News from The Barnet Society

Terminally ill householders in the London borough of Barnet will be removed from council tax if they qualify under a new relief scheme which takes effect in April.

Householders might be forgiven for thinking they are living in a time warp in the coming weeks when Barnet Council starts to deliver homes with two containers ready for the re-introduction of a weekly food waste collection and recycling service which begins again in March.

High Barnet’s Remembrance Sunday service at the war memorial at the parish church was exceptionally well attended. The first wreath was laid on behalf of the King by the Deputy Lieutenant for the London Borough of Barnet, Martin Russell.

A plan to introduce bus lanes along both sides of the busiest section of Barnet High Street -- between the Wood Street junction at the Barnet parish church and Meadway -- has been approved by Barnet Council and Transport for London. Only six objections were registered after 456 letters were sent to nearby residents and businesses.

Barnet Council is asking for the views of residents on plans to introduce an annual charge for the fortnightly collection of household garden waste. If the charge is agreed – saving the council £700,000 a year – only green bins with a special sticker will continue to be collected.

High Barnet’s police station will close to the public by the end of the year along with 36 other police stations across London where the Metropolitan Police is withdrawing a front counter service.

High Barnet police station is one of 30 or so across London where a front counter service to the public is likely to be withdrawn under a cost-cutting plan announced by the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan.

Barnet a hot spot for lost and stolen disabled badges...but a woeful response.  More blue disabled badges were lost or stolen in Barnet last year than in any other London borough, but the latest government statistics show the council’s efforts to enforce the law against misuse are way behind that of some neighbouring local authorities.

Junior doctors from Barnet Hospital spent their strike day collecting signatures in support of the British Medical Association’s petition to the Prime Minister urging the government to agree a contract that is “fair for doctors, safe for patients and provides a future for the NHS”.

The future operation of the 107 bus service, which has stops in High Barnet on its route between Edgware and New Barnet, is in doubt because of a decision by Hertfordshire County Council to make further cuts in its funding for subsidised bus routes.

Violet Walker, the new head teacher at Queen Elizabeth’s Girls’ School, has every justification for her assertion that she felt instantly at home on taking up the head-ship at the start of the new academic year in September.

Some six or seven years ago the Barnet Society was solidly involved in the early public discussion and consultation on this project.

Queen Elizabeth’s Girls’ School has just recorded its best-ever GCSE results – a high point in the career of the retiring headmistress Kate Webster. The school’s success has coincided with a plea by the Barnet Society for school’s oldest buildings, largely obscured by modern additions, to be given protected status by Barnet Council.

All seven primary schools in High Barnet and Underhill have again been oversubscribed, leaving 32 children without an agreed place in September – yet another indication of the strength of local demand for an additional school.

Valley Pre-School, a community-run nursery for children on the Dollis Valley estate, is appealing to Barnet Council for a three-month stay of execution of a notice to quit its temporary premises.

After a rising number of complaints about blue disabled badges being used unlawfully by motorists, High Barnet Police say they are stepping up uniformed patrols and will take action against drivers breaking the law.

Chants of “Our NHS, your NHS” echoed around the Wellhouse Lane entrance to Barnet Hospital as the People’s March for the NHS passed through Barnet on its way to Edmonton.

Face-painting, games, balloons and cups of tea were among the attractions at Barnet Police Station’s open day as a full complement from the uniformed ranks were on hand to welcome local residents, families and children.

Parents of children due to start school from 2016 onwards are being urged to sign a petition to support a campaign to establish a new Church of England free school for High Barnet.

Around 2,000 boys from across London and the Home Counties are again expected to apply to study at Barnet’s award-winning Queen Elizabeth’s Boys’ School, which has just begun the selection process for the 180 places that will be available in September 2015.