Category: Planning & Environment

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Mayor Khan’s proposed London Plan puts pressure on Barnet

view of derelict Green Belt land near Stirling Corner

Barely five years after Mayor Khan’s current London Plan came into force, he’s consulting on a new one. The good news is that it will be a lot slimmer than the present version. The bad news for Barnet is that he’s upping his target for new homes in our borough, and he’s identified places in the Green Belt where some of them could be built.

The draft new Plan was published in July and is open for comments until 15 October. Its housing target for Barnet is to build 32,730 new homes between 2028 & 2037 – a 38% increase on the present London Plan. That still won’t be enough to deliver the Labour government’s pledge of 1.5 million new homes over the lifetime of this parliament. The Mayor and other Labour politicians are increasingly keen to pull any levers that might boost housing supply.

Since brownfield sites within Barnet are limited and more expensive to build on, the Mayor wants the Council to build 7,000 homes in its Green Belt (see map below). He states a preference for using those parts of it deemed ‘Grey Belt’, which could include derelict land in Arkley such as the site illustrated above. But he acknowledges that some greenfield areas will have to be sacrificed.

On his election as MP for Chipping Barnet, Dan Thomlinson said, ‘Our green spaces and the beautiful Green Belt here in this constituency is something that I will always fight for and protect’. We hope he still keeps that promise.

The Plan would require at least 50% of new homes in the Green Belt to be ‘affordable’, or 35% in the case of schemes for 10-35 homes. (Developments of fewer than 10 homes are exempt.) These are ambitious targets, significantly higher than normally offered by developers. If they can be achieved, the Barnet Society might consider that a reasonable trade-off for the loss of some poor-quality Green Belt.

The Plan would subject any residential development in the Green Belt to conditions. Notably, the vast majority of the new homes would have to be located either within 400m of an eligible bus route or 1.2km – 15 minutes’ walk – from one of seven ‘well-connected’ rail and tube stations in Barnet. But that puts most of the constituency of Chipping Barnet in the frame, i.e. from Arkley to Hadley, and from New Barnet to Whetstone.

In addition to these seven ‘broad locations for growth’ (BLGs), the draft Plan also identifies ‘future industrial-led Green Belt candidates’ around the A1 at Borehamwood. This could include the extensive tract of land north-east of Stirling Corner (pictured at the top of this post).

Other industrial-led sites are by the M25 in Enfield, possibly associated with a 21,000-home new town at Crews Hill. That proposal is supported by the government and the Mayor of London, though – since the May local elections – no longer by Enfield Council.

The Plan also sets out strategic criteria for the construction of additional data centres across London to meet the growing demand. These are typically enormous boxes that consume large quanties of electricity and water (for cooling).

The draft London Plan makes no mention of the proposal in Barnet’s Local Plan to create a new Regional Park on the Green Belt and Metropolitan Open Space stretching between Arkley, Scratchwood and Mill Hill. Unless kept to the absolute minimum necessary for sustainable management of the Park, residential or commercial development within this zone would defeat its whole point.

You can read more about these threats and opportunities in my previous web post on the Green Belt.

Barnet Council has declared its objection to the Mayor’s proposals for housing and the Green Belt, which contradict the Local Plan that it adopted only last year. Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Homes and Regeneration, Cllr Ross Houston, said:

“Barnet Council will carefully assess the detail of the draft London Plan before submitting its formal response to the consultation and we will continue to work with residents, communities and partners to ensure any future growth delivers the homes, opportunities and neighbourhoods that people need and want to see.”

Cllr Houston, the Barnet Society would be delighted to work with you, especially on the existential threat to our Green Belt.

Above: Cllr Ross Houston speaking at a Barnet Society public meeting on housing in Barnet in 2023

You can view the draft Plan here. Tell Mayor Khan your views by doing one of the following:

– complete the online survey,
– email londonplan@london.gov.uk(External link

– write to Sadiq Khan, Mayor of London, Draft London Plan, London Plan Team, Planning & Regeneration, City Hall, Kamal Chunchie Way, London, E16 1ZE.

The deadline for comments is 5pm on Thursday, 15 October 2026.

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Public excluded from special Barnet Council meeting when councillors probed financial failure of controversial Dollis Valley housing scheme

Fresh proposals are unlikely to emerge until at least the New Year for the completion of the Dollis Valley regeneration following the call-in and collapse of a scheme previously agreed by Barnet Council to build 208 new affordable homes on the estate.

Residents from Dollis Valley – and the Barnet Society – were excluded from a part of a special call-in meeting when a sub-committee of councillors considered financial issues surrounding the failed scheme.

Before members of the public were asked to leave, the leader of the Conservative group, Councillor Peter Zinkin, told the meeting why they had called in the deal agreed in July between the Labour-controlled council and developers Vistry.

He said the decision taken by the council’s cabinet was contrary to “financial responsibility and financial sustainability” and in their judgement those issues were “sufficient to go over the line and lack financial responsibility”.

It would be up to the committee to decide whether the judgement of Conservative councillors was correct, but Councillor Zinkin said it was “really important” for the opposition to test whether the deal with Vistry was the “correct decision”, concerns which had prompted them to call in a decision for the first time in 14 years.

In a note setting out their case, the six Conservative councillors said the developers Vistry were under severe financial strain and the council’s cabinet had not been provided with “sufficient assurance as to the financial viability and delivery risk” for the scale of the commitment. 

After an hour-and-a-half discussion, the sub-committee decided the council would undertake a comprehensive financial assessment of all future options for completing the Dollis Valley regeneration.

An undertaking was given that future redevelopment would be in the interests of the existing residents whose views would be properly considered through the Dollis Valley Partnership Board.

Complaints about the lack of consultation with residents about the decision to build 208 affordable homes – qualifying for a £58.85 million grant from the Greater London Authority – had triggered a protest petition at an earlier council meeting. 

Dollis Valley resident Peter Esposito – above left with Councillor Peter Zinkin – opened the meeting with a question about why residents had been misled about the GLA funding.

The cabinet meeting was told the grant decision was pending but he said council officers knew it had already been approved, and the public had been misinformed.

In his presentation Councillor Zinkin reinforced criticism of the way the cabinet meeting had been conducted.

A scrutiny committee was not called until 24 hours before the decision and a paper answering questions which had been raised was not provided until 17 minutes before cabinet met.

In reply, Councillor Barry Rawlings (above) agreed there should have been more distance between the meetings, but he insisted the issues which came up during the scrutiny process did not “materially affect the decision which was made”.

The deal agreed with Vistry to build 187 homes for social rent and 21 for key workers was the “only one viable option”.

As a result of the call-in and the withdrawal of the £58.85 million GLA grant, the council would have to go over the options once again.

Given the difficult housing market Councillor Rawlings thought it would be difficult to find another viable scheme immediately and it would be next year before a decision could be made on how best to complete the Dollis Valley regeneration.

In response to the Barnet Society, Councillor Zinkin said that he thought the best course of action in the circumstances was to demolish the vacant and vandalised blocks of flats and maisonettes which were deemed unfit three years ago.

“The cost of securing the abandoned housing is high. Demolition is definitely the preferred option while the council waits for the housing market to improve.

Councillor Zinkin said it might be possible in the future to get much closer to the original scheme to finish off the Dollis Valley regeneration with 126 new privately-owned and 95 affordable homes – a scheme which Vistry had said was unviable.

Peter Esposito and other Dollis Valley residents agreed that returning to the scheme which was originally approved by Dollis Valley Partnership Board was also their preferred option.

Fresh proposals unlikely before New Year to complete regeneration of Dollis Valley after collapse of deal between Barnet Council and developers Vistry

Councillor Rawlings said it was too early to speculate on what action might be taken but the council had estimated that the cost of demolishing the vacant blocks of flats and maisonettes and clearing the site could be as high as £3million.

His concern was that yet another delay in completing Dollis Valley was creating yet more uncertainty for those residents who had been moved out of the “unsafe and leaking flats” and transferred into other temporary council accommodation.

“These residents have been forgotten in all of this. When they were moved away, they were promised they would get a chance to move back to Dollis Valley”.

Councillor Rawlings said the regeneration of Dollis Valley – now known as the Brook Valley Gardens estate – had been a success with the construction of 400 new homes.

“Years back people used to say that Dollis Valley was a no-go estate, but the area has been transformed with regeneration and we are anxious to see that completed.” 

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Dollis Valley redevelopment delayed yet again after Barnet Council loses out on £58 million Greater London housing grant

Barnet Council has had to abandon an immediate go ahead for the final stage of the Dollis Valley redevelopment following the sudden withdrawal of a £58.85 million grant from the Greater London Authority for building new affordable homes.

A council cabinet decision two weeks ago to proceed with the construction of 208 new homes – despite protests from some of the residents – has been called in for further discussion.

As a result, the council has failed to meet the GLA’s deadline of July 31 for approving the project.

Conservative councillors demanded that the cabinet’s decision should be called in – and therefore postponed – because of their concerns about the financial viability of the scheme and the lack of adequate consultation with residents.

Council officials will now have to draw up fresh proposals for the completion of what has become the Brook Valley Gardens estate.

Vacant blocks of flats and maisonettes – see above – have been awaiting demolition for the last three years and this fresh postponement is only the latest setback in a long, drawn-out saga.

A group of Brook Valley Gardens residents – where 60 per cent of the 400 homes are privately owned – have fought a sustained campaign against the council’s decision to finish off the estate with 208 affordable homes.

They say this would result in the estate having 60 per cent of homes for social rent which they argue is a breach of the undertakings they were given when they bought their homes and were told it would be 60 per cent privately owned.

Under the scheme approved by the cabinet on July 21 the council said it had reached an agreement with developers Vistry to construct 208 affordable homes which would be managed for the council by Barnet Homes.

To qualify for access to £58.85 million of GLA affordable housing grant the scheme had to be approved by July 31.

In confirming the funding was no longer available, the GLA said there was no longer “sufficient certainty” the grant conditions could be met and there were other schemes around London which could qualify.   

Barnet Council has to abandon immediate completion of Dollis Valley redeveopment following withdrawal of GLA affordable housing grant of £58 million in another setback to troubled scheme.

Demolition of the block of flats and maisonettes deemed unfit for occupation and a start on the construction of the new homes was due to begin in September.  

When approving this plan two weeks ago, the cabinet meeting acknowledged the “potential guilt” felt by some councillors for letting down the private owners.

What cabinet members and council officials had not taken into account was the determination of the private residents’ group to press for the decision to be called in.

Once this action was taken by Conservative councillors, council officials were no longer in a position to give the guarantees which were needed by the GLA over access to the £58.85 million grant.

A full report on the setback is to be considered by the council’s call-in sub-committee on Tuesday 4 August.

Residents who have been consulted by the Dollis Valley Partnership Board have welcomed the news that the grant is “no longer available” and say it has strengthened their argument for the council to start again and undertake meaningful discussions with them.

Among the financial issues facing the call-in sub-committee will be the demand for more information about the council’s contribution to finishing off the Dollis Valley estate – said to be another £40 million.

Unless the deal with Vistry can be renegotiated, the council might be left with no other option but to demolish the vacant blocks and clear the site with the hope that conditions in the housing market might improve or that the site can be sold to a private developer.

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Redevelopment of Dollis Valley estate due to restart in September after three-year delay in demolishing vacant flats

Completion of the redevelopment of the Dollis Valley estate – where blocks of flats and maisonettes have been awaiting demolition for the last three years – is finally to go ahead with access to a £58 million grant from the Greater London Authority.

Regeneration of the estate was stalled in 2023 because the developers Vistry said the scheme previously agreed with Barnet Council for 126 new privately-owned and 95 affordable homes was no longer viable.

A revised plan approved at a cabinet meeting will now provide for the construction of 208 affordable homes which will be managed for the council by Barnet Homes.

The new Dollis Valley houses – 187 for social rent and 21 for key workers – will provide what is described as a “significant” contribution to Barnet’s target to deliver 1,000 new council homes.

But by abandoning the previously agreed construction of over 100 new private homes, the council has angered owners of new Dollis Valley houses who fear this will alter the balance of an estate which was supposed to be a 50/50 split between private and social ownership.

Despite what was described at the meeting as the “potential guilt” felt by some councillors for letting down the private owners, the cabinet decided there was no other viable option than to accept Vistry’s latest proposal.

To qualify for access to £58.85 million of GLA affordable housing grant, construction of the new houses has to start by September this year.

If the council failed to meet the deadline one option would be to demolish the vacant flats and maisonettes and retain the empty site until the housing market improved but that would expose the council to further financial risk.

The first three phases of the Dollis Valley regeneration have delivered over 400 new houses in what the council describes as “a low-rise, gentle density garden suburb style development dominated by houses with gardens and traditional streets.”

Dollis Valley regeneration to restart after Barrnet Council agrees new deal with developers Vistry for 221 new homes

The final two phases of the scheme – which would result in the demolition of the vacant Garrowsfield and Mill Bridge blocks – were originally intended to provide 126 private and 95 affordable homes.

Poor market conditions and increased construction costs were said to have made this “significantly unviable” which resulted in Vistry proposing the construction of 208 affordable homes at “a fixed price” and 13 private homes, the scheme which has now been approved.

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Spare land around New Barnet bowling green becomes a community garden under Barnet Council scheme to take advantage of under-used space 

A new community garden has been established in New Barnet through a partnership between a church and a bowls club.

A blessing to celebrate the opening of the garden at the East Barnet Valley Bowls Club was conducted by the Reverend Sharon Ejinkonye, the newly installed vicar at St James Church, New Barnet.

Produce from the garden will be offered to needy residents visiting Jim’s Café, a Wednesday morning community advice centre and coffee morning organised by the church.

The partnership came about because the bowls club, next to Victoria Recreation Ground, New Barnet, had spare land and the church was looking for a new site for its community garden.

In her blessing to celebrate the opening of the new garden, Sharon thanked Barnet Council and the bowls club for sharing their vision and creating a space where they could work together nourishing plants and vegetables.

Jeremy Alford – see above with Sharon – who helped co-ordinate the development of the new garden said it was a replacement for a previous community garden in the former St James vicarage.

“When we lost that garden at the old vicarage, we realised the bowls club had spare land on an ideal site where we could work together and we have now adopted the space.”

A garden shed purchased with a grant from the National Gardens Scheme was moved successfully from the vicarage to the bowls club.

Every Tuesday morning volunteers care for the garden which was developed with raised beds and stocked with the help of grants from the Faiths Forum for London and the National City Park Foundation.

East Barnet Valley Bowls Club hosts community garden for St James Church New Barnet taking advantage of spare land for new community initiative

Bowls club secretary David Mulford – see above with Sharon – said it was the ideal solution to use their vacant garden to host a community garden for the church.

An extra bonus was that following the reseeding of the club’s green, there was plenty of surplus soil to build up the new beds for the garden.

Work started developing the garden last November and despite the summer drought, they are hoping for a good crop of vegetables, including tomatoes, runner beans, sweet corn, garlic and other crops.

Now that the community garden is a visible presence in Victoria Recreation Ground, the bowls club and church are hoping users and visitors to the park and leisure centre will get involved.

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Approval for new High Street retail premises and housing at junction with Moxon Street as demolition underway on two other nearby developments

Planning approval has finally been given after four years of negotiations and discussions for a new four-storey building at a prominent site in Barnet town centre at the corner of High Street and Moxon Street.

Architect Simon Kaufman is confident the new building – see above – with 11 new homes over commercial premises with a traditional shop front will enhance the character of a site at the heart of the Wood Street Conservation Area.

Moxon Street itself is currently being transformed by new housing developments.

Demolition is underway at the former Checkalow Tiles showroom, where there will be 21 new homes, and at the much larger site of the former Intec House, where there is approval for a new block of flats.

Discussions over how to redevelop the two empty shop premises at the corner of High Street and Moxon Street – where there had been a photo-copying business, a Foxtons estate agency and then a community pop-up shop – began six years ago.

Simon Kaufman Architects consulted planners, conservation officers, the Barnet Society, nearby residents and other local stakeholders.

“A collaborative design process has helped shape a scheme which responds positively to both the site and its historic setting while delivering an exciting new future for this important High Street building,” said Mr Kaufman.

Once the planning application was submitted, negotiations with Barnet Council’s planning department took another four years.

“This has been a long journey.”

“It is tremendously rewarding to see this prominent High Street building restored and given a new lease of life, making a positive contribution to the local community once again.

“The approved design carefully restores and enhances its historic character through the recreation of a traditional shop front, sensitive restoration of the masonry and architectural detailing, and a carefully designed roof extension that complements the historic townscape.

“This will bring 11 new homes, fresh investment and new life to this important part of Chipping Barnet.”

Dan Tomlinson, MP for Chipping Barnet, said he had worked closely with Simon Kaufman Architects to ensure that the site – 98-100 High Street – was brought back into life after such a long delay.

“This site spent years stuck in process and paperwork, and it was my intervention that finally stopped the administrative ping-pong.

“I am over the moon that through hard work, alongside my team, Simon Kaufman Architects, and local groups like the Barnet Society, we will finally see this eyesore turned into a new retail site and, most importantly, housing for residents.”

Demolition work is now underway on the Checkalow site in Moxon Street where a car-free mews with two rows of terraced homes is to be built to provide a total of 21 new homes for Barnet Homes.

The new tree-lined mews will connect Moxon Street to Tapster Street and will be open to pedestrians but have no access for motor vehicles.

Half the new one- and two-bedroom houses will be affordable housing, some perhaps under shared ownership.

Planning approval granted for new retail premises and housing at High Street corner with Moxon Street as demolition is underway on two other nearby housing developments

Demolition of the former Intec House, a three-storey office block, will make way for the construction of a six-storey block of 113 homes of which 17 will be for social rent.

Approval for the redevelopment by Moxon One Ltd was given by Barnet Council in October 2024 despite opposition from some nearby residents in South Close who fear that because of its height the new block will overlook their homes.

Top image Simon Kaufman Architects

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Planning Inspector dismisses appeal to build mansion in Christchurch Lane spinney

An Inspector has dismissed an appeal by developer Christchurchgrove Ltd against Barnet Council’s refusal of its planning application to build a 5-bedroom house in a wood in Chipping Barnet. The decision concludes a successful campaign by local residents, with help from the Barnet Society, to save a cherished natural habitat in the Monken Hadley Conservation Area. It also sends a message to developers about the Council’s commitment to protecting green spaces in Barnet.

Although only one acre in area, the spinney beside Christchurch Lane forms a link in a green chain connecting Old Fold Manor golf course and Hadley Green, both in the Green Belt. Both are also designated Areas of Particular Importance for Biodiversity in the Mayor of London’s Nature Recovery Plan. Many trees in the wood are subject to Tree Preservation Orders (TPOs) and it is a haven of wild life, for example the Muntjac deer and her fawn in the photograph above (courtesy of neighbour Marianne Nix).

Concerns arose two years ago, when it emerged that the Council had authorised the sale of the part of the spinney that it owns for £430,000, subject to the buyer obtaining planning consent. But its own planning and biodiversity officers took issue with aspects of the preliminary ecological appraisal commissioned by the developer and breaches of Barnet’s Local Plan.

In parallel local residents monitored wildlife in the wood, photographing and recording a fascinating range of birds, bats and animals coming and going within 200 metres of Barnet High Street (as reported in our web post on 31 January). A petition to Save Chipping Barnet Woodland was started in September 2025, and within a few months had been supported by over 2,250 signatures. 

A planning application was eventually submitted in January this year. It comprised a new mansion, designed in the Arts & Crafts style of existing houses in Sunset View, with a private garden and an enclosed swimming pool. In response to Society suggestions, the house boundaries were softened to integrate the garden more closely with the existing vegetation, and a plan was offered to manage the whole of the spinney. Despite constructive pre-application discussions between the developer and the Society, however, the final proposals did not go far enough to safeguard the existing environment and we objected to them – as did 278 other members of the public. Not a single comment was submitted in support.

Barnet planners recommended refusal of the application. Not only did the application breach several policies in its Local Plan (adopted only last year), it would have contradicted the Green Manifesto which had formed part of Labour’s platform in the 2022 local elections. Perhaps with an eye on the impending May local elections, the Council rejected the application on 10 March.

Almost immediately, the developer appealed against the Council’s decision.

The Planning Inspectorate’s verdict, published on 10 July, is unambiguous:

‘…the development of the site would have a harmful impact on the character and appearance of the area…and would fail to preserve the character or appearance of the Monken Hadley Conservation Area [MHCA]’, as well as being contrary to policies in The London Plan and the Barnet Local Plan.’

The Inspector echoed the opinion of local residents:

‘The sense of depth and scale that the woodland currently possesses is of considerable value…It provides a characterful wooded setting to the adjacent development and ties these roads into the wider landscape character of the MHCA…’

S/he also noted that,

‘This impact would be exacerbated by the proposed design…the proposed dwelling would appear to sit within an overgrown garden without a clear visual and spatial connection to the road or the sense of grandeur that many dwellings in the area possess.’

Regarding the hedge proposed around the site perimeter, the Inspector commented,

‘It is however highly doubtful that it would be possible to plant and successfully establish a continuous hedge in this location given the number of trees that would be retained around the edges of the site and their scale.’

Furthermore,

‘…the value of the woodland and the presence of a veteran tree, have not been accurately assessed, resulting in an unreliable biodiversity net gain calculation.’

The Society and campaigners have welcomed the Inspector’s decision. Retired GP Richard Norris commented,

‘Very definite rejection from Planning Inspector Tucker, very detailed, gives me faith in our institutions.’

Marianne Nix, who was instrumental in setting up the Save Chipping Barnet Woodland website and petition said,

‘I am delighted and hugely relieved that the Planning Inspectorate has dismissed the Appeal. The local community has worked together tirelessly to raise funds to publicise and to fight the potential destruction of this precious pocket of green on our doorsteps. Together we have gained the support of thousands of Barnet residents as well as petition signatures from all parts of the UK and even overseas. The World is waking up to the fact that we need to protect even the smallest pockets of nature and biodiversity that we in Barnet are lucky enough to enjoy.’

She thanked everyone who had objected to the planning application. But she went on to warn,

‘Although the veteran trees and wildlife are safe for now, I have a feeling there will be another application, this time with two or three houses.’

So we can’t relax. The Barnet Society was founded specifically to protect London’s Green Belt and the wider environment, and these are under greater threat than ever. We need funds to continue doing so. If you haven’t done so already, please join us or donate – just go to the top of this page.

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Strong objections registered to a possible threat to a much cherished and historic setting at Monken Hadley

Residents and conservationists have reacted with alarm at a proposal to include the historic gate at Monken Hadley within an eruv – a symbolic boundary for Orthodox Jews – which would require the installation of two 5.5metre high poles with a crosswire over the road.

If planning permission is granted, an eruv would be created largely within the Borough of Enfield which would take in the United Synagogue in Hadley Wood, but which would also require eruv installations at three boundary points which are within the Borough of Barnet.

The application affecting Monken Hadley – establishing a boundary from Hadley Common – is for permission to install a 5.5metre pole on the footpath outside Rectory Close; another 5.5 metre pole on the other side of the road on the footpath outside Clocktower Cottage; and an overhead a connecting wire.

A series of objections posted on the Barnet Council’s website (closing date 25.6.2026) claim the two poles would be unsightly and an unacceptable intrusion into the most sensitive and significant setting within the Monken Hadley Conservation Area.

The Reverend Francesco Aresco, recently appointed rector of Monken Hadley Parish Church, says that as a nearby resident he objects to the installation because it would result in visual harm to an historic setting and create hazards for pedestrians.

The pavements outside Rectory Close and Clocktower Cottage are both “very narrow”.

They are used regularly by school pupils, requiring pedestrians to step into the road when trying to pass parents pushing prams.

Among the objectors was the Hadley Wood Neighbourhood Planning Forum Committee which considered the eruv would be of no benefit to the population at large and hoped that an alternative option would be to use the tollgate itself as a symbolic boundary – a suggestion which is apparently to be considered by the relevant “eruv” authorities.

Monken Hadley Common Trust agreed with the planning forum committee that the white tollgate might itself form the eruv boundary.

In its application, the United Synagogue Trust Ltd – of which the Hadley Wood Jewish Community of 471 members is a constituent member – says the proposal would encourage social cohesion within the community.

Residents and conservationists alarmed by application for an eruv installaton close to historic gate at Monken Hadley

There would need to be three eruv installations at three locations within the Borough of Barnet – two poles and a crosswire at Monken Hadley; a tubular steel arch at Bakers Hill at the Hadley Wood railway bridge; and an installation at the Cromer Road/Lawton Road entrance to the pedestrian tunnel under the main railway line.

These three installations would achieve linkage with an existing New Barnet eruv.

An eruv allows observant Orthodox Jews to carry and push objects – such as housekeys, medication or prams – between private and public domains on the Sabbath.

According to biblical law, carrying anything in a public space is considered a form of work, which is forbidden on the Sabbath. An eruv solves this by symbolically turning a neighbourhood into one large, unified “private domain”.

A comment from a supporter of the application sets out the case: an eruv would enable observant Jewish families to attend synagogue, join community events and maintain normal social connections, especially family visits and celebrations.

Eruv boundaries have been installed across London and the UK during the last 15 years including in nearby areas such as Stanmore, Bushey, and Camden apparently without objections and at no public cost.

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Proposed new multi-use sports hall at Queen Elizabeth’s School will be available for hire by Barnet community sports groups

Plans are being prepared to seek approval from Barnet Council for the construction of a new sports hall and ten classrooms at Queen Elizabeth’s School.

Fund raising will start next year if permission is obtained for what the school says is part of a continuing programme to upgrade facilities within its existing site off Queens Road.

QE Boys – as its is still known locally – is a state-funded grammar school for boys with an annual intake of 192 pupils, a figure which will remain unchanged.

The new sports hall will be available to hire for community use – as is QE’s swimming pool and new recital hall – during evenings, weekends and school holidays.

A former music block next to the swimming pool – see above – will be demolished to make way for the new sports hall which will look out onto the school rugby field at the rear of the main QE building.

The new four-storey building will have changing rooms on the ground floor, a high ceiling multi-use sports hall with ten classrooms on the top floor.

The layout will accommodate basketball, five-a-side football, badminton and table tennis.

Other sports improvements will include additional fives courts and cricket nets.

To meet growing curriculum demand QE will refurbish and provide additional science laboratories.

Richard Henley, of planning consultants HGH, told the Barnet Society, the improvements to sporting and other facilities were all being made within the site of the existing school buildings.

“It is a tight campus which explains why have to intensify the use of existing buildings and those areas which can be redeveloped.”

New sports hall which will also be available for hire for community use is to be built at Queen Elizabeth's School, Queens Road,, if Barnet Council grants permission

QE, which was named the 2026 State Secondary School of the Year by the Sunday Times, says that if planning approval is obtained by early next year, fund raising will begin immediately.

Applications will be made for government financial support and sports grants and an appeal launched among ex-pupils. The aim would be to start construction in 2028 and complete the work in 2929.

When a presentation of the plans was held at the school, residents in nearby roads – Regina Close, Elizabeth Close and Queens Road – expressed concern about the additional traffic and parking that the sports hall would generate out of school hours.

They claimed the school already did nowhere near enough to control traffic on school days when numerous coaches and cars deliver pupils from a wide catchment area across north and west London.

“This expansion of the school’s facilities is not fair on nearby residents. The new sports hall will double the evening, weekend and school holiday traffic yet Queen Elizabeth’s does little if anything to ask parents and visitors to respect those living in the neighbourhood,” said one of the school’s neighbours.

For more details and a feedback form see: https://www.qebarnet.co.uk/sports-hall-planning/

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Deputy Mayor of London has high praise for a new High Barnet estate of houses and flats being built on former farmland at Whalebones

Construction of new houses and flats is well underway on what was the last remaining field on the border betweenHigh High Barnet and Arkley – a development described by a Deputy Mayor of London as a “fantastic example” of delivering new homes while preserving a green space and respecting the heritage of the location.

Work on the new Whalebones Park housing estate began last year after those campaigning to preserve the Whalebones woods and farmland finally admitted defeat.

Barnet Council voted narrowly in favour of the scheme and the Mayor of London gave the final go-ahead for the construction of 115 new homes, a mix of houses for private sale and affordable homes in blocks ranging from two to five storeys in height.

The first of the new homes are expected to be completed by the summer next year.

Deputy Mayor of London praises controversial redevelopment on farmland at Whalebones for its contribution to providing the high quality and affordable homes needed by Londoners

Tom Copley, deputy mayor of London for housing and development, was welcomed on an official visit to the site by Greg Hill, deputy chief executive of the developers, The Hill Group, and Joe Mashall, chief investment and development officer for affordable housing charity Sovereign Network Group.

(Hill Group photo, See above, Tom Copley, with spade, and on his left London Assembly Member Councillor Ann Clarke and Greg Hill; and on his right, High Barnet Councillor Emma Whysall and Joe Marshall).

The purpose of the visit was to review progress on a development aimed at addressing London’s housing need while “preserving and enhancing” the character of an important heritage site.

Mr Copley praised the commitment of the Hill Group and SNG in preserving green space around the development and enhancing biodiversity.

“Whalebones Park is a fantastic example of how we can deliver the high-quality, genuinely affordable homes Londoners need while creating places where communities can thrive,” said Mr Copley.

“Developments like this are vital to building a better, fairer London.”

Mr Marshall said a total of 54 affordable homes – one, two and three-bedroom apartments – would be delivered through a partnership between The Hill Group and SNG and they would give local people greater access to affordable rent and shared ownership in an area where demand remained high.

“Combined with the new green spaces, community facilities and long-term investment in the landscape, this development will make a lasting positive impact for both new and existing residents.”  

Andy Hill, founder and group chief executive of The Hill Group, has always insisted the Whalebones Park development will respect the heritage of the Grade II listed Whalebones House, formerly the home of Cowing family, proprietors of the Barnet Press.

Around half of the 12 acre-site will be retained as publicly accessible open space, “ensuring the natural beauty and heritage of Whalebones Park is protected for future generations”.

“Residents and the wider community will benefit from attractive meadows, healing gardens, ponds, natural play areas, a woodland walk and accessible routes.”

A biodiversity net gain of 10 per cent would be achieved through the planting of 200 new trees and 750 metres of new hedgerow, alongside a long-term management plan to protect habitats and green infrastructure.

The new homes will feature air-source heat pumps, solar panels and sustainable urban drainage systems to ensure the neighbourhood is “low carbon, energy efficient and environmentally sensitive”.

The development will retain a site for an agricultural smallholding to replace the original Whalebones farm; a new community building including a new studio for Barnet Guild of Artists; and one site parking.  

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Volunteer guardians of Chipping Barnet’s open spaces, countryside and community initiatives praised by MP Dan Tomlinson

Volunteers who look after the countryside and manage outdoor activities met their MP Dan Tomlinson at a reception at the House of Commons where he congratulated them for all they did to preserve the greenery which he said was such an attractive feature of the Chipping Barnet constituency.

What linked his guests was that they were all nature lovers determined to help others enjoy the natural world – whether it was growing fruit and vegetables, caring for the natural environment or protecting the green belt.

Seven allotment sites in the constituency had representatives at the reception as well volunteers from Barnet Environment Centre in Byng Road and the campaign to keep Dollis Brook clear of litter.

Another guest was award-winning Wendy Alcock, founder of Incredible Edible Barnet, a community group which encourages home cultivation in gardens and on un-used land.

“What people love about Barnet are our green spaces and all of you are the corner stone in protecting them,” said Mr Tomlinson.

A team of supporters from GROW, the school farm at The Totteridge Academy, were delighted to hear the MP’s praise for a project which produces fruit and vegetables for the school kitchen as well for sale to the community.

Team Grow – above, from left to right, Sam (trustee), Dan Tomlinson, Tara (communications lead), Marta (senior grower) and Lynn, volunteer – were keen to use their meeting with their MP to help promote a series of events at the farm in Barnet Lane: Open Day on June 27; Pick Your Own Flowers on 25 July, 8 August and 5 September; and Pumpkin Time on 24 October.

Mr Tomlinson reminded his guests that after his recent launch of a community action network for his constituency he was hoping to help promote initiatives where local people could get together to assist with non-partisan campaigns and projects.

His search for a project met an immediate response from leading members of Friends of Tudor Park and Pavilion who have launched a bid to rescue and renovate the abandoned former cricket pavilion in Barnet Vale.

He told their deputation – above, from left to right, Simon Kaufman, Alexander Cohen, Dan Tomlinson, Hannah Lawrence and Simon Cohen – that he was very supportive of their campaign to save the pavilion.

“I will be looking to see what more I can do as their MP to help get the project off the ground.”

Currently the abandoned pavilion is considered unsafe and is cordoned off but what concerns the activists is that the building is deteriorating quite rapidly – a crack in the western elevation has expanded to two inches in width within a year.

“A structural engineer has told us that this crack needs to be repointed to stabilise the building otherwise it could become a risk to public safety,” said Mr Kaufman.

“We are frustrated by the length of time it is taking Barnet Council to finalise the paperwork for the Friends to sign an agreement to lease the building, so any help from our MP would be much appreciated.”

MP Dan Tomlinson praises nature lovers who care for green spaces in his Chipping Barnet constituency and who encourage home cultivation of fruit and vegetables

Robin Bishop, who leads for the Barnet Society on planning and the environment, (above right with Barnet Society member Kim Ambridge) used the reception as a chance to impress on Mr Tomlinson the need for action over the long-standing proposal to create a regional park to the west of Barnet.

A large swathe of green belt and metropolitan open land stretching west from Arkley and south to Mill Hill was earmarked as a possible regional park in the Barnet strategy plan for 2019-2030.

Given all the pressure for new housing – and the likelihood that substantial parts of Barnet’s green belt could be designated ‘grey belt’ for residential development – Mr Bishop said a regional park designation could safeguard farmland and open spaces and open them up to the public.

“A regional park designation would become a significant planning consideration, to which any planning inspector would have to give it due weight. It is proposed in Barnet’s Local Plan, but so far nothing has been done about it,” said Mr Bishop.

“Safeguarding this open land from development is the only way we can preserve a green gap between Barnet and Borehamwood.”    

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Up went the hands in favour of Barnet Society members contributing to any appeal to fund a legal challenge to High Barnet station flats

Barnet Society members have voted decisively to support and contribute to any campaign to mount a legal challenge against the Deputy Mayor of London’s decision to overrule Barnet Council and authorise the go ahead for blocks of flats on the car park at High Barnet tube station.

The deadline for an application for a judicial review is Tuesday 7 July.

Although Barnet Council has yet to announce if it has any intention of challenging the mayor’s decision in the High Court, Barnet Residents Association says it is seeking advice on whether there might be grounds for pursuing a judicial review.

When asked for their response at the annual general meeting of the Barnet Society, members voted unanimously in favour of the society contributing towards the cost of an application for judicial review.

There was also a unanimous vote by those who were present to contribute personally to a legal fund – and half the members who were there indicated they would contribute £100 each if necessary.

Robin Bishop (above), the society’s lead on planning issues, told the meeting that possible grounds for judicial review might be that the deputy mayor had pre-judged the application and ignored Barnet’s local plan which limited the height of any blocks to seven storeys – when the proposed scheme included one tower block of 11 storeys.

A High Court challenge would be costly: initial legal advice would amount to around several thousand pounds, and a full legal challenge could cost around £40,000, which might double if costs had to be paid to Transport for London.

Committee member Nick Saul (above, left) advised the meeting that the deputy mayor’s decision could be challenged on the grounds it was a test case when it came to applications to build on Transport for London land.

Calling in the High Barnet station scheme for the mayor’s approval was not a first in itself, but was the first to be considered and decided upon at a hearing at City Hall.

Similar applications for developments at Stanmore and Canons Park stations were called in, but both were withdrawn before a hearing took place.

An alternative suggestion made at the meeting was that local groups might launch a petition to persuade Barnet Council to declare the station car park as an asset of community value – a step which would prevent the land being developed by TfL’s investment subsidiary Places for London and developers Barratt.

Mr Bishop promised to keep the society abreast of any moves within the community to launch a judicial review and consider other options such as seeking ACV status for the car park to block the scheme – a safeguard that would remain in place for around 5 years.

The possibility of getting involved in legal action only served to underline the significance of a separate decision at the annual meeting to prepare the necessary documents for an application to convert the society into a company limited by guarantee.

Barnet Society members ready to support and contribute any fund to mount legal challenge to Deputy Mayor of London's decision to give go ahead for blocks of flats over High Barnet tube station car park.

Committee member Mahender Khari (above) explained the importance to voluntary community groups of taking advantage of the legal protection which this structure offered to committee members.

Increasingly non-profit groups such as charities and clubs were becoming a company limited by guarantee because it created an up-to-date and more stable financial structure and assisted when seeking grants or other funding.

Mr Khari thanked the annual meeting for their support and said the committee would now proceed with the preparation of the paperwork which would be needed to register with Companies House.

Once the documentation had been completed it would be sent out to members before being voted on at an extra-ordinary general meeting.

John Hay, the society’s chair – who is also trustee treasurer for the Friends of Tudor Park and Pavilion – told the meeting that there had been some progress at last on the bid to rescue and renovate the abandoned former cricket pavilion.

A head of agreement had been settled with Barnet Council and the friends’ committee was waiting to sign an agreement to lease the pavilion.

Once that step had been completed there would be a chance to examine the state of the building – at heightened risk because of a widening crack on the west elevation – and that could lead on to a signing of the lease itself.

Mr Hay acknowledged the frustration over the time this was taking but the council had now agreed that no rent would be charged on the pavilion for the first five years, followed by a pepper corn rent, and that £191,000 was available in a fund set aside by the council for repairs.

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Park Quarter flats reshaping New Barnet as final deadline approaches over proposed high-rise blocks of flats at High Barnet station

Construction of a massive complex of nearly 500 new flats at New Barnet is reaching the half-way stage – just as the go-ahead for the start of a proposed high-rise development at High Barnet tube station might be only weeks away.

Eleven blocks of up to eight storeys in height are being constructed by Fairview New Homes on the site of the former New Barnet gas works off Albert Road.

With almost 100 flats having now been sold, the new Park Quarter estate is rapidly taking shape.

Approval for the New Barnet scheme was a long and drawn-out affair and almost as tortuous and contentious as the highly-controversial plan to build five blocks of flats – including one of 11 storeys – over the tube station car park and container yard.

Any legal challenge to the decision by the Deputy Mayor of London, Jules Pipe, to approve the High Barnet scheme must be made by mid-July.

Advice on whether to seek a judicial review is being taken into consideration by Barnet Council and separately by Barnet Residents Association.

So far, the council’s only response, from the deputy leader Councillor Ross Houston, is “no comment at this stage”.

However, privately, some councillors with knowledge of the High Barnet scheme, says they do not think that realistically there are any legal grounds on which the Deputy Mayor of London’s decision can be challenged.

Although the council’s strategic planning committee voted by a clear majority against the tube station blocks of flats due to concern over their “scale, height and density”, planning officers had originally recommended approval as the site was allocated for residential-led redevelopment and would provide 328 new homes of which 100 would be affordable.

If the July deadline passes with no application to the High Court, developers Barratt and Transport for London’s investment subsidiary, Places for London, hope to start construction at High Barnet in February next year.

At Park Quarter in New Banet access to the site is about to be opened up with a new a new footpath into the development from the Victoria Recreation Ground – see Fairview image above – which should be completed by the end of June.

“Opening up the development onto Victoria Recreation Ground, creating a stronger physical and visual connection with the surrounding neighbourhood, will help the scheme become an ever more integrated part of the local community,” said Mark Jackson, Fairview director of planning.

An official topping out ceremony at the highest point of the development had achieved what Mr Jackson believed was a “significant construction milestone” for a scheme which appealed to people with strong connections to the local community.

Park Quarter had already attracted 93 buyers, including 69 first-time purchasers of whom 15 were from the local area.

Phase one of the 486-home Park Quarter development, which began in summer 2023, was sold out within ten months and work on phase two was well underway with 36 homes ready for occupation from March.

A further 106 homes are due to be finished by the end of the year and the entire development completed by the autumn of 2028.

Included in the development are one-, two- and three-bedroom homes and apartments and two- and three-bedroom duplexes; 162 of the flats will be affordable, at social rent or shared ownership, under the management of SNG Housing.

In line with the planning approval, Fairview have removed a footbridge which used to connect to a tunnel under the main railway line – a regular access route for pedestrians between Victoria Recreation Ground and Cromer Road.

Park Quarter development of nearly 500 flats at New Barnet reaches half way stage as deadline nears for legal challenge to high rise blocks of flats at High Barnet tube station.

In its place is a new footpath leading to the railway tunnel – an improvement welcomed by East Barnet councillor Simon Radford who is now in discussion with Network Rail to carry out repair work to sort out leaking surface water from the railway track above. 

Under obligations placed on Fairview’s planning approval, the scheme has required contributions of £1.5 million, including support for local bus services and for a controlled parking zone review and scheme.

In addition the development is subject to a community infrastructure levy of over £5.7 million, of which £4.3 million is paid to Barnet Council for local improvements.

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Underhill residents determined not to “roll-over” and just be forced into accepting imposition of new controlled parking zone

In a final push to rally opposition to an experimental controlled parking zone in 16 roads north of Mays Lane residents are being urged to have their say before a consultation by Barnet Council ends on June 14.

Leaders of two community associations campaigning against yet another extension of parking controls in roads around Barnet Hospital, say their surveys are showing the restrictions are unnecessary.

A petition against the scheme has attracted almost 900 signatures.

At a third protest meeting, Jon Woolfson and Gina Theodorou (see above) published statistics compiled over the last six months which they say prove their argument that justification for an extended CPZ is “much weaker” than residents were led to believe.

“Barnet Council shouldn’t be allowed to impose a permanent CPZ when a clear majority of residents oppose it,” said Ms Theodorou, chair of Quinta Village Green Residents Association.

Although the council had succeeded over recent year in a step-by-step widening parking controls in streets around both High Barnet town centre and Barnet Hospital, the two associations consider the Underhill South extension is a step too far.

“We know that in some areas the residents just gave up and have grudgingly accepted parking restrictions, but our evidence shows there is no reason why we should roll over and just be forced to become another cash cow for the council’s parking revenue.”

Residents in Underhill mount determined campaign against introduction of Underhill South CPZ scheme despite protests to Barnet Council.

Jon Wolfson, lead organiser of Underhill Residents Group, said that 11 separate surveys over the last six months had shown that only a third of the allocated parking spaces were ever in use.

“We found that the bays were never more than a third full at any one time which shows a very low uptake of residents’ parking permits.”

After the two associations presented a joint petition to a council meeting in March, Councillor Alan Schneiderman, cabinet member for the environment, assured residents that the Underhill South CPZ was only an experiment and would be fully reviewed after a six-month trial.   

“We still don’t know who really calls the shots over parking control, whether in the end it is the officials in the highways department,” said Mr Wolfson.

“We have been promised by local councillors that this time they will have the final say, so we shall see.”

As a result of their protests when the Underhill South CPZ was first announced last year, the area was reduced to the 16 roads north of Mays Lane. Twelve roads to the south were excluded from the trial.

Residents’ surveys confirmed that the most pressure on parking spaces was in Chesterfield Road and Stanhope Road where residents had initially been split 50/50 for and against the trial CPZ.

However, in most of the 16 roads included in the scheme, there was “little or no evidence of parking stress” and the two groups felt this confirmed their argument that other nearby roads had been included simply because of their proximity and revenue raising potential.

For comments or objections email or post by deadline June 14:

email: cpz.consultations@barnet.gov.uk

or by post to Parking Design Team, Highways, 2 Bristol Avenue, Colindale, London NW9 4EW 

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Campaign to save and rebuild an abandoned clubhouse for benefit of Underhill residents gathers pace ahead of its sale by Barnet Council

Residents around Mays Lane are anxious to attract support for a community bid to take over the derelict former Quinta Youth Club which has been put up for sale by Barnet Council for £300,000.

Local groups have until October to submit offers and proposals to the council. Several eligible community interest organisations have already expressed interest.

Gina Theodorou (above), chair of the Quinta Village Green Residents Association, is appealing for a concerted push by the locality to help to secure and re-open the derelict club as a community hub and space.

“We fear Barnet Council may favour selling the abandoned building to an organisation from outside the area rather than a genuinely local community-led proposal.

“Our aim is to create a flexible new community building and integrate it into Quinta village green which is alongside and which we have already made sure is preserved for the use of our community.”

As a first step a community interest company is to be established by the residents’ association to develop a business plan.

An image, showing what a revived Quinta Club building might look like, has been issued in support of an appeal on Facebook and GoFundMe to help with the cost of planning and funding the application:

https://www.gofundme.com/f/save-the-quinta-club-for-the-whole-community

https://www.facebook.com/quinta.green.9/posts/pfbid0Z7oaBfVJP2sHuaZ1kcaYyYSJBMtoSDBP5QZts4jNrQCrM3iRFkvkFZZA2z9EGzaul

The club building – originally constructed by the Underhill community in the 1960s with the help of local tradesmen and residents – has been derelict for the last 20 years, raising concern among Mays Lane residents about continuing vandalism and anti-social behaviour.

Gina Theodorou – seen above with Rory (16) who is supporting the campaign for a new community space for local youngsters – is urging the community to rally round as quickly as possible so that a proposal can be submitted to the council by the deadline of October 17.

“In its heyday the Quinta Club was a wonderful community space – it was a youth centre, a meeting place for the elderly, for a nursery and for all sorts of exercise classes.

“We are becoming increasingly concerned because the council is getting expressions of interest from community groups outside the area– including religious organisations – and the priority for the council seems to be getting rid of the freehold for the best possible price.

“We want to keep the building as broad-based shared community asset, which is financially sustainable and offer affordable room hire, café, and space for family and youth activities.”  

It was at the request of residents’ association that the abandoned building was registered by the council as an asset of community value.

This has established a six-month moratorium during which the council may only sell the former club to a qualifying community interest group – a window of opportunity which lasts until October 17.

An open day will be held at the site in Mays Lane on Tuesday 30 June (from 11am to 2pm) when qualifying groups can view the property and ask questions, although there is a warning that viewing might be limited to “an external walk around on grounds of safety”.

To build up support for its GoFundMe appeal and a combined local response, Mrs Theodorou is hoping to draw on professional expertise within the community and wider backing from local politicians.

Dan Tomlinson, the MP for Chipping Barnet, launched a Community Action Network in March this year, aimed at “shaping and showcasing” projects proposed by the local residents in his constituency.

Mays Lane is within the council’s Underhill ward and one of its two councillors, Zahra Beg, is the newly elected Mayor of Barnet.   

Campaign to mount a bid for community to rebuild the Quinta Club in Mays Lane which Barnet Council has put on the market for £300,000 with deadline of October for community bids

Ms Theodorou says residents have been become alarmed at the state of the dereliction.

There are gaps in the boarding surrounding the derelict building and it has become a dumping ground for rubbish.

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

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Promise of 100 affordable new homes influences final go ahead for tower blocks at High Barnet tube station and loss of car parking

Approval has finally been given by the office of the Mayor of London for the redevelopment of land around High Barnet tube station with five blocks of flats despite warnings this would cause irreparable damage to an historic skyline.

A deputation from the town’s community groups told a hearing at City Hall that squeezing 328 new homes into a narrow strip of land between the tube line and the Barnet Hill trunk road was the “wrong scale in the wrong place”.

Objections were overruled by Jules Pipe, Deputy Mayor for Planning and Regeneration, who said that although three of the blocks would exceed the seven-storey limit agreed in the Barnet local plan – and one block would be 11 storeys – the impact of the height and massing of the flats would be negligible on the neighbourhood and no reason for refusal.

Building more affordable homes was the mayor’s priority and the High Barnet Place scheme would provide 100 new homes at low-cost rent or shared ownership.

“We must take advantage of sites which offer a high proportion of affordable homes and where the key travel infra-structure is in place,” said Mr Pipe.

“Inevitably schemes like High Barnet Place would be visible, including long range views…but the alternative would be to drive such schemes to the green belt and to less sustainable sites.”

Objections to the loss 160 spaces in the station car park – and the provision of only eight places for Blue Badge holders – were rejected by Mr Pipe on the grounds that encouraging tube passengers to walk to the station or take a bus would encourage “more sustainable means of travel and improve air quality”.

Developers Barratt and Transport for London’s investment subsidiary, Places for London, hope to start construction in February next year with the first affordable homes being available in February 2029 and the scheme completed by April 2030.

Mayor of London's office gives final go ahead for blocks of flats around High Barnet Station, Key factor 100 new affordable homes, a priority for the Mayor but station will lose its car park.

Simon Kaufman, a chartered architect (above, second from right), made a joint presentation on behalf of members of the Barnet Society and Barnet Residents Association.

He said many of the flats in the five tower blocks would be of poor quality, single aspect and reliant on mechanical ventilation.

The design of the scheme exemplified the social and management failures of high-density blocks of flats built across London in the 1960s and 1970s.

After Mr Pipe announced the scheme would go ahead, Mr Kaufman said the conscience of the objectors was clear.

“We listened to the lessons of history, and we are not prepared to see a repeat of the mistakes of the past. We did our best to prevent a development which we fear will become a disaster in years to come.”

Neil Smith, senior project planning officer for the Greater London Authority, opened the hearing by reminding the Deputy Mayor that Barnet Council had refused permission for the blocks of flats because of their excessive height and harm to the character of the surrounding area.

However, the GLA considered the height and massing of the blocks responded well to the immediate context and would make “a positive contribution to the local townscape”.

Given the loss of the car park, there would be nine drop off short-stay spaces and eight Blue Badge spaces, but otherwise the development would be car-free with an enhanced public footpath on the station approach.

A significant public benefit of the scheme would be 100 affordable new homes and there were “no material considerations of sufficient weight to justify refusal”.

In opening for the objectors Simon Kaufman said that when seen from the surrounding green belt countryside the proposed tower blocks harmed the historic skyline of High Barnet where the defining landmark on the hill had been the parish church.

“This is an over-scaled urban insertion imposed on to an historic hill town.”

An issue which eroded public confidence was that many residents were troubled by the fact Transport for London was effectively promoting development on its own land while the Greater London Authority and the Mayor of London were the decision-maker.

Mr Kaufman criticised the removal of the station car park without providing a realistic alternative and the steep topography of the station approach meant that women, older residents and disabled users would continue to face intimidating routes, particularly after dark.

Janet Littlewood of Barnet Residents Association, speaking on behalf of Gordon Massey, said the blocks of flats on the site would add to the existing chaos on the station approach where there were often traffic jams.

The area around the station was isolated and many women would not leave the station unless they could exit by car.

Nick Saul, a retired civil engineer, warned that the loss of the car park and the failure to provide bus access to the station forecourt raised serious concerns for women and the disabled.

Serious assaults to passengers when on foot or on cycle were not uncommon where parking had already been lost at tube stations.

Flaws in the design and access in and around suburban stations were a key factor in the prevalence and location of attacks.

Dame Theresa Villiers, formerly MP for Chipping Barnet, who described herself as a resident and passenger, insisted that the loss of the station car park would damage the quality of life of many thousands of Barnet residents.

Anyone with impaired mobility would be at a disadvantage and the suggestion that more people might like to cycle to the station ignored the steepness of Barnet Hill – as she could testify personally it was “a tough climb for cyclists”.

“High Barnet station has been my station for 21 years. It is our get away to the world. Please don’t curtail the freedom of High Barnet people to live our lives the way we want to.”  

There was one speaker in support of the scheme, High Barnet student Yana Kostova, who said that given the pressure on local housing the only chance was to build upwards.

The prospect of more affordable homes was a relief. She thought High Barnet could “blossom and attract a younger generation with such schemes”.

In response to questions from the deputy mayor, Martin Scholar, head of planning for Places for London, said the developers Barratt Homes had maximised the number of affordable homes at High Barnet Place which would allow more people to get on the housing ladder.

“Forty per cent affordable homes at High Barnet is much higher than for most schemes in London” – a consideration that was given emphasis in the deputy mayor’s final decision.

In a statement issued after the hearing, Dan Tomlinson, MP for Chipping Barnet and Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury, criticised the go ahead for a scheme which was clearly not in line with the local plan.

“Planning decisions aren’t mine to make as the local MP, but Barnet Labour has made it views very clear on these proposals.

“It is in black and white in Barnet’s local plan that seven storeys is the maximum for housing on this site.

“It is not right for the GA to overrule elected councillors to approve a scheme with an 11-storey block that contravenes the plan.”

Mr Tomlinson’s statement was followed by a statement from Barnet Labour Party expressing its opposition to the go-ahead for high storey blocks of flats at High Barnet tube station and GLA approval for the Great North Leisure Park development:

“It is extremely disappointing that two local planning decisions based on the local plan and London plan and with the backing of the local community have been overturned by the GLA.

“Local councillors should be trusted to make decisions based on the best interest of their communities.”

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Black Horse to re-open in mid-June after extensive repairs – but uncertain future for Builders Arms now on the market for £695,000

After the loss of several pubs around High Barnet in recent weeks, work has finally started on major repairs to the Black Horse in Wood Street, and it is due to re-open in mid-June after being closed since last September.

Scaffolding surrounds the building and local residents who feared the worst when metal grilles were installed across the doors and windows are delighted to hear the news.

With the approach of warm weather, they say they can’t wait for the re-opening of the pub’s garden which is popular weekend venue.

Star Pubs told the Barnet Society that additional building work has proved necessary and it will take longer than originally anticipated, but they hope the pub can re-open by mid-June.

A new tenant – described as “a local businessman” – has taken on the tenancy.

To the disappointment of some previous customers, Star Pubs say the Black Horse will not be reverting to a micro-brewery which had operated at the pub in the past and produced its own ales.

Earlier this year, because of concern about the future of the Black Horse, Barnet Council accepted a community request for the pub to be protected by an order declaring the building as asset of community value.

ACV protection allows the community to enter a bid if the pub is sold for redevelopment – protection already provided for three other nearby pubs, the Lord Nelson, Sebright Arms and Ye Olde Monken Holt, as well as the Prince of Wales in East Barnet.

Black Horse public house in Wood Street Barnet to re-open after nine-month closure but now closed Builders Arms in New Barnet for sale at £695,000

A petition has been launched to secure ACV protection for the Builders Arms in Albert Road, New Barnet, which closed in mid-April and is now on the market for £695,000.

A two-year struggle to keep going finally defeated the pub’s landlady who blamed a loss of trade on the disruption caused by ending up in the middle of a massive construction site.

Albert Road is the main access to the site where Fairview Homes are building eleven high-rise blocks of flats to provide 420 new homes, and the pub found itself marooned in the redevelopment.

Despite considerable local support, the landlady reluctantly decided to hand her tenancy back to the brewers Greene King raising local concern about the future of a pub praised by the Campaign for Real Ale.

Former customers and friends started the petition in an attempt to preserve what they say is a “much loved local institution”.

Greene King, which is reported to be planning to sell off 300 of its tenanted and managed pubs, put the Builders Arms on the market soon after it ceased trading in mid-April.

WTS, agents for the sale, say the building does offer the potential for alternative use, subject to planning consent, and the property might appeal to “local licensed operators, developers, builders and investors.”

Another recent pub closure was that of the Hadley House bar and restaurant in Barnet High Street, which in previous years was known as the King George and earlier as the King of Prussia – but another High Street hostelry, the King’s Head, which closed for a month for renovations is due to re-open on June 12.

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Facing an uncertain future: unsteady state of Barnet’s iconic whalebones archway – can it be repaired or replaced with a replica?  

An historic whalebones arch beside Wood Street, High Barnet, has had to be encased in scaffolding after the owners of Whalebones House feared it might collapse and cause an injury to passersby.

Signs of movement in its footings and cracks in the archway – once the jaw bones of a ninety-foot-long blue whale – prompted concern about its safety.

Hill Group, who are building 115 new homes in adjoining fields, installed the scaffolding as a protective measure to safeguard the arch and to preserve “a unique local landmark”.

Hill’s intervention has been welcomed by the owners of Whalebones House, Patrick Shanahan and Helena Boland, who say urgent action is need to either repair the whalebones or replace them with a replica archway.

Straps have been applied around the surface to ensure there is no further fragmentation of the structure.

A set of jawbones was first erected as a gateway to Whalebones House in the 1860s or perhaps even earlier.

They were last replaced in 1939 by former owner of the house, Miss Gwyneth Cowing, whose family owned the Barnet Press newspaper.

She paid for two jawbones, each weighing three-quarters of a ton, to be transported to Barnet from Norway where the carcase of the whale, which had been captured in the South Seas, had been dismembered.

It took half a dozen workmen, under the direction of local builders W. Foster & Sons, all day to manoeuvre the gigantic jawbones into place and set them in six feet of concrete.

Cracks in the jawbone on the Arkley side of the drive started appearing at Easter; then its footing became dislodged; and it became clear the archway was in danger of collapsing.

Mr Shanahan said he first became aware of the damage after heavy equipment being used by the contractors started crossing the driveway less than three metres from the jawbones.

“Excavators and piling equipment kept being moved to and from the main construction area to a smaller site off Wellhouse Lane where there is to be a new community building and studio for the Barnet Guild of Artists.

“Because of the fragile state of the jawbones we have asked the contractors to stop crossing the driveway and generating the kind of vibration which has clearly been having a devastating impact.”    

After alerting the Hill Group to what had happened, the owners of Whalebones House asked for advice from Barnet Council on the historic status of the whalebones and whether permission would be needed to dismantle the archway and install a replacement.

They hope that the Hill Group and the trustees of the Gwyneth Cowing estate – which sold off the farmland for housing – will contribute to the cost of repairing or replacing the archway.

“Hill are going to call their new housing estate and gardens Whalebone Park, so they have a responsibility to ensure the whalebones remain an integral part of the whole development,” said Mr Shanahan.

“So far we have been unable to gain any assistance from Barnet Council’s planning or heritage departments, and we are anxious to work out how best to safeguard the future of the archway.”

Whalebones House is a Grade II listed building of special interest and the whalebones at the entrance to the drive are specifically referred to in the appraisal for the Wood Street Conservation area which includes the Whalebones estate.

It says that the whalebones at the entrance sit within “a notable tree boundary and create an entry feature to the space.”

Mr Shanahan says former fishing and whaling communities which have historic whalebone arches, including Whitby in Yorkshire and coastal ports in Scotland, are facing similar challenges over how best to protect them.

“Resin bonding has been used to repair some arches. Others have been replaced with replica arches made from synthetic compounds, steel or even brass.

“We need advice and help in working out how the arch can be preserved or replaced.”

There are competing theories as to how and why whalebones were first erected in Wood Street.

One report in the Barnet Press suggested the famous polar explorer John Franklin (1786-1847) once lived in Whalebones and according to local thinking installed the first set of whalebones as early as the 1830s.

A week later the paper published an alternative version: Frederick Brown, who lived at 92 Wood Street, said his sister was married to Mr Easton, a Thames waterman, who had lived at the house and started the tradition.

Mr Easton had joined the firm of Smith and Sons, whalebone and sealskin merchants, who plied their trade from the Thames, and he obtained a pair of whalebones which it was thought were erected in the 1860s and gave the house its name.

Records at Barnet Museum suggest the house was built in 1815 and the first reference to it being named Whalebones was on a map dated 1872.

Motorists travelling along Wood Street often miss seeing the jawbones, especially when the trees and hedges are in leaf and much of that side of the road is filled in parked cars.

Pedestrians get a far better view and might like to renew an old Chipping Barnet custom: according to local legal it was good luck to walk under the archway, make a wish or share a kiss.

Over the years countless Barnet youngsters have marvelled at the size of the jaw bones from a blue whale, the largest species captured in the South Seas.

Angela Morris of King’s Road, Barnet, remembers that as a seven-year-old in the 1950s she attended a Brownie pack that met in the barn at Whalebones.

“In those days there were another two sets of whalebones, only much smaller. One was at the gateway to the house and one that had fallen down beside a path that went to the barn where the Brownies met.”

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High Court backs approval for two travellers’ caravans in a Mays Lane paddock once used for grazing horses

High Court rejects attempt by Barnet Council to halt the go ahead for a site for two travellers' caravans on a paddock in Mays Lane Green Belt

Barnet Council’s attempt to halt the go ahead for a travellers’ caravan site on a field in Green Belt land off Mays Lane has failed in the High Court to the disappointment of a local residents’ group.

Gina Theodorou, chair of the Quinta Village Green Residents’ Association, said that despite the setback they were determined to continue their fight to protect the Green Belt along Mays Lane.

Failure by the council to secure a full judicial review of a planning inspector’s decision in favour of the travellers site means that work installing hard standing can now go ahead in a two-acre paddock – see above – which was previously used for grazing horses.

Space has been approved for two static caravans, two mobile homes and two day rooms to be occupied by two traveller families.

The application was made by brothers Patrick and J Casey.

A refusal by the council to grant approval led to a lengthy planning inquiry last year when the inspector decided that the “very special circumstances” of the two families outweighed any harm to the Green Belt.

This ruling was challenged by the council on the grounds that the inspector’s conclusion was factually flawed because of his conclusion that a go ahead for the site was in the best interests of the “seven young children” involved.

In its challenge, the council argued that the evidence showed that in fact only four or five children would live on the site.

After a two-hour hearing – which Ms Theodorou attended – the High Court accepted that while there was a factual error in the inspector’s decision it did not materially affect the outcome of whether to allow the site on Green Belt land. Development could now proceed.

“We are disappointed because although this decision affects only one site, it means that once the land is developed it undermines the protection for our local green spaces,” said Ms Theodorou.

“There could now be future proposals for travellers’ sites on Green Belt land on both sides of the paddock and this approval would make it easier to justify.

“But that is how the Green Belt is gradually eroded.

“Our focus now has to be to focus on the bigger picture – to protect what remains of our Green Belt along Mays Lane and to ensure that our local green spaces are managed in a way that benefits both the environment and the community.”   

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Leaseholders of The Spires Shopping Centre in administration – Chipping Barnet Town Team seeking full explanation 

Chipping Barnet Town Team are seeking a full explanation given concern about leaseholders of The Spires Shopping Centre in administration.

A renewed attempt is being made to get up to date information on the future ownership of The Spires Shopping Centre in High Barnet following a second intervention by the High Court appointing administrators for companies involved with its leases.

Purchase of The Spires for £28 million in 2021 was made in the name of BYM Capital which went into administration in 2023.

Freehold of The Spires’ site is owned by Barnet Council.

Companies House has now confirmed new administrators have been appointed to take control of NEG The Spires Ltd, named as the holder of the leases.

An associated company NEG Barnet Market Ltd, which owns the freehold of the former site of Barnet Market, is also under the control of the same administrators.

Given the new situation and the possibility, the adjacent sites could now be split up – and the added grave uncertainty about the future of one of the town’s key assets – the Chipping Barnet Town Team is seeking to make contact with the new team of administrators.

“Community groups and other key stakeholders in the town are desperate to find out what is going on,” said town team secretary Eamonn Rafferty.

“We have all been left in the dark for far too long.”

“Bearing in mind the strategic importance to the town of The Spires precinct of shops, the Waitrose supermarket and the multi-storey car park, we think the Town Team must be consulted before any key decisions are taken about their future.

“We want to know more about the options being considered by the administrators. If there is a complicated break-up of the assets it could put the future of the entire shopping centre at risk.”

Barnet Councillor David Longstaff, a member of the Town Team, and the Chipping Barnet MP Dan Tomlinson, have both indicated they will try to gain more information. 

When administrators were first appointed in November 2023, Barnet Council – which owns the freehold of The Spires’ site – insisted that there would be no interruption in the running of the shopping centre.

Operation of the centre and its facilities such as public conveniences – conducted through the management of Savills Property Management – was said to be the responsibility of a separate company which the council had been assured was not in the hands of the administrators and would continue without interruption.

FMX Urban Property Advisers, which took on responsibility in March 2024 for leasing retail units in the shopping centre, told the Barnet Society that it was “business as usual” when it came to seeking for new tenants for vacant outlets.

“Our role as letting agents is not affected” said FMX.

In promotional material, it describes The Spires as a “primary retail destination…boasting an affluent surrounding catchment and benefiting from excellent transport links and a 440-space multi-storey car park”.

FMX said their instructions were to help implement a “dynamic and proactive retail strategy” for The Spires.

Prior to going into administration BYM Capital held discussions with Barnet Council and public consultations about possible redevelopment.

There were proposals – about which nothing further has been heard – to convert the shopping centre into a new retail thoroughfare with blocks of flats and shops below together with more flats above the car park and on the site of the former market.

Currently the market site is a car park operated by Britannia Parking, which also operates the multi-storey at the shopping centre.

Concern over how best to safeguard the future of the shopping centre, prompted the formation of a resident’s “Save The Spires” campaign which handed out leaflets calling on Barnet Council to take active steps to preserve “a safe, quiet and much used” civic space at the heart of High Barnet.

Covered walkways and squares within the shopping centre were an important amenity because they were “free of traffic and deserved to be maintained and kept open to the public”. 

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Small children not cars take control of the road outside their homes as High Barnet parents take advantage of a play street closure

A road closure most parents might welcome would be when the street outside their homes is transformed into a safe play space for small children free of traffic.

Encouraging children to start playing outdoors – an activity which has been in sad decline in recent years – is a passion for a High Barnet mother who has followed through and delivered for her neighbours.

The end of Calvert Road, which forms a short cul-de-sac, becomes a designated play space for the morning of the last Sunday of the month – and it has official recognition with a road closure notice installed by Barnet Council’s highways department.

Several roads across the Borough of Barnet are closed when residents apply for a play street closure and the parents around Calvert Road are hoping other neighbourhoods in High Barnet might joint in so that children could have even more opportunities to play outside their homes in safety.

Hiranya de Alwis Jayasinghe, above with her three-year-old son Freddie, first applied for a temporary Sunday morning play street closure for Calvert Road last summer and it proved an immediate success.

Sometimes up to a dozen small children from homes in surrounding roads such as Sebright, Puller and Alston join in the fun – a chance to ride up and down, chalk pictures on the road, or even blow bubbles.

“What children have lost in recent years is the freedom to play safely in the street outside their homes, the kind of encounter that was so commonplace years ago,” said Hiranya.

She wanted her son Freddie to experience playing with his friends outside and made inquiries.

“We got up a petition to support our application and checked with people living nearby. Largely they were all ok with it and Barnet Council were really helpful and supportive, so we now have a Sunday morning street closure for three hours once a month.”

Hiranya had seen how her son Freddie had started taking an interest in the road outside. He began to recognise the different fences and front doors as they walked along, and she realised that he was interested in what was happening in the street outside.

“Playing outside in the street is something which previous generations took for granted, but playing outdoors is like clean air: you don’t miss it until you don’t have it and sadly that is what happened.

“Children playing outside has gone down by 50 per cent within a generation – and we all know the reasons: cars go so fast they are such a risk to children; cars are parked everywhere and seem to have taken over; for too many children screentime has become far too dominant; and parents have so many other fears for the safety of their children.”

Hiranya thought every parent should be aware of the consequences about not encouraging outdoor play: the health issues arising from a sedentary life and the worrying signs for mental health – 15 per cent of children aged seven to ten have a mental health problem.

“I now have a passion for encouraging children to play outside, especially close to where they live rather than always having to go to the park.

“It is such a simple intervention, but it makes such a difference. Here are opportunities for children to make social contact right on their doorstep which is so beneficial.

“They build up an association with the street where they live. It is their street and they care for it, and who knows in the future they will make sure it is a free of litter and rubbish.”

Small children take over as play street road closure in Calvert Road, High Barnet, provides a chance to play outside in the street -- an encounter in sad decline in recent years.

Longtime Calvert Road resident Chris Nightingale – who donned a yellow jacket to volunteer to help – said the Calvert Road play street closure was a model for other nearby roads and a marvellous example of community support and action.

He agreed with Hiranya that if other nearby cul-de-sacs such as Falklands Road or Cecil Court thought of joining in with the playstreet scheme there would be a network of places where small children could play outside on Sunday mornings.   

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Strengthened protection for woodland close to Hadley Green which has become a wildlife corridor close to Barnet town centre

A planning dispute over an unsuccessful bid to build a large new house within the Monken Hadley conservation area has resulted in Barnet Council declaring a woodland tree preservation order on the whole site.

An objection by the owners to the strengthening of the tree protection for the one-acre site – see above – was rejected by the planning committee.

It said the strip of land alongside Christchurch Lane – opposite the junction with Sunset View – was classified by ecologists as “lowland mixed deciduous woodland” and was a “priority habitat deciduous woodland”.

As planning authority, Barnet Council had a duty to protect this asset with a “woodland tree preservation order”.

The trees on the site – including oak, ash, birch and walnut and a shrub layer of yew, hawthorn and laurel – provided “considerable visual amenity” in an area of a mosaic of small green spaces.

Nearby residents who objected to the original plan to build a large house on the site have hailed the decision as another decisive step in their campaign to preserve what they believe is a significant wildlife corridor between Hadley Green and the Old Fold Manor Golf Course.

In March, an application by Christchurchgrove Ltd to build a six-bedroom house on the site was refused by the council because it would do “unacceptable harm” to a woodland habitat and damage the conservation area.

Stregthened protection for woodland in Monken Hadley conservation area hailed by residents as decicisive in campaign to protect wildlife corridor

In objecting to the proposed tree preservation order for the whole site, the company said the land was already covered by eight separate tree preservation orders and therefore there was already adequate protection.

Without approval for the construction of the proposed house would be no management plan for the woodland which was already displaying symptoms of becoming unkempt and neglected.

There had been growth in the woods of non-indigenous and invasive species which was starting to denude the quality of the habitat.

In response, the council said that in the 45 years since the original tree preservation orders were made, many new trees had established themselves and had merit.

They had altered significantly the appearance of the land, adding to the “woodland character” of the site.

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“When Will They Ever Learn?” – blue plaque rebuke for Barnet Council’s highways team over fallout from ban on parking 

A blue plaque has been installed outside a house in Calvert Road to draw attention to an ongoing dispute between residents and Barnet Council over the painting of double yellow line parking restrictions at the junction with Sebright Road.

Their complaint is that the council refused to listen to their concerns and has failed to respond to their argument that the restrictions are excessive and have created a dangerous corner by speeding up traffic.

Dr Chris Nightingale commissioned the plaque – highlighting the refrain “When Will They Ever Learn?” from a 1950s Pete Seeger’s protest song – to remind Barnet Councillors that they should engage with residents and take their concerns seriously.

He says residents of Sebright and Calvert feel ignored and abandoned. Traffic speeds around their narrow streets of mainly small cottages and terraced homes have increased as a result of a double-yellow line restriction which they believe is longer than at other comparable road junctions.

So far there has been no response to a letter they sent to the council’s chief executive, Cath Shaw, reminding her of Barnet’s core values such as the undertaking by councillors to “actively listen, respond, collaborate and share ideas” with residents.

The legend around the edge of the plaque could not be clearer:

“Plaque commemorates the failure of Barnet Council to listen – thereby creating a dangerous corner and loss of parking.”

The dispute with the council over the parking restrictions began in June last year and finally the council went ahead with painting the yellow lines – an operation which did not go smoothly for the council’s contractors.

This prompted a rebuke from the council:

“Unfortunately, several vehicle owners did not follow the request to keep the junction clear to facilitate the line marking installation and it was necessary to arrange for the presence of a vehicle lifter.

“Council contractors were verbally abused. We expect contractors to be free to undertake work in a safe environment.

“Contractors asked for the council’s community safety team to attend when contractors returned.”

Blue plaque in Sebright Road, Barnet, rebukes Barnet Council for frailing to listen over residents objections to doube yellow line parking restrictions

Mrs Louise Cain (above, second from right) organised a petition to protest at the proposed parking restriction but it was rejected because it had not reached the minimum number of 500 signatures.

Although a letter sent by the group to Cath Shaw had not been acknowledged, she said a reply from the council’s highways team did not address their complaints about the lack of consultation and the fair treatment of residents’ concerns.

They were told to approach their local councillors to seek support if they wished to make a request regarding road safety design or parking as the highways team had already attended to review their concerns.

“Unfortunately, the reply we have received is very confused. We think the double yellow lines are too long and that other junctions in the vicinity have far less severe restrictions,” said Mrs Cain.

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As Dollis Valley regeneration about to move ahead, launch of new job club will offer help and support to gain skills and employment

A job club is being established at the Hope Corner Community Centre in Mays Lane, Barnet, offering three sessions a week aimed at giving advice on employment and training and a chance to learn new skills.

A year’s funding for the club coincides with an imminent start on completing the Dollis Valley estate regeneration with the construction of 221 new homes at affordable rents.

Guidance on job opportunities and training will be provided each Tuesday afternoon by Boost, Barnet Council’s employment and advice service (from 1pm to 4pm).

The Shaw Trust will hold a drop-in session on Friday mornings offering advice on health and job support programmes (from 9.30am to 2pm).

A tailoring and sewing course – a free make and mend programme – will equip those taking part for job and business opportunities.

Julian Desborough (above, far right), secretary of Barnet Churches Action which established the community centre ten years ago, said they recognised the need for advice on employment and training.

Demand is likely to increase once demolition starts in preparation for the final completion of phases four and five of the Dollis Valley regeneration.

Work on the replacement Brook Valley Gardens estate has been stalled since 2023 but despite further delays and a fresh disagreement about the split between private and social housing, Mr Desborough said their hope and expectation was that the regeneration was back on track.  

Residents who had to move from Dollis Valley after their blocks of flats and maisonettes were condemned because of damp and mould will get the chance to return to new socially rented housing under the management of Barnet Homes.

The construction and opening of the Hope Corner Community Centre – above which are three floors of affordably-rented flats – marked the start of the Dollis Valley regeneration.

Centre manager Janet Nestor – see above, with Julian Desborough and James Ricks of the Boost employment and advice service – supervises a wide range of activities for the community.

As well as a café offering breakfast and lunch at affordable prices, the centre has two halls for classes and events including exercise and flower arranging classes, Pilates, and mother and baby and maths tutor classes.  

Hope Corner Community Centre in Mays Lane to launch job club offering help with employment and training.

Hope Corner Job Club, to be launched on Thursday 30 April, is already attracting considerable interest.

A dozen participants have signed up so far. For further information email hopecornerjobclub@outlook.com or visit Hope Corner Community Centre at 185 Mays Lane.

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Work authorised on ponds at golf course in Friern Barnet to increase water storage and reduce risk of flooding in north London

PS: No decision on this project has been made by North Middlesex Golf Club and any proposals remain subject to the Club’s internal decision-making processes.

Two ponds at North Middlesex Golf Club in Friern Barnet Lane are to be cleared of silt and enlarged to improve flood management after heavy rainfall.

Water storage capacity along Blacketts Brook, which flows through the golf course and includes the two ponds, is to be increased at a cost of £340,000.

As part of the scheme, which is being funded by the Environment Agency, the two balancing ponds will be widened and de-silted.

A third flood storage basin further downstream, but within the golf course, will also be improved.

Enlargement will enable the ponds to retain more water and ease flooding in north London.

From the golf course, Blacketts Brook, flows through Friary Park and enters a culvert under both Friern Barnet Lane and the main railway line before joining Pymmes Brook.

Pymmes Brook, which flows through East Barnet village and Oak Hill Park, is itself subject to flooding.

This threat increases after Pymmes Brook is joined by tributaries such as Blacketts Brook and where, further south, flooding causes even greater problems in Upper Edmonton and Tottenham.

Two ponds along Blacketts Brook at Friern Barnet golf course to be enlarged to alleviate flooding after heavy rainfall

The two ponds in the golf course form part of a site of importance for nature conservation as they are thought to provide habitat for Palmate newts, which are rare in London.

Friary Park – where the continuation of Blacketts Brook is a popular feature – is also a site of importance for nature conservation.

In another move to improve flood resilience within the Borough of Barnet, the Environment Agency is to carry out an inspection of the Stoney Wood Lake reservoir near Mill Hill Golf Course at a cost of £82,000.

This is considered a high-risk large, raised reservoir. It has a capacity of at least 25,000 cubic metres of water above natural ground level.

The reservoir, formed by a dam constructed of steel sheet piling, impounds natural surface water.

There will now be a survey of 380 metres of sheet piling to assess the structure and identify any corrosion or damage.

Dan Tomlinson, MP for Chipping Barnet, welcomed the investment in the flood alleviation schemes.

“Climate crisis means we are facing greater rainfall and higher flood risk.

“We must do this work now: expanding capacity, ensuring resilience, making our infrastructure fit for the future, because the cost of inaction, waiting until there is a flood, is far greater.”

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Anger in Arkley over plans for a massive new housing estate attracts tv news team ahead of Barnet Council elections   

A controversial plan to build up to 230 houses and an 80-bed care home on a former pig farm at Arkley was featured by ITV News London in a report ahead of May’s council elections about the political arguments surrounding the development of green belt land.

Bugler Homes of Rickmansworth is hoping to take advantage of new guidance allowing house building on “previously developed” sites which can now be deemed to be grey belt land.

Arkley resident Hayley Winton (above) told ITV London political correspondent Simon Harris that if Barnet Council approved the scheme, it would have a “huge impact” on life in the village, increasing its size by 25 per cent.

“Arkley is a small village with low density housing, in the middle of the green belt, and a high-density development of 300 homes doesn’t feel right.”

Hayley’s opposition to the scheme was shared by another resident Jyoti Dhanak who said it would be shocking if such a large part of green belt was built on.

“Once the green belt has gone, it has gone, and it cannot be replaced.”

Because access to the site had been refused, camera operator Gemma Green used a drone to film the 17-acre former pig farm, which is off Rowley Lane, Arkley, and is in the middle of scrubland and woods bordered by the A1 Barnet by-pass.

In its “initial vision” for the development, Bugler Homes has applied to the council to discuss plans to build 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.

Robin Bishop (above) who leads for the Barnet Society on planning and the environment, told Simon Harris the development would represent a “substantial erosion” of the green belt which had separated Barnet and Arkley from Borehamwood for the last 80 years.

The fields and woodland around Arkley are included in plans to create a new regional park which is included in Barnet Council’s latest local plan.

“If this development were to be approved it would be a major breach of the proposed regional park.

“A new regional park is a much welcome proposal. It would help to create a comprehensively managed area like the Lea Valley regional park.”

Mr Bishop urged planning authorities to proceed with care before allowing development in what housebuilders claimed was now the grey belt.

“If councils give permission for every derelict site in the green belt much of the new housing will be highly unsuitable, in places where people will not be close to amenities or public transport.”

The Rowley Lane pig farm site is part of a triangle of land which is bounded by Barnet Road, Barnet by-pass and Rowley Lane.

The illustration above shows how the land — to the east of the by-pass — has been parcelled into different plots.

Online research has revealed that 148 acres of land within this area – almost all of which is green belt – is owned by housebuilders and other associated companies and could provide space for up to 1,200 new homes.

If planning permission for housing could be obtained the land would be worth over £150 million.

One housebuilder owns 25 acres, with potential for 192 houses, on a site worth £39 million; another has 22 acres, with room for 285 homes, on a site worth £43 million.

Robin Bishop said the revelation that so much of the green belt land to the north of Arkley is effectively a land bank for housebuilders only serves to highlight the looming scandal over the likely approval of grey belt land for housing and other needs.

“There seems every likelihood that unlocking grey belt land for development will result in windfall profits for developers who have wilfully neglected land which they have been sitting on for years.

ITV News London to feature controversial plan for massive new housing estate in Arkley as part of report into political row over green belt land ahead of council elections.

Close to the pig farm site there has been unauthorised clearance of woodland in what had been declared a site of importance for nature conservation.

Hayley Winton said Arkley residents had been appalled when they saw a bulldozer hacking away at mature trees and levelling an acre of the woodland.

“Apparently the land has been sold as three plots for housing but there is no planning permission.

“We reported what happened to Barnet Council who say this is one of the worst cases they have ever seen of destruction of protected trees.

“We were told there will be consequences but how do you replace woodland like this which is in the green belt and was supposed to have special protection.”

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Government and developers set their sights on the Green Belt

View of Green Belt south of Potters Bar showing green fields, trees and hedges with M25 in background

This swathe of Green Belt (above) will be mostly built over if current plans are approved. And within Barnet, dozens of so-called ‘Grey Belt’ sites are being targetted for new homes (few of which are likely to be affordable). The Labour Council promises to create a Regional Park, which could prevent that. This should be an issue in our local election in May – but do voters know or care?

Between Potters Bar and Borehamwood, several enormous data centres have already been approved on land in the foreground of the photo above. Beyond the M25 will be a major expansion of Sky studios. For land off to the left of the photo, a planning application for 900 new homes has been refused by Hertsmere Council, but the developer has appealed against the decision.

Crews Hill & Chase Park new town

Between Barnet and Enfield, the government proposes a new town of 21,000 homes on Green Belt land. The plans are supported by Enfield Council and the Mayor of London but opposed by the Enfield Society and Enfield RoadWatch.

The Barnet Society has objected to any loss of the green buffer that exists between Barnet and Enfield. It is vital to preserve the separate identities of settlements that would otherwise merge into amorphous suburbia, and a vital reservoir of biodiversity.

Just ahead of the local elections in May, groups and communities across the UK will be taking part in a UK-wide Day of Action for Nature, Parks and Green Spaces on Saturday 18 April. Its purpose is to demonstrate, visibly and collectively, that people everywhere care deeply about the natural world and want to see it protected and restored. Join the national day of action here.

Barnet’s Green Belt

The countryside on three sides of Chipping (or High) Barnet was saved in 1945 from housing development, largely by the efforts of the Barnet Society. In 1955 it was formally designated part of the London Metropolitan Green Belt. The map above shows how well it has survived – at least until now.

For decades developers have tried to build in it. So far, our Council has effectively prevented most new development. Exceptions have generally been restricted to replacement of obsolescent farm buildings.

Lately, however, we’ve seen an increase in speculative purchases of, and planning applications for, Green Belt land. Also notable has been unsightly and apparently deliberate neglect of existing buildings and landscape. The prospect of profiting from escalating land values and house prices beats the cost of maintaining or restoring property.

Expectations have been fuelled by the housing crisis, which has driven up mortgages and rents. And building costs have soared due to Brexit, Covid-19, wars in Ukraine and the Middle East and the higher safety standards introduced since the Grenfell Tower tragedy. Building on city brownfield sites has become less financially viable. No wonder the Green Belt, where building is cheaper, has become so appealing to developers and politicians.

And Labour politicians have opened the door to its development.

Grey Belt sites

In 2024, Sir Keir Starmer promised to release low-quality or neglected Green Belt land for housebuilding. In 2025, the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) was revised to allow housing development on Grey Belt sites subject to ‘Golden Rules’. And public consultation recently closed on further relaxations of the NPPF.

The consequence has been a flood of planning applications for allegedly Grey sites. In December 2025 CPRE, the countryside charity, reported new research revealing that the Grey Belt policy is enabling large-scale development on England’s unspoilt rural landscapes – not, as ministers promised, on unused car parks and derelict petrol stations.

Since December 2024, when the policy was introduced, 13 developments of 10 or more homes have been approved by government Planning Inspectors on Grey land in the Green Belt. The approvals have been granted over the heads of local councils. Of the 1,250 homes these schemes will deliver, 88% will be built on previously undeveloped countryside.

In Barnet, it’s becoming routine for prospective developers of Green Belt land to describe their sites as Grey. Although some sites are quite small, they’re dotted around and have a disproportionately harmful impact on the countryside. Most aren’t served by public transport and won’t be developed for affordable (let alone social) housing. A selection is illustrated below.

Barnet Regional Park

Barnet Labour Party’s local election leaflet contains this pledge:

“We will… create a ‘Regional Park’ in the green belt.”

It would be centred on the astonishingly intact and peaceful fields and woods between Arkley and Mill Hill (below).

The concept is already embedded in Barnet’s Local Plan (adopted by the Council last year) where Policy GSS13 states,

“The Council supports the creation of a new Regional Park within designated Green Belt or Metropolitan Open Land in the Brent Valley and Barnet Plateau Green Grid Area…”

Inspired in part by the success of the Lea Valley Regional Park, interventions would include “the enhancement of footpath, cycling and bridleway networks; improved green corridors and nature conservation areas [and] a network of new strategic recreational destinations.”

The map below (from the Council’s 2019 Growth Strategy) shows its intended configuration.

Most importantly – since the Regional Park contains several of the Grey sites illustrated above – designation should provide stronger protection from inappropriate development. It would bring better public awareness and funding to ensure high design standards and long-term management of the area.

An imaginative suggestion from Roger Chapman of Barnet Green Spaces Network is for a regional food and biodiversity park to encourage a wide range of food growing practices. Linked with primary, secondary and post-16 education institutions and forest schools, it would provide an inspiring setting for environmental education and pathways to vocational qualifications in horticulture, animal husbandry and other skills essential for future food security.

As Roger says, “The park would build upon Barnet’s extensive agricultural history and heritage, enabling old stories to be retold and new ones to be created.” That’s an idea worth voting for.

The need for proper planning

Debate about the Green Belt is hampered by the lack of any regional strategy. There has been no planning body for the South-East for decades. Responsibility for the Green Belt is split between dozens of Local Planning Authorities.

The Mayor of London launched a London-wide review of the Green Belt to identify Grey Belt land for housing to tackle London’s housing crisis, but it is limited to the Greater London area. It was expected to be completed by the end of 2025 but is still awaited.

As a consequence every planning application in the Green (or Grey) Belt, however minor, becomes a bitter battle between developers, planners and residents.

The creation of the Green Belt was made possible by the government’s adoption of Patrick Abercrombie’s Greater London Plan, which created a ring of new towns around London, outside the Green Belt, to absorb the demand for new housing and promote alternative centres of growth. If we had a vision as sensible and comprehensive as that for our society – and for the natural world with which we co-exist – surely most of us would accept development in the most sustainable (or least harmful) locations in exchange for guaranteed long-term protection of our most beautiful and biodiverse environments.

Crews Hill & Chase Park new town and Barnet Regional Park could be examples of such an approach. As yet details of both projects are far too hazy for a final public decision. But each could transform substantial sectors of their borough. Whether to proceed with project planning, feasibility studies and technical investigations ought to be a matter of great public interest. This coming election is an opportunity to test the popularity of both projects.

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Barnet, Borough of Towers – surely a local election issue?

The tsunami of tall buildings that started 20 years ago in West Hendon and Brent Cross is now breaking on the northern suburbs of Barnet. Above are samples: High Barnet Place and Great North Leisure Park, both refused by the Council but called in by the Mayor of London; and Edgware town centre, approved by the Council. Their transformation of our borough, visually and socially, should surely be a local election issue on 7 May.

The Mayor has referred the decisions on High Barnet Place and Great North Leisure Park to his Deputy, Jules Pipe, who’s on record as supporting high-density schemes at Arnos Grove and Stanmore. We’re concerned about the conflict of interest, and with Barnet Residents Association have written to him to say so. Read our full letter to him below.

Mayor Kahn is keen to improve his house-building record and recently announced reductions in the proportion of affordable housing to 20% of the total; the previous minimum was 35% (currently offered at High Barnet). He’s also lifted a requirement in his London Plan for all flats to be dual-aspect – a regrettable lowering of their quality threshold.

The Labour Council’s rejection of the High Barnet and Great North Leisure Park applications indicated its awareness of the growing strength of public opposition to overdevelopment. We understand that it has asked the Mayor to respect the Council’s resounding decisions (by 8 votes to 1 and 8 to 0 respectively) to refuse both applications.

Housing deserves to be a major issue in May’s local elections – but design quality and appropriateness to its neighbourhood are just as important as quantity.

Some excellent new housing has been built recently in Barnet. Brook Valley Gardens, 931 High Road and Edgewood Mews (L-R below) show what can be done by building at high density but retaining a human scale.

But High Barnet Place won’t do that. What it would deliver, if approved by the Deputy Mayor, is a row of slabs that will brutally dominate our gentle, historic town and its green surroundings.

Now that the local election campaign has begun, the public hearing can’t be held until after the vote on Thursday 7 May (in practice, probably June at the earliest). The Barnet Society & Barnet Residents Association intend to submit a joint written statement beforehand and to speak at the hearing with a single voice, as we did at the Barnet Strategic Planning Committee in December. Individuals who have previously made written representations about the application either to Barnet Council or directly to the Greater London Assembly (GLA) can also request to speak.

You can show your concern about the crisis in affordable housing and harm to our neighbourhood and heritage assets by joining in the National Housing Demonstration on Saturday 18th April 1pm In Central London. Sign up here https://www.housingdemo.org/ for the Assembly point.

You can also help mitigate the impact of the Great Northern development by signing this petition to save trees on the site boundary.

Joint letter by the Barnet Society & Barnet Residents Association, 28 March 2026

For the attention of Jules Pipe, Deputy Mayor of London

Dear Mr Pipe,   

We write on behalf of the Barnet Society and the Barnet Residents Association regarding your decision to call in this planning application for Stage 2 review.

We recognise the reasons for the Mayor’s recusal. However, delegation to a Deputy does not resolve the acknowledged conflict of interest. The application relates to TfL land, and TfL forms part of the GLA group. Given your strategic responsibility for planning and your publicly expressed support for the programme of developing station car parks, there is a perception risk that the decision-making process lacks the necessary distance and objectivity. This concern is heightened by your prior public statements on LinkedIn and elsewhere indicating that the High Barnet proposal “will deliver” key benefits. You have expressed similar sentiments in relation to the Arnos Grove and Stanmore schemes. Even if unintended, such language gives rise to a perception of pre-judgment. Confidence in the integrity of the review process depends not only on independence and fairness but on the clear appearance of independence and fairness.

Barnet’s Strategic Planning Committee refused the application primarily because of its fundamental conflict with the adopted Local Plan regarding height and townscape impact. That policy position was established through an evidence-based assessment and endorsed by the Planning Inspectorate in examination. Reliance on the Hillingdon case cited by the applicant and officers was misleading as Hillingdon never undertook an assessment of their site. If strategic intervention were now to override the Local Plan without compelling and transparently evidenced justification to demonstrate why Barnet and the Planning Inspectorate may have got it wrong, the credibility of plan-led decision-making across London would inevitably be weakened.

We also remain concerned that certain material planning considerations were ignored or presented in a misleading manner prior to refusal, including:

  • failure to properly test the visual impact of the eleven-storey block on the skyline and on the setting of the listed St John the Baptist Church, including the omission or manipulation of key viewpoints;
  • no recognition that the elevated topography of the High Barnet station site materially increases the perceived scale and dominance of the buildings;
  • misleading claims regarding improved drop-off and pick-up arrangements, which would reduce existing informal capacity and risk congestion on the A1000;
  • There are also evidently inadequate features of the scheme that were not properly addressed in the documentation provided by the applicant or in the officer’s report to committee;
  • creation of homes of unacceptably poor safety and quality in terms of layout, detailed design and amenity;
  • minimal improvements to modal inter-connectivity, accessibility and safety that would be negated by loss of the car park.

We emphasise that we do not oppose redevelopment of the station car park in principle. Our concern is with the scale, form and long-term consequences of this particular scheme.

You will appreciate the wider significance of this case. As Mayor of Hackney you previously expressed strong opposition when London Mayoral intervention overrode local planning judgment on the Bishopsgate scheme that you considered “far too high” and inappropriate to its context. The present situation raises closely analogous concerns regarding the balance between strategic objectives and the integrity of local democratic decision-making.

Given the strength of local opposition, the adopted policy context, and the acknowledged governance sensitivities, we respectfully urge that the review process gives full and transparent weight to these issues before any determination is reached.

Yours sincerely,

Robin Bishop, Planning & Environment Lead, The Barnet Society

Gordon Massey, Planning Officer, Barnet Residents Association

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Save Chipping Barnet Woodland campaigners delighted by planning refusal for new house in a protected wood close to Hadley Green

An application to build a six-bedroom house in a protected wood between Sunset View and Hadley Green has been rejected by Barnet Council on the grounds it would cause unacceptable harm to a woodland habitat.

Nearby residents mounted a highly publicised campaign to save what they argued was a significant wildlife corridor between the Green and Old Fold Manor golf course.

Over 2,000 people signed a petition against the application and there were multiple objections to the planning department.

Expressing delight at the result, Marianne Nix, one of the lead objectors, said their campaign to save the woodland would now refocus on efforts to ensure it is included in the Barnet Parks and Open Space strategy.  

In rejecting the application by Christchurchgrove Ltd, the council says building a house on a one-acre site in the woodland would damage the character and appearance of the Monken Hadley Conservation Area.

When the developers held a public consultation last year to unveil their plans for the proposed house – see above – Stuart Lees, of Alan Cox Architects, told residents steps would be taken to safeguard mature trees on the site, most of which are already covered by tree protection orders.

There would be other measures to enhance the biodiversity of the woodland and as the new house would be surrounded by trees, it would be hardly visible, which had been one of the aims in the design.

Planning permission was refused because the council considered it would result in the unjustified loss and deterioration of protected woodland and to a significant number of trees within a woodland tree protection order.

This would cause “unacceptable harm to the woodland habitat and to the character and appearance of the Monken Hadley Conservation Area.”

Site clearance and loss of vegetation would “irrevocably and harmfully” alter the woodland character, and the siting and size of the new house would appear to be “out of character and appearance” of the conservation area and general locality.

Christchurchgrove Ltd had failed to demonstrate that construction, access and essential services could be delivered in accordance with recognised industry guidance, including standards relating to underground service installation near trees.

“The development would further create substantial post development pressures for the removal and degradation of trees, deadwood, and ground flora, leading to the incremental erosion of the woodland’s ecological and landscape value.”

Application for house in wood close to Hadley Green has been rejected by Barnet Council because it would unacceptable harm to a woodland habitat.
Screenshot

If the new house had been approved the objectors feared that badgers, bats, mistle thrush and other protected species would be in danger of losing their habitat.

Marianne Nix, who lives next to the woodland, installed a trail camera in her garden when she moved to High Barnet three years ago.

As well as recording hedgehogs scuttling about, there have been shots of badgers – including the picture above, captured on her video camera last New Year’s Eve when fireworks were exploding near the woodland.

So far two of the veteran trees on the site have been verified by the Ancient Tree Register – which supplied the screen shot of Sunset View and the woodland.

Robin Bishop, Planning & Environment Lead for the Barnet Society, commented, “Although we’d worked with the developer and secured some important improvements, scrutiny of the submitted documents left us with many concerns. Ours was one of 279 objections lodged against the application, an impressive number for such an inconspicuous site.

“It’s timely that the Council’s refusal came a day after the Mayor of London published London’s Local Nature Recovery Strategy. Although the spinney isn’t on the LNRS Local Habitat Map, it adjoins Old Fold Manor Golf Course, which is. The LNRS and Barnet Couuncil’s refusal are milestones in growing public awareness of the inportance of nature in cities.”

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Two deputations from Underhill challenge Barnet Councillors over their failure to consult residents and take local views into account

After hearing some vociferous complaints from Underhill residents, Barnet Council has agreed to review two controversial issues – the imposition of the Underhill South controlled parking zone and a decision to abandon the existing split between private and social housing in the regeneration of the Dollis Valley estate.

Two separate deputations explained their grievances and were assured by council leaders that officials would prepare reports into their objections.

A petition calling for a rethink on the extension of the Barnet Hospital CPZ to take in 16 roads around Chesterfield Road and Mays Lane was presented jointly by Gina Theodorou and Jon Woolfson – see above at the town hall, Hendon.

They claimed that the experimental CPZ was imposed by the council’s highways department despite opposition from 61 per cent of residents.

There was no justification for introducing parking charges other than to help the council recoup its parking deficit.

In response the council agreed on the recommendation of Councillor Alan Schneiderman, cabinet member for the environment, that officials would look at criticism of the way the Underhill South CPZ had been introduced.

There would be a full review of the scheme when the six-month consultation period ends in mid-June.

A second petition was presented by two members of a group of private houseowners in the Brook Valley Gardens development, off Mays Lane – see above – which is regenerating the former Dollis Valley estate.

They objected to the council’s agreement with developers Vistry to complete the two final stages of the regeneration with 221 social rent homes instead of continuing with a mix between privately owned and social housing.

By failing to honour the commitment that Brook Valley Gardens would be mixed tenure neighbourhood – and by turning it into 60 per cent social housing – the council had jeopardised the future of houseowners who had invested life savings into new properties.

Bulldozing through without consultation a deal with Vistry, the second largest housebuilder in the UK, and by failing to construct 128 private homes as originally promised, the council had changed the nature of Brook Valley Gardens.

A petition had been signed by 120 private householders who feared that a result of increasing the proportion of social housing from 40 to 60 per cent the council had threatened “a well-integrated community, increasing the risk of anti-social behaviour” all for the sake of the council getting access to Greater London Authority funding to help “bail-out” the developers.

In acknowledging their anger, Councillor Ross Houston, the cabinet member for homes and regeneration explained that the council’s objective was to demolish empty blocks of flats and maisonettes – see above – and secure the completion of the Dollis Valley regeneration through the construction of new well-designed homes.

On Councillor Houston’s recommendation, the council agreed it would ask officials to report back on the concerns which had been raised.

The deal proposed with Vistry would be reviewed at the next cabinet meeting which would consider whether any changes could be made in the current plans for the competition of phases four and five of the regeneration.

Deputations from Underhill complain to Barnet Council about imposition of Underhill South CPZ and changes in proportion of private housing in Dollis Valley regeneration

Opposition to the Underhill South CPZ has been mounting since it took effect in mid December with a concerted campaign by members of the Quinta Village Green Residents Association and the Underhill Residents Group.

In her submission Gina Theodorou of the QVGRA said experience since its introduction had proved there was no justification for a CPZ as most of the parking bays were empty most of the time. Residents were leaving cars in their drives rather than apply for a permit.

Jon Wolfson of Underhill Residents raised the plight of retailers in the Mays Lane parade of shops who were losing a substantial amount of business because of the introduction of parking charges on their service road.

A petition had raised over 2,200 signatures in protest at the imposition of cashless parking charges at a tariff of £3.38 an hour from 8am to 6.30pm whereas in nearby roads, which are also within the Barnet Hospital D CPZ, restrictions apply only between 2pm and 3pm.

There was support for the Underhill petition from Councillor Richard Cornelius who agreed with the deputation that parking regulations imposed around Barnet Hospital were “a complete mess”.

“I hope this CPZ is reconsidered because the overwhelming opposition shows it cannot be right and as someone who parks outside the Mays Lane parade of shops I don’t see why parking charges are necessary”.