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Building on the fringe

Robin Bishop
Robin Bishop

Green Belt surrounds Chipping Barnet on three sides, and the Barnet Society was founded in 1945 to protect it.  As London grows, we believe it – and the natural landscape adjoining it – is likely to be even more appreciated.  But while the Society’s default setting is to oppose any development on or next to it, we won’t carry weight if we blindly oppose any change; and if a proposal meets the highest design and sustainability standards, we welcome it.

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Swiss chalet cladding off but saga goes on

Barnet Council has promised that a heritage officer will carry out an inspection in Church Passage in the “very near future” in an attempt to resolve continuing disagreement over cladding on the frontage of retail premises in the heart of the High Barnet conservation area.

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The changing face of Chipping Barnet

Like much of the south-east of England, Chipping Barnet is seeing a rapid rise in home extensions and offices being converted into flats.  An easing of planning restrictions has given home-owners and property developers greater freedom.  But are large home extensions an intrusion for neighbours? Will more flats instead of offices change the character of the town centre?  

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Church Passage cladding: An inspector decides

A planning inspector has now been appointed to consider the objections made by the Barnet Society and other local groups to the installation of unauthorised timber cladding above retail premises in Church Passage, in the heart of the High Barnet conservation area.

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Council enforcement notice on ‘Swiss Chalet’

After a rising chorus of protest from local community and residential groups, Barnet Council has finally issued an enforcement notice requiring the removal of timber cladding to the frontage of a former cafe and shop in Church Passage, just off the High Street.

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