We have been very busy this fortnight, attending various meetings, reporting fly-tips, broken pavements, broken lights, litter, eyesores, illegal parking and trying to get answers from Brent and Camden Councils. Read more further down.
Our local historian, Dick Weindling has also been very busy! Here is a story about the Sidings, off Maygrove Road and Railway Robberies and a story about a fire in Willesden Lane. We are delighted that he has created 2 free interactive maps about music history in Kilburn (and wider North West London), with the help of Adrian Hindle-Briscall . One map shows musicians, while the other shows music businesses and venues. Maps are best used on a computer as they have some issues on mobile phones. If you have a music related story that is not covered please let us know and we will pass on to Dick to add to the maps.
Kilburn State of Mind, and lovely Kate and Alan, are looking for businesses to help fund their charity, offering musical instruments and IT classes, as well as an affordable music recording studio in Watling Gardens. We hear they have applied to the London Borough of Cultures fund and cross our fingers for them.
The Sidings Community Centre are offering a play scheme for the forthcoming school holidays, for children aged 5 to 11.
Casa Latino in Kingsgate Place have a busy programme and so does the Abbey Community Centre. They are recruiting as well.
The London Historic Buildings Trust chose our Tin Tabernacle to relaunch on 27th January. We might have to contact them in the near future to help with the Gaumont State. If you, like us, despair at the lack of enforcement from Brent Council to force Ruach Church to fulfill their planning obligations, please get in touch as a group of concerned residents is being started next week!
The vacant site that was Il korner at 218 Kilburn High road will open in 3 weeks as a franchised burger shop according to the building owner.
Exmix store at 224 Kilburn High Road didn’t last long… It will reopen this weekend as a…..you have guessed it! VAPE shop, mobile accessories and bags.
Did you now that most railways signals were manufactured at the bottom of Kilburn High Road?
Want to organise a Community Festival on the Camden side? Apply for funds before 29th February.
Do you know somebody who could benefit from free sanitary products? Tricky Period are now operating at Kilburn Library.
Live in Camden and want to try out an electric cargo bike for free?
On the 28th January, did you spot Venus over Kilburn? If you have not, look at this and this. And yes it was full moon last night and the largest moon ( so called Snow Moon) was visible in the afternoon over Iverson Road. It didn’t bring snow but storm Ciara that closed Glengall Road and apparently was the cause of power outages in Kilburn.
A picture of St Cuthbert’s Church and Hall before they were demolished for flats and a new Church building.
A Kingsgate Workshops’ Potter is competing in the Pottery Throw Down and Kilburn’s Dee was also on TV, on the Victoria Derbyshire show.
Yummy Bakery opened last week, at the top of Kilburn High Road.
Wingmans are opening in Soho. Sad that there might be fewer celebrities in Kilburn, visiting from far away to enjoy their award winning wings!
The adorable ladies of the Cancer Research Shop continue to do good deeds, and always with a smile!
Some refurbishment work is going on in the defunct Funky Burgoo at 278 Kilburn high road. Wonder what it will be?
Time Out in this piece revealed that there would be 3 additonal plays at the Kiln Theatre as part of the London Borough of Culture.
The Kiln Cinema and cafe will be closed on Sundays from this weekend. A bit of an unpublicised piece of news! And speaking of our local theatre did you know that Kaiser Wilhelm II gifted a stag’s head to adorn its building, the Forresters Hall?
A competition to win £40 worth of Cinema tickets at Kilburn’s Kodak Express.
‘Restaurant Guru’ are recommending Addis Cafe in Kingsgate Community Centre.
Trees are still being destroyed in Brent. Here is a very brilliant map of London tree cover and an urgent petition to save 2 old oak trees that Brent want to remove despite the trees being subject to a tree protection order. We think that strategic CIL should be used to fund more trees and to maintain existing in Brent, and there is plenty of it. Brent were proud to announce that they would plant 318 trees funded mostly by the GLA and Forestry Commission but they failed to mention that in 2018/19 they removed 226 mature trees and planted 79 trees. In the meantime Camden have received the accolade of Tree City of the World and have taken furher steps to protect the trees in Kilburn’s Grange park. Oh, and there is a trees give away on 15th February to help grow the London Tree population.
If you have some time to volunteer on Saturdays, Mill Lane garden centre would love your help.
The failure to replace street signs, broken for 4 years, just shows how neglected Kilburn is by Brent and Camden Councils. A piece about it is here in the Brent and Kilburn Times.
Planning alerts for banners on the MP Morans building, and… more monstrosities with underground car parks served by car lifts in South Kilburn!
Sadly we’re still no closer to getting the Kilburn Station sign replaced by TFL. It’s been missing for almost a year and a half now…
The local Police rely heavily on intelligence from all of us… That helps them to make Kilburn safer. So do tell them what you know!
Sign a petition to save the Kilburn Grange nursery here.
The Local Governmetn Boundary Commission made its final recommendations for the Camden Warding Arrangements. Sad to see that Kingsgate Community Centre and Kingsgate Workshops will now be in the South Hampstead Ward.
We attended a meeting with both Brent and Camden officers on 3rd February regarding the Kilburn High Road Improvement Project that started in 2012. Do read what was discussed as it impacts us all. Depressing we think!
Estate Agents have spent the last 50 years trying to make Kilburn disappear and reducing it to a small portion of the High Road, calling it Queen’s Park, West Hampstead, North Maida Vale or St John’s Wood. Funny that they now think it’s an ‘hidden gem’ surrounded by Queen’s Park and West Hampstead! One could not make it up!….
We’ve got news about the Kilburn Street Party on the 11th July 2020. It will affect us all and you need to read what we took away from the residents meeting on 5th February 2020.
And because Kilburn is Kilburn there is plenty to of unique shopfronts, and unique people and sights.
What’s happening this fortnight
11th February Live music at Piccolo cafe
11th February 12pm-1pm free opera at the Abbey community centre
13th February First performance of ‘Pass Over’ at the Kiln
15th February live music at the Fiddler
15th February DJ at 280 degrees.
17th – 21st February Half term club for 5-11 year old kids at Sidings Community Centre
22nd February Live music with Bright Nights at the Priory Tavern
What’s happening a bit later
14th March Ceilhid Dance at the Sheriff Centre
24th March Frankie Gavin performing at the Fiddler
If you have news, an event, some local history or just a favourite corner of Kilburn you’d like to share please email us news@lifeinkilburn.com or tweet to @lifeinkilburn.