Thursday, 17 August 2017 16:55
New proposal for Ark
After failing its first public examination, Ark Pioneer Academy (APA) is back for a re-sit – this time a planning application for a new 1,200-place secondary school and 6th form.
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Planning
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Friday, 02 December 2016 15:58
Tell Sadiq Khan our priorities
The Barnet Society is taking full advantage of an opportunity to influence the re-drafting of the London Plan by the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan – and local residents are being urged to add their voice to the case we are making.
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General News
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Monday, 27 June 2016 15:12
Barnet Society criticisms of Ark Pioneer Academy
While we welcome educational use of the site, particularly if coupled with community access to the Academy’s indoor and outdoor sports and other facilities, the current proposal for 1,890 pupils plus 150 or so staff would be an over development.
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Planning
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Monday, 09 May 2016 19:48
Critical times for building in Barnet
The combination of planning relaxations, housing demand, property prices and uncertainty as to Council intentions makes this a critical time for building in Chipping Barnet.
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Planning
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Tuesday, 19 April 2016 15:42
Threat to our green landscape
A lot of new housing is coming to Barnet over the next few years. In the Council’s Housing Strategy 2015-25, it expected to be able to build 20,000 homes. But the latest forecast is that some 30,000 will be needed, so more sites must be found.
Monday, 30 November 2015 12:24
20 years old and growing fast
Twenty years ago this December, the first of two tree plantations was inaugurated at Whitings Hill to commemorate the Barnet Society’s 50th anniversary; the second followed in January 1996.
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General News
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Friday, 20 November 2015 11:41
A Barnet business start up that changed the world
It is not well enough known that British cinema was born in Chipping Barnet 120 years ago. Moving images were then as revolutionary as virtual reality seems now.
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Barnet History
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Friday, 28 August 2015 17:21
Queen Elizabeth's Girls’ School
Queen Elizabeth I’s charter of 1573 provided for ‘boys and youth’, but it was not until 1888 that Barnet got a school for girls. Its oldest buildings are not just a gentle monument to a pioneering educational movement, but fine examples of the Arts and Crafts style.
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Barnet History
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Wednesday, 08 July 2015 10:28
Old Fold Manor Golf Club proposed landscaping works
The Club’s application for major re-landscaping has been submitted to the planners. The Barnet Society is minded to support it – but only subject to tough planning conditions. The Society Committee has agreed a draft response.
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Planning
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Wednesday, 01 July 2015 13:02
Town and Country free-for-all
You’d think that planning controls in the Green Belt and Conservation Areas would be stricter than elsewhere. No longer.
Tuesday, 24 March 2015 20:13
Golf course landfill plan: questions that need answering
A scheme to re-landscape much of the Old Fold Manor Golf Club at Hadley Common that involves felling mature trees along half a mile of the St Albans Road needs to be explained in much greater detail before being granted planning permission by Barnet Council.
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Planning
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Friday, 27 February 2015 23:52
A legacy for Chipping Barnet
At a time when Barnet’s library service is threatened with savage cuts, The Hyde Institute in Church Passage is a reminder of the proud place libraries deserve in the community, and a celebration of craftsmanship.
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General News
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Tuesday, 14 October 2014 13:50
Building on the fringe
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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Planning
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Friday, 04 July 2014 18:13
The generosity of Barnet’s benefactors
Tucked away at the end of Leecroft Road, unseen by many local residents, are the Thomas Watson Cottage Homes, which celebrate their centenary this July. Barnet’s charitable housing for the poor and elderly has a long and distinguished history, and a special place in the local townscape.
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Barnet History
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Monday, 27 January 2014 12:59
Green belt “critical to the health” of Barnet
Barnet has probably more to thank the politicians and planners of the 1930s and 1940s for than any other town in north London. With protected Green Belt land on three sides, the High Barnet of today is blessed with some unrivalled countryside on our door-step.
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Planning
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Monday, 06 January 2014 11:55
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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Planning
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