste and Recycling 10

- Council Office Waste and Recycling

- Borough Recycling

- Zero Waste

Environmental Improvement 12

- Streetwatchers

- Flytipping

- Clean up Days and Campaigns

- Alleygating Schemes

- Pest Control

- Animal Welfare

- Environmental Noise & Nuisance

- Drainage

- Contaminated Land

- Air Quality

Built Environment 16

- Planning

- Brent Housing Partnership

Natural Environment, Parks and Open Spaces 17

- Fryent Country Park

- Gladstone Park

- Brent River Park

- Biodiversity

Public Opinion 19

Future Priorities 20

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Brent Council’s Values

A key value of the council is to improve the quality of life for all communities in Brent. A duty to

promote the social, economic and environmental well-being of all our communities underpins the

council’s approach to effective policy development and service planning.

The council will deliver efficient, accessible and sustainable services to excellent standards. It will

develop tailored solutions to meet the needs of individuals, families and communities.

Brent Council’s Vision

In Brent Council’s Corporate Strategy for 2006-10, it outlines its commitment to the environment,

with the vision that:

• Brent will be a great place to live and to visit

• Residents will feel this is their permanent home; safe, clean, and green

• Residents will care for their environment; enjoy where they live and what the borough offers

• Brent will be a prosperous and healthy place with opportunities for all.

In the Strategy, ‘A Green Place’ includes a goal of the council becoming an exemplar of

environmental practice and performance on sustainability issues.

The council’s new Corporate Strategy, for 2010-14, which is to be adopted in October 2010, sets out

the vision that Brent ‘will be a thriving, vibrant place, where our diverse community lives in an

environment that is safe, sustainable and well maintained’. Within the Strategy are the objectives

to:

• Create a sustainable built environment that drives economic regeneration and reduces

poverty, inequality and exclusion

• Provide excellent public services which enable people to achieve their full potential,

promote community cohesion, and improve our quality of life.

Brent Council will lead by example and reduce its GHG (greenhouse gas) emissions by improving

energy efficiency in council buildings, encouraging the use of public transport, minimising business

travel, promoting car clubs and cycling facilities and using alternative sources of energy.

Making green choices is very important to many local people and Brent Council wants to make it

easier to do this. A Brent ‘Green Charter’ will be developed setting out how we can work together to

protect our environment.

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Environmental Policy

Brent Council has its own environmental policy, which was updated in October 2009. The policy

commits staff to working in as environmentally sustainable way as possible and has played a major

part in ensuring that environmental improvements are embedded in the heart of the council’s

operations.

Environmental Management System

The council is progressing well at retaining and increasing the extent of its international certification

in environmental management. Environment and Culture, in conjunction with BACES and

Registration and Nationality Service, has had an environmental management system (EMS) in place

since September 2005. The EMS is externally certified to ISO 14001. In addition to these

certifications, the Information Technology Unit (ITU) and Property and Asset Management (PAM) are

now working towards ISO14001 certification for environmental management. ITU are concentrating

on environmental improvement projects such as consolidating and reducing printing from council

offices, whilst PAM are focusing on achieving a consistent approach to controlling impacts across

their services. ITU hope to achieve certification by October 2010 and PAM will follow in 2011.

ISO 14001 is an internationally recognised standard for EMS, providing

the management controls and tools which will ensure that the corporate

environmental policy is adhered to and that continual environmental

improvement is achieved. It is an invaluable tool for helping identify and

avoid environmental risks, such as ensuring staff adhere to waste

legislation, for which failure to do so could result in significant fines and

damage to the council’s reputation.

Multiple projects have been initiated by the environmental management system within the council,

with its processes helping identify where environmental improvements could be made, and

encouraging their implementation to be started.

Those that get their environmental management and improvement work certified to ISO14001 are

taking that extra step to ensure that their work meets the international best practice standard.

The ISO14001 standard at Brent is audited every six months, to ensure that environmental measures

are being fully implemented within the council.

Green Champions

A new initiative that was launched in November 2009, there are now over 50 Green Champions

across Brent Council’s offices. The scheme is a new support network of volunteers who assist

colleagues within the council to work more sustainably. Volunteers are trained to give support and

information in five main areas: waste and recycling, energy efficiency, water efficiency, sustainable

transport and sustainable purchasing.

Quarterly meetings are held, with external and internal speakers, discussions, and general sharing of

ideas and experiences. An e-handbook has also been provided, access to numerous other

resources, and a new Green Champions discussion board launched.

Information and an adapted version of the Green Champions’ e-handbook have also been made

available publicly, to be used by other organisations and businesses in the borough.

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Climate Change

The scientific consensus is that there is a measurable human effect on the climate. In total, average

global temperatures have increased by about 0.8°C (1.5°F) since 1880, with GISS (NASA's Goddard

Institute for Space Studies) surface temperature record showing an upward trend of about 0.2°C

(0.36°F) per decade throughout the last three decades. The last decade, from January 2000 to

December 2009, was the warmest on record.

Climate change represents one of the greatest environmental, social and economic threats facing

the Earth. Nowhere will be able to avoid the impacts of climate change. A strategy has

consequently been developed for the borough of Brent, identifying how to respond to the

challenges and opportunities that climate change brings. Rolling out this strategy will help the

borough to work to reduce the extent and impact of future climate change, and to cope with the

changes that are already inevitable.

Brent Climate Change Strategy

The Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan for Brent was launched at a full day's event in

December 2009, attended by nearly 200 local residents, school children, businesses, public

services and community groups. An interactive theatre group got people thinking about what

climate change means for Brent, in terms of how it will affect people living and working in the

borough, and small actions we can each take in response, to add up to a big change. The afternoon

offered a choice of workshops, or of watching 'The Age of Stupid'. The event was organised by Brent

Council and lead partner Groundwork London. It contributed to the European wide C-Change

initiative, funded by the European Regional Development Fund through European funding body

Interreg IVB.

The Strategy identifies actions that need to be taken by the council, other public sector organisations

in Brent, businesses, residents, and community and faith groups in the borough. Only by working

together will a meaningful and sustained response to climate change be able to be achieved.

Brent residents' climate change pledge was also launched at the event. This asks residents in the

borough to commit to a number of actions that will reduce their impact on the environment, such as

only boiling the amount of water needed; composting their kitchen waste; and going meat free one

day per week.

http://www.brent.gov.uk/climatechange

Climate Change and Social Media Project

An Improvement and Development Agency (IDeA) funded project was set up by Brent Council in

February 2010, asking residents to volunteer to monitor their energy consumption in their homes, to

encourage them to take action to reduce their energy use and save money on their energy bills

within six months. The 'Climate Change and Social Media' project with its 'Brent Going Green'

challenge aims to raise awareness of climate change; allow people to easily save money in their

energy bills; and encourage discussion, participation, ideas and suggestions relating to energy use

and climate change from residents.

200 residents, who reflect the diversity of the borough (focusing on Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic

(BAME) residents, who were less engaged in consultation for the Climate Change Strategy), have

been sought for the project, to show how energy use can be reduced over a six month period and to

inspire others to do the same. Volunteers are given a small energy monitoring device for six months,

and are encouraged to use social media applications such as Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and

Blogger, to create and maintain discussion on energy saving.

www.brent.gov.uk/brentgoinggreen

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Climate Change Champions Pilots

The pilots were undertaken with:

- Alperton Community School;

- Daniel’s Den (an organisation that

runs toddler groups and local events,

with the vision of parents and children

having the opportunity to ‘know and

be known’ in their local community,

and to see people building

‘relationships that matter’ within and

beyond their cultural/ethnic group);

and

- Age-Link (an organisation that helps

isolated and often housebound

elderly people).

Climate Change Champions

Climate Change Champions is a community-based project which is

intended to reduce the vulnerability of local residents to the effects

of climate change. The scheme works with self-nominated

‘champions’ recruited from the local community to communicate

the message of climate change to their neighbours and peers and

to assist them to take the necessary actions to help mitigate its

effects. Working with Groundwork London, a pilot was run with

three target groups, from January 2010 until March 2010. Group

members were invited to attend an exercise to plan ways in which

they can take steps in order to mitigate and adapt against the

threats of climate change in Brent, which they are now acting

upon.

The Climate Change Champions model was proven to be successful,

and has the potential to continue to promote group efforts to work

towards more low carbon lifestyles.

National Indicator (NI) 188 – Planning to Adapt to Climate Change

Within the council, and with its partners in the borough, action is being taken to prepare for a

changed climate (e.g. higher summer temperatures), and more extreme weather events (such as an

increased risk of flooding). This work on adaptation has been committed to by the council and

partners, having signed up to the Local Government Performance Framework’s NI188 as part of

Brent’s Local Area Agreement (LAA). Adaptation to climate change is beginning to be integrated into

all council operations and services, to enable these to continue as successfully as possible into the

future.

In 2009-10, Brent Council achieved Level 2 of this Indicator (with levels awarded from 0 to 4). To

reach this level, the council has (amongst other actions) communicated its commitment to adapting

to climate change; undertaken a risk-based assessment of current and future vulnerabilities; ensured

Senior Managers are aware of the risks; identified priorities; and begun to implement adaptation

measures in priority areas. As the council progresses up through the levels, it will be supporting and

working increasingly with other members of the Local Strategic Partnership (LSP), and embedding

climate impacts and risks across council decision-making, as well as monitoring and reviewing

adaptation procedures.

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Carbon Emissions

Climate change is caused by an increase in greenhouse gases in the

atmosphere. Whilst a quantity of these gases exist naturally in the

atmosphere, since the Industrial Revolution 200 years ago, humankind

has been releasing ever-increasing amounts of greenhouse gases.

These trap more heat, amplifying the natural greenhouse effect, and

causing the earth to heat up.

Carbon dioxide (CO2) is the most significant greenhouse gas released by

human activities. It is largely emitted from the burning of fossil fuels

like coal, oil and natural gas. By reducing our carbon emissions, we can

help to mitigate (reduce) the extent of climate change.

National Indicator (NI) 185 – CO2 Reduction from Local Authority Operations

Brent Council has also signed up to NI185, to reduce carbon emissions from

local authority operations. This requires action to manage and reduce CO2

emissions from energy use in council and school buildings, transport, waste

performance and street lighting, as well as those of its outsourced suppliers.

2008-9 was the baseline year for collecting data on the authority’s carbon

emissions, which has been audited and recently released by the Government.

The council and its suppliers emitted a total of 39,222.4 tonnes of CO2 during

the year 2008-9. This places the borough 22nd

(out of 33 – although eight of

these figures may be subject to change) in London.

CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme

From April 2010, Brent Council is committed to the national CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme. This

carbon emissions trading scheme is a new regulatory incentive to improve energy efficiency in large

public and private sector organisations, in order to reduce the nation’s carbon emissions. The

council, as a participating organisation, will have to monitor its emissions and purchase allowances,

initially sold by Government, for each tonne of CO2 it emits. The more the council can reduce its

energy use, the less it will cost the council in buying allowances.

Energy Use

Reducing energy use can cut CO2 emissions significantly. Brent Council is committed to improving

energy management in its buildings and promoting energy efficiency amongst staff and across the

borough. In addition to the new post of Energy Manager that was recruited in April 2009, the

council now has a Schools’ Energy Advisor, who started in post in September 2009. Working with

Site Managers and other relevant staff at schools, energy use can be made more efficient and so

reduced – reducing CO2 emissions and saving the schools vital money.

Brent Council has developed an Energy Strategy based on the “Be Lean, Be

Clean, Be Green” hierarchy of principles. The intention is to reduce the energy

demand of the building to its absolute minimum by using simple controls and

passive features (Be Lean) and by the use of efficient heating, ventilation and

air-conditioning (HVAC) equipment (Be Clean). Be Lean and Be Clean checklists

have been developed, with simple actions that staff can take to reduce

electricity and gas consumption. When demand has been reduced to the

minimum, the use of renewable technologies (Be Green) will be considered on

a building by building basis. This ensures that energy generated by the

renewable technologies is not wasted.

What do greenhouse gases

do?

Greenhouse gases act like a

glass roof around the earth,

trapping in heat.

The natural greenhouse effect

makes the earth a liveable

temperature, but excessive

emissions of greenhouse gases

are causing the earth to get

warmer.

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Council premises Mahatma Ghandi House is leading the way on reducing energy use. Over the past

year (April 2009 – March 2010) it has reduced its electricity consumption (from the previous year) by

16% and its use of natural gas by 9.6%. This has given substantial savings in terms of financial costs,

as well as carbon reductions.

Schools

Many of the schools in Brent are seriously engaged with environmental issues, and there is a great

deal of positive focus amongst them. The council is engaging with 46 schools on energy efficiencies,

largely involving improvements of building operations and installing additional technology.

A Priority 10 Schools project began in September 2009. The highest reduction in energy use since

then has been at Northview Primary School (a 35.6% reduction in energy-related carbon). This was

achieved by installing valve insulation, burner management units, LED flood lighting, and T5 lighting,

as well as by focussing on their monthly energy bills. All of the Priority 10 schools for which up to

date Display Energy Certificate results have been received have improved in their rating over the

course of the year.

Roe Green Junior School commissioned the building of a sustainable teaching block, Evergreen, that

was completed in the summer of 2009. Pupils were heavily consulted throughout the process and

took part in the design of the eco-building. The resultant features of Evergreen include:

• Sustainable solid timber walls, floor and roof panels

• Renewable wind and solar energy

• An under floor heating system powered by geothermal energy

• Rainwater collection for flushing the toilets

• Large roof light windows positioned for maximum levels of natural daylight

• Real-time public display panels to show energy consumption, generation and water

collection.

The total carbon footprint of the building, during both its construction and operation, is zero.

Roe Green Junior School has applied for the Eco-Schools’ prestigious Green Flag award. 34 other

Brent schools have engaged in the Eco-Schools programme of their own accord. 10 of these have

achieved the Bronze Award and a further 5 schools (including Roe Green) have been awarded Silver.

10:10 Campaign

Launched in January 2010 by the Leader of the Council, the Chief Executive

and Director of Environment and Culture, the 10:10 campaign commits the

council to reduce its CO2 emissions by 10% by the end of March 2011.

The campaign focuses on changing the behaviour of staff towards energy efficiency and sustainable

transport.

The Environmental Projects and Policy Team run monthly events in the main council buildings to

engage with staff on ways to reduce their energy use and CO2 emissions. To gain a commitment

from individuals that they will help the council cut its emissions, staff are encouraged to sign a giant

pledge. Over 300 members of staff have already made this public commitment to reduce their

energy use and CO2 emissions. In order to monitor progress throughout the year, regular energy

audits are conducted in a selection of council buildings.

IT Strategy - Green IT

The increasing use of IT has some significant environmental implications - IT

equipment is a major consumer of electricity, a generator of heat, involves

the use of scare resources during manufacture and risks environmental

pollution during disposal.

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However IT can also contribute positively to the council's environmental impact through initiatives

such as supporting home/remote working to reduce travel requirements and replacing the use of

paper by electronic media.

Brent Council intends to reduce carbon emissions and environmental impact from IT through:

• taking steps to reduce energy consumption through the purchase of more efficient hardware,

a reduction in the overall number of computer rooms by consolidating servers into a few

larger data centres and switching off computer devices when they are not required

• reducing paper consumption through increased use of electronic documents, more efficient

use of printers, multi-functional print devices and toner cartridges

• supporting environment friendly hardware manufacture and disposal (via purchasing and

disposal policies) and ensuring that the council meets the European Commission Waste

Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive (WEEE) on recycling and disposal of IT

equipment.

• improving education for staff and the public on best practice in the use of computer

equipment

• reducing transport related emissions through the use of electric or dual fuel vehicles and

greater use of home/remote working.

The consolidation of servers into a few larger data centres will reduce the number of smaller server

rooms with their separate power and air conditioning requirements but will also introduce a new

challenge to maximise the energy efficiency of the new data centres.

The IT Unit will review its environmental impact plans on a regular basis and consider the use of

international tools for best practice.

Transport

When undertaking the Residents Attitude Survey (RAS) for Brent (2,243 residents

interviewed between May and August 2009), Ipsos MORI asked what form(s) of

transport interviewees normally use to get to work. The results show that nearly

60% of respondents use the bus, tube or train for some of their journey, 18%

walk, and 5% cycle. However, 39% of residents still use their car for their daily

commute.

Figure 1: The form(s) of transport Brent residents normally use to commute to work.

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A new bus route (228), both beginning and ending in Brent, commenced during the year. In

partnership with Transport for London, the council continuously works to improve the availability

and convenience of public transport from within the Borough.

Brent is the lead borough for NORP, the North Orbital Rail Partnership. NORP, which is to end in

March 2011, acts as a link between the local authorities served by the London Overground service

(16 London boroughs and Hertfordshire County Council, as the route

network extends to Watford); LOROL (London Overground Rail

Operations Ltd.), the franchisee that operates the network; and TfL

Rail, which oversees the London Overground, trams, the DLR and

TfL’s relationships with the national train operators. The partnership

exists to obtain the best results from investment to ensure

improvement to the train services and stations.

The end of NORP precedes the expected completion of the upgrades

of the North and West London Lines and stations (including an entire

fleet of new trains) by two months. The final piece of related work, to

be completed in 2012, in time for the Olympics, will be the East

London line extension (the ‘New South London Line’) to Clapham Junction from New Cross, creating

an ‘Outer Circle Line’ referred to as ‘OrbiRail’. Brent will have four stations on OrbiRail: Willesden

Junction, Kensal Rise, Brondesbury Park and Brondesbury.

In the past year, Willesden Junction has seen extensive work to accommodate longer trains and

improve security, connectivity (e.g. a new staircase between the two levels) and ambience. It is

already step-free between street and platform levels.

Street Lighting

The street lighting PFI scheme, which started in 1998, has just entered its maintenance phase. There

is no more capital investment money available. Additional investment is large, and has payback

periods beyond Brent’s guidelines (> 4 years, generally 5- 9 years). However, the scope for energy

saving is significant.

During 2009-10, 31 reflective bollards were installed in the borough. The internal lights are

removed, and the outside covered with a reflective coating, to reduce energy costs.

The council’s street lighting is powered by 100% green energy, with Renewables Obligation

certification (ROC).

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Waste and Recycling

Disposing of waste in the general rubbish bin has three main negative

features:

1) It means more waste is sent to landfill – of which there

are decreasing amounts available;

2) This in turn costs the council money, due to annually-

increasing levels of landfill tax;

3) In landfill, the biodegradable waste will slowly rot down

– due to the lack of oxygen in landfill, this releases

methane, which is a potent greenhouse gas.

It is therefore vital that we all try to reduce our waste (by buying less and reusing more) and recycle

as much as we can.

Council Office Waste and Recycling

An audit of waste and recycling at four key council offices was undertaken to establish internal

recycling figures for 2009-10. Across all of the buildings, there was a total recycling rate of 56%.

However, once contamination of recycling was taken into consideration, this dropped substantially

to 38%. The results highlighted variation across the buildings but that issues of recycling being

contaminated with non-recyclable materials need to be addressed at all offices. The target for 2010-

11 is to reduce contamination and thus increase recycling rates within council offices.

Figure 2: Percentages of waste, recycling contamination and recycling at key council offices.

Borough’s recycling rate

A host of activities have continued to be delivered to encourage

residents to recycle, leading to yet another increase in the borough’s

recycling rate. Unaudited figures show recycling reached 28% during

2009-10.

What is biodegradable waste?

Biodegradable waste is rubbish

that will breakdown or rot over

time (typically made from plant

or animal materials) – this

includes items such as kitchen

and garden waste, paper and

card.

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Figure 3: Borough recycling rates for 2004/5 to 2008/9.

Continuing this upwards trend, the borough’s recycling rate

since the beginning of the year is 31% (16% organic waste

and 15% dry recycling).

Brent Council is currently working on a new Waste Strategy,

to dramatically improve Brent’s recycling rate, with a longer

term goal of 60% recycling. This target will be reached using

a host of different initiatives based on waste hierarchy

principles.

A children’s recycling competition was held at the council’s

2009 Respect Festival, at which 646 children took part.

Zero Waste Certification

Brent is one of only a few councils to be certified as a Zero

Waste Place. To fulfil the requirements the following

activities are undertaken:

• Educational campaigns

• Waste reduction, no junk mail stickers and

promotion

• Green Zones

12 Green Zones were set up in the borough. Although a

successful example of community engagement, the Green

Zones unfortunately had to be ended in 2010 as a result of

funding cuts by central government.

Within the Landfill Directive only

75% of the 1995 quantities of

biodegradable municipal waste

(biodegradable waste from

households) are allowed to be

landfilled by 2010, 50% of 1995

quantities by 2013 and 35% of

1995 quantities by 2020. If the

country fails to achieve these

targets, then it will face severe

financial penalties from the

European Union.

What does this mean for me?

This fines are likely to be passed

on to relevant local authorities,

which will impact on the finances

available to provide services to

residents.

What can we all do to help?

By composting our garden and

kitchen waste, and recycling

materials such as paper,

cardboard and tatty clothes (that

are beyond being taken to a

charity shop for reuse), we can all

help to reduce the amount of

biodegradable waste that is sent

to landfill.

This will be better for the

environment, help the Council to

avoid fines from the government,

and enable more sustained use of

resources.

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Environmental Improvement

The council, its partners and Brent residents are all doing a great deal of work to improve the local

environment. There is much to be proud of, as outlined below – but, of course, these successes

need to continue and there is still much more to be done.

StreetWatchers

There are now 219 StreetWatchers in Brent, acting as the eyes and ears of the council.

To increase their environmental knowledge and encourage the dissemination

of environmental information through their community links, StreetWatchers

are taken on educational visits. In the past year they have been to:

• Envac in the Wembley City complex (a novel vacuum-tube waste segregation system, used

to take waste from apartments to segregated material stores, for recycling, organic and

residual waste)

• Compost processing site, in Harefield. This is the site where Brent’s organic waste is turned

into compost

• Welsh Harp Environmental Education Centre.

Fly tipping

Annual fly tipping figures continued to decrease in the financial year of April 2009 to March 2010.

This is an improving picture in Brent, with a steady decline reported over recent years:

• 2009/10 – 6492

• 2008/09 – 7862

This decline can be seen in the trend of total reported flytips each month over the past three years:

Figure 4: Reported flytips for each month from April 2007 to March 2010.

The council hopes to see a further fall in flytipping once the free collection service for bulky waste is

restored from 1st

October 2010.

Clean up days and campaigns

From April 2009 to March 2010, Brent Council, in partnership with Operation Payback (the London

Probation Service) and other partners, such as the Police and volunteers, participated in 57 projects

associated with improving local environmental quality. These ranged from rubbish clearing and

graffiti removal, to painting and garden clearances.

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Alley gating schemes

The council continues to work with local residents and business owners to clean up private

alleyways, keep out flytippers and discourage other enviro-crimes. Participants are encouraged to

take responsibility for their local environment and ensure it is kept in good condition.

The number of residences that abut, front or are accessed via gated alleyways went up from 746 in

2008/9 to 804 in 2009/10.

Pest Control

Annually, over 3,000 infestations on domestic properties are treated, of which over

50% are for rats, which are associated with the spread of disease and damage to

property. This service complements the work undertaken by the council to remove

rubbish and clear alleyways which removes sources of food and harbourage for

these pests. Environmental Health also works in partnership with Thames Water to

arrange sewer baiting for rats. Where colonies of rats can be targeted in the

sewage system, this can lead to a reduction in surface infestations.

Animal Welfare

The fatal attack on Ellie Lawrenson in Merseyside in January 2007 heightened national concern

about dangerous dogs. It was this tragic event that triggered Brent Council, the RSPCA, the

Metropolitan Police and the Mayhew Animal Home and Brent Housing Partnership to set up BARK,

London's first multi agency approach to tackle dangerous dogs and irresponsible dog owners.

BARK (Brent Action for Responsible K9s) is a unique way of promoting responsible dog ownership as

well as tackling anti-social behaviour linked with the misuse of dogs and mistreatment of dogs. While

protecting the public from potentially dangerous dogs remains paramount, the partnership is also

keen to work with dog owners and reassure them that the council is there to help.

This exciting initiative is leading the field in its approach to responsible dog ownership and is making

a real difference in the community. Since the conception of BARK in October 2007 there has been:

1) 124% increase in reports (Met Police stats Wembley)

2) 22 organised raids on properties throughout the borough, resulting in 48 dangerous dogs

being dealt with

3) 20 joint BARK patrols throughout the borough with all partners involved

4) 94 dogs microchipped

5) Neutered 206 Bull breeds for free

6) 8 Road shows throughout the borough promoting the BARK project and responsible animal

ownership

7) Brent’s BARK has been benchmarked throughout the country and is now seen as a model for

all local authorities to follow

8) Defra use the scheme as an example in their Dangerous Dog Law Guidance for Enforcers.

Environmental Noise & Nuisance

Environmental Health respond to over 3,000 reported environmental nuisances

each year, ranging from light nuisance from security lights, dust from waste

transfer sites, offensive smells from takeaways, smoke from bonfires, car alarms,

to illegal raves. The majority of noise occurs at night, which makes up most of the

reported nuisances. Over the last year the service has sought to work more

closely with private and social landlords in problem-solving cases to seek more

lasting resolution.

Drainage

Environmental Health deals with hundreds of cases of overflowing or blocked privately owned drains

and sewers each year to ensure they do not cause a risk to public health or environmental damage.

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Waste or foul water is sometimes misconnected to surface or rain water drains. This can lead to

pollution in local water courses and even localised flooding issues. Environmental Health works in

partnership with the Building Control service and Thames Water to reduce the number of

misconnections and ensure drains discharge to the appropriate place.

Contaminated Land

Brent has been implementing its Contaminated Land Inspection Strategy since it was published in

2001. Since it is the duty of developers to ensure that developments are safe for end users, Brent

Council regularly use the Planning process as a mechanism to ensure that contaminants found on

development sites do not pose a risk to health.

Development of land is the main driver of contaminated land investigation and remediation. In

2009/2010, despite the economic downturn, 26 sites were investigated in the borough for

contamination. 22 of these were through enforcement of planning conditions and 4 were through

investigations undertaken by the council. This equates to an area of 17 hectares of land.

Sites which, due to their former use may be contaminated, are also proactively investigated. Using

this as a process, 17 sites were verified as being suitable for use, either through investigation or soil

remediation works. This equates to an area of 8.4 hectares of land.

Air Quality

The council regularly monitors air quality and currently operates five continuous monitoring stations

as well as non-continuous monitoring using diffusion tubes to monitor nitrogen dioxide throughout

the borough. The council continues to meet the targets set for 1-3, butadiene, benzene, carbon

monoxide, lead, sulphur dioxide but has failed to meet targets for nitrogen dioxide and particulate

matter. In 2008-9, 74.6 tonnes of CO2 equivalent of nitrogen oxides (NOX) were emitted and 2.2

tonnes of CO2 equivalent of particulate matter (PM10).

Air quality management areas have been declared for parts of Brent, with the aim of targeting these

areas for specific improvement, as it is unlikely the targets will be met in the future unless specific

action (examples are outlined below) is taken.

Ozone is not within the council’s scope for control as it is a regional pollutant requiring wider

intervention to effect changes in local levels. To gauge the likely impacts of this pollutant on health

the council undertakes the continuous monitoring of ozone at the BT1 urban background monitoring

site in Kingsbury. The Government’s air quality objective, not to exceed 10 periods in a calendar

year, was exceeded for all years other than 2004. The year 2003 was notable for having a very hot

dry summer conducive to the formation of ozone; hence the much higher number of periods during

that particular year. The number of periods during which the air quality objective is exceeded each

year is now reducing and the target objective is closer to being achieved.

Figure 5: Number of

daily air quality

maxima readings

exceeding 100 µg m-3

each year (1999-

2009), based on 8-

hour running mean.

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What has the council been doing to improve air quality?

• Continues to review planning applications to ensure air quality impacts of development is

reduced during demolition and construction and in areas where air quality is poor. In 2009

Brent Council’s Environmental Health team reviewed 536 applications for planning.

• Continues to secure reductions in particulate matter at Neasden Lane, an area associated

with dust nuisance and other problems for a number of years. The number of times where

the daily mean has exceeded 50ug/m3

has decreased annually, from 191 exceedances in

2006 to 68 in 2009, a 64% decrease. The council is currently working with operators at the

site to enclose other dust generating activities to reduce this further and therefore expects

to report further decreases in particulates in the future.

• Brent Council is a member of the Airtext Consortium. This is a group of local authorities

providing free texts to alert users on high or moderate pollution days. Those with respiratory

disorders like asthma have found the service extremely useful in managing their condition.

The pilot was considered so successful that funding has been received to continue to provide

the service until 2012 (3 years after the pilot was due to end).

• A project has been piloted in four schools in Brent to educate children about air quality and

climate change. Using food miles and a simple emissions calculator, discussion is generated

around climate change and air quality, and understanding of their contribution to local air

quality is developed. The project was well received and is to be provided as a web-based

package for use in schools and for the general public in the coming year.

What are Brent Council’s plans to improve air quality?

• Evaluating air quality impacts of traffic calming mitigation measures

• Encouraging the use of lower emission vehicles through a “polluter pays” controlled parking

permit scheme

• Promoting car clubs

• Installing electric charging points for vehicles to help stimulate the market for alternatively

fuelled vehicles

• Procuring cleaner fuelled vehicles for council work and minimising the number of vehicles

used for council business

• Providing additional cycle access and secure cycle parking facilities.

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Built Environment

The built environment can have a huge impact on the natural

environment. The building sector, for example, accounts for 30-40 % of

global energy use, and urbanisation produces the urban heat island

effect. It is therefore imperative that endeavours are made to reduce

the negative impact buildings in Brent have on the environment.

Planning

During 2009/10, 33 major proposals were approved by the council, of

which:

• 91% were brownfield development

• 14 permissions (providing 999 residential units) were Code for

Sustainable Homes (CSH) Level 3 and 5 permissions (providing

1,060 units) were CSH Level 4

• 7 permissions secured BREEAM ‘Excellent’; ‘Very Good’ was

secured on a further 5 permissions

• Combined Heat and Power systems were proposed on 12

schemes

• 19 proposals included onsite renewables – this included 9 Photo

Voltaic systems, 3 solar thermal systems, 6 biomass boilers and

one ground source heat pump system

• 8 proposals included greenroofs.

Brent Housing Partnership

Brent Housing Partnership (BHP) undertook work on a sustainable energy

programme on the Brentfield Estate in Neasden. It is BHP's first green

estate and gives financial benefits for residents as well as being

environmentally friendly.

More than a quarter of the UK's greenhouse emissions come from

heating, lighting and powering electrical appliances in homes. BHP is

helping Brent Council to lower its carbon emissions and achieve its

government targets.

An external insulation cladding system was applied to 114 homes, with

84 also fitted with photovoltaic (PV) solar electric tiles. Other energy

efficiency measures include loft insulation, aluminium double glazed

windows and doors and using water butts to conserve water. New roofs

were also installed using an ecologic roof tile that removes nitrogen

oxide pollutants from the air and are made from recycled material.

The combination of retrofit upgrades, double glazing, external wall

insulation, loft insulation and the Lakehouse ‘Smart Roof System’ has resulted in a 33% improvement

in energy efficiency (rising from a low D to a very high C), and a 43% improvement in environmental

impact (rising from E to a high C).

The main goals of the project have successfully been achieved: residents are happier, they have

saved money on their energy bills, and substantial reductions in CO2 emissions have been secured.

The Brentfield Estate has so far been shortlisted for two national housing awards including the Inside

Housing Sustainable Housing Awards and the Association for Public Service Excellence.

What is the urban heat island

effect?

The urban heat island effect is

the phenomenon of higher

temperatures in built-up urban

areas, in relation to rural

environments. It is regularly

observed in London.

Why does it occur?

Urban areas comprise of

materials such as concrete, brick,

asphalt, etc, which absorb more

heat than plants and soil. These

materials also store heat for

longer, slowly releasing heat

back into the atmosphere during

the night. The height of buildings

in urban areas also often limits

air flow, reducing the cooling

effect of breezes.

Furthermore, many activities

that occur in urban areas

generate heat, for example,

vehicles, heat loss from

buildings, and heat exhausts

from air conditioning units. The

concentration of people in urban

areas also generally results in

more of these activities taking

place, in comparison to rural

areas.

In addition, there are relatively

fewer areas of green space and

open water in urban areas, which

naturally cool the immediate

area through the process of

evaporation and transpiration.

These factors combine to

produce urban heat islands.

What does this mean?

As a result, the temperature in

central London can often be 10°C

hotter than in surrounding areas.

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Natural environment, parks and open spaces

Brent is a highly developed urban area with a considerable shortage of public open space. The

council’s challenge is to ensure that everyone in Brent has access to the borough’s public spaces,

where they can enjoy safe, clean areas which are rich in wildlife and offer a variety of activities.

Fryent Country Park

Despite a lower frog spawn count from the previous year in 2010 (possibly due to the cold winter),

the long-term trend of increase continues. This is the result of Brent Council, in partnership with the

Barnhill Conservation Group, working on a large-scale restoration programme to reverse the decline

of the Common Frog in Fryent Country Park.

Fryent Country Park has retained its Soil Association Organic Standard. Since late 2009, the Organic

Standard has been extended to the woodlands and timber produce at Fryent Country Park.

Gladstone Park

Sports pitches at Gladstone Park are now in use following the installation of drainage and seeding to

create grass.

The Brent River Park Project

The Brent River Park Project is a partnership project between

Brent Council and the Environment Agency. Brent Council also

works with Friends of Brent River Park to maintain the quality

of the environment and promote the river park as a valuable

and enjoyable community green space. Events are organised

to engage local youth and residents in environmental

conservation, awareness raising and improve social coherence.

Make a Difference Day

On national ‘Make a Difference Day’ on Saturday 31 October, 2009, litter picking and the planting of

flower bulbs were organised at Brent River Park. Already, daffodils, which had been planted by

volunteers six years ago, blossom every year in the park. Many young people came along to do

their bit to help improve the environment. Jayna Mistry (aged 16) commented: “It’s hard work,

however, I very much enjoyed today. I’ll definitely volunteer at the next tree planting event”.

Tree Planting event

More than 20 local volunteers took part in a tree planting event as part of ‘National Tree Week’

activities on 28 November 2009. 20 Field Maple and Alder trees were planted by volunteers.

The proud planters then wrote their environmental pledges

on giant leaves which were tied onto the trees with edible

shoe laces. Young Friends of Brent River Park committee

member, Cassandra Cheng, said “we were very grateful to

see so many councillors come to support us and get

themselves muddy. We hope the newly planted trees will be

flourishing when we plant new ones next year”. Several

hundred trees were planted on other projects throughout

the borough.

The events were organised by the Young Friends of Brent River Park and supported by Brent Youth

Volunteers, Brent Planning Service, Brent Parks Service, Brent Estate Security Wardens and

Groundwork London. The young people received funding from the Youth Opportunity and Capital

Funds via Brent Youth Service to organise the event.

Smaller Parks

The Council also continues to enhance its parks where possible. This includes a new small park in

Chalkhill, and an extensive redesign of the Pocket Park on Tubbs Road (Kensal Green).

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Brent in Bloom

Brent in Bloom is an annual competition that gives local people the opportunity to

show off their gardening skills and aims to make the borough more attractive.

This year's efforts by residents to plant up their gardens, window boxes, school

grounds and businesses resulted in Brent receiving a prestigious Silver Gilt Award

in the London in Bloom competition. The Gold standard was awarded to Leopold

Primary School in Harlesden.

Biodiversity

The Grand Avenue verges form one of 62 Sites of Importance for Nature Conservation in the

borough. This green space in a residential setting is divided into segments by side roads. The

amenity grassland is well-covered by trees and shrubs (including oaks, hawthorn, weeping willow,

ash, lime and purple cherry-plum), and provides a variety of habitats in an unusual situation.

Situated in the shadow of Wembley Stadium, this site provides shelter and breeding places for a

range of birds and insects.

The council’s Parks team aim to improve the wildlife and add colour to these verges, whilst

maintaining their amenity and sight-lines. Once changes have started, frequent inspections will be

held during the first year, to obtain information and to amend the management accordingly, to

achieve the best results. Litter picking would continue.

All options could involve introducing wildflower bulbs and plugs of e.g. crocus, wild daffodil, Lady’s

Bedstraw, daisy, Autumn hawkbit, meadow buttercup and ox-eye daisy. Areas near to the existing

shrubs could be planted with slightly taller wildflowers such as common knapweed.

As well as increasing biodiversity on the Council’s own land, Brent Council will seek to work with

partners to enhance biodiversity elsewhere in the borough.

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Public Opinion

In the 2008 national Place Survey 68.3% of residents were very or fairly satisfied with their local area

as a place to live. 71.1% of residents thought that the local public services are working to make the

area cleaner and greener; 67.3% were very or fairly satisfied with the parks and open spaces; and

71.7% of residents were very or fairly satisfied with the recycling service.

Between May and August 2009, Ipsos MORI conducted 2,243 in-home, face-to-face interviews with

residents, aged 16+, from across the borough, to provide data for the 2009 Residents Attitude

Survey (RAS).

The results showed residents consider the most positive things about living in Brent are public

transport (34%), shopping facilities (26%), open spaces (26%) and clean streets (21%).

When asked to rate a range of different public services and facilities provided by the council, those

which residents perceived as being most satisfactory were:

• refuse collection (+78, up from +70 in 2005)

• street lighting (+78, up from +61 in 2005)

• parks and open spaces (+74, up from +56 in 2005).

Responses were also analysed from just those who actually use the services being discussed. Among

this group, satisfaction was highest for:

• parks & open spaces (+81, up from +66 in 2005)

• libraries (+75, up from +65 in 2005)

• recycling facilities (+74, up from +70 in 2005)

Residents were asked how satisfied or dissatisfied they were with the quality of various services in

their local area. 86% of respondents were satisfied with the refuse collection, 85% of respondents

with street lighting, and 79% of respondents were satisfied with street sweeping.

Figure 6: Level of respondents’ satisfaction with refuse collection, street lighting and street

sweeping.

These responses acknowledge that Brent Council is providing highly satisfactory environmental

services to its residents. These positive responses are a target to aim to maintain or better over the

forthcoming years.

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Future Priorities

Brent Council’s key environmental priorities going forward are, over the next few years, to:

• lead by example

• work towards reducing its carbon emissions by 25 per cent by 2014

• work in partnership with other public sector organisations in Brent; local businesses;

residents; faith, voluntary and community groups to implement the borough’s Climate

Change Strategy and prepare the borough for the impacts of climate change

• develop and work to a ‘Green Charter’

• make sustainable choices in the purchasing of goods and services

• increase the council’s own recycling rate and reduce its quantities of waste

• increase the borough’s recycling rate through, for example, broadening the range of items

that can be recycled in the borough and making it easier for people living in flats to recycle

• keep streets clean, free of graffiti and dumped rubbish

• improve the biodiversity of the borough’s parks and open spaces

• increase the amount of open space in Brent

• lobby the Mayor of London on strategic transport issues which matter to Brent, including

high-speed orbital bus based services connecting outer London town centres.