News from The Barnet Society

Once again competing for attention well above the hustle and bustle of the High Street are the heraldic banners and coats of arms of the royalty and noblemen whose troops fought at the 1471 Battle of Barnet.

A group of residents in Arkley have purchased an installed a wall-mounted defibrillator for use in any medical emergency that might occur within their own community or wider neighbourhood. Defibrillators in some locations are often not available in the evening or at weekends when public buildings are closed.

In a futuristic world which has been depleted of natural resources and ravaged by brutal capitalism, High Barnet becomes a strategic focal point for a desperate struggle with big business as the town still has the cleanest air between London and York.

Urgently needed repairs to the historic 140-year-old organ at Barnet parish church are due to start later this year following Barnet Council's decision to make a grant of £83,000 to meet half the cost of the work.

A line-up of Lotus sports cars is to be a highlight at this year's Barnet Classic Car Club's annual show and already the promise to give Lotus pride of place is reviving interest in Barnet's link to one of the legendary marques of the British car industry.

Heartwood Collection, a hospitality group which runs upmarket inns and restaurants across southern England, has bought The Prince of Wales public house in East Barnet and is promising a "multi-million-pound" refurbishment.

A dog show with fun events -- and all comers are welcome -- is to be one of the highlights of a revived Arkley village fayre to be held on the village field at Brickfield Lane, Arkley, on Saturday 18 May.

Yet more of High Barnet's dwindling stock of light industrial and commercial workspaces might be converted into residential development if Barnet Council grants planning permission.

A ten-year campaign to prevent new housing on farmland at Whalebones in Wood Street, High Barnet, ended in defeat despite stark warnings about the loss of a nature-rich habitat in a much-prize conservation area.

A controversial scheme to build eleven blocks of flats to provide 420 homes on the former gas works site in New Barnet has finally won planning approval after years of heated debate.

Associate organist Jonathan Gregory has spent months organising what he hopes will be a unique event at Barnet parish church -- a concert to celebrate the strength of Anglo-Japanese cultural relationships.

There is news of a possible reprieve for the now-closed Prince of Wales -- the last public house in East Barnet village which was registered as an asset of community value at the end of last month in an attempt to safeguard its future.

Worsening subsidence has forced a change of plan at Monken Hadley parish church: instead of renovating the historic church hall, structural engineers have advised that the 200-year-old building is now beyond reasonable economic repair and should be demolished.

Organisers of a community-led campaign are demanding proper consultation and engagement with local residents before Barnet Council goes ahead with a programme of road safety and traffic calming measures in Mays Lane and surrounding roads.

East Barnet's last remaining public house, the Prince of Wales -- which closed in mid-February -- has been registered by Barnet Council as an asset of community value which will provide a limited degree of protection against immediate redevelopment.

Barnet Football Club is preparing a planning application for a possible return to Barnet on a site close by its former stadium at Underhill.

A vast accumulation of car parts and components -- including hard-to-find spares for classic cars -- are being sold off at reduced prices following the closure of Falcon Motor Accessories, thought to be East Barnet's oldest retail business.

A pioneering playground with equipment specially designed for children with disabilities has been opened in Victoria Recreation Ground in New Barnet - the first of a new era of play areas that could be rolled out across the UK.

High Barnet's much-loved Tudor Hall, under used for so long, might become a national focal point for explaining and celebrating the Wars of the Roses and the prominent part played by the 1471 Battle of Barnet.

Almost 30 years have elapsed since there has been a Beating of the Bounds of the ancient parish of Chipping Barnet -- an historic custom which volunteers at Barnet Museum intend to revive on the May Day Bank Holiday.