News from The Barnet Society

After being boarded up for the last 20 years a fresh attempt is about to be made to see whether it might be possible to get the abandoned Quinta Youth Club in Mays Lane, Barnet, refurbished or rebuilt and returned to community use.

Tucked away at a wildlife site in the Barnet green belt is an enchanting array of community gardens which were developed in the 1950s, and which played a part in the early development of organic gardening.

Being able to downsize to a smaller property – and a chance to stay in the same locality – is an aspiration shared by many of the established residents who have homes in and around High Barnet. Kathryn Finlayson, a long-time resident of East Barnet, has pulled off this feat in style.

Zippos Circus will be at Barnet playing fields for five days in mid-May – one of several attractions to be staged this summer at a much-prized open space where Barnet Football Club has applied to build a new stadium.

Planning applications have been approved for changes to several of the iconic buildings at the historic heart of High Barnet’s conservation area. Work is to start in late April on a “makeover” at the town’s oldest coaching inn, The Mitre.

Barnet’s popular roadside cafe, The Hole in the Wall, will have a prominent position on the Great North Road (A1000) if Barnet Council approves plans for redevelopment of the Meadow Works industrial estate at Pricklers Hill.

Chipping Barnet constituents filled most of the pews in St John the Baptist’s Church on Thursday evening, 20 March 2025, to tell Transport for London (TfL) what they thought about their proposal to build 300 flats next to High Barnet Station. After a passionate and occasionally acrimonious meeting, the TfL team will have no illusions about local opposition to their development. But the audience were also left in no doubt that – barring unforeseen constructional challenges or political events – we have little chance of securing more than a few tweaks to the design of the buildings or their outdoor spaces.

Following the recent public consultation about proposals for this highly prominent site, Dan Tomlinson MP is holding a meeting for residents to share their thoughts with the landowner, Transport for London (TfL).

We wholeheartedly support the principle of Barnet Football Club returning closer to its historic roots, and we can see some potential benefits for Chipping Barnet as well as the Club. But we have severe reservations about key aspects of the Club’s case.

A guided tour of New Barnet’s much-cherished community garden by Wendy Alcock, founder of the Incredible Edible campaign, was a highlight of the group’s annual seed swap at St John’s United Reformed Church.

When responding to the debate over the two most controversial development applications to have emerged since he was elected Labour MP for Chipping Barnet seven months ago, Dan Tomlinson is insisting he will maintain his neutrality.

Revised plans for blocks of flats to be built over the car park at High Barnet tube station show that the highest would be ten storeys in height. A total of five blocks ranging from eight to ten storeys would be constructed alongside Barnet Hill with the tallest opposite the lower entrance to the tube station.

The Barnet Society’s 75th birthday in May 2020 is a timely moment to celebrate the local Green Belt that was the original reason for our existence. Our founding in 1945 was prompted by the threat to build on the green space that surrounds Chipping Barnet on three sides.

The Barnet Society’s 75th birthday in 2020 was a timely moment to celebrate, in three recent Website articles, the local Green Belt that was the original reason for our existence.

Since 2013 the Barnet Society has submitted responses to the following London Assembly (LA), Mayor of London (MoL) & Transport for London (TfL) public consultations.

Past, present and future work in and around Chipping Barnet - a talk to Barnet U3A on 6 August 2020 by Robin Bishop, Chair of the Society. Click on the link below to view Robin's presentation. 200806_BSoc_ppt.pdf

Since 2016 the Barnet Society has submitted responses to the following London Borough of Barnet (LBB) public consultations.