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Barnet Vale residents a step nearer the day when Tudor Park’s derelict cricket pavilion might be open again for community use

A determined community effort in Barnet Vale to rescue and renovate an abandoned former cricket pavilion at Tudor Park has achieved a major objective – and to celebrate there are new artist’s impressions of what the renovated building might look like.

After lengthy negotiations, Barnet Council has finally agreed the terms of a 50-year lease with the Friends of Tudor Park and Pavilion, paving the way for the launch of a fund-raising appeal.

A binding agreement with the council would give the friends three years to present a detailed planning application to the council for rebuilding and improving a dilapidated structure which is currently closed to the public and is in desperate need of repair.

Once the paperwork is complete and the lease has been signed, the friends can start fund raising and making appeals to the National Lottery Community Fund, local charities and other groups for financial support towards a possible target of £800,000 to £1million.

Barnet Council has already agreed a £200,000 grant from community infrastructure funds.

Simon Cohen, chair of the friends’ committee who in 2020 initiated the campaign to save the 106-year-old pavilion for community use, outlined the terms of the lease at an exhibition of the latest images.

There would be no rent to pay for the first five years; £500 a year for the following five years; then increasing at £500 a year to year 20, followed by further increases in line with inflation.

A business plan prepared by the committee proposed that the pavilion would be open for community use and a variety of activities seven days a week from 9am to 9pm. A wide range of local groups have already expressed interest in making use of the building.

Committee vice chair Simon Kaufman outlined the latest proposals and images.

Consultations with the community showed the largest support was for the refurbished pavilion to include a café, overlooking the existing Tudor Park children’s playground, with accessible public toilets, indoor and outdoor seating areas and wheelchair access.

The main hall in the pavilion would be multi-functional with additional activity spaces, more toilets, lockers and storage for space for equipment.

There would be space in the central area to seat 50 people which could be expanded to take 80 people and even as many as 120 people with sliding internal walls.

Dogged community campaign in Barnet Vale to save abandoned cricket pavilion in Tudor Park a step closer with Barnet Council agreeing a 50-year lease

Instead of the metal bars which currently close off access to the pavilion the refurbished building might feature external decorative steel panels – as seen above – which could feature motifs reflecting local history and events.

The original portico of the pavilion would be preserved but along with major structural repairs, much of the interior and exterior would need to be rebuilt with installation of new windows and doors.

All those attending the presentation were urged to keep giving their opinions and making suggestions as to how they would like to see the pavilion renovated and repurposed for the use of the community.

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US tech firm reveals more about its plans to build one of Europe’s largest data centres in green belt land just to the south of Potters Bar

Potters Bar residents have had their first chance to learn more about a proposed data centre which is to be built on an 85-acre suite alongside the M25 motorway.

Itwill be so big it will almost fill the fields between the South Mimms service station at Junction 23 and Dame Alice Owen’s School – see diagram above.

Outline planning permission was approved by Hertsmere Borough Council a year ago for a 2 million square foot development which local objectors claim will be equal to the size of Wembley stadium and will obliterate green belt countryside.

Equinix, a US tech firm which is one of the world’s largest data centre operators, is proposing to invest £3.9 billion in the new centre which will be known as the Hertfordshire Campus, and which will be one of the largest in Europe.

The campus will require 250 megawatts of power – enough to run the equivalent of about 200,000 homes – and to meet the demand, National Grid is to supply the new campus with its own connection to the electricity grid ready for the data centre to come on stream in 2031.

A two-day exhibition of Equinix’s plans was held at Dame Alice Owen’s School where a group of local objectors gathered outside to express opposition to the loss of “incredibly precious countryside” for a development which they say will blight the area.

Ros Naylor (above, second from right), who is one of the lead protesters, said Potters Bar residents had enjoyed walking, riding and cycling along 11 rights of way across the fields between the outskirts of the town and the M25.

“The visual impact alone is going to obliterate local green belt land and instead we are going to have a monster development the size of Wembley stadium.”

She was joined for the protest by (from left to right) Fleur Albrecht, Councillor Simon Rhodes, and Margaret Ohren.

Councillor Rhodes, who serves on Hertfordshire County Council, pointed to the fields which would be lost when the data centre is built.

He had been shocked to discover that the emergency entrance would be via Bridgefoot Lane, directly opposite the entrance to Dame Alice Owen’s School.

“We are only just finding out what Equinix is proposing. We have checked with residents in around 1,500 houses nearby and none of them knew about it. Since January we have as a group registered 950 objections.”

Equinix is proposing to build a campus which would comprise four separate data centre buildings – three would be of 72-megawatt processing capacity and one of 48-megawatt capacity.

Building the campus at South Mimms would represent a £3.9 billion investment in the area, creating 2,500 construction jobs and 200 permanent skilled roles. The campus would generate £18 million a year in business rates.

Potters Bar residents get chance to learn more about massive data centre to be built alongside M25 motorway on fields between Junction 23 service station and Dame Alice Owen's School

In presenting an artist’s impression of how the campus would look, Equinix said it intended to retain and improve all the pedestrian, cyclist and bridle ways across the site.

During March there would be an archaeological fields inspection of the site followed an ecological survey in May.

Outline approval for the scheme was granted to a consortium known as DC01UK.

Equinix signed up to proceed with the project and the company’s aim is to submit a detailed planning application in August/September in the hope of starting construction in mid-2027 and the centre going on stream in 2031.

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Redevelopment of Dollis Valley estate to be restarted after two year delay following go ahead for construction of 221 new homes

Completion of the Brook Valley Gardens estate off Mays Lane – which is a regeneration of the Dollis Valley estate – has moved a step closer.

Progress has been stalled since 2023, but a revised deal has been agreed with the developers and approved by Barnet Council.

Demolition of the remaining 1960s high-rise blocks and maisonettes will take place shortly. This will allow work to start on another 221 new homes.

The redevelopment had to be halted when the developers told the council that it was no longer economically viable to build the final 221 new homes on the basis of a split between private and social housing.

To get the regeneration of Dollis Valley back on track, the council’s cabinet has decided that the new homes that are yet to be built will now all be socially rented and under the management of Barnet Homes.

However, the failure to continue – as was originally proposed – with the construction of another 128 houses for private sale, will mean that instead of Brook Valley Gardens being a mixed-tenure neighbourhood the estate will become 60 per cent social housing.

This change has angered many of householders in privately owned homes on the estate who are organising a petition to present to a meeting of the Dollis Valley Partnership board at its annual meeting in March.

They say that Barnet Council has failed to hold any consultations about a fundamental alteration to the terms under which they purchased their houses.

“Barnet Council is bulldozing this through and have been keeping residents in the dark over Brook Valley Gardens becoming 60 per cent social housing.”

Private householders are concerned about the future saleability of their properties because mortgage lenders now take into account the percentage of social v private housing on an estate.

Because the original plan was for 50 per cent private housing, high street banks were happy to lend money on Brook Valley Gardens properties but with 60 per cent social housing future owners might be unable to obtain mortgages without resorting to specialised lenders and this could “materially affect property values for existing homeowners.”  

Regeneration of Dollis Valley estate to be restarted with construction of 221 social rent homes to complete Brook Valley Gardens estate following Barnet Council approval

The remaining Mill Bridge and Garrowsfield blocks of flats and maisonettes in the Dollis Valley estate were surveyed in 2024 and were found to have widespread damp and mould.

They were deemed unsuitable for prolonged occupancy beyond December 2025 and the council decided to rehouse the tenants. Demolition is now to due start in the coming months.

The delay in finishing the estate arose because the joint developers Vistry Group (formerly Countryside Properties) and London and Quadrant declared that the original plans were no longer cost-effective.

Vistry proposed an alternative accelerated programme, and the council cabinet has now agreed to purchase 221 social and affordable rent homes from Vistry at a fixed price, subject to securing grant funding from the Greater London Authority.

On completion, Barnet Homes will manage the properties on behalf of the council. Eleven will be wheelchair accessible.

Vistry is proposing to deliver an accelerated programme of construction of replacement homes so that tenants rehoused from Mill Bridge and Garrowsfield can be prioritised to return on completion if they wish to.

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High Barnet Station – Mayor’s team set to decide own planning application                      

Since Barnet Council decided in December that it was minded to refuse Barratt London’s planning application, the Mayor of London has called it in for review. A public hearing seems likely directly after the local elections on 7 May 2026. The Barnet Society & Barnet Residents Association are greatly concerned that the Mayor’s decision won’t be impartial, and has sent the letter below to our MP, Barnet Councillors and its Greater London Assembly Member.

Readers are urged to make their feelings about the planning application known to Dan Tomlinson MP at dan.tomlinson.mp@parliament.uk and Assembly Member Anne Clarke at anne.clarke@london.gov.uk

We expect candidates seeking election to Barnet Council in May in wards in and around High Barnet will be asked by residents whether they are for or against the blocks of flats being proposed on the tube station car park. For some voters this will be a critical issue.

We are hoping for a clear indication of where candidates of all parties stand. The positions to be taken by our MP and GLA member are of particular interest ahead of polling day.

Dear Dan Tomlinson, Assembly Member Anne Clarke & selected Barnet Councillors

We write on behalf of the Barnet Society & Barnet Residents Association to ask if we can count on your support at the Mayor of London’s representation hearing on this planning application. As you will know, the Mayor called in the application following Barnet Council’s decision on 8 December 2025 that it was minded to refuse it.

The date for the hearing seems likely to be directly after the local elections on 7 May 2026.

Our principal concern at this point is the clear conflict of interest since the Mayor controls Transport for London, which not only owns the site and runs the tube and bus services connecting it to our neighbourhood, but has commissioned the project and stands to profit from its construction. That is setting, writing and marking your own homework.

Although the Mayor has delegated the decision to his Deputy, Jules Pipe, conflict of interest cannot be avoided since Jules Pipe has made statements in support of this and other TfL developments. He has also expressed regret at their refusal when they could not be called in. That is not an unbiased position from which to determine the future character of Chipping Barnet.

If approved, the application will have a most harmful impact on the town and its nearby green spaces, and set a benchmark for future development in the area. Visualisations in the application were cynically manipulated to downplay its deplorable visual impact.

We’d welcome well-designed homes at an appropriate scale of development. But this proposal grossly exceeds that.

Instead, it would

  • breach many policies in Barnet’s recently-adopted Local Plan, including its tall buildings assessment for this site endorsed by the Planning Inspectorate, and make incorrect use of the Hillingdon case to justify a tall building in this location;
  • create homes of unacceptably poor safety and quality in terms of layout, detailed design and amenity;
  • provide minimal improvements to accessibility and safety that would be negated by loss of the car park;
  • exacerbate existing congestion of the set-down and pick-up area, likely causing vehicles to back up onto the busy A1000;
  • irreparably harm the identity of the neighbourhood, nearby and from afar;
  • be unsustainable by many environmental standards, contrary to the developer’s claims; and
  • offer no compensating benefits of significance by way of transport connectivity or new/improved facilities to the existing community.

Our many pages of comments on the application detailed multiple breaches of Borough, London & National policy and guidance (some of them basic matters not revealed in earlier public consultations).

In sum, the site is unsuitable for 1,000 new residents. The resulting excessive height, density and design weaknesses – and the operational difficulties that would beset residents and travellers and the public, commercial and emergency services trying to serve them – risk repeating the mistakes of postwar housing estates. That would be to the lasting cost of our community and the identity and character of Chipping Barnet.

Regards

Robin Bishop

Planning & Environment Lead, the Barnet Society

Gordon Massey

Planning Consultant, Barnet Residents Association

The planning application can be viewed on Barnet Council’s planning portal (reference no. 25/2671/FUL). The Mayor of London’s case reference is 2025/0802/S2.

On our website you can read the Barnet Society’s objections to the scheme as well as coverage of the Council’s Planning Committee decision.

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Request for pre-planning negotiations over possible development of a large housing estate in green belt land off Rowley Lane, Arkley

An application has been made to Barnet Council by a housing developer seeking permission to start discussions on building up to 300 homes on 17 acres of green belt land off Rowley Lane, Arkley.

Part of the site was a former pig farm – see above – and the proposed development would take place in woods and scrubland between Rowley Lane and the A1 Barnet by-pass to the north of the Stirling Corner roundabout.

Bugler Homes of Rickmansworth is hoping to take advantage of new government guidance which came into effect a year ago and which allows for the release of some green belt land for housing.

Where there is green belt land which was “previously developed” and which does not “strongly contribute” to limiting urban sprawl, it can now be deemed grey belt land and can be developed for housing and other needs.

Arkley’s community group – Arkley Association – has been informed that Bugler Homes is at “an early stage of exploring opportunities to bring forward a grey belt application”.

The site has been purchased unconditionally by the company which says an assessment of the site indicates that it that would meet the criteria for grey belt approval.

Its “initial vision” is to build approximately 230 homes, with 50 per cent affordable housing; an 80-bed care home; publicly accessible green spaces and allotments; and improved public right of way footpaths.

“We want to work with the community to ensure the proposals reflect Arkley’s character and identity, help address local needs, and contribute positively to village life.”

Bugler has asked for a meeting with the association to discuss its proposal – a plan which has shocked and surprised many Arkley residents.

They fear that if approval is given it could connect to another large site closer to Stirling Corner which has been vacant since the demolition of a former police academy.

“Before we know it approval will have been given for housing on the whole of the triangle of land between Barnet by-pass, Barnet Road and Rowley Lane,” said one resident.

“That would desecrate the green belt, damage the village surroundings of Arkley and would lead to even more urban sprawl between Borehamwood and Barnet.”

Most of the houses in and around Arkley village are individual detached properties and except for Rockways off Barnet Road there are no significant housing developments.

If approval was given for up to 300 homes off Rowley Lane it would be Arkley’s first housing estate.

The 17-acre site which includes the former Rowley Bank Farm is to the rear of houses in Amethyst Close – see above – at the junction of Rowley Lane and Rowley Green Road.

Bugler Homes has asked to meet representatives of the Arkley Association which says it will now hold an extra-ordinary annual meeting to decide what action to take. Other interested groups will be invited to take part.

Government guidance on green belt land which might now be redesignated as grey belt says that this applies particularly to “previously developed” land such as the site of dis-used petrol stations or abandoned car parks.

Arkley Association informed of pre-planning application to build up to 300 homes on a 17-acre site off Rowley Lane. Bugler Homes to have discussions with Barnet Council.

The Arkley site includes abandoned buildings from the former pig farm – which have more recently been used for storage – and extensive hard standing.

When considering Bugler Homes’ plan, Barnet Council will be required under the government’s national planning policy framework, to assess the contribution which the site makes to the green belt and whether a grey belt approval would result in the remaining green belt in the area being “fundamentally undermined”.

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For almost 60 years Barnet’s Puddenecks Club has been hosting events including a meal and entertainment for the town’s elderly residents

Entertaining groups of Barnet’s senior citizens to a monthly supper evening is one of the many activities organised by one of the town’s oldest charities, the Puddenecks Club.

The Puddenecks are volunteers whose mission is to hold events which help elderly residents overcome the loneliness of being home alone.

Guest evenings in the winter months are followed by barbeques in the summer and there is a chance to keep fit at a weekly exercise class.

Like so many other community groups the club is keen to recruit additional volunteers and helpers and especially car drivers who can assist with transporting elderly guests and with fundraising.

Committee member Victor Valloti – seen above with guest Lesley Keating – said the club realised that the popularity of a monthly evening meal demonstrated of the importance of not forgetting the elderly.

Volunteers collect each of those attending an event directly from their homes and then drive them back again at the end of the evening.

“So many of the elderly, especially widows and those living alone don’t like going out on their own in the evening and our aim is to take the edge off that loneliness,” said club secretary Roger Moore.

Club members and volunteers are maintaining a contribution to the community which started in 1958 when a group of Sunday lunchtime drinkers got together in the now demolished Swan and Two Necks public house in High Road, Whetstone.

They decided to meet once a month for a steak and kidney pudding and then hold a meeting to decide how best to help older people in Barnet – hence their name, Puddenecks.

“We pride ourselves on making sure that any elderly resident we invite out is picked up at their home and then returned safely,” said Mr Moore (right) seen above signing up a new volunteer driver Larry Williams at the club’s February night out which was an evening meal with a Spanish theme at the Old Fold Manor Golf Club.

“It is quite an exercise collecting 75 or so senior citizens from their homes and then getting them back again but we know how much our efforts are appreciated.

“Many of those we collect from their homes are widows or other elderly ladies living on their own and they are just so fearful of going out on dark winter evenings, so we feel what we do is a real contribution to the community.

“We follow our monthly evenings out in the winter months with a couple of summer barbecues at Totteridge Millhillians Cricket Club.” 

Another of the precautions taken by the club to ensure the safety of their elderly guests is to invite along two volunteers from the Barnet division of the St John Ambulance Brigade.

“We realise that at one of our events we might need some medical support one day and we are so grateful for the support of their brigade’s volunteers.”

For the guests the great attraction of a meal out with the Puddenecks is the chance to chat with friends said Jenny Windsor (above, second from left) with Tony Cardosi, Angela Casali, Sandra Gallardo and Terry Gleeson.

“It is so important for us all to get out of the house and have a real chinwag with our friends. What the Puddenecks do for Barnet’s elderly cannot be praised enough,” said Jenny.

One of Barnet's oldest charities the Puddenecks Club is appealing for more volunteers to help with its evening meals and entertaintment for elderly residents

Mr Moore arrived at the club’s February evening after collecting Gillian Collison from her home. She could not wait to join her friends.

He said the club was launching an appeal for new members – and especially car drivers – because they felt there was low public awareness within Barnet for what the Puddenecks did.

Anyone who is interested in joining is asked to make contact by emailing roger.moore@puddenecksclub.org.uk or visit their website for more details www.puddenecksclub.org.uk

Each year the club raises upwards of around £40,000 to finance its activities.

A golf day at the Old Fold Golf Club in September followed by a dinner and auction is one the main fund-raising events.

There is also an annual charity dinner with a guest speaker, and these are backed up with donations and raffles, including an annual Christmas raffle at Ye Olde Monken Holt public house in Barnet High Street.

Mr Moore said the value of the club’s support for the elderly was underlined during the covid emergency when the Puddenecks delivered 100 portions of fish and chips to 100 residents twice a month.

“For those who can’t get to our guest evenings we continue to deliver 20 or so portions of fish and chips every two or three months.

“We also have an exercise class for an hour every week in the Wesley Hall – and that attracts 40 or so people who are instructed by a professional tutor.”

Probably the most eagerly anticipated event is the Puddenecks’ Christmas dinner where volunteers at the Totteridge Millhillians Cricket Club cook two meals, for a sitting at 12 noon and then another at 5pm.

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Unauthorised tree felling in protected woodland at Arkley has angered residents who fear a covert attempt to secure residential development

Arkley residents who have been campaigning for several years to safeguard woodland in Rowley Lane were shocked to see protected trees being felled across a one-acre plot – and their anger increased still further when Barnet Council apparently failed to take immediate action to stop the clearance.

They say it took the council’s tree protection team over 24 hours to intervene and by then most of the trees had already been cut down. Only a few that had been badly hacked about were still standing.

The plot where the clearance has taken place is part of a ten-acre woodland which is protected by a special nature conservation order designed to protect it from any land use change which might damage a protected habitat or species.

The residents fear that if developers get their way the woodland will be turned into sites for new houses.

Once this Green Belt land has been cleared of trees, the concern in the surrounding community, is that Barnet Council might be more likely to grant planning permission, despite approval having been refused in the past.  

When an adjoining one-acre plot was cleared in 2023 without permission the residents succeeded in obtaining a tree preservation order covering the whole site.

The wording of the nature conservation order was also strengthened to reflect the character of the land as “wooded with open glades of grass or scrub”.

The woodland, which is at the rear of Rowley Lodge, was sold off by a previous owner of the house and was subdivided into ten separate one-acre plots which were sold for a combined total of £1.3 million.

What has so angered the residents is that they say nothing happened on the day they complained to the council (18.2.2026) and when they notified the council again the following morning (19.2.2026) the protection team did not arrive until the afternoon.

“Within that 24-hour period the trees had been cut down. It is devastating. We now have Arkley’s very own Sycamore Gap; a woodland left with a gaping hole. It is a tragedy,” said one distraught resident.

Workmen who were challenged by the residents said the one-acre which was being cleared was being subdivided into three plots for houses.

“We have been assured planning permission will not be granted because it is Green Belt but the boarded off entrance to the woodland already has an agents’ sign indicating that plots are for sale.

When the ten acres were first sold off, five of the individual acres were purchased by householders whose properties backed on to the land and who were determined that it should be preserved as a woodland.

Two of the five acres in the hands of individual plot holders have now been cleared without permission and residents fear that there might be an attempt to prepare the other three acres for residential development.

Residents have appealed to Barnet councillor Emma Whysall to intervene of their behalf.  

(Photos supplied by residents)

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“Love them or lose them” is the blunt message from the organisers of Barnet’s summer round of shows, fetes and festivals

Organisers of a busy programme of summer shows and festivals in and around High Barnet hope there will be maximum support this year because today’s tough times are forcing the postponement and even cancellation of some popular events.

Out in front once again is Barnet Classic Car Club’s annual show which is to be held on Sunday 17 May on the top floor of The Spires car park — see above last year’s display of Jaguar cars.

Four concerts – including a family concert – will be held between June 6-28 by the High Barnet Chamber Music Festival which is backed this year by Arts Council England.

Another highlight of the summer calendar will be the two-day Barnet Medieval Festival over the weekend of June 6-7, back for a second year at its new site in Galley Lane.

Fields around Fold Farm (Lewis of London Ice Cream) provided an ideal location last summer with record crowds for the re-enactments of the Battles of Barnet and St Albans and masses of space for a campsite, medieval traders and enthusiasts.

Publicity material is already out for the annual Arkley Village Fayre on Saturday 23 May and its highly popular all comers dog show – see above, last year’s winners.

Other events planned include Queen Elizabeth’s School’s founders’ day fete on Saturday 20 June; Jazz and More on Hadley Green on Sunday 5 July (12pm to 6pm); and Hadley Wood Association’s fireworks night on Sunday 1 November.

Financial challenges, a shortage of helpers, complex safety regulations and higher Barnet Council charges are all adding to the pressures facing the volunteer committees which work so hard behind the scenes.

Their plea to the residents of Barnet and further afield is to put dates in the diary and to help ensure the continued success of what promises to be an entertaining and engaging programme of events.

“Love them or lose them” is the blunt message.

Summer programme of shows, festivals and fetes in and around High Barnet and an extra strong plea this year for strong public support

Even the town’s biggest annual celebration, Barnet Christmas Fayre, is facing an unprecedented financial challenge.

For the first time it seems the organisers might have to raise the funds to meet the cost of road and bus-route diversions which are needed to keep the High Street clear of traffic.

If Barnet Council is unable to absorb the estimated cost of around £4,000, the fayre committee might have to launch an appeal and look for additional sponsors.

One popular event which has had to be cancelled this year is the Barnet Summer Soulstice soul music festival which has been held for the last 18 years at the Old Elizabethans playing fields in May Lane.

But the Spring into Soul Ball – also in aid of Cherry Lodge Cancer Care – is being held on Saturday 21 March at the Double Tree Hilton Hotel in Borehamwood.

Another of this year’s casualties is the East Barnet Festival which is planning on returning in 2027. Organisers have issued a plea for support for next year’s event which they say will help “keep the spirit of East Barnet alive”.

After missing out last year, Potters Bar Carnival is due to return on Sunday 14 June with live performances from show bands and dance troupes. Community support is vital to the carnival’s success.

East Finchley Festival is booked in for Sunday 21 June but again the organisers have issued a plea for support because of the mounting costs and challenges facing self-funded events.

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Queen Elizabeth’s School – a Barnet brand name that will soon be appearing on new international schools in India and Dubai

QE Boys, established by Queen Elizabeth in 1573 as a free grammar for the “boys and youth” of Barnet, is about to begin a new chapter in its history with the opening in August of the first two of three new international schools bearing the brand name “Queen Elizabeth’s School”.

Enrolment started in November at one the new schools opening in August – Queen Elizabeth’s School, Dubai Sports City (see artist’s impression above).

Some leading independent schools have already established international branches.

QE Barnet, is the first UK state-maintained school to open affiliated schools overseas, starting in the United Arab Emirates and India.

Queen Elizabeth's School Barnet about to become an international brand with new Queen Elizabeth schools in India and Dubai

Queen Elizabeth’s School, at Gurugram, near Delhi – see artist’s impression above – is the second of the two schools opening in August.

It is in the northern Indian state of Haryana, and it will be followed by another in India at Gift City, another new financial and technology hub in Gujarat province.

Any revenues received from a partnership with Global Education Holdings Ltd will be invested in furthering educational opportunities at QE in Barnet, says the school’s website.

The location of these new international fee-paying schools for boys and girls under the Queen Elizabeth brand reflects the high number of children of Indian heritage who are being educated at QE Boys.

A report in The Times (9.2.2026) into why white British pupils are falling behind in the race for a grammar school place singled out QE Barnet.

Requests by the newspaper under the Freedom of Information Act had revealed that in the last academic year (2024-25) only two boys from an intake of 192 at QE Barnet were identified as white British, down from nine in 2019-20.

The number of boys admitted to QE who were from Indian heritage had increased from 103 in 2019-20 to 120 in 2024-25.

Queen Elizabeth’s School attracted 3,300 applications for the 192 places which were available that year – a level of demand which reflects its ranking in the Sunday Times 2026 school guide as state secondary school of the year.

Since it reverted from being a comprehensive to grammar school status in 1994, and reintroduced an entrance examination, QE Boys has become heavily oversubscribed.

Its high intake of boys from Indian families who pass the entrance exam is a result of what The Times described as the emphasis which Indian heritage families place on tutoring children, often starting at the age of six.

Former QE pupils from Barnet who now live in Dubai – where 90 per cent of the population are expatriates – have been lending their support for the opening of the Queen Elizabeth’s School at Dubai Sports City.

In a video presentation describing how the new school would draw on QE Boys “incredible heritage”, the founding principal Dan Clark said he had hosted an event in Dubai for Old Elizabethans.

He said that these former pupils had “an exceptional sense of pride” about having been educated at QE in Barnet and they were “desperate to get involved” in a project which would allow children in Dubai to benefit from the experience of the “most academically successful state-maintained school in the UK”.

“I have been wondering whether Queen Elizabeth thought that a school she founded in Barnet would go on to be one of the UK’s – and the world’s – most successful academic institutions.”

Mr Clark expressed his personal delight at being able to bring the “incredible heritage” of QE to Dubai, one of the “world’s most exciting cities and one of the world’s top ten destination cities for education”.

QE headmaster Neil Enright said that he and his staff in Barnet would “play a key role in shaping and guiding the new schools, ensuring that they are worthy of bearing the proud name of Queen Elizabeth’s School”.

Management of the commercial relationship with Global Education will be in the hands of a new subsidiary, Friends of Queen Elizabeth’s International Enterprises Ltd which would ensure that the charity and the school benefited from the income generated by the new international schools.

Global Education is a UK registered education business with 60,000 students in a portfolio of establishments across 12 different countries operating as “successful education brands”.

“The new Queen Elizabeth’s Schools in India and other markets will bear the QE name and branding and will draw upon QE Barnet’s ethos and educational methodology, taking inspiration from and aspiring to its record of academic excellence and achievement.”

QE Barnet is described as being “a perfect partner” for Global Education as it seeks to offer first-class British-style schooling in international settings.

In welcoming the new partnership, Mr Enright says QE Barnet looks forward to working with Global Education to “open and grow QE branded schools internationally, and to the opportunities that students will enjoy as a result.”

In its report investigating the way white British pupils are failing to get grammar school places, The Times said that its Freedom of Information requests indicated that the girls’ grammar school Henrietta Barnet in Hampstead Garden Suburb took one white British pupil and 62 of Indian heritage in the academic year 2024-25 when there were 3,000 applications for 104 places.

Unlike QE Boys Barnet, Queen Elizabeth’s Girls’ School, Barnet, which was established in 1888, has remained a non-selective comprehensive school and continues to offer places within a wide catchment area around High Barnet.

By contrast QE Boys attracts pupils from across north and west London, Hertfordshire and further afield and administers its own selection process.

There has been discussion among education experts as to whether there should be reform of a system which allows applicants to apply to successful grammar schools regardless of where they lived.

Mark Fenton, chief executive of the Grammar School Heads Association, told The Times that schools were obliged to assess all applicants regardless of where they lived and this was a regulation which some grammar school leaders would like to see reformed.    

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Hot pursuit of suspect car ends with a spectacular crash bringing traffic to a halt in Barnet High Street

Traffic in Barnet High Street was at a standstill after a dramatic late morning crash when a car being followed by police cars struck the side of a No 34 bus waiting in the lay-by next to the Red Lion public house.

The crash happened opposite Barnet police station and the suspect car ended up being corralled by seven police cars.

Eyewitnesses described the impact when the car careered into the bus hitting it just below the driver’s cab.

The bus driver and a suspect – who was immediately handcuffed by police officers – were both shaken up by the crash and taken to hospital.

“There was a tremendous bang,” said the driver in the next No 34 waiting in the lay-by reserved for buses on the Barnet Church to Walthamstow Central route.

“Suddenly the whole place was surrounded by police cars. It must have been some sort of hot pursuit and a suspect was dragged out from the crashed car.

“No wonder the bus driver needed to go to hospital. The car that hit his bus was a write off. The driver wouldn’t have known what was happening.”

Students from Barnet College lined up to watch the action.

“For a moment it looked like a scene being filmed for tv…there were so many police cars surrounding the crashed car,” said one of the eyewitnesses.

Once the shaken-up suspect was safely in handcuffs, officers sat him down on the bench in front of High Barnet Police Station before escorting him across the road to a waiting ambulance.

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New theories over elusive site of the Battle of Barnet are to be tested with possible metal detecting investigations and drone surveys

Fresh attempt possible with metal detecting and drone surveys to find elusive site of Battle of Barnet

Plans are being finalised for a fresh attempt to determine the site of the 1471 Battle of Barnet which has remained unidentified despite previous searches and an extensive archaeological excavation.

A team of metal detectors has already been enlisted, and an experienced drone pilot will carry out aerial investigations to look out for signs of ancient soil disturbance.

Barnet school pupils will be encouraged to take part in a project which the organisers hope will reveal more about the location – and potential burial grounds – after what was one of the most significant battles of the Wars of the Roses.

Preparations for the investigation are being co-ordinated by Brian Carroll (above, left) who is author of The Search for the Battlefield, and fellow researcher Barry Swain, who were photographed at Hadley Highstone which commemorates the battle.

They hope to announce more details about the areas they intend to search in the lead up to the 555th anniversary of the battle on Tuesday 14 April.

 After the failure over a decade or more to locate the site, Brian and Barry have spent countless hours examining the many historical accounts of the battle and have developed new theories about the route taken by the Yorkist army as it left London and headed for Barnet to meet the Lancastrians.

Schools to be approached to see if their pupils would like to take an interest and perhaps participate in the project are in New Barnet close to where the Yorkists might have passed and then returned to London after their victory.

They include the Jewish Community Secondary School, Livingstone Primary School and Cromer Road Primary School. 

Metal detecting and drone surveys with ground penetrating radar might be possible on land around the schools including perhaps playgrounds and playing fields.

“What we are hoping to do is look at areas around Barnet which have not been thoroughly probed in the past,” said Brian.

“We think previous searches, such as the most recent archaeological excavation around Kitts End Lane, were probably misplaced.

“If, as seems likely, the Lancastrians – who had arrived first – were well entrenched on the high plateau around Monken Hadley then, if we are right, the Yorkists approaching from London might well have approached from the ground below King George’s Fields.”

Brian and Barry are the founder members of the Barnet Tourist Board, which they established to help promote Barnet – and its connections to the Wars of the Roses – through the publication of booklets and videos.

“If we could establish the actual site of the battle – and answer a centuries old mystery – then Barnet would change overnight attracting tourists not only from this country but also from all over the world,” said Barry.

“Over the years we have heard so many reports of people finding items which might have been linked to the battle such as swords, cannon balls and shot.

“Perhaps it is not surprising that so many artefacts have been discovered when you think that this was a major battle fought by up to 30,000 men and that 2,000 to 3,000 were killed, or perhaps many more.

“We know there is so much more to be found and we hope our project will keep the important history of Barnet alive, so we hope as many people as possible will join us in a once in a lifetime adventure to find the site of this elusive battlefield.”

The Barnet Tourist Board has produced a video “In Search of the Battlefield” in support of its attempt to launch a new investigation to find precisely where the battle took place and those who were killed might have been buried:

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Barnet pub with a tradition of community and creative engagement included in sale of 30 licensed premises by Hertford brewers McMullen’s

Sebright Arms in Alston Road is one of three Barnet public houses which the Hertford family-owned brewers McMullen’s have sold to Punch Pubs & Co.

Two others included in the sale of a total of 30 pubs are the Kings Head in Barnet High Street and the Queens Arms, next to the Everyman cinema.

James Croft, Punch Pubs’ strategy and commercial director, said the company was delighted to have acquired a collection of pubs with such strong community roots and the focus would be to continue to invest in their licensed premises and to support their publicans and managers.

McMullen’s joint managing director Tom McMullen was confident Punch Pubs was committed to supporting the Sebright Arms and other pubs included in the sale.

“Punch Pubs have indicated a willingness to invest £4 million in the 30 pubs we have sold and to protect their long-term future.”

These assurances have been welcomed by the Sebright Arms Community Group which says Punch Pubs have “responded positively” in recognising “the Sebright’s established place at the heart of the local community”.

Ken Rowland, co-chair of the Barnet Residents Association, had been encouraged by the “proactive engagement” by Punch Pubs.

Because of previous uncertainty about its long-term future, the Sebright was registered with Barnet Council as an asset of community value, a safeguard which continues until 2027.

“The Sebright holds particular significance in Barnet,” said Mr Rowland.

“It has long served as a creative and community driven hub, hosting open microphone nights, quiz evenings, charity fund raising events and a wide range of residential led activities.

“Its role extends well beyond that of a traditional pub, providing a welcoming space where friendships are formed and local talent is supported.”

Mr Rowland said Punch Pubs’ reassurances were especially significant as the Sebright prepares to host its largest charity event to date on July 11, a celebration of the life and legacy of Graeme Hall, a much-loved regular and key figure in the Barnet music scene.

More than 25 acts have already committed to performing, reflecting the depth of affection and respect he inspired.

News of the sale of the Queens Arms and the Kings Head follows a temporary closure of the two pubs last year while waiting for new tenants and the BRA says it hopes they thrive under new ownership.

Other McMullen’s pubs included in the sale to Punch Pubs are the Builder’s Arms, Potters Bar, and the Windsor Castle, East Finchley.

All 30 were described by Punch Pubs as having strong trading histories, distinctive heritage and established positions.

Sebright Arms, Alston Road, one of three Barnet pubs sold by Hertford bewers McMullen's to Punch Pubs

In his statement Tom McMullen said it had been important to transfer the pubs to a new owner who possessed both the “scale and strategic direction” to offer tenants improved support and willingness to provide the pubs the financial commitment they deserved.

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A community orchard is the latest feature to be completed at a new base in Mays Lane for outdoor activities for young people

Despite the wettest of winters and having to struggle through mud, volunteers completed the planting of a community orchard in former farmland off Mays Lane, Barnet, which has become the home of The Green Wellbeing Hub.

A five-acre site within the Dollis Valley Green Belt was made available to the charity by Barnet Council as a base for outdoor activities to support young people with social, emotional and mental health needs.

Students from secondary schools and alternative education across the borough are among those who take part in activities at the hub and the planting of the orchard was a project which brought together youngsters and families.

Charlotte Antoniou, hub co-ordinator (see above) said apple, mulberry, quince, greengage and fig were among the fruit trees which had been planted after the land had been cleared of blackthorn and undergrowth.

Since moving on to the site in the summer of 2024, Charlotte and fellow co-ordinator Janine Young (above, right), have seen through the installation of facilities such as a wet-weather shelter, composting toilet and other features including a log campfire circle for events in the summer.

“The Green Wellbeing Hub is so fortunate to have use of the site which is made up of emerging woodland and tree covered glades,” said Janine who has been working on the project with Charlotte for the last five years.

Support and funding to help establish the hub has been provided by a range of groups including the charity Wild About Our Woods, Young Barnet Foundation and Big Lottery.

Oak trees are well established on much of the site and where areas have been cleared of blackthorn and undergrowth, there have been new plantings of wild cherry, rowan and birch. Many of the saplings were donated by the Woodland Trust.

The Green Wellbeing Hub, in Mays Lane, Barnet, an outdoor centre for activities for young people, is adding new attractions such as a community orchard and biodiversity pond.

Recent excavations include digging out a pond which it is hoped will add biodiversity to the hub and attract frogs, newts and perhaps dragon flies.

“We are developing what we hope will be a unique nature-based programme using tried and test outdoor therapeutic interventions to support the positive mental health of young people and adults,” said Janine.

“Activities connected with nature and outdoor skills such as cooking and bushcraft help young people build resilience and the deal with the challenges they face.”

The hub is close to the Dollis Valley Green Walk – which forms part of the London Loop – and the site can be accessed from either Underhill or Hendon Wood Lane providing an excellent route for summer walks, avoiding traffic on Mays Lane.  

For more information email: thegreenwellbeinghub@gmail.com

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NatWest is closing its High Street branch following other big banks which have already pulled out of High Barnet

Barnet town centre is to lose one of its four remaining banks – and customers feared another might be going as well – as the big banks announced another massive round of branch closures.

NatWest is to close its branch at 120 High Street on Monday May 11 this year, one of 32 closures to take effect by 2027.

But despite Santander announcing 44 branch closures across the UK, the bank’s Barnet customers were relieved to see that their branch in the High Street is not on the closure list.

The closure notice on NatWest’s front door says the branch will be closing at 12noon on May 11.

Customers are advised that the nearest NatWest branch will be at 786 High Road, North Finchley, and that cash withdrawals and deposits into bank accounts can be made at Barnet Post Office.

NatWest closed its Borehamwood branch in 2022 followed by Potters Bar the following year.

Barnet’s Santander branch – which was recently refurbished – was feared to be at possible risk because the Borehamwood and Finchley branches both closed last year.

NatWest to close its High Street branch following in the wake of other big banks pulling out of High Barnet. Only three banks remain in the town centre.

Halifax closed its Barnet branch in 2024, and alterations are being made to the ground floor of the building which is to become a Lemoge health and beauty clinic.

An application has been made to convert the upper floors of the former Halifax building into four self-contained flats.

The loss of Halifax and now NatWest follows in the wake of other closures – HSBC closed in 2021 and the building now a Gail’s Bakery, and the former TSB branch has become a Costa coffee shop.

The one High Street bank which has made a promise to retain its town centre branches is Nationwide which gave a pledge in November that it would keep everyone of its 696 Nationwide and Virgin Money branches open until at least 2030.

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If you go down in the woods today, you’re sure of a big surprise!

This is a Badger Boar in Chipping Barnet Woodland at 5:53 am on New Year’s Day 2026. It’s one of several fine photographs in this article by Marianne Nix, a Barnet Society member who lives opposite the spinney by Christchurch Lane and designs leaflets and posters for the Save Chipping Barnet Woodland petition. She writes here in her personal capacity.

Marianne Nix writes

As the famous old song in the headline promised, if you go down in the woods today, you’re sure of a big surprise*. But is it really that surprising that badgers, muntjac deer and other protected species live and forage 350 metres from High Barnet High Street?

In June last year ecologists did a walk-through of a small one-acre woodland on Christchurch Lane. It is in the Monken Hadley Conservation Area, Chipping Barnet. According to their Preliminary Ecological Appraisal (PEA) submitted on 13th January 2026, as part of a current planning application to build a six-bed mansion with cinema, swimming pool and space to park three cars, they found little to persuade them or the Developer employing them, Christchurchgrove Ltd, that there was much of note in this Woodland with no official name.

The temporarily named ‘Chipping Barnet Woodland’ is sandwiched between Old Fold Manor Golf Course and Hadley Green. If you are on a gentle stroll with push chair, dog, a chatty friend, running or walking between your home and place of work, it could take you as little as 5 minutes to reach High Barnet High Street. The Woodland is a tranquil pocket of peace buffering a busy urban existence on the edge of London.

Christchurchgrove Ltd and Barnet Recreational Trust made a conditional sale agreement with Barnet Council Estates to purchase the Woodland if planning permission is granted. The planning application is for the ‘Demolition of the existing garage and erection of a new two storey dwelling with rooms in the roof space. Associated landscaping, off street parking and refuse/recycling storage’.

On first reading, the PEA may sound reasonable. Until you visit the site. When I first moved to High Barnet, and next to the Woodland three years ago, I set up a trail camera in my garden and was delighted to find hedgehogs scootling about. I discovered bats in my attic and much to my surprise, my garden trail camera video revealed a badger shrouded in mist.

In July 2024, after learning of the potential development threat, I emailed Barnet Council biodiversity officers and others about my dismay. I included the images I mentioned above of a bat, a hedgehog and a badger. I assumed the data would become part of the ecology base line of the area and available to future ecologists via Barnet Council. My hope was that any developer would think twice about building on the land. It was clear to me then that the Council’s moral duty was to protect the Woodland.

The local community was getting nowhere with their attempts to convince the Council and our local MP Dan Tomlinson of the travesty of selling the Woodland for development. Last July a group got together and created the campaign group Save Chipping Barnet Woodland (SCBW). One of the first steps was to find out what data ecologists might find on the wildlife and habitat in the woodland.  With no budget, the campaign group approached GiGL (Greenspace Information Greater London) who provide data to ecologists. We were dismayed to discover there were few wildlife records of the site and its surroundings. My bat, hedgehog and badger were not mentioned. We started collecting data of our own and sending it to Barnet Council and GiGL as citizen scientists. These records should form a baseline in the GiGL database for future reference.

Fortunately, many Barnet residents do have their eyes open to the magic of nature. This is demonstrated by the support from over 2,250 signatures to our Save Chipping Barnet Woodland petition started in mid-September 2025.  Our campaign, with a core group of approximately 35 local resident members, has devoted much of their spare time proving what two so called ‘experts’ employed to carry out a preliminary ecological appraisal did not appear to observe, record or acknowledge. On nearly every occasion we used date and time-stamped trail cameras we were pleasantly surprised to record more than a fox or two. We captured images and video of badger, muntjac deer, woodmouse and more.

Below, at 9am a male fox goes about his morning business quite hidden just a few meters away from passers-by on Christchurch Lane going about theirs.

Screenshot

However, Andrew Robinson, Director of Christchurchgrove Ltd. goes as far as to say in his response to an article published before Christmas in The Barnet Society online edition:

‘The site…has low levels of biodiversity. We know this because we have had it surveyed by an expert ecologist…This survey has shown that there are absolutely [no] mammals living here. No badgers, foxes, bats, deer or hedgehogs…or, in fact, any protected species.’

Astonishingly the PEA commissioned by him states on page 28 that there may be hedgehogs!

‘…it is considering [sic] that breeding and foraging hedgehog may be present within the Site and be impacted by the proposed works.’

The largest Oak tree that stands in the Woodland, and verified as Veteran by the Ancient Tree register, has numerous holes and cavities possibly suitable for bats. There are Birch with multiple holes in the middle of the site. And of course there is my very own roost in my attic within 30 metres of the site. I love my bats. It’s a nice feeling thinking of them hanging about, sleeping and then warming up by flying about my roof space before launching themselves, weather permitting, into the canopy of the woodland.

Below is the Veteran Oak with cavities possibly suitable for bat roost.

Much to my surprise the existence of the bat roost in my attic and the licence to do minor works I obtained in 2023 – 2025 from the Bat Conservation Trust are not mentioned in the ecologist reports.

‘Therefore, it is considering [sic] that potential for the Site to support roosting bats is negligible—no impacts from the proposed works to these species are anticipated’ (PEA, page 22).

There is a badger sett confirmed by Herts & Middlesex Badger group in January. The setts are protected. They were discovered by two of our volunteers, not the ‘expert ecologist’. Also there is no acknowledgment of the sett in the ecological reports.

‘…it is considered that the potential for the Site to support breeding, foraging and resting badger is negligible— no impact from the proposed works to this species are anticipated’ (PEA, page 22).

There are other inaccuracies in the application. I have complained to the Council. But to no avail. The application inaccuracies cannot be changed. It appears there is no governance that can stop the misleading of the public. The developer is encouraged to hold public ‘consultations’ to ‘listen’ and make adjustments to their application. There are no rules regarding the accuracy of their presentations. We, the residents of Barnet, to my knowledge, officially have no framework to put across the alternative ‘facts’ to the public. The planning system has to change. This week on Tuesday there was a Barnet Council meeting to discuss making the planning system more democratic. Unfortunately I was too busy saving Chipping Barnet Woodland to attend.

Our images and videos show that the habitat combining a range of trees including Cherry Laurel appears to be functioning well. The badgers, foxes, muntjac deer, woodmice, multiple bird species such as Tawny Owl and Mistle Thrush on Amber or Red conservation list and seen rarely elsewhere, all appreciate the ‘novel ecosystem’ found in the ‘Woodland with no name’. (British Ecological Society, Sept 11th 2024: ‘Novel ecologies the new normal?’)

Below, species seen within 50 metres of the Woodland – left to right: Small Copper Butterfly; Common Frog; Smooth Newt, Male.

The wildlife love the Woodland, judging by their repeated and lengthy stays captured on video earlier this month when freezing conditions made the ground elsewhere rock solid. The deep leaf litter and protection of the canopy and understory keeps the ground soft. This allows for lingering and rooting in the leaf debris. There appears to be lots to eat; a good sign of a strong ecosystem. The PEA and Biodiversity Net Gain assessment submitted as part of the planning application belies the truth of what we can see with our own eyes, even if it is a surprise!

To make your own comments regarding the planning application ref 26/0116/FUL go to Barnet Council Planning Applications. Deadline Thursday 12th February 2026. If you have difficulty accessing the planning portal, you can submit your comments by alternative ways listed here.

Screenshot

Above, a Muntjac Buck, a frequent visitor to the Woodland.

*Songwriters: Jimmy Kennedy / John W. Bratton

Teddy Bear Picnic lyrics © Wb Music Corp., Emi Music Publishing Ltd, M Witmark & Sons, Emi Music Publishing Ltd, B Feldman & Co Ltd

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Despair among Mays Lane traders as introduction of pay-by-phone parking charges leads to a dramatic loss in customers

Long-established businesses fear they might have to close unless Barnet Council can be persuaded to drop parking charges which were introduced in mid-December outside the Mays Lane parade of shops.

Coopers of Barnet say trade is down by 40 per cent in the last six weeks since the withdrawal of free parking in the service road outside their premises.

Well over 1,500 residents and shoppers have signed a petition organised by Denise Bagge, proprietor of Mays Lane Pets, to protest at the charges.

The Mays Lane shop owners say the council could easily introduce a scheme allowing free parking for 20 minutes or half an hour which would be more than enough time for most customers.

In calling for a re-think, the Mays Lane traders are adding their voice to mounting anger over parking restrictions and charges which have been imposed as part of the Underhill South Controlled Parking Zone.

Despite opposition from 85 per cent of householders – and pleas from staff and parents at Whitings Hill Primary School – the council went ahead with the introduction of an 18-month experimental CPZ in 16 roads off Mays Lane and on either side of Chesterfield Road.

Residents can have their say during a six-month consultation period which ends of Sunday 14 June by which time the Quinta Green Residents Association and the Underhill Residents’ Group intend to have completed their own in-depth surveys and consultation to demonstrate the strength of opposition to the CPZ.

Mays Lane Pets launched the petition which is available for signing at neighbouring shops in the parade and online. (For more information email mayspets.co.uk

Shop assistant Sarah Burley (above) said they have been amazed by the response and are appealing to the Chipping Barnet MP Dan Tomlinson to visit the parade and give his support.

“This is just a money-making exercise for Barnet Council. Instead of getting tough with Barnet Hospital and forcing the hospital to build a multi-storey car park, we are all having to suffer just because there isn’t enough parking space for hospital staff, patients and visitors.”

There used to be free parking space outside the Mays Lane parade for a dozen or perhaps as many as 15 cars at time, but that has been reduced to five bays with pay-by-phone charges at the top rate for on-street parking in the borough.

“The effect on our trade has been dramatic,” said Sarah.

“Lots of elderly customers used to stop in their cars and just pop in for items like bird seeds, that sort of thing. But lots of the elderly can’t do pay-by-phone and who is going to pay £3.30 to pop in to buy a bag of doggy treats.”

Mohinder Dhingra, proprietor of Coopers of Barnet, was distraught at the loss of trade for his hardware business.

“If it continues like this, we will have to close the shop. Trade is down by up to 40 per cent since December 15.

“There was never any trouble before with the parking outside the parade.

“Now people are scared to come in. You can’t expect customers to pay a minimum of £1.70 just to park when all they want is something which might cost £1 or £1.50.

“The council could easily introduce a limit, say free parking for 20 to 30 minutes and that would work well for everyone.”

Among those who have signed the petition is Paul Marshall – above with Mohinder Dhingra in top picture – who was formerly a parking enforcement officer.

He thought the charges for such a small parade were unnecessary and felt the CPZ exercise was just a revenue earner for local councils.

“In my day councils used to say the income from parking charges would go back into the local area, but that never happens now. Just look at the potholes round here. The money certainly isn’t being spent improving the roads around here.”

Mays Lane shopping parade businesses fear closures unless Barnet Council drops pay-by-phone parking charges and reinstates free parking

A similar scheme for parking charges has been introduced at the parade of shops in Bells Hill, again part of the Underhill South CPZ.

Quinta Green Residents Association says the justification for the new CPZ is that it is necessary because of the displacement of vehicles caused by the existing and extended Barnet Hospital CPZ.

“But displacement caused by an existing CPZ cannot be used retrospectively to justify another CPZ and we have now found the experimental Underhill South CPZ is generating displacement in roads the council originally excluded from the new CPZ.

“The council’s reasoning is circular. It is simply creating parking pressure through intervention.

“Barnet Hospital does intend to use surplus land to increase its own on-site parking, but the long-term solution is for the Royal Free Hospital Trust to build a new multi-deck car park.

“In the meantime, unresolved hospital demand – and its costs – are being transferred on to residential streets through CPZs, which are the most likely measures to become permanent even if the hospital problem is eventually solved.”

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Bid to safeguard Black Horse public house for community use amid continuing doubts about its future despite Star Pubs’ re-assurances

An attempt is being made to safeguard the long-term future of a Barnet landmark, the Black Horse public house, which has been closed to the public since mid-September last year.

Barnet Council is being asked to declare the building an asset of community value which would ensure the community had a chance to buy the property should there be an attempt to sell it for redevelopment.

Star Pubs, which said before Christmas that it hoped to find a new tenant starting in the New Year, has admitted that the company, which is part of Heineken UK, is still has no nearer to saying when the pub might re-open.

“The Black Horse is a much-loved pub, and we are committed to keeping it as such,” said Star Inns in a statement to the Barnet Society.

“We remain keen to re-open it as soon as possible but are unable to provide timings at this stage.

“As soon as we have more information, we will be happy to share it.”

The application for an asset of community value order has been submitted in the name of the Barnet parish church of St John the Baptist on behalf of the community, says Olly Gough.

Olly, who is to be a Labour candidate for the May elections to Barnet Council, has organised a petition to the save pub which has attracted over 3,500 signatures.

https://www.change.org/p/save-the-black-horse-chipping-barnet-list-it-as-an-asset-of-community-value

Barnet Council has eight weeks to make a decision on the application and, if approved, Olly says the ACV order would given the community “a real say in the pub’s future and help protect it as a proper local”.

In his campaign to save the pub, Olly has been publicising one of the early pictures of the Black Horse back in the day when a horse drinking trough and lamppost formed an effective mini roundabout at the Ravenscroft Park junction of Wood Street and Stapylton Road.

He says the strength of support for the petition reflects the news coverage which has been given to his campaign by the BBC, London Evening Standard, Barnet Post, Morning Advertiser and the Barnet Society.

“Thanks to everyone who has backed this campaign. Fingers cross for a good outcome.”

An ACV was issued in March 2024 to safeguard the future of the Prince of Wales public house in East Barnet which was closed by the Stonegate Group but was finally rescued and re-opened by the Heartwood Collection group of inns and hotels.

Once an ACV is registered, an owner wishing to sell the asset or to lease it for more than 25 years, is legally obliged to notify the relevant local authority.

Barnet Council will then inform those making the application – in this case the Barnet parish church – which would signal an interim moratorium period of six weeks during which the community could express an interest in taking on the asset.

If a community does express an interest in taking on the Black Horse, then a full moratorium is triggered and the property may not be sold on the market for a six-month period, which would give time for the formation of a residents’ group to consider their options.

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A great spotted woodpecker – and a sparrow hawk above – were just two of the species recorded during a Barnet Big Garden Bird Watch.

A sparrow hawk seen hovering and alighting in the trees disrupted the start of the Big Garden Bird Watch which was held at the Barnet Environment Centre in Byng Road.

Once it had flown off and they no longer felt threatened by a bird of prey, smaller birds returned to the centre’s bird table.

At the end of the hour allocated for the watch, a total of 13 different species had been recorded.

Ian Sharp – above, far left – group leader of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds for Potters Bar and Barnet – said he was impressed by the centre’s nature reserve.

It was his first visit to the Byng Road centre to assist with a Big Garden Bird Watch, and he was delighted with the range of birds they had seen and identified.

To have seen a sparrow hawk – and the fear it created among smaller birds – was always a special moment and another treat had been to see a great spotted woodpecker.

Other birds seen during the watch included three great tits, four fieldfares, a redwing, a gold finch, and a blackbird, plus two of the inevitable parakeets.

Ian said that so far this winter he had not detected signs of the invasion of redwings, fieldfares and siskins from as far afield as Scandinavia which had been reported in some parts of the country due to hard winter weather in Europe.

RSPB Big Garden Bird Watch at Barnet Environment Centre records 13 different species including a great spotted woodpecker sparrow hawk

However, just after finishing the one hour allocated for the birdwatch, there was great excitement when a small flock of 11 fieldfares was seen flying into the nature reserve.

What Ian said he had found so encouraging was the environment centre’s success in attracting a younger generation of bird watchers and its extensive programme of visits by pupils from schools around Barnet.

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Pressure to offer and retain workrooms and offices close to Barnet town centre, but developers claim there is no demand for employment space

Barnet Council is facing another challenge to its policy of encouraging developers to keep or offer space for workrooms and offices in new housing developments close to High Barnet town centre.

So far, the council’s attempt to ensure that affordable space for employment is available is failing to attract tenants as indicated by the number of “To Let” signs.   

The latest challenge revolves around a fresh application to change the use of Highlands House in Bath Place, just off the High Street – see above – to provide seven self-contained one-bedroom flats.

Previously Highlands House was used for offices and graphic printing by sign makers RHM Event Graphics who have moved to premises at Borehamwood.

Subsequently the building has remained vacant, and other developers in the vicinity say the lack of demand for commercial space close to the town centre is underlined by the failure to find a tenant for a potential affordable workspace in the adjoining Lightfield housing development.

When dealing with planning applications, the council has been insisting that in line with the Barnet local plan, affordable employment space should be provided when new housing developments replace commercial and industrial premises.

In the case of Highlands House, council planners will have to decide whether prior approval is required for a change of use following new government regulations on permitted development.

An application to convert Highlands House to flats was rejected last year on the grounds that it would have a “detrimental effect” on the free flow of traffic and highway safety in Bath Place.

But this latest application states the seven flats would be car free and the developers would enter a legal agreement to restrict car parking permits.

Just a few yards away from Highlands House is an empty site – see above – which was earmarked for affordable workspace when approval was given to Shanly Homes to provide 40 homes in flats and houses on the new Lightfield estate, just off the High Street.

Lightfield was built on the site of Brake Shear House which once housed 20 businesses in small factories and workshops which had a combined employment floorspace of 4,000 square metres.

When granting permission for Lightfield, the council stipulated that the site should retain 754 square metres of employment space.

Since the completion of the new estate, the developers say there has been no interest in developing the available commercial floor space and this prompted a fresh application to build a four-storey block which would have comprised eight flats with a ground floor offering 210 square metres of employment space.

However, after this application was refused, the developers took their case to a planning inquiry, only to find that the inspector backed the council.

In his report, the inspector said there was no evidence the employment space had been advertised at a genuinely competitive price; the developers had not demonstrated satisfactorily that there was no demand; and building additional flats would mean a “significant decrease in the employment potential of the site”.

In support of its wider policy of seeking mixed development, the council has intervened to see if a tenant can be found for vacant community space on the ground floor of a new block of flats in Salisbury Road.

This follows the council’s refusal for permission to convert vacant community space on the ground floor of the new block – see above – into a three-bedroom flat.

Again, the developers say that despite having been “extensively marketed” for four years there has been minimal interest in hiring the community space.

In an attempt to find a potential tenant, the council is to contact community groups and local charities to see if there is any interest.

The ground floor space of 1,280 square feet is on the market for a guide sale price of £400,000 or an annual rent of £25,000.

Another vacant commercial space which has been on the market for some considerable time is on the ground floor of new flats in Moxon Street – see above – which were built after the demolition of a car repair business and a former Salvation Army Hall.

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Warm tributes after death of one of Barnet’s “movers and shakers” from an era when retirees contributed so much to community affairs

Robin Marson, who dedicated much of his life to supporting the work of organisations, societies and charities which over the years have strengthened Barnet’s strong sense of community, has died at the age of 89.

Following his retirement in the early 1990s he took on what seemed to be an ever-expanding list of voluntary roles, spending his weekdays and evenings attending a constant round of meetings.

Such was the breadth of his interests that he was acknowledged by family, friends and colleagues to have been one of Barnet’s “movers and shakers” in an era when retirees were keen to volunteer and there was a flourishing civic life.

A roll call of the organisations which came to rely on Robin’s administrative skills included Barnet Parish Church, Barnet Museum, Thomas Watson Cottage Homes, The Hyde Foundation, Barnet Society and Barnet and East Barnet Rotary Club.

His wife Jasmine recalled that sometimes he might have a meeting every evening. Papers under his arms, he would dash off, his meal being kept warm above a simmering saucepan.

Born in 1936, he was the son of an Anglican priest who served Lord Middleton at Malton, North Yorkshire, and who later became Vicar of Granby and Rector of Elton on the Hill in the Vale of Belvoir. 

Robin was educated at Rossall School, Fleetwood, and was due to study theology at Selwyn College, Cambridge, but was unable to take up the place as his family could not afford the top-up fees.

For his national service he was sent to Hong Kong in 1954 with the Royal Artillery becoming a second lieutenant.

After he was demobbed, he joined the Territorial Army in Nottingham and was promoted to lieutenant, enjoying the exercises and camaraderie. He rejoined the TA on moving to Barnet but had to resign after defence cutbacks.

On returning to civilian life, he started as a commercial trainee with the Stanton and Staveley iron and steel works, moving to the London office and rising to become UK field sales manager for the company which by then had become part of the Saint-Gobian group.

He met his wife Jasmine, whose family lived in Barnet, at her cousin’s wedding in 1958 and they got married in 1960 at Barnet Parish Church, which became an important part of their life.

Robin was soon enrolled as a treasurer for one of the church’s finance committees and he served two stints as church warden – an association which is commemorated to this day in Barnet Museum.

Tributes to administrator Robin Marson who has died at the age of 89. He spent much of his life volunteering for community organisations in Barnet.

An ornate lantern – see above – which was no longer needed when lighting above the lectern at St John the Baptist was improved in 1999 was saved by Jasmine and the couple donated it to Barnet Museum in 2014.

Serving as volunteers at the museum was one of their last regular visits to Barnet after they moved to Codicote, near Welwyn, in 2009.

Mike Norhona, museum curator, praised Robin and Jasmine for their patient work over many years cataloguing and archiving the museum’s collection of photographs.

On retirement from Stanton and Staveley he ran a consultancy for three years but soon became closely involved in the civic life of Barnet.

He was appointed clerk to the trustees of Thomas Watson Cottage Homes in Leecroft, a post he held for 18 years, and later took up a similar role with trustees to the Hyde Foundation in Church Passage which he had joined earlier as a church warden.

He became a member of the Barnet and East Barnet Rotary Club in 1983, served on the committee, did a year as president, and later was awarded Rotary’s Paul Harris Fellowship.

In 1995 he was appointed treasurer of the Barnet Society, a post he held for seven years, later becoming a vice president.

A former Barnet Society colleague, vice president Dr Jenny Remfry, who worked with him during her time as chairman, paid this tribute:

“Robin was a great servant to the community and charitable organisations of Barnet. His experience and skills in administration were greatly appreciated.”

Jasmine said her husband loved his voluntary work and took great satisfaction from being able to contribute so much to the town of Barnet.

“He probably should have been a clergyman, like his father, but he never had any hard feelings over missing out on the chance to study theology at Cambridge.

“In those final months, when he was suffering from dementia, he found great comfort, perhaps not surprisingly, from holding his hymn book.

“A hymn book had been part of his life since he was a child. He grew up in a vicarage with a father who became a rector and a mother who played the church organ.” 

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Barnet’s very own professor of Punch and Judy hoping to be back inside his booth this summer ready for another show entertaining local children

A childhood dream about Punch and Judy led on to a lifetime’s interest in glove puppets which earned the accolade of professor for Barnet’s celebrated Punch and Judy puppeteer Geoff Barrett.

He can look back on fifty years’ entertaining countless generations of local children.

Geoff, whose background was in teaching ceramics, has always made his own puppets and in recent years he has crafted their heads from rubber, finding it a lighter material to work with when giving a show.

His Punch and Judy booth has been a regular sight at fetes, festivals and school events around High Barnet, East Barnet, Potters Bar and further afield.

Appearances at Barnet Christmas Fayre and summer parties on the green outside Barnet Parish Church or in the garden at Barnet Museum have regularly attracted appreciative audiences.

Recent ill health has forced Geoff, who is 77, to take it easy but he gave a performance at last year’s summer party for the residents of Byng Road, and he has every intention of setting up his booth for this summer’s get together and entertaining his neighbours and their children once again. 

Perhaps the greatest change since Geoff started giving performances in the mid- 1970s has been a softening in the traditional slapstick violence between Punch and his wife Judy and their baby.

Punch and Judy shows have their roots in the 17th century Italian commedia dell’arte and the British tradition has always been considered naughtier, bawdier and funnier than their continental cousins, but the puppeteers recognise that times have changed.

“Gone are the days when Punch can beat his wife to death or throw the baby out of the window,” says Geoff.

“Slapstick is a quick and easy way for Punch to get rid of characters. A quick swipe, and they are gone, but we recognise that violence against women and the mistreatment of children is no longer a cause for amusement, whereas in the past it used to be.

“Today you cannot be cruel. So now Punch can be seen arguing with Judy, he might let the baby run away, and as Punch gets cross, off she goes to get a policeman.

“There might be a bit of fighting here and there with the policeman, and of course, once it appears, the crocodile can happily snap away with his jaws at all and sundry.

“When the clown leaves a string of sausages and Punch falls asleep, the crocodile can steal the sausages and Punch can get his stick out to give the crocodile a whack, so there is still no end of fun to be had but we Punch and Judy professors do our best to avoid frightening children or causing alarm.”

Geoff is a member of the Punch and Judy Fellowship, and puppeteers awarded themselves the title of professor as a way of upstaging other showmen such as the scientists of the 18th and 19th centuries who did magic shows and liked to call themselves doctors.

Punch Day is celebrated by the fellowship on the second Sunday in May with many professors doing numerous shows outside St Paul’s Church in Covent Garden where Samuel Pepys recorded the first performance of Pulcinella in 1662 – an annual event at which Geoff used to be a regular performer.

He has early memories of dreaming as a child about playing in a local park where there was a Punch and Judy booth, but for some reason the performance never started.

His childhood memories were still there when he studied ceramics at Cardiff College of Art.

He wanted to make figures which moved but found clay was not ideal and it was not until his wife Ruth – see above – joined a glove puppet class in Bristol that his interest was rekindled.

The couple moved to London in 1974 when Geoff was appointed a lecturer at Hendon College with a brief to set up a ceramics studio for teaching students.

“Ruth started attending a marionette class in London and I was really taken by them and started making some, but marionettes are loose-limbed figures operated with strings, and they didn’t really appeal to me.”

At the time Ruth was a youth worker, running summer schools for children at the Oakmere Centre in Potters Bar.

“She engaged a Punch and Judy performer and that was when I realised the superiority of hand puppets, which unlike marionettes can move quickly, handle objects or even hit other puppets with a slapstick.

“After all, Punch – or Pulcinella to give him his original name – was a marionette to begin with before becoming a hand puppet.”

Geoff started making puppets carved from wood and staged his first show at Goldbeaters School in Burnt Oak in around 1975.  The headmaster told him it went down well with the children and from then on Geoff was hooked on the world of Punch and Judy.

Over the years he has made various kinds of puppet heads. He found traditional wooden heads were too heavy; he tried papier mache and fibre glass but settled on latex which he finds the lightest and most flexible and allowed him to model in his preferred material clay from which he could make a mould to cast the latex.

Appearances came thick and fast: he remembers that on the day of Queen Elizabeth’s Jubilee in 1977 that he did four shows in Potters Bar. “Unfortunately, it rained so much that the decorated cloth fronting my booth shrank by about eight inches and people could see my shoes and ankles, which wasn’t what I had intended.”

In the decades which followed he reckons he must have entertained many children at parties, fetes and schools. Geoff has also given talks on the history of Punch and Judy.

One of the hardest tasks was finding the right way of holding inside his mouth the contrivance known as a swazzle through which a puppeteer can produce Punch’s distinctive squawking voice.

As Punch dispatches each of his foes in turn he squeaks his famous catchphrase, “That’s the way to do it!” from which the term “pleased as Punch is derived”.

Barnet's professor of Punch and Judy Geoff Barrett hopes to back inside his both entertaining children once again this summer

No doubt there are countless local children who can’t wait for Professor Geoff Barrett to get back inside his Punch and Judy booth, to hear his raucous voice and to get ready to deliver the audience’s familiar shout, “He’s behind you!” to warn other characters of what’s afoot as the show proceeds.

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Planning application in to build a house in Christchurch spinney

Above is a visualisation of the new 6-bedroom house proposed by its designers, Alan Cox Architects, in secluded woodland barely 200 metres from Barnet High Street. The site is described by the applicants as ‘unkempt’, and by locals petitioning against development as a ‘wildlife haven’. The site is within the Monken Hadley Conservation Area and close to the Green Belt. Some trees have individual Tree Preservation Orders; however all the trees are protected by the conservation area status.

The application is a test of Barnet Council’s commitment to protecting the environment. You can comment on the proposals until Thursday 12 February – see below for details.

Barnet Council declared a Climate and Biodiversity Emergency in 2022. Barnet Labour’s Green Manifesto promised to ‘Protect ALL existing green spaces in the Borough’. And its recently-adopted Local Plan contains policies and supplementary planning documents specifically to protect green spaces. Mayor Khan has similar planning policies, and recently consulted on London’s first Nature Recovery Plan to reverse biodiversity loss.

The site is mainly established deciduous woodland. Although small in area its ecological value is great because it provides a vital undisturbed ‘green corridor’ for the transit of insects, animals and flying creatures between the Old Fold Manor golf course and Hadley Green, both of which are in the Green Belt. It is not managed, however, and its biodiversity is limited by the dominance of cherry laurel and bramble on the east side of the site.

In 2024 the Council authorised the sale of part of the spinney that it owns for £430,000, subject to the buyer obtaining planning consent.

The planning application is by Christchurchgrove Ltd, a developer in a joint venture with Barnet Recreation Trust (BRT), which owns the other part of the present site. BRT is a charity that supports ‘the provision of facilities in the interest of social welfare for recreational and leisure-time occupation’ locally.

Both organisations would profit from the sale of the substantial (567 sq m) new house and garden that would occupy about a third of the site. The house-owner would be responsible for the rest of the (0.4 hectare / 1 acre) site, which includes almost all the existing protected trees. (See plan below by Helene Landscape and Garden Design).

A public consultation on the proposals was held before Christmas, and Nick Jones’s report on that can be found here. You can also read my earlier post on the issues this project raises for nature protection.

Ideally, the Barnet Society would like to see Christchurch spinney and its wildlife conserved, enhanced and protected, with a minimum of landscaping to enable some public access. In practice, that would require funding and organisation that the Council can’t currently provide. It’s a pity no effort seems to have been made to find a community group or charity to take it on.

Although we’d prefer no house to be built at all, we wouldn’t object to permission being given for one on the least ecologically valuable part of the site on certain conditions:

  • The house and garden must be in keeping with their natural setting.
  • They must be built to high environmental standards.
  • The site as a whole must be subject to a long-term management plan to safeguard and enhance the environment.

The scheme the Society was shown last year fell short on all these counts. To the developer’s credit, however, it has been improved in the light of our comments. Overall, therefore, we’re neutral about the application. But because we aren’t yet convinced about a number of critical details, we’ll submit a list of conditions that must be met before approval.

How you can comment

Have your say one of these ways:

  1. on the Council’s planning portal (ref. no. 26/0116/FUL) via the Comments tab;
  2. email comments direct to planning.consultation@barnet.gov.uk (cc tania.sacordeiro@barnet.gov.uk); or
  3. post your comments to the Planning Officer: Tania Sa Cordeiro, Planning and Building Control, Barnet Council, 2 Bristol Avenue, Colindale, NW9 4EW.

In the cases of 2 & 3, be sure to include:

  • the application ref. no. (26/0116/FUL) clearly at the top
  • the site address (Land Opposite 15 Sunset View Barnet EN5 4LB) and
  • your name, address and postcode.

Sending a copy to our MP dan.tomlinson.mp@parliament.uk and to your local Councillors will increase the effectiveness of your comments.

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Barnet Football Club abandons planning appeal over stadium at Underhill as Bring Barnet Back identifies possible new locations   

A short list of four or five possible locations for a new stadium for Barnet Football Club is now being considered in depth by supporters of the Bring Barnet Back campaign after lengthy discussions with Barnet councillors and planners.

In view of what the campaign says is now a “very positive” dialogue, the club has decided not to appeal against the strategic planning committee’s refusal last July to approve an application for a new stadium on Barnet playing fields at Underhill.

The last date for an appeal is January 24, but the Bring Back Barnet campaigners urged the club’s chairman Tony Kleanthous against challenging the council.

“Constructive conversations” with councillors and planners have succeeded in producing a shared sense of good will over the push to secure a move from the club’s existing stadium at The Hive, Harrow, and a return to the town.

A total of 51 alternative sites for a stadium were identified and evaluated by the campaign and the highest scoring four to five sites will now be assessed in greater detail.

They are all in what is described as a “ring of suitable sites” – in an area within High Barnet, New Barnet and East Barnet.

As an indication their good faith in trying to find a site acceptable to the council, the campaigner says they will not identify sites on their short list so as to prevent the long-standing controversy over Barnet FC’s return to the town becoming a political football at the council elections in May.

Bring Barnet Back had been thinking of whether to promote candidates – or a symbolic single candidate – in the May elections to demonstrate the strength of their support but decided against the move so as not to jeopardise the constructive relationship which they have established with councillors across the political parties.

However, the campaign will establish a clear public record of which candidates “clearly articulate” their backing for the principle of the club’s return so that supporters can make “informed decisions”. 

The application for a new stadium at Underhill was rejected by the strategic planning committee last July – see supporters above outside the town hall at Hendon – on the grounds that it failed to demonstrate “very special circumstances” for breaching the Green Belt.

Barnet FC’s planning consultants, WSP, and other consultants, advised that the club would have a “very good opportunity” to appeal on the grounds that the government was now encouraging certain developments within what was deemed “Grey Belt” land.

But the campaign feared an appeal might take 12 to 18 months, with no guarantee of success and even less likelihood of the council agreeing to lease a site on Barnet playing fields.

Conversations over the last few months have indicated that councillors believed the campaign had not been “sufficiently explicit” about why returning to the town was essential for the club.

At stake was the long-term sustainability of the club, given its reliance on continued financial support for the chairman.

The current stadium at the Hive is over an hour away from Barnet on public transport and over a quarter of the club’s local fans no longer attend, creating an annual deficit for Barnet FC of over £1 million.

“Without a permanent asset – a stadium – in its home town, the club’s long-term future remains structurally insecure.

“We now believe there is a shared understanding with all councillors we have spoken to that this is not a matter of sentiment, but of sustainability.”

However, the campaign recognised that the needs of the football club could not be considered in isolation and needed to be grounded in the “delivery of clear, substantial and demonstrable community benefit”.

Although the July application for a stadium had included proposals for a sports hub, medical facilities and wider economic benefits for the town, councillors were clear that a fresh application needed to be “more tightly and explicitly” linked to the need for additional community facilities and collaboratively designed to help deliver the council’s wider objectives.

Any revised plan would take into account issues like the number of school pupils with special education needs, how best to alleviate pressure on the adult social care budget, community-based medical provision and support for young people.

“Prior to these conversations Bring Back Barnet did not fully understand why the original application failed; these discussions have now provided clarity and are reshaping the approach going forward.

“Councillors stressed the importance of designing proposals with them rather than for them.

“The original application was perceived as presenting a largely complete scheme, with limited opportunity for councillors and officers to shape its form, priorities and trade-offs at an early stage.

“Finally, councillors highlighted the need for deeper consultation with key local groups prior to submission.

“In particular, the opposition from Northway School and Ark Pioneer Academy was seen as avoidable had those institutions been engaged meaningfully at an earlier stage.

“When a suitable location is identified and finalised by the planners, Bring Barnet Back will work with local groups to ensure the plans benefit as many as possible.”

Barnet Barnet Back campaign says it has short list of four to five locations for a new stadium for Barnet FC following club's decision to appeal over Underhill plan

Whereas the previously suggested Barnet playing fields site had scored strongly on technical planning grounds, it failed to meet the political test required for approval.

Therefore, any alternative site would have to command sufficient support from councillors to secure permission.

Until further enquiries, technical work and extensive private consultation, the campaign will not reveal the location of the four to five sites on its short list.

“Publishing a potential site prematurely, without full due diligence, would be irresponsible. It would risk exposing early-stage options to speculation, misinformation and unnecessary opposition.

“We fully understand – and share – the frustration this lack of public detail may cause. However, particularly in an election year, it is essential that any future proposals are robust, well-evidenced and carefully prepared.”

Bring Barnet Back statement in full: https://public.hey.com/p/76F1KjJccqW7Q9577B1aTzg3

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Wish list from Marks and Spencer targets High Barnet and New Barnet among sites across the borough as possible locations for a new food hall

High Barnet and New Barnet are two of ten districts within the London Borough of Barnet which are on a wish list of potential sites for a new Marks and Spencer food hall.

M&S plans to double its number of stores across the country and has named 197 possible locations within Greater London.

The ten within the Borough of Barnet are Brent Cross Town, Cricklewood, East Finchley, Edgware, Finchley, Golders Green, Hendon, High Barnet, Mill Hill East and New Barnet.

Currently an M&S food hall at Whetstone is closed while the premises are being upgraded to offer more products and to include a new bakery and coffee counter.

Until it re-opens in the spring, customers are being advised to use M&S food stores in Friern Barnet and Southgate.

In announcing its expansion programme, M&S has identified a wish list of 500 locations across the country and the company’s aim over the coming years is to almost double its existing 330 stores to 420 dedicated food shops and 180 mixed stores.

Within the M25 the company says it is targeting sites which benefit from strong public transport links and a steady footfall throughout the week and are capable of delivering an M&S food hall with a trading space of between 6,000 and 18,000 square feet.

Large sites are need so that the food halls can stock the full range of M&S food, offer wider aisles for bigger shopping trolleys, and large car parks for more family shoppers.

High Barnet and New Barnet are on a wish list for a site for a new Marks and Spencer food hall

Perhaps one of the few, if only sites, within the High Barnet town centre which might attract the interest of M&S would be premises within The Spires Shopping Centre or a site on surrounding land presently used for a staff car park and the Chipping Close car park (on the former Barnet Market site).

Plans to redevelop The Spires with shops along a through walkway, together with the construction of five and six storey blocks of flats, appear to have been in abeyance since administrators took control after the owners, BYM Capital, became insolvent in 2023.

An M&S local food store at 146 Barnet High Street – and a Sainsbury Local which replaced it – were both closed some years ago after becoming loss making.

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Loss of pub motto from new signs at The Gate, Arkley, prompts memories of some of the pub’s famous – and infamous – customers  

New signs outside The Gate public house at Arkley have resulted in the disappearance of a much-loved historical pub motto which used to adorn a miniature five-bar gate that has been the inn’s trademark for probably a couple of centuries.

Motorists stuck at the traffic lights at the junction of Barnet Road and Hendon Wood Lane — or passengers on the 107 bus – are said to have learned the words off by heart:

                           THIS GATE HANGS HIGH

                              AND HINDERS NONE

                               REFRESH AND PAY

                                AND TRAVEL ON

The Gate public house is included in Barnet Council’s local heritage list as being a landmark of significant architectural interest and the loss of the motto – which was painted on both sides of the miniature gate – has disappointed both residents and passers-by.

When asked by the Barnet Society, The Gate’s management said they had no intention of replacing the missing words – the suggestion seemed to be that after a new coat of white paint the mini gate now stands out more clearly and suits the modern, stylish lettering on the side of the wall.

The installation of a small five-bar gate as a pub sign dates back to when it was known as The Bell.

It was opened in the mid seventeenth century and was mentioned in a War Office survey of 1756 as being kept by John Williams.

A drawing of 1807 shows the inn as a thatched cottage with a porch and a gate alongside, close to the wall.

The gate’s purpose was to keep cattle and horses within the common which then stretched to the town of Barnet two miles distant.

Legend has it that when the gate was removed a replica was added to the inn sign.

At the time, the pub was often described as the Bell at the Gate or the Bell and Gate and the above picture (1898-1903) – from the Barnet Museum photographic collection – shows a replica gate above a sign depicting a bell.

The first words of the historical pub motto do differ – instead of “This gate hangs high” it sometimes says, “This gate hangs well.”

Replica gates with the motto are often displayed on inns on turnpike toll roads, meaning the gate is well maintained, does not block the traffic and requires a small payment for refreshments before travellers can continue on their journey.

In other cases – as at Arkley – the gate appears above inns on rural roads where a gate was used to keep animals in the owner’s land or within a common.

Over the years The Gate has served some notable characters – perhaps the most chilling was the American homeopath Dr Crippen who was hanged in 1910 at Pentonville Prison for the murder of his second wife.

In an article published in 1957 in the spring issue of Hertfordshire Countryside, Dorothy Prince, the daughter of a former licensee of the Bell Inn at Barnet Gate, recalled that when her father took on the pub in 1908 it still retained a good deal of its Victorian character.

Newly painted signs at The Gate public house Arkley fail to include the words of historic pub motto and prompt memories of famous -- and infamous -- customers

The postcard above – from Barnet Museum’s collection – promotes the then proprietor, J. Prince, Dorothy’s father

Motorists, who were rarely seen in those days, were regarded by Mr Prince as being “eccentric or flighty” as ordinary folk preferred their “bicycles or a nice little pony and trap for their country outings”.

One afternoon Dorothy’s sister served a meal in the parlour to a “small and furtive man, with a drooping moustache” and she remembered that his companion “seemed much younger and rather nervous”.

“A few months later the whole country was startled and horrified by the news of a dreadful crime. Pictures appeared in the newspapers, and my sister recognised her parlour customers.

“The man with drooping moustache was Dr Crippen and the young lady was his friend, Ethel le Neve.”

Dorothy recalled that one summer afternoon a party of very lively people alighted from several carriages and ordered tea to be served in the garden.

“Trooping on to the velvety lawn, they moved the tables and chairs and then started to dance – to dance in a way that seemed strange and fairy-like to my childish eyes. Soon the news leaked out.

“It was a party of dancers from the Russian Ballet, then appearing at Covent Garden, and I was told afterwards that I had probably seen the great Pavlova dancing.”

In later years The Gate became a regular haunt of the British film actor, Trevor Howard, who lived nearby in Rowley Lane.

Barnet Council’s local heritage list describes the association in rather more brutal words: “It is said that Trevor Howard drank himself to death in the pub”.

More recently social media posts recall visitors and regulars seeing other celebrities in the pub including the Irish American actor Patrick McGoohan, the actress Claire Bloom and another nearby resident, Tony Blackburn, the disc jockey and television presenter.

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Barnet’s free book shop re-opens by sharing space with another charity in an unlet unit at The Spires Shopping Centre

After yet another move Barnet’s popular free book shop is up and running once again in The Spires Shopping Centre.

Lead volunteer Jackie O’Brien – above right with volunteer Mark Shepherd – says it is brilliant being able offer free books once again after having had to close the shop over Christmas and the New Year.

“This is our fourth move within the centre, but our regulars soon get to know where we are, and we know they love coming in and browsing through our stock.”

The free book shop is sharing a vacant unit with another charity, ADDISS, which provides information and counselling on the attention deficit disorder ADHD.

Because of space restrictions, the shop can only accept limited donations at the moment of just a few books.

“Until we get sorted and secure some storage space, we can only accept a carrier bag of books at a time – and not the trolley load that we sometimes get given by generous supporters.”

Barnet's free book shop re-opens in The Spires Shopping Centre after sharing a vacant unit with another charity.

The shop’s new location is next to the Barnet Museum display, close to the Coffee Bean café.

It had to close in mid-December when a new tenant – a cake shop – took over the former vacant EE telephone shop which had proved a particularly popular location as it was directly opposite Waitrose.

Global Education Trust, which operates free book shops across the country, takes advantage of the generosity of landlords and is full of praise for the flexibility shown by The Spires in allowing the use of empty retail premises on a temporary basis.

Up to three unwanted books can be taken on any one visit and the stock is replenished with donated books which might otherwise have been pulped or gone to landfill.  

The free book shop is open from 10am to 4pm Monday to Saturday.

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A visit to Barnet Environment Centre gives Mayor of Barnet an opportunity to observe nature reserve’s wide range of birdlife  

With binoculars at the ready the Mayor of Barnet Councillor Danny Rich paid his first ever visit to the Barnet Environment Centre in Byng Road, congratulating volunteers for establishing a “fantastic educational resource” for local children.

Between February and the end of the coming summer term, 2,000 pupils from across the borough are due to attend classes at the centre – and there is a waiting list of schools keen to take part.

In the first ten minutes of his walk around the nature reserve Councillor Rich – above left with Bernard Johnson, vice chair of the Friends of Barnet Environment Centre – picked out in the surrounding trees, four goldfinches, a blue tit, a great tit and a crow flying overhead.  

He was amazed by the richness of the birdlife at the centre and given his membership of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds said could not resist the opportunity to get his eye in.

His visit was to help celebrate the conclusion of events celebrating the 50th anniversary of the environment centre – and a chance to tour its facilities including the classroom where the centre’s education manager Robyn Stern introduces children to what they can see and find out in the reserve.

Councillor Rich acknowledged that after living in the borough for the last 20 years, he was thrilled at last to have a chance to visit a centre which did so much to alert children to the importance of nature.

“Although here in Barnet we live in a relatively green area, children do need to come here to learn about the environment.

“I’m a birdwatcher myself, so it was a real privilege to see so many birds in such a short time, and I want to book my next visit straightaway.”

He promised to try to keep free the first Sunday in May when the centre is holding its annual early morning gathering to hear the dawn chorus – an event which was led last year by Bob Husband of the RSPB when 33 different species were identified or observed.

On his tour of the centre, Councillor Rich was shown tree stumps left purposely in the undergrowth to encourage the growth of fungi. Last spring the stumps were covered in yellow fungus which fascinated the children.

Mayor of Barnet Councillor Danny Rich pays his firist visit to Barnet Environment Centre and praises their inspirational work with children and wide range of birdlife in nature reserve.

Another stop on the tour was one of the newly refurbished dipping ponds – where children can take samples and observe aquatic life – above from left to right, the Mayoress of Barnet, Laura Lassman, the Mayor of Barnet, Bernard Johnson and trustee Liz Pearson.

 Councillor Rich thanked the volunteers – up to 20 of whom meet each Monday – for all their work maintaining the reserve and for helping with the school visits which take place on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.

Voluntary work was one of the features of life in Barnet. “It is the volunteering which adds so much to the richness of life in the borough and Barnet is a special place because the council does all it can to work in conjunction with our voluntary groups and organisations.”

Looking ahead to projects planned at the centre in the coming months, Bernard Johnson said the centre hoped to redevelop the former Marc Bolan garden into a community orchard.

The centre was even planning to build a boathouse to house a boat that could be used on the Hadley and Willow ponds to help control the growth of bullrushes and other vegetation.

Another innovation was a planned visit by year nine pupils from Queen Elizabeth’s Boys’ School who were studying nature poems and who were looking for ideas for their work.  

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Top spot for drivers and vehicles from Barnet Classic Car Club in London’s New Year’s Day Parade  

Four entries from Barnet Classic Car Club had a prime spot in London’s New Year’s Day parade – gaining praise in the live television coverage on Sky News for adding some royal glamour to the event.

A look-alike King and Queen in the front of Derrick Haggerty’s 1955 Ford Popular were a surprise attraction.

Sky’s commentary team joined in the fun, complimenting the club for parading a wonderful collection of classic and vintage cars:

“We didn’t know the King was going to be here…and the Queen as well…no one told us. But we much appreciate your presence your majesties.”

Derek’s Ford Popular has been in his family since it was purchased in 1973 as a non-runner for £50 – and after £5 and a couple of new king pins it was back on the road.

This was the 40th anniversary of London’s New Year’s Day Parade and despite the freezing weather it was watched by crowds of well over 700,000.

More than 8,000 performers took part in the spectacular procession from Piccadilly to Whitehall treating revellers to marching bands, acrobats and eye-catching floats.

Dancers twirled away in their daffodil costumes and a cavalcade of open-top Mokes made their way through the West End.

Barnet Classic Car Club, representing the Borough of Barnet, was invited to participate by the Mayor of Barnet, Councillor Danny Rich – see above with club member Howard Pryor and Howard’s pet dog Bertie.

Councillor Tony Vourou – above with a Pearly Queen – co-ordinated the club’s entry to the parade.

The club’s four entries – which had 34th place in the parade – were a 1974 Rover P6 owned and driven by club member Peter Snow; a 1955 Ford Popular owned and driven by Derrick Haggerty; a 1952 Morris Minor Convertible owned and driven by club member Paul Reed; and a 1939 Morris Commercial driven by club member Howard Pryor.

Originally built as a utility fire engine, the Morris Commercial was converted in 1947 to an ambulance and was kindly loaned by the Whitewebbs Museum of Transport in Whitewebbs Lane, Enfield.

Entries from Barnet Classic Car Club have a prime spot in London's spectacular New Year's Day Parade and get a special mention of Sky TV

Before setting off on the parade club members lined up for a photograph – from left to right, Derrick Haggerty, Peter Snow, James Beeton, Howard Pryor and Paul Reed.

The club was delighted to have been invited to take part in the parade which drew record crowds approaching 700,000 or more, much more than the 500,000 that had been anticipated.

Sky News had agreed a last-minute deal with the parade and broadcast it in its entirety linking up with 1,100 tv stations around the world and a potential global audience including up to 27 million in the USA.

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Plan for additional flat rejected as Barnet Council still hopes tenant might be found for vacant community space close to Barnet High Street

Barnet Council has intervened to see if a tenant can be found for vacant community space on the ground floor of a block of flats which were built in Salisbury Road after the demolition of the former Fern Room, once the home of Barnet Old People’s Welfare Committee.

After failing since 2021 to either sell or rent the community space, the developers applied for permission to convert the ground floor into a three-bedroom flat – an application that was rejected last year.

This refusal has now prompted the council’s intervention as the planners were not prepared to allow the loss of a possible community facility so close to the town centre.

The council says it wants to work with the developers to see if a tenant can be found for a broader range of openings including possible flexible work, retail or community use as part of the town centre improvement.

Community groups and local charities – together with Chipping Barnet Town Team – are being alerted to see if there is any organisation which might be able to make use of the space.

Given the financial pressures on the voluntary sector, it is perhaps no surprise that the developers have failed to find a new tenant – the ground floor space of 1,280 square feet is on the market for a guide sale price of £400,000 or an annual rent of £25,000.

A report presented to the council on behalf of the owners by real estate advisers Newsteer says that despite having been “extensively marketed” for four years there has been minimal interest in the space for community use.

Therefore a “logical beneficial re-use” would be to convert the space into a three-bedroom flat, but the council’s planning department disagreed.

After refusing plan for additional flat Barnet Council intervenes to see if a tenant can be found for vavant community space close to Barnet High Street

Barnet Old People’s Welfare Committee – which provided activities for Barnet’s elderly residents for 75 years – had to vacate the Fern Room in 2017 when it was purchased by SAS Investments to make way for the new of flats.

Eviction from its day centre meant the loss of a wide range of activities including coffee mornings, a social advice centre, and the running of evergreen clubs and minibus outings.

After paying £875 a quarter to rent the Fern Room, the committee realised it would be unable to afford the new community space which SAS Investments said would be increased in size to 1,600 square feet and offered for hire to a much wider range of uses including sports activities such as 5-a-side football.

In the event the new community space was reduced to 1,280 square feet – the same as the Fern Room – and the planning committee noted that it remains an empty shell although the 2019 planning approval stated it would be “fully fitted out and ready for use.”

Failure to fit out the space had made the rent “potentially prohibitive” for some prospective community use and the planners considered the developers had presented insufficient evidence that the facility was no longer required.

The proposed new ground-floor flat would have no private amenity space and high-level windows to the bedrooms would provide inadequate daylight and a poor outlook, resulting in a poor standard of accommodation.

“Consequently, the proposal would provide only a single additional residential unit and whilst in a sustainable location, would not outweigh the harm resulting from the total loss of a community facility without adequate justification.”

When first applying to demolish the Fern Room, SAS Investments said it was a “very dilapidated, inefficient building” but respected the longstanding community use of the Salisbury Road site and were anxious to work with local community groups by providing a new and much larger community space.

The loss of the Fern Room is an illustration of the on-off, piecemeal development of Barnet town centre.

The site was sold by Barnet Council to the developers of The Spires shopping centre in 2009 and passed on through the ownership of UBS, the William Pears group and Hunter Asset Management before being sold to SAS Investments for redevelopment in 2017.   

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Barnet Council to reintroduce food waste collection service – households will receive new food caddies and bins over next few weeks

Householders might be forgiven for thinking they are living in a time warp in the coming weeks when Barnet Council starts to deliver homes with two containers ready for the re-introduction of a weekly food waste collection and recycling service which begins again in March.

Between January and March each home will be supplied with a brown kitchen caddy for collecting food waste indoors and a small brown outside food waste bin.

A much larger food waste recycling bin will be provided for bin stores and outside use in blocks of flats and in community housing.

Collections will take place on the same day as the regular recycling and waste collections and the service will start as from the week commencing 30 March 2026.

Food waste will be turned into clean energy and nutrient-rich fertiliser for local farmland.

“Barnet is proud to support residents to recycle efficiently – doing our bit for the environment and future generations,” says Councillor Alan Schneiderman, cabinet member for environment and climate change.

For many residents there will be a sense déjà vu about being urged to do their bit for the environment by recycling food waste. 

Until seven years every house across the borough had a kitchen food waste caddy and brown bin – see the full set above, circa 2018 – but the food waste recycling service was abandoned in a cost cutting drive.

Against the advice of the Mayor of London, Barnet Council cancelled food waste collections in November 2018 to save an annual bill of £300,000.

New government regulations now require local councils to collect food waste separately from other household waste, hence the reintroduction of the service.

Grants are being made to local authorities to meet the cost of new containers and collection vehicles.

New kitchen caddies and the kerbside bins for the borough will cost £1.3million and a food waste collection vehicle will be hired for five years from Riverside Truck Rental Ltd at a cost of £2.8million.

The first tranche of capital grant funding of £2.7 million has already been received by the council.

Currently Barnet’s recycling rate for household waste refuse is 27.3 per cent and that should increase by around 4 per cent with the recycling of food waste.

During the five years when there were waste food collections in Barnet, some residents complained about their properties lacking the space for so many bins.

When this service was withdrawn householders tended to find alternative uses for their waste food bins and caddies and there are large numbers of these repurposed containers still in circulation.

Food waste collection service being reintroduced by Barnet Council after it was abandoned in 2018. New food waste caddies and bins to be delivered to householders over coming weeks.

Barnet’s introduction of food waste collections in 2013 led to something almost akin to a game of musical chairs among the wheelie bins and containers which were already proliferating in the frontages of houses and flats across the borough.

2013 was also the year the previous black and blue recycling boxes – see above – were withdrawn and were replaced by a blue wheelie bin for all recyclable material, followed by the arrival of the kitchen caddies and bins that lasted for five years before being declared redundant in 2018 – and are now having to be replaced.