Archived Articles January to December 2014

The changing face of Chipping Barnet 5

Jan 06, 2014 Planning
Barnet High Street
Like much of the south-east of England, Chipping Barnet is seeing a rapid rise in home extensions and offices…

Barnet’s historic physic well now sad and forlorn 10

Jan 08, 2014 Barnet History
Barnet Physic Well
Is Barnet in danger of losing another historic link with the past? The well house protecting the town’s…

Church Passage Swiss Chalet to go 6

Jan 15, 2014 Planning
Swiss Chalet Cladding
A planning inspector has ordered that unauthorised timber cladding must be removed from the frontage of…

Backing for Battle of Barnet dig

Jan 15, 2014 Barnet History
Battle of Barnet
A final decision is expected by the end of January on the extent of financial support from the Heritage…

Rambles Round Barnet Updates

Jan 15, 2014 Rambles
Rambles Round Barnet
Members will recall that a previous update on 11th September 2013 referred to the closure of the Totteridge…

Green belt “critical to the health” of Barnet

Jan 27, 2014 Planning
The Green Belt
Barnet has probably more to thank the politicians and planners of the 1930s and 1940s for than any other town…

MP tackles BT but is High Barnet any the wiser? 5

Feb 06, 2014 Broadband
Theresa Villiers tackles BT over High Barnet broadband fiasco
A long-awaited meeting between Theresa Villiers MP and senior executives of British Telecom has still left…

Now The Spires without the twin spires 44

Feb 14, 2014 High Street The Spires
The twin spires have gone in this proposal
Two designs for a new High Street entrance to the Spires shopping centre – one of which would be without the…

Twin spires to stay 7

Feb 24, 2014 High Street The Spires
The twin Spires will stay
A controversial plan to demolish the twin spires to provide a new entrance to the Spires shopping centre has…

Battle of Barnet dig - will Boris intervene? 1

Mar 06, 2014 Barnet History
Boris Johnson Mayor of London
Hopes have been dashed of getting approval for an early start to an archaeological excavation to determine…

Wet, wetter, wettest

Mar 10, 2014 Weather
Angela Morris inspecting her rain gauge.
After collecting High Barnet’s rainfall figures since the 1980s, a Barnet family can say without hesitation…

Age shall not weary them

Mar 19, 2014 Barnet History
'Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn'
Local historians are busy researching the lives of Barnet men who lost their lives in the First World War.…

And the band played on...

Mar 19, 2014 Events
The Band in the 1930's
Barnet Museum is staging a display of instruments and memorabilia belonging to Barnet Band, thought to be the…

Barnet a boutique shopping town?

Mar 29, 2014 High Street The Spires
Could Barnet be turned into a must-visit boutique shopping town?
An imaginative array of ideas for reviving Barnet’s shopping centre was outlined at the Barnet Society’s…

British Telecom on the spot 4

Mar 29, 2014 Broadband
Mrs Theresa Villiers, Chipping Barnet MP, with Ken Rowland of Salisbury Road, Barnet, one of the many local residents without a fast broadband connection
The Barnet Society pinpoints the sites of missing telecoms cabinets needed to deliver a fast broadband…

Events at Barnet Market

Apr 02, 2014 Events
Both new and established stalls are at Barnet Market
The Friends of Barnet Market have orgainsied a series of events this Spring to encourage new shoppers to…

New bus stops for High Barnet 1

Apr 19, 2014 Services
If the No. 34 terminated at the Arkley public house The Red Lion stop could be used for other buses
A new layout for High Barnet’s bus stops could benefit passengers and speed up traffic flow. Transport for…

Plans go in for Spires’ facelift

Apr 23, 2014 High Street The Spires
Carluccio’s will take the lease left by WH Smith
A restaurant with an outside seating area will become part of the High Street frontage of the Spires’…

Loads of cash to improve Barnet’s traffic bottleneck 1

Apr 29, 2014 Services
High Barnet traffic mayhem
Barnet Council has almost £150,000 available which could be spent immediately on improving the road junction…

Swiss chalet cladding off but saga goes on

May 01, 2014 Planning
Covered with yet another facade
Barnet Council has promised that a heritage officer will carry out an inspection in Church Passage in the…

Preview - The new look Spires

May 02, 2014 High Street The Spires
Proposed new-look entrance for The Spires
New look for Spires shopping centre: a continental cafe-style culture for Barnet High Street?

Pop-up to encourage revival 1

May 12, 2014 High Street The Spires
Gail Laser (centre) with Samantha Wrightson, and Daniel Wrightson
One of the many vacant frontages along Barnet High Street is about to get a new lease of life as a pop-up…

Abandoned Marie Foster home could become GP surgery 2

May 14, 2014 Restoration & Rejuvenation
The derelict Marie Foster home on Wood Street
Feasibility study begins on future use of abandoned Marie Foster Home: could it become the site of a new GP…

34 bus route too costly to extend 1

May 27, 2014 Services
34 bus at top of Barnet Hill
Transport for London has turned down a suggestion by the Barnet Society that by slightly extending the final…

New bid for Battle of Barnet excavation

May 27, 2014 Barnet History
Glenn Foard
Glenn Foard, a celebrated military archaeologist, is to spend a day assessing the prospects for a new bid to…

Barnet stadium for sale

Jun 02, 2014 Barnet Football Club
Last match at Underhill
Underhill stadium, home ground of Barnet Football Club for over a century, is to be sold. News that the…

Dory’s cafe: a Barnet institution 4

Jun 03, 2014 High Street The Spires
Tony and Dorina, their son and daughter, Giuliano and Angela, continuing a family tradition at Dory’s cafe
When customer satisfaction is the only protection against the tsunami of change that is sweeping through so…

Wood Street’s whalebones - 75 years in situ 1

Jun 03, 2014 Barnet History
Wood Street's whalebones are 75 years in situ and still in good shape
Seventy-five years ago workmen from a local building contractor, W. Foster & Sons, were asked to complete a…

Queen Elizabeth’s Boys’ School – an academic hothouse at the expense of local boys? 7

Jun 04, 2014 Services
Could the school do more to celebrate its local connections?
Around 2,000 boys from across London and the Home Counties are again expected to apply to study at Barnet’s…

Yet more BT delays 2

Jun 15, 2014 Broadband
British Telecom has been forced to admit that there will be another lengthy delay in providing a fast…

Where have all the butchers gone? 2

Jun 16, 2014 High Street The Spires
John Bye preparing meat at Butcher’s Hook, the last remaining butcher’s shop on Barnet High Street
Just imagine the bustle and activity of 1898 when such was the competition in the High Street of Barnet that…

Petition for new primary school in High Barnet 11

Jun 19, 2014 Services
Foulds Primary School - one of three High Barnet primary schools where demand for places exceeds supply
Parents of children due to start school from 2016 onwards are being urged to sign a petition to support a…

New private hospital for High Barnet

Jun 20, 2014 Planning
The new Hadley Wood Hospital without the additional two floors
Even before the completion of its fitting out, an application has been made for planning permission to almost…

Carluccio's opening date set 1

Jun 27, 2014 High Street The Spires
Carluccio's to open next summer in the revamped Spires
Facelift for the Spires to be finished by the spring ready for Carluccio’s restaurant to open next summer.…

Barnet Museum’s garden party brings history to life

Jun 30, 2014 Barnet History
Dr Gillian Gear, Barnet Museum’s archivist (far left), with Mrs Theresa Villiers, MP for Chipping Barnet, Martin Russell, Deputy Lord Lieutenant for Greater London, and Mike Noronha, co-curator of the museum
Two local history projects connecting Barnet’s past to the present day have been officially unveiled at…

The generosity of Barnet’s benefactors

Jul 04, 2014 Barnet History
Thomas Watson Cottage Homes in Leecroft Road
Tucked away at the end of Leecroft Road, unseen by many local residents, are the Thomas Watson Cottage Homes,…

New beginning for former schoolhouse

Jul 16, 2014 Restoration & Rejuvenation
Christ Church School is being extensively renovated to provide a drop-in facility for the elderly
After raising the staggering sum of half a million pounds, work has started on the first phase of an…

High Barnet’s third-world broadband service 14

Jul 18, 2014 Broadband
Shameful excuses from BT mean slow internet speeds for many properties in High Barnet
British Telecom reworks its ever-lasting litany of excuses and is finally being forced to admit to internet…

Milestone for the almshouses

Jul 26, 2014 Barnet History
From left to right Robert Colgate, Mrs Jenny Harrold, Mrs Sarah Housden and Ms Heather Colgate
Descendants of the family that established the Thomas Watson Cottage Homes, which are tucked away at the end…

The busy bees of Barnet

Aug 04, 2014 General News
“Where is she?” . . . Steve Leveridge, education officer of the Barnet District Beekeepers Association, looking for the queen in a 50,000-strong bee hive at the Association’s High Barnet apiary
Barnet’s bee population – and the borough’s beekeepers – are in very good shape thanks to the enthusiasm and…

Battle of Barnet dig could enhance the role of Barnet Museum

Aug 15, 2014 Barnet History
Barnet Museum is one of the few remaining community museums in Greater London, run by volunteers
Barnet Museum is drawing up plans for a possible extension to its Wood Street premises and a programme of…

Four candles please

Aug 21, 2014 High Street The Spires
Julian Stewart takes no more than a minute to find one out of thousands of items he stocks in Bargain Buys
“Four candles please” – a regular request at Bargain BuysBargain Buys is High Barnet’s answer to the decline…

Plans for a heritage trail for the Battle of Barnet

Aug 22, 2014 Barnet History
The body of King Richard III, discovered in a council car park in Leicester, is to be buried in Leicester Cathedral
A Battle of Barnet heritage trail starting at Hadley Highstone is just one of the ambitious plans for…

Ground-breaking project for older women’s housing 8

Aug 31, 2014 Restoration & Rejuvenation
An artist’s impression of the new complex of flats for older women
Work is about to start in Union Street, just off Barnet High Street, on the construction of twenty-five flats…

Barnet Police Station’s open day 1

Sep 01, 2014 Services
Balloons, games and cups of tea were all on offer
Face-painting, games, balloons and cups of tea were among the attractions at Barnet Police Station’s open day…

Guns & Smoke: too quick on the draw? 11

Sep 01, 2014 Planning
Guns and Smoke, promises to be a new venue at the heart of High Barnet’s conservation area
Guns & Smoke, a new American-style bar and grill at the heart of the High Barnet conservation area, is…

Marchers against NHS privatisation

Sep 07, 2014 Services
Marchers outside Barnet Hospital
Chants of “Our NHS, your NHS” echoed around the Wellhouse Lane entrance to Barnet Hospital as the People’s…

Opening of High Street showcase 1

Sep 14, 2014 High Street The Spires
Interior of the new shop at 89 High Street
Love Barnet’s pop-up shop at 89 High Street promoting locally produced crafts and goods had what the staff…

The bees knees

Sep 28, 2014 Events
Councillor Hugh Rayner, Mayor of Barnet, presenting Annette Chmiel with the Centenary Cup
Honey from hives at Friern Barnet allotments scooped the top prize at the 100th annual show of Barnet…

Rare flowers from Totteridge 1

Oct 14, 2014 Restoration & Rejuvenation
Philip Patenall and his son Matthew, with Sue Bird, vice-chair of Friends of Barnet Countryside Centre
Work is well underway preparing the ground for planting a wild-flower meadow which will become a major new…

Building on the fringe

Oct 14, 2014 Planning
Similar house design to the proposed 105 Camlet Way
Green Belt surrounds Chipping Barnet on three sides, and the Barnet Society was founded in 1945 to protect…

Telling the time once again

Oct 14, 2014 Restoration & Rejuvenation
The new gold leaf on the Roman numerals shining bright in the autumn sunshine
Barnet church has its clock back at last! For almost a month High Barnet residents looked in vain when…

Another independent trader closes 3

Oct 20, 2014 High Street The Spires
Loyal customers shocked to read the bailiff’s notice on the front door of the Oasis coffee shop
Saturday shoppers queued up in disbelief to read a bailiff’s notice posted on the front door of the Oasis…

Former Barnet MP dies 2

Oct 23, 2014 Events
Sir Sydney Chapman
Family, friends and constituents have been paying tribute to Sir Sydney Chapman, the former Conservative MP…

Barnet Fair 2014

Oct 28, 2014 High Street The Spires
On the Christmas train
Once again the communities of Barnet come together on the first Sunday in December, to celebrate the huge…

SOS our town centre is dying 11

Nov 03, 2014 High Street The Spires
The Barnet Society is launching a Save Our High Street appeal: our town centre desperately needs more…

Barnet’s Old MacDonald’s Farm 4

Nov 03, 2014 General News
Peter Mason is 78 but has no intention of retiring from his farm in Wood Street
For the last 50 years Barnet children have needed to go no further than Wood Street to catch a glimpse of a…

Police to act on blue badge abuse 4

Nov 03, 2014 Services
After a rising number of complaints about blue disabled badges being used unlawfully by motorists, High…

Dire broadband speeds to stay, warns MP 9

Nov 10, 2014 Broadband
High Barnet needs another nine additional cabinets to complete the roll-out of high-speed broadband
The Barnet Society’s campaign to force British Telecom to complete High Barnet’s roll-out of high-speed…

Police baffled by High Barnet’s parking 1

Nov 10, 2014 High Street The Spires
Theresa Villiers MP being welcomed by Gordon Massey, chairman of Barnet Residents Association
Theresa Villiers, MP for Chipping Barnet, who is Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, admits that that…

Packed programme for Barnet Fair

Nov 17, 2014 High Street The Spires
Last years Christmas Fair
A packed programme has been arranged for this year’s Barnet Christmas Fair on Sunday 7 December when, instead…

Barnet is nearly a ghost town 3

Nov 17, 2014 High Street The Spires
Barnet High Street 2014
The depth of local anger, frustration and even despair at the damage being inflicted on Barnet’s shopping…

Accident black spot proposal

Nov 21, 2014 Road Improvements
Wellhouse Lane junction of Wood Street accident black spot
A mini-roundabout and an additional zebra crossing are being proposed by Barnet Council to improve road…

Two more shops forced out of High Street 11

Nov 22, 2014 High Street The Spires
Another two independent traders are being forced out of the High Street by a combination of high rents and…

No to free parking say Council and MP 5

Nov 26, 2014 High Street The Spires
Theresa Villiers MP, Gordon Massey (Chair of BRA) and Councillor David Longstaff all oppose the petition
Councillor David Longstaff has joined Mrs Theresa Villiers MP and Gordon Massey, chairman of Barnet Residents…

The “Bees” could return

Dec 04, 2014 Barnet Football Club
Gary Cooper (left) and Gerry Bates beside the former cricket field
A campaign to get Barnet Football Club to return to the town in a new purpose-built stadium is to be stepped…

Mayor signs parking petition 1

Dec 08, 2014 High Street The Spires
Jon Supran (left) and The Mayor of Barnet, Councillor Hugh Rayner, signing the free parking petition
The Mayor of Barnet, Councillor Hugh Rayner, has signed up to be kept informed of progress in the Barnet…

Dr Gear invested with the Order of the British Empire

Dec 15, 2014 General News
From left to right: Sir David Brewer, Lord Lieutenant of Greater London; Michael Gear (husband); Tim Gear (son); Gillian Gear; Chris Gear (son); General Lord Dannatt, Constable of the Tower
Dr Gillian Gear, Barnet Museum’s archivist, was invested with the Order of the British Empire at a ceremony…

Skating – a Christmas treat

Dec 15, 2014 Events
Children enjoying the rink
A children’s skating rink was one of the many attractions at the two-day Christmas in the Park at the Old…

Planning shoot-out for Guns & Smoke 1

Dec 15, 2014 Planning
Some local residents think its illuminated sign is garish but others have welcomed the new venture
Guns & Smoke, the new American-style bar and grill opposite Barnet parish church, faces what looks like being…

Parking claims another casualty 4

Dec 16, 2014 High Street The Spires
Hadley Hounds latest victim of parking fiasco
High Barnet’s “impossible” parking controls are forcing another independent trader out of the High Street.
FOR YEAR 2013