Council leader tells residents they are ’embarrassed’ by hidden murals in Wembley

The leader of Brent Council has been accused of being “a bully” after he told a resident they were “shameful” by challenging the decision to keep Wembley’s tiled murals – which depict major sporting and entertainment events that took place in -over the years – covered by advertising.

At a recent Cabinet meeting (May 28), Brent Council opted to go along with the recommendation made by council officers and accept an offer from property developers Quintain – who also own the 85-acre Wembley Park development site – which is expected to generate the council at least £400,000 over four years. This will mean both the bridge’s safety barriers and the subway (called Option B) will be covered in advertising, once again keeping the boards hidden from public view.

Wembley Historical Society resident and member Philip Grant launched a petition calling for advertising to be allowed only on the bridge’s safety barriers and not on the subway walls (dubbed Option A), which would reveal murals that have remained hidden for more than ten years. He gave a presentation to Cabinet, stressing the importance of “valuing heritage assets”.

However, he believes there was no proper vote and when he tried to raise it as a point of order, he was shut down by council leader Cllr Muhammed Butt, who told him he was “shameful”. . Mr Grant claimed the officers’ report was “one-sided” and there was no proper vote among cabinet members before a decision was made.

He told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS): “I tried to raise my point of order because no decision had been taken at the meeting. The Leader of the Council simply declared the officer’s recommendation (…) approved, without any Cabinet member raising his hand to accept it.”

He added: “If the decision was actually made before the meeting took place, then it was made without considering both sides of the case. This is not good for democracy and can lead to bad decisions.”

When he approached the microphone, Mr Grant was immediately silenced by Cllr Butt and prevented from speaking. Cllr Butt said he was “disappointed” with him and “ashamed”. Even a member of his own cabinet, Cllr Neil Nerva, appeared to suggest the council leader listen to the point of order, but he too was silenced.

Mr Grant said: “I did not feel embarrassed, or should feel embarrassed, to point out to the chairman of the meeting that he was acting unreasonably. In any case, he was the one who should be embarrassed by not holding a proper vote and then trying to call me out when I raised it as a point of order.”

Brent Council told the LDRS that the decision was made “on the basis that all Cabinet members indicated their approval of the report’s recommendations”, which was Option B, and no members indicated they were opposed. As of May 28, there had been no formal complaint about Cllr Butt’s behaviour.

In response to the altercation, Brent Liberal Democrat leader Cllr Anton Georgiou took to Twitter to call Cllr Butt a “bully”. Speaking to LDRS, he described the leader’s behavior as “rude and aggressive” and called for an investigation to determine whether he “adheres to the Nolan Principles of standards in public life” – selflessness, integrity, objectivity, accountability, openness, honesty. and leadership.

Cllr Georgiou said: “Mr Grant came to speak to the Cabinet about something he really cares about and the way he was treated does the council a great disservice. Cllr Butt was rude and aggressive, if he can’t do business without his emotions getting in the way then he shouldn’t be leader.”

The Bobby Moore Bridge and subway were built in 1991 to pedestrianise Olympic Way ahead of the Euro 1996 football tournament. With the support of Wembley Stadium, Brent Council commissioned a large piece of public art to decorate the walls of the subway and along Olympic Way. However, in 2013 the council agreed a lease with Quintain which allowed them to put up advertising, including vinyl and LED lighting, which hid the murals.

The subway was officially opened in September 1993 by the widow of former England World Cup-winning football captain Sir Bobby Moore, who unveiled a plaque naming the bridge “in honor of a football legend”. The plaque is placed in one of the mural scenes, which shows England’s footballers playing at the original Wembley Stadium. As part of the new lease, his plaque will remain on public display.

The actual figures that have been provided to the council are being kept secret from the public because they are considered “commercially sensitive”. The council required any bids to be a “minimum” of £90,000 for the barriers alone and £100,000 for the barriers and subway – meaning the difference between the two options could have been as much as £10,000 per year.

A spokesman for Brent Council said: “Brent’s Cabinet heard from a member of the public who had the right to address the Cabinet after submitting a petition in relation to the agenda item about advertising on Bobby Bridge Moore. The resident was given five minutes to speak. Cabinet then considered the report after which the council leader, who chaired the meeting, presented the recommendations and Cabinet agreed unanimously in favor of Option B.”

They added: “Unfortunately, the public took exception to the decision and repeatedly tried to disrupt the meeting by interrupting the president while he was speaking. The president is responsible for maintaining order at council meetings, so he moved matters to the next item as there were many other topics to discuss.”