News from The Barnet Society

Some residents in roads around Queen Elizabeth’s Boys School have registered objections with Barnet Council over an application to construct a new multi-use sports hall. They fear the four-storey building will dominate the area and generate added traffic congestion.

High praise for entries at this year’s annual exhibition was another boost for the Barnet Guild of Artists as members await the completion of their new purpose-built studio.

Concern about threats to the green belt and the loss of popular open spaces dominated a question-and-answer session held at the annual meeting of Barnet Residents Association.

A second High Barnet public house, The Sebright Arms, in Alston Road, is getting a new lease of life after another successful community-inspired bid to take over the tenancy.

Early next year volunteers aim to start planting what is destined to become a community orchard in Underhill situated in a corner of Barnet Playing Fields, between Ark Pioneer Academy and Grasvenor Avenue.

All the stresses and strains – and sometimes laughter – of everyday life in Barnet during the Second World War are captured in an imaginative and often poignant production at The Bull Theatre.

London Fire Brigade has stepped in to help save any remaining fish by adding up to a foot of water into the Brewery Pond on Hadley Green.

A large mural painted by students at Barnet and Southgate College – which features iconic images of the town – will welcome visitors to High Barnet once a site has been agreed.

After four youngsters on e-bikes and e-scooters caused fresh damage to greens at the Shire London golf course, a group of High Banet residents are hoping to discuss with the club’s management ways to prevent further vandalism.

High Barnet’s former Crown Post Office is to be converted into nine self-contained flats if an application is approved by Barnet Council – a change of use which highlights the rapidly changing nature of the High Street.

Former Chipping Barnet Conservative MP Dame Theresa Villiers has decided to leave the political fray of competitive politics to focus instead on an academic career undertaking advanced postgraduate research at University College London.

After its re-opening as a community-led public house, High Barnet’s historic hostelry the Black Horse is now being fitted out with an up-to-date kitchen – the latest investment by the three regulars who set up a new company to take on the tenancy.

While many natural ponds around the town have dried out due to the prolonged drought and successive heatwaves, the water level at High Barnet’s historic Physic Well has remained constant.

A steady and significant improvement in air quality in Barnet High Street is continuing to be recorded by Barnet Council’s scientific services which indicates that levels of nitrogen dioxide should fall at even faster rates with the growth in the number of electric vehicles.

Cast members are going through their storylines before rehearsals start in September at The Bull Theatre for a new play which aims to portray the life and times of the townspeople of Barnet during the Second World War.

A time capsule was buried in the grounds of Noah’s Ark Children’s Hospice in Byng Road, Barnet, as part of the celebrations to mark its 20th anniversary. Twenty messages from children and families supported by the hospice were placed in the capsule to help commemorate its work.

Record breaking hot weather and a lack of rain have dried out many ponds and streams in and around High Barnet. Hadley Green and Hadley Common have both been hard hit by the drought.

Citizens Advice Barnet has launched a recruitment campaign for new volunteers and is keen to appoint new advisers for its two local drop-in advice sessions at Chipping Barnet Library in Stapylton Road and at Jim’s Café at St James Church, New Barnet.

Wartime comings and goings among patrons and staff at Barnet Odeon contribute to storylines in the latest production by the Blue Door Theatre Company to be staged at The Bull Theatre in October.

Planning approval has finally been given after four years of negotiations and discussions for a new four-storey building at a prominent site in Barnet town centre at the corner of High Street and Moxon Street.