Category: Green Belt

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Bees stay in Hive for now: Council rejects Barnet FC plans for new Underhill stadium

A 100+ crowd packed planning committee rooms at Barnet Town Hall last night for the big match – Barnet Football Club v defenders of Barnet Playing Fields, the proposed site of a new 7,000-seat stadium. After more than two hours of impassioned debate, the result was announced: 6-0 against the Bees.

Barnet FC left its traditional home turf at Underhill for The Hive in Harrow in 2013, selling its site for the Ark Pioneer academy. Ever since, fans have pined for its return to the Borough, and the Club’s recent promotion to English Football League 2 has exacerbated pressures on The Hive. Design began on a new stadium, culminating last December in the outline planning application that was now to be determined by Barnet’s Strategic Planning Committee (visualisation by And Architects below).

There have been vigorous campaigns both for and against the proposal. Barnet FC’s Bring Barnet Back (BBB) claimed 9,500+ supporters. Save Barnet Playing Fields (SBPF – see photograph above) asserted that 90% of local residents opposed the development, and CPRE London said that almost 19,000 had signed a petition against it. The Council received 1,274 online comments plus 72 letters supporting the proposal (35%), as against 1,162 online and about 1,308 paper objections to it (64%). The numbers can be disputed, but division was clearly deep.

The Planning Officer’s report, which recommended refusal, ran to 120 pages – unusually thorough for a project of this size. For comparison, the report last year on the Whalebones application was a mere 103 pages. It reflected local sensitivity, especially around development in the Green Belt. As Committee Chairman Councillor Nigel Young noted, approval could set a precedent for building on other Barnet green spaces.

The significance of the matter was demonstrated by no fewer than five local politicians addressing the meeting in person (in addition to the nine Councillors on the Committee itself). Cllrs Zahra Beg (Underhill), Paul Edwards (High Barnet), David Longstaff (Barnet Vale) and London Assembly Member Anne Clarke all wished to see Barnet FC return to the Borough, but opposed a stadium on Barnet Playing Fields. Only Cllr Tim Roberts supported it.

They were followed by Robert Verrall representing opponents of the scheme, and by Ian Botterill and Sean McGrath representing BBB and the Club’s design team respectively.

All spoke with passion, occasionally interrupted by bursts of audience applause and heckling despite the Chairman’s repeated requests for quiet.

Committee members then discussed the proposal between themselves. Most reiterated support for Barnet FC’s return, just not to this particular location. Several called for consideration of alternative sites, but as the Chairman pointed out, the Committee could only decide on the application in front of them.

In the end, the outcome was decisive. Three members abstained but the others were unanimous in denying planning permission.Their key reasons for refusal were that

‘the proposed development would result in substantial and irreversible harm to the openness and function of the Green Belt, and…the applicant has failed to demonstrate the very special circumstances necessary to justify such harm. The proposal would also result in the loss of valued public open space…’

Other reasons for refusal were insufficient information to safeguard protected species; insufficient information on archaeology; inadequate assessment of on-street parking impacts; unacceptable site access and junction design; and lack of a Section 106 Agreement (detailing the applicant’s financial contribution towards community infrastructure costs).

Barnet Society position

Consultation with our members last February indicated that they were roughly evenly split over the scheme.

Our Committee agreed that we wholeheartedly support the principle of Barnet FC returning closer to its historic roots. And a building and landscape design of exceptional quality could enhance Barnet Playing Fields, which make only a limited contribution to local biodiversity and are little used for sport. But we had severe reservations about key aspects of the Club’s case with regard to the Green Belt and the environment; transport and parking; community uses and benefits; and economic value.

We therefore took a neutral stance but submitted detailed comments that you can read on our website.

What will happen next?

Barnet FC has the right to appeal to the Planning Inspectorate against the Council’s refusal, but its chances of overturning the decision are not great – and will involve yet more expense.

A better way forward would be to build on the constructive discussions that its team held with the Barnet Society and Barnet Residents Association, and to engage more closely with the Council and other stakeholders about alternative sites.

Although disappointed, Bees fans remain defiant. As BBB organiser Keith Doe (seen below with Ian Botterill) said after the meeting, ‘One way or another, we’ll bring Barnet back!’

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With a decision likely within weeks, BringBarnetBack step up their campaign for Barnet Football Club to return to Underhill

In advance of a key meeting which campaigners understand will be held in mid-July, BringBarnetBack have launched a last-minute appeal to Barnet Council to give the go-ahead for a new football stadium at Underhill.

From their own extensive soundings, they believe that there is a 50/50 chance of the council’s strategic planning committee granting planning approval for a 7,000-seat stadium at Barnet Playing Fields.

If the application is rejected, they are confident that the club will launch an appeal and they think it could become a test case in the push by the government to free up some Green Belt land for redevelopment.

However, BringBarnetBack warn that if the playing fields are redesignated as Grey Belt and freed for development, there is a danger the open space might be lost to make way for new housing.

At issue is the argument between many local residents who want to preserve the playing fields as a vital open space and Barnet FC supporters who are fully behind the offer of the club chairman Tony Kleanthous to move the club from The Hive at Harrow to a new £14 million stadium at Underhill.

BringBarnetBack have issued a 14-page dossier examining the arguments for and against the application which ends with a plea to the council to vote for a project that would be a sustainable development; enhance the surrounding Green Belt land; and bring back a football club that has “never stopped believing in coming home”.

(Bring Barnet Back – The Case http://eepurl.com/jhcTaU )

The proposed stadium would take up 22 per cent of the southern section of the playing fields – see above – which BringBarnetBack argue is in effect a “de-facto abandoned field with a monoculture of weeds and grass”.

Campaigners have visited the site at “hundreds of different times and in all weather conditions and claim there were “no people” on the proposed site, beyond the odd dog and its owner.

They believe the case for it becoming the new home of Barnet FC is strengthened by the fact that under a previous plan Barnet Council had proposed redeveloping the playing fields with a new 10,000 square foot destination sports hub that would have included two multi-purpose activity spaces, a cafe, six changing rooms and 55 new car parking spaces.

Because of severe funding restraints the council has not proceeded with its own plan and the reality is that all these facilities – and more – could be included in the new Barnet FC stadium “at no cost to the council”.

 Included in the new stadium would be medical facilities, which could be used by NHS patients; new public toilets which could encourage more use of the existing children’s playground and basketball courts; and community space for local food hubs and other charitable organisations.

One issue not addressed in the BringBarnetBack dossier is the wider use of the playing fields for large public events.

Last minute appeal by BringBarnetBack campaign to persuade Barnet Council to give go ahead for a new football stadium at Barnet Playing Fields

In May the playing fields hosted a five-day visit by Zippos Circus and other events are planned for later in the summer.

Organisers who have previously presented music and community festivals at other nearby sites such as Trent Park and Oak Hill Park, are switching to the playing fields at Underhill because of what they say is excellent access to public transport.

Other events being advertised at the playing fields are the Eagle Festival of Music over the weekend of June 21-22; the Ghana Party in the Park festival and the Mauritius open air festival which will be staged separately on the Saturday and Sunday of July 12 and July 13.

BringBarnetBack underline the urgency of the application: currently Barnet FC is loss-making and kept afloat at Harrow by Mr Kleanthous who is “willing to subsidise the club at a personal loss”.

Since moving to The Hive from Underhill in 2013 the club has lost between 25 per cent and 30 per cent of its core support and despite its promotion to the League Two of the English Football League, Barnet’s future is “unsustainable away from its home”.

Securing a return to Underhill – its home of 107 years — represents in planning terms “very special circumstances” to justify building a stadium on Green Belt land.

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Mays Lane residents are increasingly concerned about the continuing failure to restore the derelict Quinta Youth Club building

After being boarded up for the last 20 years a fresh attempt is about to be made to see whether it might be possible to get the abandoned Quinta Youth Club in Mays Lane, Barnet, refurbished or rebuilt and returned to community use.

After their success in obtaining and maintaining protected status for Quinta Village Green — which adjoins the derelict clubhouse — residents are increasingly concerned about continuing vandalism and anti-social behaviour.

Barnet Council and representatives of other local groups are to be sounded out by the Quinta Village Green Residents Association to see what could be done to restore a sadly neglected building.

Planning approval was given in 2021for use of the clubhouse to be changed from community use to become a store for the library service for schools in the Borough of Barnet.

Although said to be “derelict and in a poor condition” and vacant since 2006, the council proposed to refurbish the existing single-storey building, install new doors and windows, and use it for the storage, archiving and dispatching of library books as part of the borough’s Schools Library Resource Service.

But nothing further has happened to the building in the intervening four years, prompting residents’ concerns about continuing vandalism, resulting in their appeal for more thought to be given as to its future use. 

After the being re-established and named after Quinta Village Green, the residents’ association has been engaged in several campaigns against threats to the Green Belt and is seeking better consultation on road safety schemes in Mays Lane.

Residents to launch fresh attempt to see whether derelict former Quinta Youth Club in Mays Lanes can be restored for community use.

Gina Theodorou, the first chair of the newly formed association, promoted their work with a stall at the Arkley Village Fayre.

“Given all that we have been doing to strengthen the Quinta village community, we do think it is perhaps time to see whether something can be done about the abandoned youth club.

“As it has been boarded up for the last 20 years, we are now reaching out to Barnet Council, who own the building, and to other local partners to explore opportunities for restoring it and bringing it back into community use.”

Currently the association is crowdfunding for the cost of legal representation at a public inquiry into an application for a travellers’ caravan site on Green Belt land in Mays Lane.

So far, a crowdfunded appeal has raised half the cost, but the association still needs to raise almost £7,000.

After getting the village green registered as a public open space, the association liaises with the council to ensure maintenance of the green and to ensure that fly tipping is removed.    

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Community gardens developed over 70 years ago together with meadows and hedgerows are now a wildlife haven

Tucked away at a wildlife site in the Barnet green belt is an enchanting array of community gardens which were developed in the 1950s, and which played a part in the early development of organic gardening.

Brookdale Wildlife Garden Community was established in 1951 when a group of a wartime allotment holders from Islington secured the lease of a ten-acre field on farmland owned by the Byng family at Wrotham Park.

Together with her friends who were also keen gardeners, Hilda Brooke, had grown fruit and vegetables on Hampstead Heath on what were known as “Dig for Victory” allotments.

When Hampstead Heath was reinstated after World War Two, they had to find a new site.

They moved to Barnet with the help and support of the Soil Association which was founded in 1946 to campaign for sustainable food production because of concern about the impact of intensive farming and resulting soil erosion and depletion.

An entire ten-acre field – which had formed part of a wartime decoy airfield to the north of Barnet — was leased to the exiled group of gardeners by Lady Elizabeth Byng for a first annual rent of £20.

Today, rather than concentrating on cultivation of produce, the Brookdale plot holders cherish their cluster of community gardens which have become a haven for wildlife.

Their individual gardens, community meadows and an ancient hedgerow — which are a designated wildlife site and are protected by an area tree preservation order — were visited recently (see above) by members of the Barnet Environment Centre who maintain the nature reserve in Byng Road.

During a tour of the gardens, they admired several of the small clay-lined ponds which are ideal for aquatic plants, attract dragon flies and provide a home for among others for frogs and great crested newts.  

After so many years of care and attention each plot is distinctive and in the case of Michael Bruce – who has the distinction of being Brookdale’s longest tenant – his garden is a much-cherished refuge from the hustle and bustle of everyday life in Islington.

Michael has a much-loved summer house, well-tended borders and numerous features which he has developed during 33 years at Brookdale.

An archway at the end of his plot looks out onto a community meadow. Just visible in the far distance is an obelisk, which Michael made from wood and which he brings in each winter to avoid unnecessary wear and tear during bad weather.

Christine Klein, who is a member of the Barnet Society and has been a plot holder since 2017, enjoys her personal haven of tranquillity and encourages the growth of wildflowers and shrubs.

“Unfortunately, I find it too difficult to grow vegetables. We get rabbits, muntjac and foxes visiting the plots and it would be hard work keeping them at bay.”

Just a step away from one of the community meadows is a former World War Two control bunker, a relic of the days when the site was a one of the decoy airfields intended to attract enemy bombers destined for the RAF Fighter Station at Northolt.

John Nicholls, a former vice chair of the group’s organising committee, seen above with his daughter Becky Nicholls, Brookdale’s membership secretary, said the bunker would have been a centre of operations for the decoy airfield.

“Dummy planes and painted canvases would have been laid out on the grass. We know that at night there were lights laid out to make it look like a landing strip.

“One story which we have been told is that the Germans found out it was a dummy airfield and even dropped a wooden bomb on the field to let everyone know.”

An official history of the decoy airfields says that the fuselages of about half a dozen Hurricanes mounted on wheels and with engines removed were used at Barnet.

Airmen moved about the field periodically at night riding bicycles fitted with lights to imitate aircraft movements.

Wartime gardeners from Hampstead Heath set up a group of community gardens at Barnet in the early 1950s which are now a wildlife haven.

The challenge today for Becky Nicholls is to ensure the long-term future of their garden community after all the efforts over the years by her father and her mother Anna (above).

Whatever the pressures might be on the green belt, the group believe their wildlife credentials and charitable status should give them an assured future.

Brookdale was awarded “wildlife site” status within the Hertsmere local development plan in 1997 and the gardens are covered by an area tree protection order.    

Currently Brookdale has 60 full members and eight associates.    

“We are open to new members and in recent years more of the plots have been taken by people living in and around Barnet,” said Becky.

“This does ensure the gardens are used more regularly than is sometimes the case with those members who still live in Islington or further afield.

“We are happy to welcome volunteers, especially young people doing the Duke of Edinburgh award scheme, to help with the management of the habitat which takes a lot of effort.”

For further information contact Becky Nicholls at email bmnicholls101@gmail.com        

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Enfield flood drainage work helping to create a wetland habitat in woodland on Monken Hadley Common

Reeds and other wetland grasses and flowers have been planted along the edges of flood relief drainage work in Hadley Woods which has been carried out by Enfield Council with the help of volunteers from Monken Hadley Common Trust.

New pipework and other excavations are designed to end flash flooding in Parkgate Avenue, off Camlet Way, and improve badly drained marsh land close by in the woods which is often inaccessible in wet winter weather.

Plans were first drawn up in 2018 to relieve flooding in nearby houses.

After discussions with the Common Trust and Barnet Council, Enfield gave the go ahead for the construction of a new surface water drainpipe under the footpath that leads to the common at the junction of Parkgate Avenue and Crescent.

A wetland cell – or holding pond – has been created along with a water course through the woods which connects up to Green Brook and leads on to the stream that runs close to Jack’s Lake.

Footpaths around the area have been raised and laid out with wood chips so as to provide year-round access through the woods.

Michael Shorey, Enfield’s senior engineer in water courses, briefed volunteers before they set to work.

He explained that the aim of the scheme was to divert excess flood water through the new pipe under the footpath so that it entered the wet land cell and could then spill into a floodable landscaped wetland area reducing the flow into Green Brook.

Martin Jones (far right), a landscape architect with Enfield Council, said the importance of wetland and marginal aquatic planting was that it enhanced the water quality and added to biodiversity.

A range of pond-edge plants and wildflowers could be used in such locations and could tolerate periods of dry weather.

Roger De La Mare, co-curator of Monken Hadley Common, welcomed the completion of Enfield’s sustainable drainage scheme for Parkgate Avenue and the chance to carry out aquatic planting.

“We have had to lose several mature trees to make way for the pipework and the holding pond, but it has opened up an area which now has great potential, especially with the new raised footpaths.

“The tree canopy in much of the common does make it very dark below and that leaves us with a lot of brambles and holly, so a wetland area like this which has been laid out with aquatic plants is very appealing.”

A chance to take part in the scheme was an opportunity for Anna Colligan (left) to work with Enfield engineer Sarah Dillon to discover more about urban drainage schemes.

Anna is studying water management and the environment at Queen Mary University and was keen to volunteer.

Two Trust volunteers – Peter Davies (left) and David Littlewood – said they were pleased to see such a good turn out as it helped to get across the message that they wanted local people to get involved in looking after Monken Hadley Common.

Wetland habitat is being created within woodland on Monken Hadley Common after Enfield complete flood drainage work in Parkgate Avenue.

Nearby residents Maurice and Esther Kurland said the completion of the drainage scheme would be a great relief to some of their neighbours who had suffered from flash flooding in their properties.

“At long last there is now in place a drainage system to take the surplus water and we know how much that will be appreciated.

“Sorting out the drainage and building up the footpaths is a great improvement as this part of the common is often impassable in the winter because of all the mud. Hopefully that will all be sorted and the landscaping and planting will be a real improvement.”

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Barnet’s promotion to League Two of the Football League is being hailed as a boost to campaign to build new stadium at Underhill

After Barnet secured their return to the Football League with a decisive 4-0 win against Aldershot, supporters of the BringBarnetBack campaign hope it might strengthen the club’s chances of obtaining planning permission for a new stadium at Underhill.

There was a sell-out crowd for the last home match of the season (Saturday 26 April) at the club’s current stadium, The Hive, Harrow.

Their comfortable defeat of Aldershot ensured the Bees’s promotion to League Two of the English Football League.

Post-match celebrations for the team and spectators made the front page of The Non-League Paper (27.4.2025)

A largely unbeaten run had kept Barnet safely at the top of the Vanarama National League for months on end – a lead which extended for a time to nine points.

Barnet’s success – and a place back in League Two after relegation in 2018 – has boosted the efforts of supporters who have put up banners and posters around the town backing the club’s bid to build a new stadium at Underhill.

After seven years out of League football, securing promotion with a game in hand, has added further impetus to calls for Barnet residents and community groups to back the club chairman Tony Kleanthous who has promised to invest £14 million in a new stadium. 

Arrangements are already in hand by BringBarnetBack for a celebration in High Barnet to congratulate the club and manager Dean Brennan for turning around the club’s fortunes.

Barnet have only lost once this year and nine consecutive wins from February to March had already given the club a commanding lead.

Tickets sold out fast for the crucial match against Aldershot with 4,500 home supporters expected at the stadium together with away fans – for full match report see club’s website above https://barnetfc.com/

Two first half penalties by Mark Shelton and then two goals within four minutes in the second half by Callum Lee Stead sealed the match and promotion with a game to spare.

Victory over Aldershot put Barnet on 99 points (followed in second place by York on 93).

Barnet now have the chance in their final match of the season against AFC Fylde on 5.5.2025 to break the 100-point barrier.

After failing to gain promotion in the two previous seasons after being beaten in the play offs, Dean Brennan’s success in steering the team to automatic promotion does raise the club’s profile at a critical point in their future.

Since moving to The Hive in 2013, Barnet have failed to match previous attendances at Underhill.

The average gate in recent months has been around 1,800 and club officials believe a move back to Underhill could increase that to around 3,500 given the strength of local support.

Campaigners for Barnet FC to return to Underhill encouraged by club's promotion to League Two of the Football League

Discussions are continuing with Barnet Council’s planning department over the plan to return the club to “where it belongs” – a constant refrain of BringBarnetBack.

In February, Barnet FC completed another stage in its attempt to gain approval when its application to construct a 7,000-seat stadium on playing fields at off Barnet Lane was validated by Barnet council, a step which enabled the club’s consultants and architects to start discussions with planning officers.

There is no indication yet of how the talks are going and so far, no date has been set for when the application might be considered by the strategic planning committee.      

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Summer events planned at Barnet playing fields at Underhill include a circus and music and community festivals   

Zippos Circus will be at Barnet playing fields for five days in mid-May – one of several attractions to be staged this summer at a much-prized open space where Barnet Football Club has applied to build a new stadium.

Organisers who have previously presented music and community festivals at other nearby sites such as Trent Park and Oak Hill Park, are switching to the playing fields at Underhill because of what they say is excellent access to public transport.

Other events already being advertised at the playing fields for later in the summer are the Eagle Festival of music over the weekend of June 21-22; the Ghana Party in the Park festival and the Mauritius open air festival which will be staged separately on the Saturday and Sunday of July 12 and July 13.

So far there is no indication when Barnet Council will make a decision on the application to build a new football stadium at Underhill.

Opinion is divided with Bring Barnet Back campaigning for the club’s return but with equally strong opposition being voiced by those against the loss of such a large open space which is within the Green Belt and beside the Dollis Valley green walk.

Barnet Playing Fields to host summer events including a circus, music festival and community fairs

The potential appeal of the playing fields as a location for music festivals and large community events might well be one of the considerations that the planners take into account when deciding whether the site should be redeveloped.

Advertisements promoting events at Underhill – previously held at Trent Park and Oak Hill Park – say the playing fields off Barnet Lane are an ideal location with excellent public transport nearby including eight bus routes, High Barnet tube station and New Barnet rail station.  

Zippos Circus is currently touring locations in and around London with its new show Bravo!

It will be at Acton Green from April 30 to May 6 and East Ham from May 9 to May 12 before moving to Barnet Playing Fields for five days – May 15 to 19.

The Eagle Festival (June 21-22, from 12noon to 10pm) is billed as a two-day celebration of “music, community and unforgettable events” with 20 “incredible artists”.

Facilities installed at the playing fields for the weekend of July 12 and 13 are to be shared between the Ghana Party in the Park on the Saturday (12noon to 8pm) and the Mauritius Open Air Festival on the Sunday.

The Ghana Party claims to be the biggest gathering of Ghanaians in the diaspora and attracts support from across the UK and Europe.

The Mauritius Open Air Festival offers the best of “Mauritius culture, music and flavour”.

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Barnet Football Club’s supporters hoping their team’s top-of-the table position in the National League bodes well for a return to Underhill

Leaflets promoting Bring Barnet Back are being distributed across the town as the campaign hots up to persuade Barnet Council to approve plans for a new football stadium at Underhill.

If playing form is any guide, the club might be hoping for a warm welcome: Barnet is currently top of the National League and well placed for promotion to League Two of the English Football League.

Barnet haven’t been beaten in their last 21 National League fixtures. The Bees have now established an nine-point lead at the top of the table after their stunning mid-week 5-0 defeat of Yeovil Town at The Hive (4.3.2025).

However promising their performances on the pitch, the chances of Barnet playing again at Underhill are finely balanced.

The outcome depends on whether Barnet Council can be persuaded that there is a special case for a new stadium to be built within the Green Belt on playing fields at Underhill, close to the site of the original stadium which was demolished to make way for the Ark Pioneer Academy.

Opponents to the project, who are against the loss of Green Belt land and who fear traffic congestion generated by a new stadium, are rallying support around a petition which has attracted over 18,800 signatures.  

A strong case is being made for the new site on the grounds that careful landscaping would reduce the visual impact of the stadium, and that the environment and biodiversity would be greatly improved with extensive tree planting and the creation of a pond between the stadium and the Dollis Valley green walk.

Supporters hope Barnet Football Club's top of the table position boosts chances of return to Underhill

Seen above with an artist’s impression of the site are Sean McGrath (left) of consultants WSP and architect Manuel Nogueira of AndArchitects

Much of the emphasis in the club’s campaign to play again at Underhill is based on the economic impact.

Club chairman Tony Kleanthous has promised to finance the building of the new stadium, at a cost of around £14 million, and the estimate is that it should sustain the equivalent of 78 full-time jobs when taking into account all those working part time on match days.

On some estimates the return of the club could add £6 million a year to the Barnet economy, including £2.1 million from extra business for the town’s traders over a 23-week season.

If the application for a new stadium fails to get approval – and Barnet are denied a chance to rebuild the strong local support which they once enjoyed – there are stark warnings that the club’s long-term future is in grave doubt.

Representatives from community groups including the Barnet Society, Barnet Residents Association and Love Barnet have been advised that attendances at the club’s current base at The Hive Football Centre are not sufficient for long-term financial viability.

What was described as “a considerable financial shortfall” is having to be made up by Mr Kleanthous, the Barnet FC chairman and owner.

The Hive, midway between Edgware and Standmore, which is also owned by Mr Kleanthous, is a separate financial entity.

Its pitch, training facilities and diagnostic centre are used by a range of other clubs as well as Barnet and because of its proximity to Wembley it is often used as a training camp by visiting teams.

Since moving to The Hive in 2013, Barnet have failed to match the attendances at Underhill.

Currently the average gate is around 1,800. A move back to Underhill could increase that to around 3,500 given the strength of local support with the new stadium having a maximum capacity of 7,000 spectators.

Additional revenue from ticket sales could bring in an extra £500,000 a season and that could be matched by an equivalent amount in sponsorship which together would be make up the current shortfall which on some estimates is around £1 million a year.

If the club fails to get approval for a new stadium there are doubts as to whether Mr Kleanthous would be prepared to make a fresh attempt to return to Barnet.

His view is that if the community are against the club’s return and there is not the support which Bring Barnet Back believe there is, then there is little more that he can do.

But without the injection of additional revenue, the fear is that within four to five years’ time Barnet might no longer be sustainable financially.

With help from the distribution of funds from the Premier League, the club says it would establish a new charitable foundation at Barnet which would offer a range of activities with an outreach to local schools and support for local clubs.

Once back in Barnet, the club’s aim would be to establish community initiatives and there any number of possibilities, including, for example, the possibility of providing space for a local foodbank or other projects.

The club would open a new diagnostics and imaging centre at the new stadium in line with the facilities provided at The Hive which a said to be recognised as one of the best screening facilities at a football club.    

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MP says Barnet’s councillors should take final decisions on blocks of flats at High Barnet tube station car park and possible new football stadium  

When responding to the debate over the two most controversial development applications to have emerged since he was elected Labour MP for Chipping Barnet seven months ago, Dan Tomlinson is insisting he will maintain his neutrality.

He says final decisions on whether to construct blocks of flats at High Barnet tube station car park or build a new stadium for Barnet Football Club at Underhill should be taken by Barnet Council on the advice of its planning officers and committee.

When members of the Barnet Society discussed the two projects – immediately before hearing Mr Tomlinson’s response – there was a unanimous vote against Transport for London’s bid to build flats on the tube station car park and a split vote over a possible new stadium.

In reply, Mr Tomlinson – seen above with Robin Bishop (left) and chair John Hay (right) — was adamant that as the town’s MP he believed his duty was to address the concerns of residents and try to secure for them the best possible outcomes.

Personally, he thought a ten-storey block of flats at the tube station was too high.

He felt the football stadium was unlikely to get planning approval from the council because it would mean taking Green Belt land.

But he would not be intervening directly himself either in support or against the two projects.

“It is up to the elected Barnet Council to decide whether these schemes are in accordance with the local plan and whether or not they should be approved.”

He acknowledged that his predecessor, the former Conservative MP Theresa Villiers, had taken firm positions either for or against certain planning applications in the past, but this had resulted in local residents being “marched up the hill and down again” only to see schemes being approved in the end.

He believed his task was to help ensure that the views of his constituents were expressed to Barnet Council and to the developers and that he worked in conjunction with them and the residents to see how such schemes could be improved for the benefit of the community.

When it came to the blocks of flats at the tube station, he was keen to persuade TfL to keep much more space for car parking.

He would be following up ideas to see if underground car parking spaces could be provided beneath the development.

Mr Tomlinson was also in full agreement with tube passengers on the importance of providing a bus service direct to the station entrance and moving the north bound bus stop on Barnet Hill closer to the pedestrian crossing at the station approach road.

He was challenged over why he had not been influenced by the fact that no one in the room at the society’s meeting had voted in favour.

MP says Barnet’s councillors should take final decisions on blocks of flats at High Barnet tube station car park and possible new football stadium

An outline of the scheme had been given earlier by committee member Nick Saul (above) who said the development was unacceptable. The blocks of flats would utterly dominate the town, and he doubted whether the project was viable.

Mr Tomlinson reminded his audience that the land at the station was already allocated for 292 homes in Barnet Council’s local plan.

Building on station car parks was also included in the London plan, so there was a strong presumption in favour of the High Barnet scheme, but a ten-storey block of flats was too high and was not in keeping with the local plan’s recommendation of more than seven storeys.

“But if we can’t build flats for young people here on this site, where are we are going to put them?

“As your MP I will try to make the scheme as good as possible.”

When it came to the controversial application to build a new football stadium at Underhill, he was personally split 50/50 over whether it should be approved.

When discussing a return of the club with residents of the Dollis Valley estate he found there was strong support among some of those he spoke to.

Nevertheless, it was one of the few large open play spaces in the town and he did not think it likely Barnet Council would give approval because it was a site within the Green Belt.

If Barnet FC was refused permission, he undertook to work with the club and the Bring Barnet Back campaign to see if an alternative site could be found.

Green Belt land should be protected and if the housing target could be met with developments such as High Barnet station, then the council would not be under pressure to encroach on the green belt.

When challenged by one questioner over whether his stance of being neither for or against planning applications – and leaving it to the elected councillors – would protect the Green Belt, he gave this assurance:

“If there is a really abhorrent scheme, I won’t be agnostic.”

In his opening remarks, he said he had been working members of Chipping Barnet Town Team and Love Barnet to see whether more could be done to improve Barnet High Street.

One idea being explored with the Greater London Authority was to have a rental auction of empty High Street shops.

Under such a scheme, if a property had been left vacant for more than 12 months, Barnet Council could auction off a rental so that empty retail premises could be brought back into use.

An earlier discussion at the meeting had explored ideas for rejuvenating The Spires shopping centre.

As a previous redevelopment scheme was now in abeyance because of the financial difficulties facing the owners of the centre, Mr Tomlinson said he would be delighted to work with community groups to bring forward alternative proposals.

Barnet Council owned the freehold of the shopping centre site and there was every reason to open a discussion about the future of The Spires.    

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Barnet Beyond Brexit -Saving our green spaces

Chipping Barnet is surrounded on three sides by Green Belt – virtually unspoiled open countryside from Hadley Wood in the east to Whitings Hill in the west and south along the valley of the Dollis Brook. Together with substantial areas of Metropolitan Open Land (such as Tudor Park), surviving farmland (such as the Whalebones estate), several attractive parks and many street trees, we are lucky to have so much greenery. It helps give our area its special identity.

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Building Threat on Potters Bar & South Mimms Green Belt

Hertsmere Council is consulting on the possibility of building up to 2,620 new homes plus new places of work between Wrotham Park and Potters Bar, westwards as far as South Mimms and eastwards beyond M25 junction 24. This would have a huge impact on our Green Belt.

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New sports and community hubs in the green belt?

The Barnet Society welcomes the Council’s intention to restore Barnet & King George V Playing Fields, and to widen public access by providing a café with toilet facilities and play areas for children and their parents or carers. However, we currently consider that the development suggested in the master plan would be too intrusive and requires a re-think.

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