A second attempt to get approval for an enlarged development of blocks of flats on the former gas works site at New Barnet has been refused — and for now Barnet’s largest brownfield site will continue to remain unused.
Of all the curiosities in High Barnet, perhaps the one which evokes the greatest pleasure is a collection of intricate tiny houses which decorate a tree stump in St Albans Road.
New premises are to be found for the neighbourhood police teams serving the wards in and around High Barnet before the Metropolitan Police goes ahead with the sale of the police station in the High Street.
A day’s work pruning some of the trees which produce fruit for Barnet’s foodbanks was the latest initiative for volunteers of Barnet Community Harvesters.
Continue reading Tree pruners hoping for another bumper crop for Barnet’s foodbanks
Hertfordshire County Council has stepped in to save much of the 84 bus service between St Albans and New Barnet station — but a rescue deal only applies to the St Albans to Potters Bar section of the route and it looks like leaving Barnet residents without a vital service.
Continue reading Barnet residents could lose out in Hertfordshire’s rescue deal for 84 bus service
Tree planting and litter picking were two initiatives in what became a weekend of community action organised by the Barnet Society and the Barnet Residents Association.
Brewer and pub retailer Greene King have given an assurance that a proposed refurbishment of the Mitre Inn in Barnet High Street will be carried out with the “utmost respect” for an historic 17th century coaching inn.
Continue reading Make over plans for Ye Olde Mitre Inne need careful monitoring says Barnet MP
“Dogs and cats welcome” is the invitation that awaits customers at Nika, an innovative pet cafe which has opened on Barnet High Street.
Continue reading New destination for Barnet dog owners — a High Street cafe that welcomes pets
Passengers who use the 84 bus service between New Barnet station and St Albans have launched a petition because of the threatened withdrawal of the route from the Metroline schedule.
Continue reading Fears of threatened withdrawal of 84 bus from New Barnet station to St Albans
Hertsmere Borough Council has withdrawn plans for housing and other development across vast tracts of Green Belt land to the north and west of Barnet following an outcry from residents about the loss of countryside.
Continue reading Outrage over Green Belt housing plans forces retreat by Hertsmere Borough Council
An iconic building in Barnet High Street — the much admired art deco frontage of what was once a Montague Burton menswear shop — is about to get a new lease of life when the upper floor is converted into a soft-play area for toddlers and small children.
The Barnet Society has consulted its members about the current planning application to convert a former office block into a school for pupils with Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD). 83% of respondents opposed the application, and only 6% supported it. We have therefore decided to object to it.
The Society does so with some reluctance. We would welcome a new school of this kind in Chipping Barnet – but not on a site that’s so confined that the only playground for 90 pupils is on the roof and one small balcony. Torn between the undoubted needs of the pupils and the serious weaknesses in the design, we considered the case important enough to consult our membership.
The response rate was nearly 17%, unusually high for a survey of this kind. A total of 66 responded: 55 wanted us to object, and only 4 said we should support the application. With this clear mandate, therefore, the Society has submitted its objection to the proposal.
It is important that we explain our reasons to readers. They can be summarised as follows:
1. Vehicular movement is unsatisfactory. The school’s 9 buses and 9-10 parents’ cars would all arrive and depart at similar times. When school closes around 3-5pm, Moxon Street is busy with traffic. The additional vehicles would cause serious local congestion.
2. Minibuses and taxis would stack around the building’s single-lane slip road to drop off and pick up pupils, with private cars required to use Moxon Street car park. This management problem would be exacerbated by the very wide age range and sometimes challenging behaviours of pupils.
3. Permanent staff would use nearby public car parks. But staff visiting for only a few hours would find the shortage of on-site parking very inconvenient and time-wasting, especially for those needing to carry equipment.
4. The façade shows little of the colour and imagination expected of a 21st-century school. The proportions of the sloping rooftop and entrance are clumsy; features such as the sports hall “box” could have been treated with higher quality materials or colour; and materials generally are basic and cheap.
5. The external environment and facades would offer disappointingly little “greening”.
6. The long internal corridors with no natural daylight could be oppressive for children, and result in lights being on all day and high energy costs. The internal group rooms appear to have no glazed panels, which would be claustrophobic.
7. The area of the rooftop playground is only about 20% of the DfE’s minimum recommendation for a school of this size and type. This causes us great concern, particularly in a school with pupils whose ages range from 5 to 19 – and are therefore unable to share different-sized play facilities, and with behaviours that are often solitary and challenging – and so require more personal space than other children.
8. Not only is the outdoor play tiny for the number of pupils – even if they access it in shifts – it would be sadly short of greenery and views except of the sky. Given the proven benefits of a rich outdoor environment for all children, and especially for those with ASD, our concern is all the greater. Some wonderful outdoor environments have been created for schools and nurseries in recent years – and some imaginative rooftop playgrounds – but this would not be one of them.
9. There is no clear strategy for giving the children access to off-site green spaces and play facilities to supplement the shortage on site.
10. The school would overlook habitable rooms of nearby dwellings in Hornbeam Court & Laburnham Close.
11. We’re not convinced that the search for an alternative site has been sufficiently thorough or smart. To take just one example, Grasvenor Infant School, which we understand is closing soon and has good outdoor play space, has not been considered.
We believe the proposed site is fundamentally unsuitable for 90 all-age pupils with ASD. To succeed, substantial design improvements would be essential. Otherwise we’re concerned that the premises would become an enduring problem for staff, pupils and parents/carers, leading to high operating costs, unhappy users and ultimately failure.
You still have an opportunity to register your own comments: public consultation is open until Friday 28 January 2022. The planning application reference is 21/6488/FUL, and you can find it here . On the Documents page, the Design and Access Statement gives an overview of the scheme.
After two multi-million-pound property deals in High Barnet last year, the one to watch in 2022 is the sale of Barnet Police Station which is one of the surplus properties due to be sold off by the Metropolitan Police.
Continue reading Barnet Police Station being lined up for another multi-million-pound property deal
Volunteer working parties are supporting the Barnet Society’s latest tree planting initiative — to create a 300 to 400-metre-long hawthorn hedge that should blossom each May and enhance still further the appeal of Barnet Hill.
Continue reading Hawthorn saplings on the march up Barnet Hill in another round of tree planting
Hadley FC, the oldest football club playing in Barnet, are about to launch a £200,000 appeal for the installation of an all-weather Astro turf pitch at their ground in Brickfield Lane, Arkley.
Continue reading “Up the Bricks” — winning run boosts Hadley Football Club’s hopes for promotion
Charges are to be introduced for parking at the Old Courthouse Recreation Ground — an expense for parents of small children who drive to the infants’ playground next to the Old Courthouse Café
Continue reading Long-planned car parking charges to take effect at Old Courthouse Recreation Ground
Winter tree planting is well underway — and volunteers will be busy in the next few weeks on Barnet Hill and at other sites across the Borough of Barnet.
Continue reading More tree planting planned at Barnet Hill and across the borough
A renewed attempt to get planning approval for an additional storey to be added to two blocks of flats in Alston Road, Barnet, has again been rejected on the grounds that the enlarged buildings would be out of keeping with the neighbourhood.
Continue reading Planners reject five extra homes on top of Alston Road blocks of flats
Instead of a traditional corner shop, Chesterfield Parade in Bells Hill, now hosts a specialist shop selling what the proprietor believes is the widest range of vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free produce and products available in High Barnet.
Continue reading Switch to healthy eating is encouraging a revival in neighbourhood shopping
Cyclists heading out of London have always enjoyed the challenge of riding up Barnet Hill — and a survey carried out exactly 100 years ago showed there was even greater enthusiasm for tackling the climb back in the 1920s.
Anyone walking along the footpath at the junction of Alston Road and Carnarvon Road should make the effort to search out a fascinating trail of 21 illustrations by a celebrated pavement artist who was brought up in Barnet and whose miniature paintings on blobs of chewing gum have gained international recognition.
Continue reading Surprise and delight at finding Barnet’s display of famous chewing gum paintings
Recent years have seen a wave of roof extensions across Barnet, usually providing extra space for existing homes. Richard Court in Alston Road (above) exemplifies a new variant of Permitted Development introduced by the government last year. You have until Thursday 23 December to oppose it, and below we tell you how to do so.
Continue reading Alston Road threatened by new permitted development apartment block blight
Plans to build four chalet-style houses on the site of a former stables and paddock have been been rejected by a planning inspector because of the impact they would have on the woodland and fields south of Arkley, across the Dollis Valley towards Totteridge.
Continue reading New housing rejected at Arkley because of impact on Dollis Valley Green Belt
Staff at the Rainbow Centre on the Dollis Valley estate are busy preparing food parcels, seasonal hampers and presents for needy families in what might be the food bank’s last Christmas in their current premises in Dollis Valley Drive.
Continue reading Dollis Valley foodbank preparing for busy Christmas — and to be relocated
Festive lighting around the bandstand at The Spires shopping centre is not just a celebration of Christmas and the New Year but also a more personal reminder for friends and supporters of the Barnet charity Cherry Lodge Cancer Care.
Continue reading “Lights of Love” display boosts fund raising for Barnet cancer care charity
An appeal has been launched for the renovation of Monken Hadley’s historic church house which will involve reconstructing and modernising the interior so that it can be used for a wider range of community events.
Continue reading Daunting challenge to raise funds for historic restoration project in Monken Hadley
After it was closed and boarded up ten years ago, the dis-used Tudor Park Pavilion is at last edging closer to the day when it could provide Barnet Vale with a much-needed amenity space and leisure facility.
Continue reading Refurbishing an abandoned cricket pavilion could help transform Tudor Park
Unlike the experience of many local communities that were forced to cancel festive events, the annual Barnet Christmas Fayre went ahead as planned and was well supported given the showery Sunday weather.
“We are back on the map at last” was the cry that went up at the unveiling of three roadside signs declaring “Welcome to Arkley Village”.
Continue reading Regaining recognition: Arkley residents applaud newly installed welcome signs
Plans are afoot to upgrade Barnet Council’s free-to-use tennis courts — which include six courts just off Mays Lane and others at Tudor Park Sports Ground, Victoria Recreation Ground, and Oak Hill Park — and then introduce a booking system and charges for playing tennis.
Continue reading Improvements proposed for Barnet’s tennis courts — and then charging to use them
Upcoming Barnet Events
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.
NEW: From toy shop to post office - the latest from Barnet High Street
NEW: Community groups fight back against plans for high rise flats by High Barnet station
NEW: Work underway to stabilise the structure of fire-damaged Hadley Green property
NEW: Council challenges planning inspector decision for Mays Lane site
NEW: Work to start soon on new home for Barnet Guild of Artists
Mark posted a comment on From toy shop to branch Post Office – another franchised business moves into Barnet High Street
Oliver Deed posted a comment on Co-ordinated fight back by community groups organising a united front against plans for high rise flats at High Barnet station
Patrick Fleming posted a comment on Landing on Barnet Hill soon – unless the Council can be persuaded to refuse it
graham posted a comment on Work underway to stabilise precarious brickwork in fire-ravaged Hadley Green house before reconstruction starts