Recent years have seen a wave of roof extensions across Barnet, usually providing extra space for existing homes. Richard Court in Alston Road (above) exemplifies a new variant of Permitted Development introduced by the government last year. You have until Thursday 23 December to oppose it, and below we tell you how to do so.
Continue reading Alston Road threatened by new permitted development apartment block blight
Above is the Green Belt between Barnet and St Albans. It’s the site of Bowmans Cross, a new settlement planned by Hertsmere Council. It will eventually have 6,000 homes for around 15,000 people – nearly as many as live in High Barnet ward. It will be a net-zero carbon, self-sustaining community, and the sketch above shows lots of trees. But if Hertsmere’s draft Local Plan is accepted, over 10% of Hertsmere’s (and also effectively Barnet’s) Green Belt will be lost forever.
Bowmans Cross is a showpiece of the Plan, which is currently out for public consultation. Another is a 63-hectare Media Quarter east of Borehamwood, which it is hoped will provide thousands of jobs. Other proposals include 2,770 houses in and around Borehamwood, 900 on the fields south of Potters Bar and 225 at South Mimms village (to list only those close to Barnet).
Good news for Barnet is that no new building is planned for the countryside south of the M25 and east of the A1. The media work opportunities will be welcome, to Barnet as much as to Hertsmere residents. But the Plan is vague about crucial details, and there’s much to cause concern:
We sympathise with Hertsmere’s predicament. It has to meet an ambitious government housing target, yet 79% of its area is designated as Metropolitan Green Belt, where development is only justifiable under very exceptional circumstances. But how hard has Hertsmere’s looked at its housing need and re-use of its brownfield land?
Its housing target is for a minimum of 760 new homes a year, or at least 12,160 homes by 2038. That’s based on the South West Herts Local Housing Needs Assessment, which appears not to have been challenged. Those who’ve been following the U-turns in the government’s proposed planning reforms will wonder how robust such figures are. The results of the 2021 Census are urgently needed to substantiate predictions of continuing population growth in the South-East, post-Brexit and post-Covid.
There’s also the question of whether Hertsmere’s houses will meet its own needs. It’s not explained how existing local residents will be prioritised. New homes near Barnet are almost certain to be cheaper and more spacious, internally and externally, than in Barnet itself. They’re bound to attract young couples and families struggling to afford property in our area. It would be ironic if much of Hertsmere’s new housing ended up benefitting Londoners at the expense of its own residents.
A further doubt surrounds affordability. The Plan says that 35% of new homes will be affordable, but CPRE research shows that only a tenth of homes built in the Green Belt are affordable, and these are rarely for social rent.
The Plan says, “The strategic green belt will be protected…and improvements made to the countryside and biodiversity to offset the impact of development.” That glosses over the fact that at least 10% of Hertsmere’s present Green Belt will be sacrificed to the developments listed above. Across the borough, the total will be greater, but the Plan is silent about the figure.
It‘s unclear how rigorously Hertsmere has investigated the alternative of re-using brownfield land. Table 3 in the Plan claims that 6,020 new homes – nearly half of its 15-year total requirement – would be on urban sites. According to its Table 2, 2,765 of such sites are available excluding smaller villages/hamlets, which seems scarcely credible. If true, it’s good news, but no brownfield register is mentioned to substantiate it.
If that brownfield land were to be redeveloped at densities equivalent to, say, the award-winning Newhall in Harlow – i.e. no more than four stories high, at 22 dwellings per hectare – even more of Hertsmere’s housing need could be met without resorting to Green Belt land. Alternatively, doubling the density currently proposed for Bowmans Cross (under 10 dwellings per hectare) would have a similar beneficial effect.
For Barnet residents, 900 homes on Green Belt separating Potters Bar from the M25 will be saddening. Not only do the present fields provide an attractive working agricultural landscape between Potters Bar and Barnet, they link visually with Bentley Heath, Dancers Hill, Wrotham Park, Dyrham Park and other greenery to create a panorama that’s much greater than the sum of its parts. The Baker Street and Barnet Road motorway bridges will make dismal southern gateways to the new housing, and it’s hard to imagine a pleasant life in the shadow of the M25.
For Hertsmere residents – and for Hertsmere Council – all this should be even more worrying. The London Green Belt Council’s report earlier this year ‘Safe Under Us’? revealed that 233,276 homes have already been given, or are seeking, planning permission in the Metropolitan Green Belt. Such has been local concern that several councils have been voted out of office or lost overall control, and the government has lost its parliamentary seat at Chesham & Amersham.
Another weakness of the planning process is illustrated by a potentially serious conflict with Enfield Council’s draft Local Plan. Hertsmere is designating land south-east of Junction 24 for wildlife. But Enfield’s Strategic Policy SP E1 allocates 11 hectares close by for industrial use. Furthermore, Enfield casually mentions that it would “seek to deliver the redevelopment of the wider site (in LB Hertsmere) to provide a coordinated employment offer”. This would detrimentally impact not only wildlife but also existing and proposed residents of Potters Bar.
The Media Quarter needs critical scrutiny. It will be vast – 63 hectares – and will have 34 sound stages, many times more than currently exist in Elstree & Borehamwood. The future for TV and film may look bright today, but for how long will digital industries continue to rely on centralised production? Unless the Mass Rapid Transport system tantalisingly mentioned in the Plan comes to pass, moreover, access will depend largely on two motorways, one of them notorious for traffic jams.
Transport is a major weakness of this and most of the Plan’s proposed developments. CPRE research shows that people living in Green Belt developments are tied to owning and using cars, as well as being stuck with the cost of commuting, creating further financial stress for families on low incomes. Hertsmere already suffers from poor public transport to and from its outlying estates and villages, but travel occupies only 10 out of 245 pages in its Plan.
A couple of final points from a neighbourly perspective. Firstly, Barnet already suffers from road and parking congestion caused at least partly by the rising number of commuters from Hertfordshire into London. Building new homes and workplaces near our border seems certain to exacerbate that.
Second and lastly, our Society was founded in 1945 specifically to protect the countryside around Chipping Barnet. In 1947-8, our then Treasurer E.H.Lucas researched and wrote Rambles Round Barnet & Rambles in South Hertfordshire, both of which were published by the Barnet Society. The majority of the walks follow public footpaths in Hertsmere, and have benefitted from its careful stewardship. Several generations of Barnet residents have learned to love countryside that is now planned for development. The footpaths may be safeguarded, but without their green environment they will offer a tragically diminished experience.
If residents of either Hertsmere or Barnet object to the draft Plan, it’s vital for them to do so by 6 December; after then, no changes of substance will be possible.
Hertsmere’s draft Local Plan can be found at:
https://www.hertsmerelocalplan.com/site/homePage
The deadline for public comments on it is 5pm on Monday 6 December.
The Barnet Society will be submitting a response, but you can also do so yourself as follows by:
You can read about the dramatic refusal of the planning application in February here:
https://www.barnetsociety.org.uk/lyonsdown-roars
We knew that might not be the end of the story. The developer, Abbeytown Ltd, gave the property guardians notice to quit in March and has not responded to a letter from local residents inviting discussion about conversion of the building rather than demolition and redevelopment. As a result, this architectural gem currently stands empty and at risk of damage and decay.
Prestigious national heritage bodies agreed that demolition would be a disaster. In its support for our cause, the Victorian Society affirmed that “the building is of real architectural quality and interest” and that its loss “would have a detrimental impact on the local area”.
SAVE Britain’s Heritage also opposed “needless demolition” and questioned why no case had been presented for re-use of this Locally-Listed 1866 Victorian villa. The campaign also caught the eye of Private Eye’s ‘Nooks and Corners’ which reported in its 16-29 April 2021 edition that “Fears are growing for a large and unusual Italianate Victorian villa in New Barnet”.
The development of New Barnet began in 1850 when Barnet Station (now plain New Barnet) opened, and everything started to change in the area. No.33 – originally named ‘Oakdene’ – was one of the early, and grandest, villas to be built. As well as its striking external appearance with a unique bridge porch/conservatory entrance from Lyonsdown Road, many of its impressive Victorian features and fittings survive unaltered.
Today, it is one of last – and certainly the most characterful – left in a neighbourhood that is being gradually overwhelmed by new identikit apartment blocks and multi-storey office conversions. If New Barnet is to retain a distinct identity, it’s vital for rare survivals of such quality to be kept. At a time of climate crisis, it also makes sense not to waste all the carbon it embodies.
The colourful history of no.33 has been researched by local historian and Society Committee Member, Dr Susan Skedd. She has unravelled the fascinating evolution in its use, from upper-middle-class house, then a spell as a home for single mothers and children, then an African Catholic missionary HQ and most recently as affordable housing for young creatives.
Moreover, original sales documents in the British Library reveal that its architect was Arthur Rowland Barker (1842-1915), who had a portfolio of projects in and around Barnet. He trained with the leading church architect Ewan Christian, who designed Holy Trinity Church, Lyonsdown (1866). This connection probably introduced Barker to the area, and it was around this time that he established his own practice and designed Oakdene, the neighbouring villa ‘Lawnhill’ (demolished) and the new south aisle of St Mary’s Church, East Barnet (1868-69).
In 2020 we succeeded in getting No.33 added to Barnet’s Local List on grounds of its
Aesthetic Merits, Social and Communal Value, Intactness and Architectural Interest. To that should now be added its Historical Interest and its Rarity.
To avoid its Rarity turning into Extinction, we’re working with local residents to put up the best case we can to the Planning Inspectorate, which will adjudicate the appeal. Our main objections are that:
The Barnet Society and Lyonsdown Road residents will be submitting representations, but the more who do so, the better. Please find a few minutes to submit your own objection by contacting the Planning Inspectorate by Wednesday 29 September via:
Be sure to quote the appeal reference no. APP/N5090/W/21/3272187 and provide your own name and address.
You’re welcome to use the Society’s points, but preferably use your own words. Many thanks!
Probably the oldest transport cafe in Barnet – the Hole in the Wall on the Great North Road – has ceased trading, a victim of the difficulties which lockdown has imposed on the catering trade.
Continue reading End of an era for a popular Barnet pit stop for an all-day English breakfast
Developers seeking to build 554 homes on the former gas works site in New Barnet have released new images to show how the height and density of the proposed tower blocks has been reduced in a fresh attempt to gain planning approval.
Hill Residential Ltd and the Trustees of the Gwyneth Cowing estate, whose planning application for 152 homes on the Whalebones fields was refused last November, have appealed against Barnet Council’s decision. Their case will be heard at a 5-day public inquiry starting on 31 August. It is a major test of Barnet’s planning policies on green spaces and Conservation Areas.
The Barnet Society will be submitting a representation against the appeal, and you can submit your own. To do so, contact the Planning Inspectorate by Friday 18 June via:
Online: www.gov.uk/appeal-planning-inspectorate
Email: Holly.dutton@planninginspectorate.gov.uk
quoting the appeal reference: APP/N5090/W/21/3273189.
For the benefit of new readers, the Whalebones development has been brewing for five years, and is probably the most significant proposal for Chipping Barnet for decades (unless the High Barnet Station development goes ahead). Although the site is not designated as Green Belt, it includes the last remaining fields near the town centre and is in the Wood Street Conservation Area.
When a planning application was submitted two years ago, we consulted as widely as possible among our membership. A decisive majority of respondents – nearly 90% – objected to the scheme in its present form, and only three members supported it. The general public agreed: the planners received 570 objections and only five comments in support.
We objected to the proposals on three grounds, summarised as follows:
Conservation Area Policy
Firstly, the development would be an unacceptable breach of Conservation Area policy. The Council’s Wood Street CA Character Appraisal Statement says that, ‘The Council will seek to ensure that new development within the conservation area seeks to preserve or enhance the special character or appearance of the area…’ This would do neither.
The western meadow in particular (see top photo), in addition to offering fine open views across the site to north and south, is an essential natural and visual buffer between Chipping Barnet and Arkley; without it, the settlements will lose their separate identities forever.
Even worse: approval of this scheme would create a dreadful precedent for other Barnet CAs.
Overdevelopment
Secondly, it would be overdevelopment of the site. We are unconvinced that so many homes are necessary to pay for replacing the studio and upkeep of the rest of the estate. Given the profits to be made on such an attractive site, such a large development needs rigorous justification.
A serious consequence of the quantity and type of new homes would be some 200 additional cars and 300 cycles, exacerbating already heavy congestion at peak times. A further consequence would be higher levels of air and noise pollution – especially unfortunate near a hospital.
Sustainability
Thirdly, although the developer promises a net gain in biodiversity, we are not persuaded that the ecological impact of such a large development and extended construction period could be entirely mitigated.
And although the design represents an advance on today’s environmental norms, it will need a carbon-offset payment to be zero-carbon.
Conclusion
We do not ask for Whalebones to left as it is. We accept that commercial agriculture is no longer viable on the site, and that some new housing would fund replacement facilities for the artists and beekeepers and future maintenance of the estate – but not on such a scale.
Moreover, the developers have made no serious effort to explore other land-based activities of a kind likely to have interested the former owner (and Barnet Society founder) Gwyneth Cowing. These include education, training and/or therapy in horticulture, animal husbandry and environmental studies, perhaps in partnership with a local school or college. A city or care farm for young and old people, including those with special needs, is another possibility in keeping with the spirit of Ms Cowing’s will.
The value of such uses, and of retaining greenery and promoting biodiversity is recognised in the London Plan and the government’s current Environment Bill. Those sorts of development we would gladly support.
Below: Visualisation of proposed houses and apartment blocks on Whalebones western meadow (Architects: Pollard Thomas Edwards)
Objectors to the building of 152 new homes on the Whalebones farmland in Wood Street, Barnet, are rallying opposition ahead of a public inquiry in the autumn.
Continue reading Rallying opposition to redevelopment of Whalebones woods and fields
Protecting the historic townscape around Barnet parish church, Hadley Green and Monken Hadley requires the constant monitoring of planning applications – a task that is becoming no easier thanks to cuts made by Barnet Council.
A property development company specialising in office-to-residential conversions has bought the Spires shopping centre and its five-acre site between Barnet High Street and Stapylton Road for £28 million.
Barnet Council has given the go ahead for the forecourts of four businesses in Leicester Road, New Barnet, to become the site of a ground-breaking zero waste market selling produce assembled and made from surplus food, flowers, and other recycled materials.
Continue reading New Barnet to lead the way with borough’s first zero waste food and flowers market
The future of 33 Lyonsdown Road New Barnet hangs in the balance as the last the property guardians have left the villa. This locally listed building has been threatened with demolition by its owners, Abbeytown Ltd, who unsuccessfully applied to build a five-storey block of flats on the site.
Developers preparing revised proposals for tower blocks of flats on the former gas works site in New Barnet say they have “learned lessons” from their previous failure to get planning approval.
Continue reading Troubled gas works site developers say lessons have been learned
Resident guardians who are having to leave a Victorian mansion in New Barnet that has been their home for the last five years fear for the safety of the building while a planning dispute drags on.
Continue reading Campaign to preserve New Barnet Victorian villa for community use
Critical questions about the future of the town centre will have to be addressed by Barnet Council if plans go ahead to replace much of the Spires with blocks of flats.
After being roundly refused planning permission last year and failing to get the support of the Mayor of London, developers are again inviting residents to offer ideas and opinions on fresh proposals for a massive housing scheme on the New Barnet gas works site.
Plans for the station land have been scaled back, as Nick Jones reported on 7 November. But unless more radical improvements are made, the Barnet Society will oppose them.
Continue reading High Barnet Station – our response to the revised proposals
Transport for London and developers Taylor Wimpey have reduced significantly their original plans to redevelop land in and around High Barnet station with five-storey blocks of flats.
Continue reading Two blocks of flats abandoned and instead trees to be preserved
Well over 100 residents attended a meeting at St Mark’s Church to launch a campaign to oppose Transport for London’s plans to build up to seven blocks of flats providing 450 new homes on land around High Barnet tube station.
According to a circular being distributed around Chipping Barnet, proposals are being developed to ‘improve’ the area around High Barnet station. These will include new public space and new homes, including affordable homes.
Continue reading High density housing for High Barnet station?
Every Sunday this winter St Mark’s Church, Barnet Vale, becomes a night shelter for the homeless – “our contribution to helping the weakest”, says the Vicar, the Reverend Tristan Chapman.
Continue reading Full house at Barnet homeless night shelter
Hertsmere Council is consulting on the possibility of building up to 2,620 new homes plus new places of work between Wrotham Park and Potters Bar, westwards as far as South Mimms and eastwards beyond M25 junction 24. This would have a huge impact on our Green Belt.
Continue reading Building Threat on Potters Bar & South Mimms Green Belt
The Barnet Society welcomes the Council’s intention to restore Barnet & King George V Playing Fields, and to widen public access by providing a café with toilet facilities and play areas for children and their parents or carers. However, we currently consider that the development suggested in the master plan would be too intrusive and requires a re-think.
Continue reading New sports and community hubs in the green belt?
Efforts are underway to identify and map the many alleyways and footpaths that add so much to the local landscape and help make High Barnet such an attractive place to live.
Hands-on experience in a great variety of trades, sports and occupations was all part of a careers day organised at the Pavilion School, in Chandos Avenue,Whetstone, which provides support and education for Barnet children who are outside mainstream education.
Continue reading Opportunities for Barnet’s challenged youngsters
Big new housing developments such as Elmbank, opposite the Arkley public house, are changing the face of High Barnet – and plans are likely to be presented during 2018 for several more sizeable schemes.
After remaining empty and abandoned for over a year, High Barnet’s historic Brake Shear House, just off the High Street, has been brought back to life as Nightingales Emporium, a collaborative selling point for a group of artists and entrepreneurs.
Plans to replace a semi-derelict vacant shop that has blighted Union Street for many years will go a long way towards finishing off a make-over for one of High Barnet’s historic thoroughfares.
Three Barnet war memorials – at Arkley, East Barnet and Monken Hadley Common – have been given the added protection of listed building status after a review conducted by Historic England.
Up to forty jobs might be lost if planning permission is approved for the construction of two blocks of flats on the site of car repair workshops and other light-industrial premises at Meadow Works, midway between High Barnet and Whetstone.
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