As the annual Barnet Medieval Festival continues to grow in popularity, so does the number of local children who get dressed for the occasion in full military attire ready for battlefield duty or in other medieval costumes.
Continue reading Barnet Medieval Festival inspiring the next generation of battlefield re-enactors
A medieval fashion show with displays of 15th century attire was just one of the innovations on the opening day of the Barnet Medieval Festival at Byng Road playing fields.
An hourly bus service to reconnect High Barnet with Potters Bar might be up and running by September following a decision by Hertsmere Borough Council to provide funding for the route.
Preparations are well underway for the annual Barnet Medieval Festival over the weekend of Saturday and Sunday June 10-11 — and among the innovations this year will be a medieval fashion show displaying the costumes and attire of nobility and royal courtiers.
After months of deadlock and mounting frustration among protestors, a government minister has finally stepped in to try to broker an agreement to reinstate the missing link in the 84 bus route between New Barnet and Potters Bar.
Continue reading Hopes raised for return of 84 bus from New Barnet to Potters Bar after assurance subsidy does apply
The Barnet Vale Festival on Sunday 25th June is a free drop-in community event at the superb but dilapidated art deco pavilion in Tudor Park, Barnet EN5. It is organised by The Friends of Tudor Park and Pavilion (FoTPP), a group aiming to refurbish the pavilion as a new multi-functional hub for the community; and is a Barnet Society project.
Following the success of last year’s Picnic in the Park, FoTPP have organised a festival day to bring together and celebrate the local community.
Put Sunday 25th June in your diary for a day of live music, talks, stalls from local food vendors, an eco “show and tell” and fun for all the family. Festival displays and workshops include:
Talks will run from 12pm to 4pm* and include:
* Timing of talks subject to change
The festival is part of the London Festival of Architecture, and is also supported by Friends of the Earth and The Barnet Society. We are grateful for a grant from Barnet Council.
Details:
For more information:
To support the pavilion project directly, go to FoTPP’s JustGiving donations page at https://checkout.justgiving.com/c/3434643.
A review to be conducted by the Metropolitan Police might lead to a reprieve for High Barnet police station which was closed to the public some years ago and which is among several police stations said to be surplus to requirements.
High Barnet publican Veronica McGowan has played a leading role in the selection of the London finalist for the Rose of Tralee International Festival which is to be held in County Kerry in August.
The London Festival of Architecture (LFA) is a month-long celebration of architecture and city-making that takes place every June across London. This year, for the first time, Barnet is an official destination in the LFA’s exciting and varied programme of events around the theme ‘In Common’. Several are coming up in the north of our Borough.
10:00-21:00 Barnet Museum, Unit 19 The Spires
Barnet Society-led walks in and around Chipping Barnet 14:00-16:30 (further details below)
Activities for under-5s 10:00-11:00, Chipping Barnet Library
Building activities for 7-11s, 15:00-16:00 New Barnet Library (New Barnet Leisure Centre)
12:00-16:00 Drop-in community event at the pavilion in Tudor Park (pictured below)
More details about these – and the many other LFA events – can be found on the LFA website.
The Barnet Society is offering two circular walks around some of the almshouse gardens and newer shared spaces in and around the town centre.
We’ll visit (depending on the route) the remarkable Arts & Crafts Thomas Watson Cottage Homes, Ravenscroft Cottages and the modern New Ground co-housing for older women. We’ll ramble across remains of the ancient Barnet Common as well as more recent parks such as Highlands Gardens and Ravenscroft Park. And we’ll pass allotments, climb Whitings Hill and follow the secluded Dollis Brook. All these are inspiring examples of common space across the centuries.
All walks begin and end in the vehicle forecourt of High Barnet tube station. All include parts of the town centre, then head into the countryside – one to the south-west, the other to the north-east. Dates are as follows:
Tickets cost £5 (or £2.50 for unwaged). The maximum group size for each walk is 20, so book your place now!
Each is about 2.5 hours/4.5 miles long including rough (sometimes muddy) paths which disabled people would find challenging, and sturdy footwear is essential – as well as rainwear if the forecast is poor.
We’ll go at a gentle pace, and there will be frequent stops and opportunities to rest. If you have to leave before the end of the walk, TfL buses can return you to the town centre and High Barnet Station.
Refreshments are available in the town, but we advise bringing your own – especially water if the weather is warm.
The Society acknowledges with many thanks the help of a grant from Barnet Council.
Any queries? Please contact me, Robin Bishop, at robinbishop350@gmail.com or 020 8449 0088 / 07913 107046
A second block of flats — next to a seven-storey block which has already received planning permission — could add to the transformation which is taking place in Moxon Street, High Barnet, where industrial workshops and warehouses are being replaced with residential and other new development.
Pride of place among a record turn out of over 100 classic and vintage cars that filled the upper deck of The Spires’ car park was a 1980s version of the Arkley sports car.
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.
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