Local musicians young and old are to have pride of place at the final concert of this year’s High Barnet Chamber Music Festival and their event is in memory of a celebrated local music teacher, the late Jean Middlemiss.
Continue reading Young musicians to star in final concert of 2023 High Barnet Chamber Music Festival
All that appears to remain of a secret wartime listening post at Arkley is a dilapidated Nissen hut in Rowley Lane which nearby residents fear might be demolished to make way for new housing.
After publicity by the Barnet Society, the organisers of the Barnet Classic Car Club have tracked down an example of the elusive Arkley sports car which will be on display at the club’s annual show on Sunday 14 May on the top deck of the car park at The Spires shopping centre.
Bell ringers at the parish churches of High Barnet and Monken Hadley — which have both been strengthened recently by new recruits — rang peals of bells over the holiday weekend to proclaim the Coronation of King Charles III.
Coronation quiches seemed to be outnumbered by sponge cakes, all decorated imaginatively with flags and other royal regalia, at many of the street parties which were held in and around High Barnet to celebrate the Coronation of King Charles III.
High Barnet’s historic alms houses have set an example to the town, with homes for elderly residents bedecked with bunting and regal floral displays to mark the Coronation of King Charles III.
Barnet’s classic car owners are revving up for their tenth annual show and are on the look-out for a sports car enthusiast who might own one of the rare 1970s Barnet-made sports cars, the Arkley SS.
While there might be uncertainty about the future of The Spires shopping centre, independent traders in High Barnet are showing once again that the High Street can be reinvigorated and present appealing options for shoppers.
High Barnet’s magnificent pink marble drinking fountain, now in full working order, is once again the centre of attraction at the top end of the High Street, welcoming walkers, and visitors to the delights of Hadley Green.
The Barnet Society’s Planning & Environment Committee has studied closely the latest design proposals exhibited at The Spires on 12 & 15 April. This is a once-in-a-generation chance to revitalise our town centre, but it risks being wasted.
Frankly, we’re disappointed. Back in December last year, we responded to the initial proposals for The Spires with numerous constructive suggestions and cautionary comments. Over three months later, few of them seem to have been regarded.
The Society’s fundamental position is that we could accept around 250 flats if the result would be a real improvement on the present Spires. That would include a wider range of retail and other uses, a more attractive place to shop and hang out, and better bus/car drop-off and pick-up arrangements (amongst other things).
Unfortunately, the current scheme doesn’t seem to offer such improvements. Benefits to the public realm are at best vague or limited, and in some cases the proposals would be detrimental. Basic information on the new homes, transport, sustainability and the visual impact on neighbours and conservation areas is lacking, but is essential if the developers are to get community support.
We’ve told them our reasons for disappointment – and if you care for the future of our town, please submit your own comments. There’s no deadline, but the sooner you do so the better. You can view the exhibition boards here. Then
The Society has four particular concerns:
Building height
The proposed 5 & 6-storey blocks along the south side of Spires Walk would overshadow the precinct to a completely unacceptable degree. We are also very concerned about the visual impact of the 4, 5 & 6 storeys proposed north of the Spires Walk, on the multi-storey car park and behind Chipping Close, and would have to see verified visualisations from key view-points before commenting further.
Transport
No attempt has been made to improve the present unsatisfactory – and sometimes hazardous – arrangements for buses, car drop-off or pick-up and pedestrian crossing. The scheme also depends on highly optimistic assumptions about car parking demand. Credible transport studies must be made available.
Housing
The almost complete absence of plans, sections and other information about this major component of the scheme is astonishing, and prevents us adding to the numerous comments we made on the subject in our submission last year. We should point out that compliance with the London Mayoral and Barnet Council housing design standards will be essential, not simply the Nationally Described Space Standards referenced on the exhibition boards.
Trading continuity
The lack of information about phasing of building works and temporary decanting of existing businesses, most of which are essential for the regeneration of the town centre, is worrying.
We also have comments on other points:
Permeability
New public pedestrian connections between the development and Bruce Road, and High Street (via the alley between Nos.131 & 133) are desirable.
Mix of uses
We like the idea of a ‘varied offer of retail, F&B, leisure and cultural’ and ‘active community & retail space fronting onto the High Street’ (or is that meant to mean St Albans Road?), but need more detail. ‘Changing places’ and able-bodied public conveniences should also be provided.
Market
We welcome the extra space proposed for the market if demand increases.
Spires Walk
The width between the proposed 5 & 6-storey slabs appears little wider than the smaller of the existing courtyards, and much less than the 21 metres recommended for residential visual and aural privacy. As well as its almost continuous overshadowing (mentioned above), we regret the removal of most of the existing protection from rain.
A further observation: this design would remove the variety and element of surprise that gives the present precinct much of its character. That would be replaced by a long, straight vista focusing the westward gaze on…the anticlimax of the car park entrance. A more inspired townscape gesture is called for.
Green space
The plans indicate plenty of greenery, which would be welcome, but according to the exhibition panels only 80 sq.m. is additional, which seems meagre for a site of this size. Does it include the ‘communal garden’ and its adjacent new greenery? Who would be able to access it, and how would it be kept secure?
Play space
Provision for children’s play is equally ambiguous. We are promised improvement to the green to create a ‘playable’ space. But which green is meant: the new ‘communal garden’ or the Stapylton Road pocket park (which is outside the development site)? And would it be a purpose-designed play area?
Sustainability
The environmental measures offered are heading in right direction, but are ad hoc and unambitious. A project of this size is an opportunity for a more holistic and integrated scheme. Robust assurances on air quality will also be needed, during and after construction.
Unless the development team up their design game – and drop their building heights – the impression that they are prioritising residential units and private profit over public benefit will be unavoidable.
Local authority cutbacks across North London and Hertfordshire are reinforcing the need for strong and effective civic organisations — and have provided the impetus for a close working relationship between the Barnet Society and the Enfield Society.
When the owners of The Spires shopping centre unveiled revised plans to redevelop much of their High Barnet site with blocks of flats up to six storeys high, there was a barrage of challenging, even hostile questions.
A chorus of “Restore the 84” was the chant of 40 or so angry passengers who assembled at the bus terminus at The Spires, High Barnet, to campaign for the restoration of the 84 bus service between New Barnet and Potters Bar.
A group of High Barnet retailers are demonstrating yet again the ability of the High Street to reinvent itself. A ground-breaking zero waste shop, Kronos and Rhea, which was forced to close last year, is now about to become a boutique for three traders who have combined forces to re-open the empty premises.
A year after the death of a Barnet author of children’s stories, her first book – Odd Fox Out – has been published by her husband Tony Barnes and its publication was celebrated with a launch party at Waterstones book shop in The Spires.
After consultations with nearby residents, neighbouring organisations and other users of Byng Road playing fields, an application has now been submitted for planning permission for a new two-storey clubhouse for Barnet Elizabethans Rugby Club.
Continue reading Rugby club a step closer to getting a new clubhouse at Byng Road playing fields
Yet another revised scheme to build houses and flats on the woods and farmland at Whalebones in Wood Street, High Barnet, has been shown to local residents at a public exhibition held by the estate’s trustees and their developers Hill Residential.
Irving Wardle, one of the most distinguished theatre critics of his generation, who in recent years appeared in several theatrical productions at The Bull Theatre in High Barnet, has died at the age of 93.
Enjoy a glass of locally brewed craft beer or real ale for a final few afternoons and evenings at the Urban Alchemy bar in the Chipping Work Shop in Barnet High Street before its last day of trading on Sunday 26 March.
Developing Barnet as “a borough of fun” is the objective of Barnet Council and to help achieve this there are to be increases in the number of people who are allowed to attend events in some of the borough’s 200 parks and open spaces.
A fresh application to redevelop some of the woods and farmland at Whalebones in Wood Street, High Barnet — but this time with fewer new homes — is about to be made on behalf of the trustees of the estate.
Barnet appears to be leading the way among outer London boroughs in the speed with which cameras and equipment is being installed by Transport for London for the introduction of the Ultra-Low Emissions Zone which will impose a £12.50-a-day levy on older vehicles.
With persistent warnings of shortages of fresh vegetables there seems to be even greater enthusiasm for grow-your-own produce — and that was certainly the vibe at an event organised by Barnet’s Incredible Edible campaign aimed at encouraging home cultivation in gardens and on unused land.
For 30 years Queen Elizabeth’s School, Barnet — which is celebrating its 450th anniversary — was at the apex of a clash between opposing education policies which were being pursued by Labour and Conservative governments, and which at the time split the country.
Despite the pace of new building in Barnet, most of our existing homes fall well below the environmental standards we need to meet to avoid climate catastrophe. At last week’s Barnet Society debate on Better Homes for Barnet, Dave McCormick of Barnet Friends of the Earth gave advice on what residents can do to save energy, minimise waste and make Barnet more sustainable. Below is a summary of Dave’s presentation.
We can probably all agree that we want new housing developments to be “healthy homes”, but are our existing homes healthy?
Homes in Barnet are the source of 48% of carbon emissions and most of the existing housing stock was built in the last century when climate change and biodiversity loss were less prominent issues. Unhealthy homes are homes that can harm our health and the environment – making our homes healthier can lead to healthier people, communities, and nature. So, what are the issues and what can we do?
Barnet is within a water-stressed region of the UK as we are extracting water from our environment faster than nature is replenishing our water resources. To avoid water shortages our water companies need to reduce leaks from pipes and we need to reduce the amount of water we each use per day by about a third. Shorter showers, turning off the tap when brushing teeth, using a bucket rather than a hose when washing the car are all simple things that we can do to reduce consumption. Fixing dripping taps and leaky loos takes a bit more effort and costs some money but can make a big difference. And when legislation for water labelling is finally introduced, we will be able to make better informed decisions about what products we buy.
Over 70% of our homes have gas central heating – a major source of emissions. We need legislation to make it easier to expand local renewable community energy, and help to change how we heat our homes. While we wait for this, we can improve insulation, turn down the thermostat and turn off radiators in unused rooms. All will help reduce our energy bills and our emissions.
Cooking on gas hobs contributes to carbon emissions and indoor air pollution that can harm our health. Switching to induction electric hobs is a good solution but meanwhile boil water in a kettle then put it into a saucepan for cooking and use saucepan lids to reduce gas use. When cooking, make sure the kitchen is well ventilated to help disperse pollution.
If we manage to stop our homes leaking heat we then have to ensure that lack of ventilation doesn’t lead to mould which can damage our health. Indoor air quality is becoming a growing area of concern.
Our households create a lot of waste and in Barnet, less than 30% of it is currently reused, recycled or composted. Rather than focusing on more frequent waste collection, the starting point should be to reduce the amount of waste and compost as much as possible at home (hot composters are good for this).
We all buy a lot of stuff – buying less can help reduce waste and reduce the emissions and water used in making the things we buy.
Food production is a significant source of emissions and freshwater use. Halving our meat and dairy consumption can cut agriculture emissions by between 20-50%. A vegan diet isn’t for everyone but we could all try to eat less meat, eat seasonable local produced food and grow our what we can in our gardens or windowsills.
There is lots we can do at home. We can also encourage others to act and support (and ask our councillors and politicians to support) the following initiatives that are aiming to address the issues around Healthy Homes:
The Healthy Homes Act, Local Electricity Bill, United for Warmer Homes (a Friends of the Earth initiative with a local petition).
We face a climate and biodiversity crisis and across our Borough, there are many volunteer groups trying to inspire and educate residents to take simple steps to make our homes healthier, reduce emissions, consume less and protect and enhance nature.
Community gardening, such as Incredible Edible in New Barnet, helps people learn about growing food and plants, composting and bug hotels in a social setting that improves well-being. Projects to plant pollinator bulbs and seeds help improve local biodiversity and Goodgym helps people get fit while doing good.
Community events such as “eco-show and tell” share ideas and get people thinking about what sustainability means for Barnet. This year, East Finchley Community Festival in Cherry Tree Wood aims to replace use of diesel generators with green alternatives – something other parts of Barnet could learn from.
Community action can make a big difference to making our homes, our communities and nature healthier. To succeed, whether it is designing and building new homes or maintaining and improving existing homes, sustainability needs to be at the heart of all we do.
How can we put this into action in Chipping Barnet?
Tributes from former colleagues, fans and fellow sports journalists to the legendary BBC football commentator John Motson have been reflecting on his fondness for Barnet Football Club where the young Motson cut his teeth as a cub reporter on the Barnet Press.
Action to thwart the onward advance of tower blocks around High Banet and close to the Green Belt was a shared objective of a panel of politicians and architects at a Barnet Society discussion on future housing needs.
A steep increase in crimes recorded by the police in and around High Barnet during the last 12 months — and especially since the start of the year — is a matter of real concern says the group that monitors the response of the town’s Safer Neighbourhood Team.
BBC Television were present on Hadley Green to record the final inspection and handover of a newly-restored pink granite water fountain which will once again offer the chance of a refreshing drink of water after being out of order for the last 50 years.
Barnet Vale residents are being consulted about possibilities for restoring long-abandoned changing rooms used by New Barnet Football Club and finding ways to bring the building back into community use.
Why not become a member? Receive our latest newsletter hot off the press four times a year, and support our work with a membership.
If you have some local news, history or want to bring something to our attention please email us.
Mr N M Sanders posted a comment on High Barnet to have two community-inspired public houses within 300 yards of each other and each run by local residents
Disgruntled of Barnet posted a comment on Fiery exchanges as Labour and Conservative councillors clash over accuracy of list of green belt sites for housing around High Barnet
Bruce Mercer posted a comment on High Barnet to have two community-inspired public houses within 300 yards of each other and each run by local residents
Justin Chin posted a comment on Small stretch of Barnet Playing Fields at Underhill set aside for new Dollis Valley community orchard