Minutes of 13 January 2024 Friends of Gladstone Park Public Meeting 2pm – 4pm Cosmos Rugby Clubhouse
Present
Trustees: Francine Lawrence, Helen Goodsell, Cllr Liz Dixon, Hazel Glenister, Gill Close (minutes), Paul Hurst, Lia Colacicco, Cllr Tariq Dar, Mark Cummins, Sylvia Gauthereau, Sajjad Dar
Speakers and roughly 60 attendees, only some of whom signed in. The room was packed, with standing room only.
Continental landscapes
Russ Kirk, the national operational support manager for Continental Landscapes gave a presentation. The company is based near Bicester and has a Dutch owner, the Krinkels Group. It provides training opportunities, vocational qualifications and apprenticeships. He said he did not know the park well and that Vincent Nurse (Corporate Social Responsibility) and Dean were not available to present with him. As the company does not have Brent Council’s contract for street cleaning, it can devote all of its time to parks and open spaces. He explained the digital systems to record work that was needed and that had been completed, such as removal of the moss and detritus on the MUGA. The fleet was 100% electric and the council had installed two electric chargers in the park’s rickyard.
Russ then took questions and provided responses, many of which were that he would check and then respond. Details are in the table below, grouped into themes. In the break, attendees also asked him questions individually.
| Question | Response from Russ Kirk |
| Litter | |
| Bins are overflowing | They should be emptied daily |
| Can litter be collected at the weekend. | Russ will check |
| Gladstone Park Open Space litter not collected, litter left there by gypsies in October not been collected and a fire lit. | Russ will take that information back |
| Want fox-proof bins | Russ will take that back to the council |
| Rats around the car park and pond where food is left. Can they charge for the car park. | Council issue |
| Can they work with council on a litter campaign. | Russ will work on it with the council. |
| Can they collect after litter picks | Russ asked when they were |
| A leaflet about litter is needed in different languages. | Russ agreed |
| How do we let CL know if something has been dumped in the park, such as a sink | Russ said he would come back to us about the contact |
| Staff and machinery | |
| How many machines | Russ said they had enough capacity in the borough |
| Their electric vehicles speed through the park. | Russ will pass that on |
| Staff driving through the park were not polite. Want relationship with drivers as before. | Russ said that the teams were mainly the same |
| Are CL responsible for all areas of the park | Russ not sure – will come back to us |
| Is there a plan for a park warden | Russ said not their remit, a council issue |
| Paths | |
| Who is responsible for the paths; some are in bad condition | Russ said it was the council |
| Cafe | |
| Stephanie reported ASB and loud music from the groups playing on the table tennis table outside the cafe and asked for police and parks to relocate it | Russ said he can’t move things |
| Bee corridors | |
| Are bee corridors in their remit? Want them back. | Russ said he will work to establish wildflower meadows |
Rugby
Sajjad Dar and Carter Quinn provided the details below, which attendees received on the agenda.
Kilburn Cosmos Rugby Football Club, Gladstone Centre, Anson Road NW2 6BH, https://kilburncosmos.co.uk/
| Junior (age 6-18) | Women | Men | |
| Training | Sunday 10.00am-12.00pm | Tuesday 7pm-8.30pm (Nov-Feb floodlit at Crest Academy) Sunday 12.30pm-2pm | Wednesday 7pm-8.30pm (Nov-Feb floodlit at Ark Academy) Matches Saturday 2pm |
| Contact | juniors@kilburncosmos.co.uk | ladies@kilburncosmos.co.uk www.instagram.com/cosmosrfcladies/ www.facebook.com/kilburncosmosladies/ twitter.com/CosmosRFCLadies | info@kilburncosmos.co.uk www.instagram.com/kilburncosmosrfc www.facebook.com/kilburncosmos twitter.com/kilburncosmos |
Training is at Gladstone Park except for evenings from November to February when it is on floodlit 3G synthetic turf pitches.
Attendees who asked questions indicated that they did not know about the club and would be interested in joining. They asked for posters and information to be shared more widely.
FoGP activities
Helen Goodsell described the FoGP activities listed on the agenda: walks, litter picks, gardening club and copse group. She pointed out the gardening and copse displays and indicated that Sylvia Gautherau would answer any questions about cycling or Make Space for Girls.
Break
Attendees spent time meeting others, asking questions, eating the delicious cakes and looking at the displays.
Safety and crime in the park
Sergeant Matt Leighton, PC Alice Lashley-Foster and PCSO Arfan Shah from the Dollis Hill Safer Neighbourhood Team (SNT) explained that three different wards covered parts of the park so the Dollis Hill SNT patrolled north of the railway line, the Willesden Green SNT patrolled south of the railway line and west of the main path from Anson Road to the low railway bridge, and Cricklewood and Mapesbury SNT patrolled east of that path, including the Gladstone Centre. This was shown on the map at the back of the agenda.
Questions and concerns raised
Request for SNT visits to Our Lady of Grace Junior School; officers said they were arranging these
Whether the separate SNT collated information from different reports; Matt said they did
Feeling unsafe at night to walk in the park
How to report moped delivery through the park and photos taken; 101 or PSPO QR code
Knife crime in the park
Two women robbed at knifepoint on high green railway bridge, does SNT know this; SNT see all reports for their area
Nitrous oxide use, how to report; PSPO QR code, now illegal
Liked the police horses visiting the park; repeat and publicise; could they also patrol
How much time SNT spend patrolling the park on a typical week; varies
Café operator said that nothing was done about antisocial behaviour (ASB) around the table tennis table outside the café and her request for the table to be removed; report ASB, council responsible for table location
Closing remarks
Need for water fountains, which FoGP has worked on with council. One south of the tennis courts is due soon.
Request for updating/repair of playground equipment
Brent Parks officers Kelly Eaton and Sam Haines were unavailable today but would be invited to the next meeting.
Phil Stagles the council’s neighbourhood manager for wards covering the park would also be invited.
Clarity was sought on the opening hours for the pavilion café, which had often been shut recently. The café operator said winter was 12 noon until sunset; summer was longer and 7 days per week, she would publish hours in summer.
Anyone interested in finding out more about becoming a trustee was asked to speak to a trustee.
Thanks to the rugby club for hosting the meeting.
Thanks to everyone for coming to the meeting.