Have Your Say On POLICING In LONDON!
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Update on post Carnival street cleaning!
Hello Kensal Rise Community!
Hope you all had a lovely and restful Bank Holiday! 🌤️
If you made it down to Notting Hill Carnival, we hope you had a blast — and maybe even got your hands on some delicious jerk chicken or plantain! 🍗🌽🎶
Now that the festivities are over, the post-Carnival clean-up on Chamberlayne Road and Station Terrace is underway. 🧹✨
If you spot any issues or areas that need attention, feel free to share your feedback here — we’ll pass it along to Brent officers and ward councillors.
Let’s keep Kensal Rise looking its best! 💚
🚦 KRRA Speaks Out: Protect Chamberlayne Road! 🚦
Westminster & Brent want to make Kilburn Lane one-way — but at what cost? Displaced traffic could flood Chamberlayne Road, which already sees double the national average traffic and has suffered 40 collisions in under a mile.
We’re backing better cycling – ✅
But not more congestion, gridlock, and danger – ❌
🔑 Our key concerns:
- 🚑 Emergency services already face delays
- 🚗 62.9% of traffic is just passing through
- 💸 It risks undoing Brent’s Kensal Corridor investment
📢 We’ve submitted evidence-based objections – but we need your voice too!
🗓 Consultation closes 22 July 2025
🔗 Read our response below
📝 Have your say here: https://kilburnlane.commonplace.is/
Let’s push for smarter, safer streets — together.
#KRRA #ChamberlayneRoad #KilburnLane #TrafficTruths #BrentCouncil #WestminsterCouncil #SaferStreets
🏡 Have Your Say: Licensing Privately Rented Properties in Brent (HMOs)
Brent Council is consulting on proposals to introduce additional licensing for privately rented properties, particularly Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs).
Why It Matters:
- Over 7,100 HMOs identified across Brent.
- 27% contain serious housing hazards—twice the national average.
- 2,366 incidents of anti-social behaviour linked to HMOs in recent years.
- Poorly managed properties contribute to wider community issues.
Brent Council wants your views to help ensure safer, better-managed housing and to tackle anti-social behaviour.
Get Involved
Brent Council invite feedback from all residents, tenants, landlords, letting agents, businesses, and anyone with an interest in the private rented sector.
Submit your views by 10 June 2025:
👉 Complete the survey here
You can also send written submissions to: prslicensing@brent.gov.uk
Next Steps
All feedback will be reviewed and a consultation report will be published. Final proposals will be considered by the Council’s Cabinet in Summer 2025.
Your response will be kept confidential and used solely for this consultation.
🗳️ KRRA Committee Election Results Are In! 🌿
We’re excited to announce the newly elected team leading the Kensal Rise Residents’ Association (KRRA) following our Annual General Meeting on 16 April 2025. A huge thank you to everyone who participated and supported their community! Minutes of the AGM are at the end of this post.
💼 2025–26 KRRA Committee:
- Chair – Fiona Mulaisho BEM
- Vice Chair & Ward Panel Rep (Policing) – Sanjay Nazerali
- Secretary – Suzanne O’Farrell
- Treasurer – Sachin Patel
- Transport, Environment & Planning Officer – Hazel Williams
- Events Officer – Jatin Patel
- Local Business Liaison – Fiona Mulaisho BEM
- Queens Park Officer – Vicky Zentner
🚪 Street Representatives:
- Clifford Gardens – Sanjay Nazerali & Louisa Dallmeyer
- Whitmore Gardens – Grace Hicken
- Wrentham Avenue – Sandra Ndudi
- Liddell Gardens – Vinod Bhudia
- Chamberlayne Road – Suzanne O’Farrell
Let’s give a warm welcome to our dedicated neighbours stepping up for the year ahead. Here’s to another year of positive change, community spirit, and local action! 💪🏽🌼
📬 Get Involved
If you would like to be a representative for your street, or have any ideas, initiatives, or local issues you’d like KRRA to take forward, please email:
📧 kensalrisera@gmail.com
Join Us at the Kensal Rise Residents’ Association AGM!
📅 Date: Wednesday, 16 April 2025
🕢 Time: 7:30 PM – 8:30 PM
📍 Location: The Church of the Transfiguration, Upstairs Hall, 1 Wrentham Ave, London NW10 3HT
♿ Accessibility: A lift is available from the ground floor to the hall.
Kensal Rise is a thriving, vibrant community, and you can help shape its future! We’re looking for passionate local residents to step into voluntary committee roles, including:
✅ Chair
✅ Vice Chair
✅ Secretary
✅ Treasurer
✅ Planning
✅ Environment
✅ Transport
✅ Events
✅ Policing
✅ Local Business
✅ Communications & Publicity
✅ Street and Park Representatives
No official experience? No problem for some roles! All you need is enthusiasm and a desire to make Kensal Rise even better.
Join us for an evening of community engagement, exciting opportunities, and meaningful impact. Your voice matters—let’s build a better Kensal Rise together!
👉 Spread the word and bring a neighbour!
Kensal Rise Residents Fight Back Against Surge in Out of Service Diesel Buses
The Kensal Rise Residents’ Association (KRRA) is leading a campaign against Transport for London (TfL) and Metroline over the routing of hundreds of empty diesel Out of Service buses through residential streets. Since Metroline took over the route 28 contract from RATP in May 2024, Out of Service buses have been diverted through Chamberlayne Road and Liddell Gardens, adding to an already congested residential area that already hosts four existing bus routes.
Initially designed for horses, carts, and Victorian-era 2ft x 4ft buses, Chamberlayne Road is owned by Brent Council of the Borough of Brent. This two-thirds residential road now faces the challenge of accommodating up to 8,000 TfL diesel buses (excluding the Out of Service buses) servicing six routes weekly, along with approximately 75,000 vehicles, including cars, vans, HGVs, lorries, and coaches, creating conditions that violate both environmental standards and residents’ fundamental rights to a safe and healthy living environment.
The controversy is heightened by TfL’s decision to specify old style diesel buses in the tender for route 28, despite the previous operator, RAPT, using electric buses and documented air quality concerns in the area. In 2018, the Mayor’s Air Quality Audit for Schools identified Ark Franklin Academy on Chamberlayne Road as among top fifty worst-polluted schools, situated on one of London’s worst polluted roads.
“It’s unacceptable that TfL would knowingly issue a tender requiring diesel buses in an area already suffering from severe air pollution,” says the Residents’ Association. The group points out that Chamberlayne Road, neither an A nor B road, now handles over 1,300 buses daily, resulting in journey times of up to 20 minutes to travel just 0.9 miles.
Residents of both Chamberlayne Road and Liddell Gardens report structural damage to their homes from constant vibrations, while the continuous convoy of empty Out of Service buses takes a circuitous two-mile route through residential streets to reach Metroline’s Willesden Junction depot, despite the availability of more suitable main road alternatives.
Conversations with route 28 drivers have revealed that Metroline’s decisions appear driven primarily by operational cost savings rather than community impact. The Residents’ Association describes this as “morally unacceptable,” noting that Metroline’s continued disregard for community wellbeing stands at odds with their responsibilities as a public transport operator.
The Residents’ Association has escalated the matter to the Local Government Ombudsman after both TfL and Metroline failed to address their concerns adequately. They are also seeking legal advice regarding compensation for property damage.
KRRA’s Response to Transport for London Consultation – Route 452 Changes
The Kensal Rise Residents’ Association (KRRA) proposes to support TfL’s proposal to change route 452 so it would operate between Vauxhall Bus Station and Notting Hill Gate, following its trial period (Proposed response at the end of this post). This position stems from the severe impact of TfL’s intensive bus operations in the neighbourhood, where over 1,100 double-decker diesel buses traverse Chamberlayne Road daily – equivalent to one bus passing residential properties every other minute, seven days a week.
The Victorian-era Chamberlayne Road, a narrow single carriageway just 6.5 metres wide, was never designed to handle such heavy traffic. The constant passage of 12-tonne buses has led to structural damage to properties, dangerous levels of air pollution, and significant safety concerns, as the road lacks the infrastructural capacity to safely accommodate such volumes – over 11,300 vehicles and 1,100 buses daily (excluding route 302). Between 2020-2022, there were 40 collisions on this road. Particularly worrying are the air quality levels near Ark Franklin Primary Academy, identified as one of London’s most polluted school locations in the Mayor’s 2018 Air Quality Audit.
Because of the intense traffic volume, bus journeys are severely impacted, often taking 20 minutes or more just to travel down Chamberlayne Road. This unreliability has made buses the least preferred travel option for many residents, who choose to drive instead to maintain control over their journey times – directly contradicting the Mayor of London’s strategy to encourage greater use of public transport.
From a broader urban planning perspective, the current bus routing appears to contradict TfL’s own stated goals of creating healthy streets and promoting active travel. The dominance of buses on Chamberlayne Road discourages cycling and walking, working against the Mayor of London’s transport strategy of increasing active travel modes.
The KRRA notes that route 452 has already been temporarily suspended in Kensal Rise with no complaints from residents, as route 52 adequately serves the area. They propose making this change permanent. The association also recommends implementing an ANPR traffic management system to reduce cut-through traffic to improve bus journey times.
These changes would help address the community’s pressing concerns about public health, safety (particularly for cyclists and pedestrians), and quality of life while maintaining sufficient public transport access through existing routes.
If you have any feedback, please contact the KRRA by 4 PM (13 December 2024) at kensalrisera@gmail.com.
KRRA’s Position on Queens Park Healthy Neighbourhood Scheme – Urgent Response Needed by 5 PM, 12 December 2024
Following extensive consultation with our community and thorough analysis of available data, the Kensal Rise Resients’ Association (KRRA) has decided to strongly object to both Options A and B of the proposed scheme Queens Park Healthy Neighbourhood Scheme (QPHNS) area (Download link for map showing project scope at the end of the KRRA’s response).
The KRRA’s objection is based on several key findings:
- The proposals for the project area would create an unprecedented restriction system, a two-tier ward, where Kensal Rise residents would face £130 penalties for accessing parts of their own ward, while Queens Park area residents would retain unrestricted access (Download link for map showing project scope at the end of the KRRA’s response).
- Traffic data shows Chamberlayne Road already suffers from 40 collisions (2020-2022) and 11,300+ daily vehicles, whilst the areas targeted for restrictions show minimal incidents
- Air quality measurements on Chamberlayne Road, particularly near Station Terrace, show NO2 levels at nearly double the EU legal limit, whilst the QPHNS area maintains safe levels
- Our December 2024 member poll showed 92.8% opposition to both options, supported by door-to-door conversations with over 200 residents
- The One Neighbourhood petition, opposing both Options A and B, has gathered 1,400 signatures from residents across the Queens Park ward, including those living within the proposed scheme area
The complete position paper, below to this email, provides detailed evidence and analysis supporting our decision. Please review it and send us your feedback by 5 PM, Thursday 12 December 2024. Email: kensalrisera@gmail.com
We apologise for the short notice on this deadline. As a committee of volunteers, many with full-time jobs and other demanding commitments, we’ve worked as quickly as possible to compile this comprehensive response.
Thank you for your continued support and prompt attention to this matter.
🚨 Important Update (5th December 2024) : Gas Leaks & Roadworks in Kilburn Lane Area
- Gas Leak on Kilburn Lane: Cadent has reported a gas leak outside 26 Kilburn Lane, requiring a full road closure. Repairs are underway, with the permit set to end on 12th December. Diversion plans are still pending approval.
- Chamberlayne Road: A gas leak at the junction with Kilburn Lane will require temporary traffic lights in addition to the Kilburn Lane closure. Permit details and durations are not yet confirmed.
- Thames Water Works: Multi-way lights are active on Chamberlayne Road (junction with Harvist Road) with a westbound closure on Harvist Road. The revised completion is expected by end of day tomorrow.
⏳ Note: The Kensal Corridor Scheme remains on hold until the new year due to ongoing gas leaks.
Kensal Rise Residents' Association 
