It would appear that the storm of adverse and highly embarrassing publicity generated by the Grenfell Action Group’s latest blog and the involvement of our MP Lady Borwick and local Labour Councillor Judith Blakeman has prompted a sudden U-turn by RBKC who have now announced that the Golborne Childrens Centre will miraculously be ready after all to accommodate the infants transferring from the recently closed Maxilla Centre for the start of Autumn Term (please see response from our MP below):
From: Sweeney, John (john.sweeney@parliament.uk)
Sent: 27 August 2015 08:15:39
Dear *****
Further to our email conversation yesterday, Lady Borwick has been informed, quite separately I understand, that the school will be ready for 8th September, so the children will be going back on time. Lady Borwick had been told there would be a delay, but she is delighted to hear that this will not now be the case.
With kind regards.
Yours sincerely,
John
It seems very strange to us that the refurbishment of the Golborne Childrens Centre will now be completed on time as we have written evidence (below) that RBKC were indeed planning to use grossly inadequate premises on our estate as emergency accommodation for the Maxilla infants and that our local residents group would not be able to use these premises for the foreseeable future:
From: Janet Seward
Date: Thursday, 20 August 2015 15:30
Subject: RE: Community / Meeting Room for Lancaster West
Dear Mr ******
Your enquiry has been referred to me as I am overseeing the community rooms review. Unfortunately, the community rooms where you meet are needed urgently by a nursery which currently meets under the Westway. Before they open on 14th September, a number of repairs have to be carried out to make the rooms suitable for children and I cannot guarantee what stage the work will be at when you require the rooms on 2nd and 9th.
I am speaking to the council to see if the alternative venues that you propose are feasible and will get back to you.
Janet Seward
KCTMO Policy & Improvement Manager
It is typical of the TMO and the heartless RBKC Ruling Party that the well-being of the Maxilla children was only ever truly considered when the decision to dump them in the old caretakers office on Lancaster West was exposed and publicly challenged.
However, the question still remains how the the necessary improvements to the Golborne Childrens Centre could suddenly and miraculously be finished on time when our community had only very recently been informed that the works could not be finished on time and a serious delay was unavoidable. We were led to believe that the Maxilla children could not be accommodated elsewhere, and the only alternative was to dump them at Lancaster West.
Let’s hope that the Maxilla children are not now shunted onto an unfinished building site at Goldborne to save the face of RBKC Councillors and senior Council and TMO officers.
Grenfell Action Group 