Tag: planning

Posted on by — 2 Comments

Public consultation on proposed new house in Christchurch Lane spinney

Local developer Churchgrove Ltd expects to submit a planning application soon to build a house within existing woodland on the east side of Christchurch Lane (see plan above by Helene Landscape and Garden Design). It raises an increasingly urgent question in Barnet: how much, if any, green space should be sacrificed for new homes?

I wrote about this peaceful haven of wildlife less than 200 metres from Barnet High Street in a recent web post. Situated within the Monken Hadley Conservation Area, with numerous trees protected by Tree Protection Orders, it forms a ‘green corridor’ between two major pieces of Green Belt land, Old Fold Manor golf course and Hadley Green. Its value for biodiversity is greater than its small size (0.438 hectare / 1 acre) would suggest. https://www.savechippingbarnetwoodland.org/ is petitioning to save it from development.

The Barnet Society got involved 18 months ago when the Council decided to sell its portion of the land for £430,000, subject to the buyer obtaining planning consent. Since the part of the site where development is proposed has the least ecological value, a case could be made for building a single house.

Our concerns were twofold. The quality of the wood had to be conserved and enhanced wherever possible. And any house and garden must be in keeping with their natural setting and built to high environmental standards.

The initial plans fell short on all counts. To the developer’s credit, the scheme has now been revised. Whether it meets our original concerns we’ll find out at a public consultation on Friday 12 December from 4.30pm till 7:00pm at Pennefather Hall (next door to Christ Church), St Albans Rd, Barnet, EN5 4AL.

The developer’s team of planning, architectural, ecology and Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) consultants will be on hand to advise on their proposals. They are also offering to place a covenant on the site to the Barnet Planners to restrict planning permission to one residential property only, to allay concerns about any future or further development of the land.  

They trust that this transparency will dispel many negative comments, especially on the ecology and BNG improvements to the site. 

There is limited parking available on site, which is only a 5-minute walk from The Spires and alternative parking. 

Below is a visualisation of the proposed house by Alan Cox Architects.

Posted on by — 1 Comment

Sad loss of an imposing Victorian villa built when New Barnet was developed after the opening of its main line railway station

One of New Barnet’s last remaining large Victorian villas – 33 Lyonsdown Road – is being demolished much to the disappointment of community and heritage groups who fear it will be replaced by blocks of flats.

There is no certainty about future development of this prime site as two planning applications by the owners Abbeytown Ltd have been rejected by Barnet Council.

A spirited campaign was launched in 2017 to try to secure the restoration of what was considered one of the last and best examples of the imposing private villas and terraced houses which were constructed after the opening of New Barnet station in 1850.

After failing to secure approval for a five-storey block of flats – and losing two planning appeals – Abbeytown was granted permission in 2022 to demolish 33 Lyonsdown under permitted development rights.

Demolition contractors have finally moved heavy equipment onto the site, and the roof of the building was off within a matter of days.

In his monthly newsletter the Chipping Barnet MP Dan Tomlinson said that residents had raised concerns about the state of the property at a consultation event in Barnet Vale. He said he was “pleased to report that demolition work started this week”.

Robin Bishop, who leads for the Barnet Society on planning and the environment, was appalled by the sad loss of one of the few surviving buildings from the first Victorian settlement at New Barnet.

“Despite being on Barnet’s heritage list, a quirk in the planning law has allowed the owner, Abbeytown, to demolish it without reference to the planning committee.

“For five years the local community, together with the society, fought off earlier plans to replace 33 Lyonsdown with characterless blocks of flats.

“We raised substantial funds for top level legal advice and even designed a more acceptable scheme to retain and extend the villa, all without success.

“A new planning application is doubtless already in the pipeline.”

33 Lyonsdown had a chequered history variously having been a private home, an outpost of London’s Foundling Hospital, a women’s refuge and a base for missionary priests.

In her time as the Chipping Barnet MP, Dame Theresa Villiers, intervened to prevent the demolition, writing to the development company Abbeytown at the offices of estate agents Martyn Gerrard.

She supported the society’s campaign arguing that it was “sad to see such a beautifully designed villa, which was such a feature of New Barnet”, being threatened with demolition.

Simon Kaufman Architects prepared a full feasibility study and visibility assessment to demonstrate a more conservation-led approach to retain a building that had become a heritage landmark.

Under the proposal, the existing building would have been converted into apartments, retaining its original richly detailed stone porch, panelled entrance hall and other original feature.

This would have delivered a comparable floor area and improved sales values when set against total redevelopment.

Alongside the restoration, there was a proposal for a modest new-build block within the grounds which would have mirrored key proportions and materials while maintaining distance from neighbouring properties.

Simon Kaufman insisted this alternative vision was supported with site plans, financial appraisals, and heritage justification, and those opposing demolition had been anxious to engage with the owner to promote a design-led conservation strategy that would have protected the unnecessary loss of an important local building.      

Posted on by — 2 Comments

Judgment Day for High Barnet Place

UPDATE 2 DECEMBER 2025 Back in September, the Barnet Society submitted a 64-page critique of the planning application for 283 flats on High Barnet Station car park. The application will be decided by the Strategic Planning Committee at 7:00pm on Monday 8 December.

You can find our full submission here (dated 17 November). 802 objections have been received by the Council and only 104 ‘supports’. Strangely, many ‘supporters’ of the application show no knowledge of the site and have been canvassed by an organisation called Just Build Homes.

Despite the unambiguous proof of local opposition to this application, the Planning Officer is recommending its approval. The Council is committed to delivery of new housing and its Planning Committee could accept the recommendation. If it refuses permission, the developer is likely to appeal against the decision.

Alongside Barnet Residents Association we stand ready to speak at the meeting. If you care about the outcome, you can attend the meeting at Hendon Town Hall or watch via video.

Since the original application, Places for London have submitted numerous amendments and clarifications, which they claim respond to consultation feedback.

The design amendments are mostly minor changes to the appearance and internal layout of the buildings. Their height and footprint are unaltered. Misleading errors in key views have not been corrected. The Barnet Society’s extensive criticisms have been ignored.

High among our concerns is the almost complete lack of improvements to accessibility and safety for both residents and users of the station – indeed their worsening through loss of the car park.

We are also convinced that the site that should never have been considered suitable for 1,000 new residents. The resulting excessive density and poor design – and the operational difficulties that will beset tube users, residents and the public, commercial and emergency services trying to serve them – risk repeating the mistakes of postwar housing estates. That would be to the lasting cost of the community, Council and the identity and character of Chipping Barnet.

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Two re-laid pitches and installation of new floodlights are the start of extensive improvements at Barnet’s Byng Road playing fields

Barnet Council has contributed to the upgrading of the rugby pitches at the Byng Road playing fields by paying for the installation of six new floodlights.

Two of the pitches were re-laid during the summer and will remain fenced off until the start of the new playing season next autumn to give the grass ample growing time to bed in.

Barnet Elizabethans Rugby Club, which has planning approval for an extensive programme of improvements at Byng Road, is delighted with the council’s investment in new floodlighting which it says will do so much to extend the opportunities for playing and training.

Funding for the floodlighting was provided through the council’s income from the community infrastructure levy which is paid by developers.

Relaying the first two pitches was a costly exercise for the club because of the sloping ground at Byng Road and a poorly drained surface liable to get waterlogged.

During the worst of the winter months the pitches have often been unplayable for up to eight weeks.

If the two newly laid pitches are ready for use next autumn, the club will engage contractors to relay and resurface the playing area nearest the clubhouse.

Alex Bell, chair of the group responsible for ground improvements, said a target date had not yet been set for the demolition of the Elizabethans’ clubhouse, which dates back to the late 1950s, and which is in urgent need of replacement.  

Planning approval for a new clubhouse was obtained two years ago.

“Our aim is to start work on the clubhouse in the next couple of years once we have dealt with and met all the conditions which go with the planning agreement.”

After these conditions were finally agreed between the council and the club, there was a unanimous vote in favour of the scheme by the strategic planning committee despite fears that a new two-storey clubhouse and floodlighting would result in “substantial harms to the sense of openness” to the Green Belt countryside surrounding the playing fields.

There was concern that the scale of the new clubhouse together with 108 car parking spaces and a total of 12 floodlights would be highly visible and have a harmful impact.

Given the strategic significance of the Byng Road playing fields for Barnet Elizabethans – and the importance of maintaining outdoor sports facilities within the borough – the committee considered these “very special” circumstances outweighed any harm to the Green Belt.

The elevation of the new clubhouse – with eight changing rooms on the ground floor and a function area above – far exceeds the dimensions of the current building, increasing the height by 3.4 metres to 7.6 metres and increasing the volume by 150 per cent to just under 1,000 square metres.

However, these dimensions are just below the threshold to be referred to the Greater London Authority.  

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Safeguards agreed by Barnet Council add greater protection for Quinta Village Green and could help to restore derelict youth club

Quinta village green and derelict Quinta youth club one step closer to being brought under residents' control after Barnet Council agrees asset of community value protection.

Quinta Village Green and the abandoned former Quinta Youth Club are one step closer to being brought under the control of a group of residents living in and around Mays Lane, Barnet, who have been campaigning for years to safeguard their open space and reopen a derelict clubhouse.

Barnet Council has agreed to list the whole site as an asset of community value, a safeguard which the Quinta Village Green Association hopes will be the first step towards establishing new facilities for the community.

ACV status for the green and clubhouse gives the community the right to apply for a potential community asset transfer which would allow a residents’ organisation to manage and operate the land and building for the benefit of the community.

An application is now being made to register the association as a community interest company which could develop and maintain community facilities on a non-for-profit basis.

Councillor Barry Rawlings, leader of Barnet Council, agreed to list the green and clubhouse as an ACV after meeting representatives of the village green association.

They outlined their vision for reviving the youth club building and enhancing the village green as a community-led hub.

Gina Theodorou, chair of the association, said the membership was thrilled that the importance of the green and club had been recognised and that the council had shared their vision that this was a place where people could come together.

“We can now start planning for a sustainable future with the hope that ACV status will ultimately lead to a full community asset transfer, ensuring the site remains protected and accessible for generations to come.”

She thanked Councillors Rawlings and Councillor Zahra Beg (Underhill) and Paul Frost from Barnet Council for their support.

The site was registered as a village green in 2010 following a public inquiry. Residents had argued that it should be preserved as an open space for community use and maintained by the council.

Local volunteers built the clubhouse in the 1960s and it served first as a youth club and community hub, later becoming a nursery and meeting place.

It has been vacant since 2006 when it was boarded up but in recent years residents have become increasingly concerned about continuing vandalism and anti-social behaviour around the building.

Planning approval was given in 2021 for use of the clubhouse to be changed from community use to become a store for the library service for schools in the Borough of Barnet but the proposed refurbishment did not take place, and the building has fallen further into disrepair.

Posted on by — 1 Comment

Former public house The Jester – the haunted house of New Barnet – is finally levelled by demolition contractors

After a seven-year campaign New Barnet community activist Ros Howarth finally says farewell to the last remnants of the abandoned public house The Jester which was left wrecked after a fire in 2018.

Demolition contractors have spent several days levelling the derelict pub which had remained an eyesore after protracted disputes over its future and then a series of contested planning applications.

Approval was given in May last year for the site – at the junction of Northfield Road and Grove Road – to be redeveloped with a three-storey children’s nursery and three houses.

Built in 1958 as a result of a petition from residents, The Jester became a well frequented pub and restaurant.

The fire seven years ago – photograph above by Oliver Jennings – was said at the time to have been a heart-breaking blow for the community.

Ros Howarth and other campaigners fought tirelessly for the construction of a replacement public house or some other community building to benefit the locality.

“It’s a bitter-sweet moment,” she said.

“Everyone around here has been delighted to see it being demolished but we are disappointed. We wanted a new community pub or cafe.

“Instead, approval has been given for a private children’s nursery with up to 100 places.

“We already have three council-run nurseries within walking distance, and we don’t think there will be the demand for a private nursery.”

The final go ahead for the demolition of what had been dubbed New Barnet’s haunted house was a relief for Barnet Councillors.

East Barnet Councillor Simon Radford – above far right, with Councillor Phil Cohen and Councillor Edith David – said he and his colleagues shared the disappointment of nearby residents that the owners of the site had not opted to construct a new community pub.

“While we won’t be getting pub, we will have a children’s nursery which is certainly better than the haunted house which has stood there for the last seven years.”

Councillor Radford paid tribute to the resolve shown by the community.

“Ros Howarth has been a tremendous advocate for their campaign to get a replacement for the pub, and they demonstrated there was a viable alternative.”

Ros Howarth – founder of the Justice for Jester Facebook page – said she doubted whether a private nursery with up to 100 places would be viable.

Construction work is due to last for 18 months with the development completed by the spring of 2027.

The fear of nearby residents was that the new building – see developer’s image above – might at some stage be converted into flats.

Even if there was sufficient demand for a nursery, they were concerned that the site lacked sufficient car park spaces for 27 members of staff and visiting parents.

Parking was already a problem in surrounding roads, and an added problem was that Northfield Road was the main approach road for the nearby Jewish Community Secondary School which was served by a dozen or more coaches every day.

“All the new nursery school will have is a few dropping off places, so we think that with the amount of local traffic this isn’t going to be the safest place for small children.”  

The Jester public house, wrecked and abandoned after a fire in 2018 is finally demolished to make way for a new children's nursery in New Barnet

A start was made on demolishing the pub after the fire in 2018, but Barnet Council stepped in to halt the work – and that was the start of what seemed to be a never-ending saga of changes in ownership, court cases, appeals and futile planning applications.

Posted on by — 1 Comment

Food and hospitality on offer at the High Barnet Islamic Centre for an afternoon visit by refugees and asylum seekers

High Barnet Islamic Centre, which opened last year, extended its outreach programme of community events with volunteers welcoming over 30 asylum seekers and refugees with a full spread of snacks and refreshments.

The group travelled to the centre by coach from a nearby hotel for an afternoon of hospitality organised in conjunction with HAWA, a Hertfordshire-wide multicultural women’s group which provides a range of care services.

Extra warm clothing was offered to those who needed it including hats and scarves.

Anjim Iqbal (far right), events co-ordinator for the High Barnet centre – seen with volunteers Siham Bedjaoui and Zeenath Auleear — said laying on a high tea was just one of the initiatives which she and her volunteers hope will help strengthen inter-community relations.

Holding a monthly soup kitchen for homeless and needy families is their next project and again the aim is to reach out to the local community.

“We have already been promised support from local sponsors. They are helping us to source bread to go with soup of the day,” said Anjim.

At an open day in October, the centre welcomed a group of councillors led by Barnet Council leader Barry Rawlings and Chipping Barnet MP Dan Tomlinson, newly appointed as the Exchequer Secretary at the Treasury.

Mr Rawlings stressed the importance of the Borough of Barnet strengthening multi-faith relations and establishing strong links across its various communities and faiths, an objective fully endorsed by the constituency MP.

Mr Tomlinson congratulated the centre on opening its door to the community and for proposing an initiative like a monthly soup kitchen where there would be a warm welcome, refreshments and company.

“I have been to the High Barnet Islamic Centre a couple of times since it opened, and I have been really impressed to find a community which is so outward facing and welcoming.

“It is so heartening to see the Muslim community, like other religious communities in Barnet, uniting in their efforts to bring people together and create a strong community.”

High Barnet Islamic Centre,, which opened last year, welcomed group of refugees and asylum seekers for an afternoon of refreshments and hospitality.

Since the centre, which is in Bath Place, just off Barnet High Street, opened in May last year, it has held a range of multi-cultural events such as bazaars and open days.

Darul Noor charity, which was previously based at the Rainbow Centre on the Dollis Valley estate, moved to the centre after raising £1.8 million to purchase the building from the Template Foundation.

An application has been submitted to Barnet Council for retrospective planning permission to regularise its use as a public hall and for public worship and religious instruction.

In 1995 the Template Foundation secured planning approval to use the building for education and training – permission which the centre’s consultants Absolute Town Planning say should be regularised to match the needs of the Islamic Centre.

“Unlike many planning applications nothing is proposed either physically or by way of use.  The application simply seeks to regulate what has been happening at the site for some time.”

Objections to the application have been submitted to the council on the grounds that regularising use of the building as an Islamic centre for prayer would “cause harm to residential amenities in the area and increase noise and also increase pedestrian and vehicular traffic.”

Before being used by the Template Foundation, the building had been part of small commercial complex, and it was said to be “unsuited to attracting large numbers of people”.

Supportive comments included praise for the centre’s outreach work. It had established itself as a “well managed and trusted community asset and reflects values of co-operation and respect shared across the borough.”

In backing the application, Steve Verrall, director of Barnet Community Projects, said that when Friday prayers and Ramadan were held in the Rainbow Centre at Dollis Valley, they had always been well organised.

These premises were no longer big enough and the new centre in Bath Place had already proved to be an “asset to the borough”.

Local Muslims living in and around High Barnet, who had previously attended Friday prayers in North Finchley, said they welcomed the opening of a centre in High Barnet.   

They considered the objections had been based on “misunderstandings and out-of-date assumptions”. A change of use, they said, would have no visual impact on the Monken Hadley Conservation Area.

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Developers Hill Residential preparing to start construction work on estate of 115 new homes on Whalebones farmland off Wood Street, Barnet

Access for contractors’ heavy equipment has been established at the site of the former Whalebones smallholding and farmland off Wood Street, Barnet, where Hill Residential are to build 115 new homes.

Site offices have been installed ready for preparatory groundwork and the construction of a new community building to provide a replacement studio for the Barnet Guild of Artists.

Hill Residential of Waltham Abbey recently completed the purchase of the Whalebones land from the Gwyneth Cowing Will Trust following the granting of planning permission.

Demolition of the farm buildings which make up the smallholding – and an adjoining timber-framed artists’ studio bequeathed by Miss Cowing – is expected to start once the replacement studio has been completed.

The new community building will be constructed on farmland which faces on to Wellhouse Lane, opposite the bus terminus at Barnet Hospital.

Trustees for Miss Cowing, who died in 1987, and who was the granddaughter of the founder of the Barnet Press, first applied ten years ago for planning permission to build houses on the fields around the now privately-owned Whalebones House.

A protracted campaign to prevent the development ended in October last year when the Mayor of London gave the final go ahead after Barnet Council had voted narrowly in favour.

Objectors to the scheme, who included the Barnet Society and the former Chipping Barnet MP Theresa Villiers, claimed the new housing estate would destroy a significant wildlife habitat and result in the loss of the last remaining   farmland between Arkley and High Barnet.

Most of the new houses will be built in the largest of the fields which is opposite the Arkley public house, and which is between the new Elmbank development and the woods surrounding Whalebones House.

In an interview for Built Environment News, The Hill Group’s founder and group chief executive, Andy Hill, confirmed that the purchase of the Whalebones farmland had been completed.

He reiterated previous undertakings that half the 12-acre site will be retained as a publicly accessible open space.

“Whalebones Park is a site of outstanding beauty, and we are proud to be entrusted with its future.

“Our plans respect the heritage of the Grade II listed Whalebones House and the character of Barnet, while delivering a sustainable new neighbourhood.”

Planning approval has been given for 115 houses and apartments in buildings ranging from two to five storeys in height. (Image, Hill Residential).

“Spacious, modern family homes” would be available for private sale and affordable homes would be provided in partnership with the affordable housing charity Sovereign Network Group.

SNG’s regional managing director Matthew Bird told BE News that its partnership in the development of Whalebones Park would demonstrate how affordable homes can be integrated into high quality sustainable development.

“Our 54 homes at Whalebones will provide much-needed opportunities for local people to access affordable rent and shared ownership in Barnet, supported by the wider benefits of new open space and community facilities.”  

Posted on by — 4 Comments

Protecting green spaces – how serious are our politicians?

View of Christchurch spinney in early autumn

This peaceful spinney in Christchurch Lane is a haven of wildlife less than 200 metres from Barnet High Street – but it’s threatened by new building. How can that be?

Barnet Council declared a Climate and Biodiversity Emergency in 2022. Its recently-adopted Local Plan contains policies and supplementary planning documents specifically to protect green spaces of all kinds.

Mayor Khan has similar planning policies and is currently consulting on London’s first Nature Recovery Plan (LNRS) to reverse biodiversity loss. Surely the spinney’s future is safe?

Worryingly, the answer is no.

Last year the Council authorised the sale of part of the spinney that it owns for £430,000, subject to the buyer obtaining planning consent. Existing covenants on the land restrict development to private residential use. A planning application is expected before long.

The site is mainly well-established woodland with several Tree Preservation Orders but would benefit from sensitive management. Although small in area (0.438 hectare / 1 acre), its ecological value is great because it provides a vital undisturbed ‘green corridor’ for the transit of insects, animals and flying creatures between the Old Fold Manor golf course and Hadley Green, both of which are in the Green Belt.

Local resident Marianne Nix says ‘The spinney is a rich and biodiverse habitat, regularly visited by badgers, foxes, muntjac deer, bats and hedgehogs as well as birds on red and amber conservation list 5.’ Above and below are some of her recent photographs.

The spinney’s location within the Monken Hadley Conservation Area should provide it with statutory protection. But the Barnet Society knows from bitter experience over the Whalebones Estate housing development that the Council can override Conservation Area status if it decides that development would be ‘less than harmful’.

The plan above is based on an interactive map that is a key component of the draft London LNRS. It shows Areas of Particular Importance for Biodiversity (such as Hadley Green – purple on the plan) and Areas that Could Become of Particular Importance (such as Old Fold Manor golf course – sage green on plan).

On it is marked Christchurch spinney, highlighting its value of as a strategic link between the golf course and green. Unfortunately, the spinney itself is not designated in the LNRS.

Mayor Khan’s draft explains the purpose of an LNRS, identifies six overarching priorities for London and describes in impressive detail the range of landscape characteristics and wildlife species that deserve protection. It’s a welcome framework for the guidance of future development across London.

Development of the LNRS has enabled Council Biodiversity Officers to check the existing data. It turned out that much was inaccurate, out of date, incorrect or non-existent. It has now been updated and significant effort has gone into identifying potential sites of particular importance and for taking action. So thanks to the LNRS, we now have a better baseline for our local nature.

There’ll be a chance to suggest new locations such as Christchurch spinney when the LNRS is next reviewed, which will take place every three to 10 years (the government will advise on the timeframe). Until then, the Council’s duty is to protect the spinney.

In 2022, Barnet Labour’s Green Manifesto promised to ‘Protect ALL existing green spaces in the Borough’. In the May 2026 local election Barnet voters will be able to hold Councillors to account.

You can comment on the draft LNRS here. The deadline is Wednesday 29 October 2025.

Below: LNRS map extract showing designated areas in Chipping Barnet parliamentary constituency

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Family homes rather than high-rise blocks of flats are planned for New Barnet gas works site where redundant gasholder will be demolished

After several ongoing local disputes about the height and density of new blocks of flats residents’ associations have welcomed plans to build 80 family homes on the remainder of the gas works site in Albert Road, New Barnet.

Save New Barnet campaigner John Dix said community groups were delighted that developers Berkeley Homes had reflected local opinion and are seeking planning permission for three- and four-bedroom homes – of two to three storeys in height – instead of opting for a high-rise scheme.

The four-acre site is just to the north of the much larger Victoria Quarter development where City Fairview are constructing a new complex of 420 flats in 11 blocks of up to eight storeys in height.

After years of opposition to schemes offering only high-rise flats, usually of just one- and two-bedrooms, Mr Dix said Berkeley Homes had taken heed of the campaign by community groups for the construction of more family homes.

Under the Barnet local plan, the four-acre brownfield site had been earmarked for as many as 190 homes.

Save New Barnet feared that Berkeley Homes might follow the example of City Fairview and build yet more blocks of flats.

“Berkeley Homes have seemed anxious to engage with the community, and it really is a pleasant change when a developer listens to what the community wants,” said Mr Dix.

“Our demand all along has been for more family homes rather than one-bedroom flats and well done to Berkeley Homes for having listened.”

Mr Dix acknowledged that there were some restraints on the site which might add to the sale price of the new houses – the site needed to be decontaminated and there will continue to be some underground pipework.

When asked by the Barnet Society at a consultation evening as to whether the scheme would include any affordable housing, architects JTP said this was still under consideration.

Berkeley Homes and other developers have been in discussions with the Greater London Authority over possible changes to the affordable housing targets for London – one proposal under discussion is reducing the requirement from 35 to perhaps 20 to 25 per cent in order to speed house construction. 

Family homes planned for remainder of New Barnet gas works site where redundant gasholder os to be demolished

Perhaps the biggest change to the area will be the demolition of the 90-year-old cast iron framework of the New Barnet gasometer – a local landmark as seen from the Victoria Recreation Ground.

Built in 1934, with an original capacity of 2,000,000 cubic feet of gas, the gas holder was decommissioned in 2009, purged of gas and collapsed to its lowest level.

Visible from streets all around New Barnet, the massive structure divides opinion – some think it should have been pulled down years ago while others admire its elegance and welcome its presence as a familiar sight on the local skyline.

The 38-metre-high frame of what was originally known as a column guided gasholder has been described by National Grid Property Holdings as having “no particular historic or architectural merit” and “little, if any, heritage value.”

Consultation on Berkeley Homes’ master plan for the Albert Road site closes at the end of October when an application will be made to Barnet Council for planning permission.

Demolition of the gasholder is likely to take place during 2026 along with other remedial work on the site. The scheme is due for completion in 2031.

Posted on by — 3 Comments

Full English breakfasts are on the march up the Great North Road as Hole in the Wall Cafe plans to transfer to Dory’s Cafe in High Barnet

Kevin Callaghan, proprietor of the Hole in the Wall Cafe – said to be Barnet’s oldest cafe – is temporarily transferring his business to the premises of the former Dory’s Cafe, another local institution, which ceased trading in the summer. 

The Hole in the Wall, established in 1935 and hidden behind hoardings on the Great North Road, is to be demolished along with other buildings on the Meadow Works industrial estate at Pricklers Hill.

The closure of Dory’s Cafe in August was the end of an era.

Opened in 1954, it had been run by three generations of the same family and its closure followed the retirement of its proprietors Guiliano Cardosi and Angela Casali.

Mr Callaghan has secured a lease on the former Dory’s Cafe – to be renamed Corner Cafe – and he will transfer the business on a date to be announced once all the legalities are complete.

The existing Meadow Works complex of industrial and commercial premises is to be replaced with a new self-storage depot which will include new premises for the Hole in the Wall Cafe along with co-working spaces.

Mr Callaghan and his staff have earned a well-deserved reputation for their full English breakfasts and lunch menu.

Over the decades the Hole in the Wall, where Mr Callaghan first started working 20 years ago, has become a well-used pit stop for lorry drivers and motorists heading out of London.

The closure of Dory’s Cafe prompted tributes across social media and a flood of memories of full English breakfasts, tasty snacks and friendly welcome – a reputation to be proud of.

Mr Callaghan is delighted that the Hole in the Wall will have a new home once the Meadow Works industrial estate gets a new lease of life.

Proprietor of Barnet's oldest cafe The Hole in the Wall is moving up the Great North Road to former Dory's Cafe in High Barnet while new premises are built.

Developers Compound Real Estate say they are awaiting planning permission but do have approval in principle for a new state-of-the-art self-storage facility and co-working spaces, fronting on to the Great North Road, which will be available to support local small businesses and entrepreneurs.

A cluster of ageing and dilapidated light industrial buildings will be demolished to make way for the new development.

One of the last to move out is a furniture maker which has been based at Meadow Works for the last nine years.

Proprietor Sebastian said that he was disappointed to be leaving as it had been difficult to find new premises and rents were high.

“We have managed to find another workshop in Waltham Abbey but that just shows how few affordable workspaces there are around Barnet. It’s not easy for small businesses in woodworking and carpentry.”     

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Sad farewells with house building to start soon on farmland at Whalebones, off Wood Street, the last countryside between Arkley and High Barnet

Demolition and clearance of the Whalebones smallholding and fields off Wood Street, High Barnet, has moved a step closer with developers having completed the purchase of the site for the construction of an estate of 115 new homes.

Housebuilders Hill Residential of Waltham Abbey and the Gwyneth Cowing Will Trust were jointly granted planning permission last year to develop farmland which adjoins Whalebones House, former home of the Cowing family.

With ownership having been transferred from the Cowing trustees, the handover has required the relocation of two long-standing tenants of Whalebones – the Barnet Guild of Artists and the Barnet and District Beekeepers’ Association.

A replacement studio for the artists’ guild is to be provided in a new community building to be constructed in Wellhouse Lane but the beekeepers’ association, which has been based at Whalebones for the last 60 years, has moved to a temporary site at a farm in Arkley. 

Trustees for the late Miss Gwyneth Cowing, granddaughter of the founder of the Barnet Press, who died in 1987, first applied ten years ago for planning permission to build houses on fields at Whalebones,

A protracted campaign to save a significant wildlife habitat and the last remaining farmland between Arkley and High Barnet ended in October last year when the Mayor of London gave the final go ahead after Barnet Council had voted narrowly in favour of the scheme.

Most of the new houses – see image above from the Hill Group – will be built in the largest of the fields which is opposite the Arkley public house, and which is between the new Elmbank development and the woods around the now privately owned Whalebones House.

In an interview for Built Environment News, The Hill Group’s founder and group chief executive, Andy Hill, confirmed that the purchase of the Whalebones farmland had been completed.

He reiterated previous undertakings that half the site will be retained as “publicly accessible open space”.

“Whalebones Park is a site of outstanding beauty, and we are proud to be entrusted with its future.

“Our plans respect the heritage of the Grade II listed Whalebones House and the character of Barnet, while delivering a sustainable new neighbourhood.”

Space will be provided close to Well Cottage for a small holding for an agricultural tenant. The former tenant farmer at Whalebones, Peter Mason, who had been there since the 1960s and who had once reared cattle and horses at Whalebones, died last year.

Planning approval has been given for 115 houses and apartments in buildings ranging from two to five storeys in height.

“Spacious, modern family homes” would be available for private sale and affordable homes would be provided in partnership with the affordable housing charity Sovereign Network Group.

SNG’s regional managing director Matthew Bird told BE News that its partnership in the development of Whalebones Park would demonstrate how affordable homes can be integrated into high quality sustainable development.

“Our 54 homes at Whalebones will provide much-needed opportunities for local people to access affordable rent and shared ownership in Barnet, supported by the wider benefits of new open space and community facilities.”  

Alongside the purchase of the farmland by The Hill Group, the former stable block has also changed hands and has been acquired by the owners of Whalebones House.

In recent days there have been some emotional farewells because over the decades the stable block, with its much-loved ornate and welcoming interior, had been home not only for the beekeepers but also for groups of Barnet Girl Guides and Brownies.

Miss Cowing’s generosity in providing a meeting place for local organisations – and paying for the construction of the timber-framed artists’ studio – left a legacy of philanthropy which the trustees of the estate said they had been anxious to preserve and respect.

Unlike the Guild of Artists which is signing a lease for use of a new community building in Wellhouse Lane, the beekeepers’ association decided it was not in a position to secure charitable status and take on added responsibilities.

Instead, the beekeepers have found temporary storage place for their equipment at an apiary on a farm in Arkley but will miss the use of the stable block for meetings, lectures, training courses, honey extraction and storage.

Moving out was a sad moment for long serving members of the association who gathered for a final group photo in a room which, for them, held so many memories – from left to right, president Geoffrye Hood, apiary manager Wilf Wood, association secretary Ann Songhurst, and Shri Kam.

The association, which currently has 107 members, has apiaries at various sites around High Barnet including Cat Hill, Arkley, and also Mill Hill. 

Four hives of bees kept at Whalebones were moved from the site earlier this year.

One of the greatest disappointments for the association will be the loss of a purpose-built facility for honey extraction which was fitted out with the latest equipment with help of a grant from the Millennium Commission which distributed funds to mark the turn of the millennium.

Geoffrey Hood said their facilities had been of great importance in the association’s education programme and every year since 2013 he had helped to train ten to 15 newcomers to beekeeping.

“We tend to start new beekeepers off with a hive at one of our apiaries and then they usually find their own sites.”

Developers Hill Residential completed purchase of farmland at Whalebones off Wood Street, High Barnet, site of 115 new homes

The Barnet and District Beekeepers’ Association had its very own postcode. Wilf Wood said a former president Rodger Hedgecoe arranged with the Post Office that letters should be addressed to EN5 4BZ.

Posted on by — 17 Comments

Planning inspector is being asked to reconsider Barnet Council’s rejection of plans for Barnet Football Club’s return to Underhill

Barnet Football Club has launched an appeal against the refusal of Barnet Council to approve an application to build a new stadium at Underhill.

A public inquiry before a planning inspector will give the club a chance to explain what it believes are the reasons why a new football ground should be permitted on playing fields close to the club’s previous stadium.

Despite being within the Green Belt, the club hopes an inspector will overturn the planning department’s advice that a new stadium in a “valued local park” would result in “substantial and irreversible harm to the openness and function of the Green Belt”.

BringBarnetBack, the group which is campaigning to bring the club back to a site as close as possible to its original home at Underhill, believe every effort should be made to secure a full public hearing.

When the application was considered by the strategic planning committee in July, members voted by 6-0 to reject the plan (with three councillors abstaining).

Councillor Barry Rawlings, leader of the council, told the Barnet Society that planning officials were now assessing the grounds of which the club had launched its appeal.

As the debate about whether Barnet FC should return to Underhill – from its current base at The Hive, Harrow – was now “a live issue” once again he was restricted in what he could say.

But he wanted to emphasise that his door as council leader remained open if the club did come forward with other alternative sites for a new stadium in or around High Barnet.

“It is difficult because of the proximity of the Green Belt, but as a council we would be prepared to look at other sites suggested by the club, such as a ground shared with another club or land already designated for sport.”

A survey conducted by the Barnet Society among community groups and councillors before decision in July, showed that the town was split down the middle over whether a 7,000-seat stadium should be built on Barnet Playing Fields.

Underhill Councillor Zahra Beg, who spoke out against the application in July, said she remained opposed to using the playing fields for a football stadium, but she was anxious to understand the grounds on which the club was appealing.

Planning inspector being asked to reconsider Barnet Council's refusal to grant planning permission for new stadium for Barnet Football Club at Underhill.

In view of promotion to League Two of the Football League, BringBarnetBack believe the club’s current success – it is currently placed 10th in the League – strengthens the case for securing a return to Underhill which they argue would provide a tremendous boost to match attendances and boost the High Barnet economy.

Posted on by — 6 Comments

Last chance to have your say on Barnet Heights

… or High Barnet Place, as the development proposed next to High Barnet Station is officially called (see above). But Barnet Heights would be a more accurate description of 283 flats over the whole of the present car park in blocks of 5 to 11 storeys high.

Whichever, it’s the most serious threat to Chipping Barnet’s character and functioning in decades. And Friday 19 September is the deadline for public comments on the planning application.

The Barnet Society strongly opposes the proposals, and urges you to do so too.

Our key reasons for objecting strongly to the current planning application are because:

  • It breaches many policies in Barnet’s recently-adopted Local Plan.
  • It would create homes of unacceptably poor safety and quality in terms of layout, detailed design and amenity.
  • It would be no more accessible – and probably less safe – than the present site.
  • Contrary to the developers’ claims, it would be unsustainable by many environmental standards.
  • It would irreparably harm the identity of the neighbourhood, nearby and from afar.
  • No compensating benefits of significance are offered in terms of transport connectivity or new/improved facilities to the existing community.

We’re currently finalising a full justification of our objections. A draft summary of them can be found here.

The Society would welcome a development that combined a genuine improvement to the public realm and public transport connectivity alongside well-designed homes at a sympathetic scale of development. But this application is not that.

As I write, over 300 objections have been posted on the Council’s planning portal – impressive, but we need more.

In March Dan Tomlinson MP’s position was neutral, but his current stance has not yet been made known. Former Chipping Barnet MP Theresa Villiers has submitted an objection.

Curiously, of the 26 supporters of the scheme, hardly any actually live in Chipping Barnet.

How you can comment

Have your say one of these ways:

  1. on the Council’s planning portal (ref. no. 25/2671/FUL) via the Comments tab;
  2. email comments direct to planning.consultation@barnet.gov.uk (cc sam.gerstein@barnet.gov.uk); or
  3. post your comments to the Planning Officer: Sam Gerstein, Planning and Building Control, Barnet Council , 2 Bristol Avenue, Colindale, NW9 4EW.

In the cases of 2 & 3, be sure to include:

  • the application ref. no. (25/2671/FUL) clearly at the top
  • the site address (High Barnet Underground Station, Station Approach, Barnet EN5 5RP) and
  • your name, address and postcode.

Sending a copy of your comments to our MP dan.tomlinson.mp@parliament.uk and to your local Councillors will increase the effectiveness of your objection.

Posted on by — 1 Comment

Years of neglect prompting residents’ bid to get Barnet’s former Quinta Youth Club registered as asset of community value

Bid to get asset of community value status for derelict Quinta Youth Club in Mays Lane Barnet

After years of frustration about the state of the derelict and vandalised former Quinta Youth Club, residents in Mays Lane and surrounding roads are applying to have the building and adjoining village green registered as an asset of community value.

They regard this as the only way to secure the site for community use in case there is an attempt to sell the site for redevelopment.

Over 30 residents have already signed up in support of the application which has been made by the 200-strong Quinta Green Residents Association.

A campaign to try to persuade Barnet Council to refurbish or rebuild the boarded-up youth club was launched in the summer but there has been continued vandalism, and no action has been taken to secure the building or tackle the disrepair.

Local volunteers built the clubhouse in the 1960s and it served first as a youth club and community hub, later becoming a nursery and meeting place.

The clubhouse is in a corner of Quinta Village Green which was registered as a public open space in 2010 after a public inquiry following a campaign by residents to ensure that it was preserved for community use and maintained by the council.

Gina Theodorou (above), chair of the Quinta Green association, said that registering the clubhouse and green as an asset of community value was “a once in a generation” chance to get the building back into community use.

“For too long the Quinta Youth Club has been left derelict, attracting vandalism and arson.

“With strong community support, we are asking our councillors and our MP to stand with us in safeguarding this historic site for the benefit of the whole area.”

Ms Theodorou recognised that the scale of disrepair has made it difficult to lease the building.

Registering it as an ACV would give the community the chance to take it over once again and restore it for public use which would improve the area and help tackle antisocial behaviour.

Planning approval was given in 2021 for use of the clubhouse to be changed from community use to become a store for the library service for schools in the Borough of Barnet.

There were proposals to refurbish the single-storey building, install new doors and windows, and use it for the storage, archiving and dispatching of library books for the borough’s Schools Library Resource Service.

But no action was taken to implement the plan, resulting in the mounting concern of residents about the failure to tackle the vandalism and disrepair.  

Posted on by — 7 Comments

Barnet Hospital said to be in “constructive discussions” with Barnet Council over car parking pressure on nearby roads

Community organisations have welcomed assurances that Barnet Hospital will try to reduce the pressure which car parking by hospital staff, patients and visitors is placing on surrounding residential roads.

Plans for a further expansion of the ever-widening controlled parking zones around the hospital are meeting a barrage of criticism from householders who are forced to pay for parking permits.

Barnet Council officials are understood to have suggested to the Royal Free Hospital Trust that the management at Barnet should look for ways to alleviate the problem.

Nearby residents could not be expected to acquiesce as more and more local streets become a parking lot for the hospital, necessitating the introduction of an ever-expanding CPZ.

Residents’ associations understand that the trust will now examine what more can be done to increase the capacity of the hospital’s own car parks off Wellhouse Lane – by making better use of the space available – and by taking over vacant sites.

Currently Barnet Hospital has insufficient parking space for its own staff and a request for yet another increase in the undisclosed number of on-street parking permits – which are already issued for staff use – has apparently been refused.

News of what are said to be “constructive discussions” between the council and the hospital follow in the wake of further expansion of Barnet Hospital CPZ.

This has recently been extended – despite strong local resistance – to take in seven roads around Ryecroft Crescent, on the Arkley side of Quinta Drive.

Almost 80 per cent of the residents who replied to a consultation were against the introduction of a CPZ extension, but the council has gone ahead with a widening of the zone on what officials say is “an experimental basis”.

There was further uproar last month when the council held consultations on the proposed Underhill South CPZ – a new CPZ which would introduce restrictions and permits in 29 roads, including several cul-de-sacs, which are on either side of Mays Lane, extending from the junction with Manor Road all the way westwards to the junction with Shelford Road.

A council survey was said to have shown that there were “extremely high levels of parking stress” in most of the roads surrounding Mays Lane caused by the extra demand for spaces from hospital staff, patients and visitors.

But residents say a CPZ over such a wide area – extending to the Dollis Valley riverside walk – is completely unnecessary and would become extremely expensive for residents.

The Quinta Green Residents Association and the Underhill Residents Association – which are both claiming there is overwhelming opposition to a new CPZ – said they had been urging strategic solutions to the problems caused by the hospital.

Community groups welcome assurances that Barnet Hospital will take steps to try alleviate car parking pressure on surrounding streets.

They believed the hospital’s existing car parks could be reconfigured to take more vehicles and that vacant land around the hospital – such as the site above at the Wellhouse Lane-Wood Street junction – should be brought into use.

The two associations say one option might be for the hospital to reach agreements with local organisations including schools and clubs to see whether it was possible to rent additional parking spaces.

Posted on by — 20 Comments

Transport for London bans flats protest rally outside High Barnet station – but across the road residents launch their “New Battle of Barnet”

A mass protest against plans for five high-rise blocks of flats on the car park at High Barnet tube station attracted over 250 residents who were greeted with toots of support from the horns of passing motorists.

London Transport moved swiftly to warn of prosecutions if protestors gathered around the station entrance, so the rally was switched to the other side of Barnet Hill.

Fifteen posters warning of the consequences of any “unauthorised protests or gathering or loitering” had been fixed to walls and fences all around the lower entrance.

A posse of four members of London Underground staff stood at the station forecourt and were on hand in case of any breach of Transport for London byelaws.

Despite the ban on meeting in the area around the station’s lower entrance, the groups organising the protest – Barnet Society, Barnet Residents Association and Hands Off high Barnet – were determined to show the strength of opposition to a redevelopment they argue is the “wrong scheme, in the wrong place”.

As supporters were marshalled back up the slope of the station entrance to cross the road to the grassy bank on the opposite side of Barnet Hill, there were muttered protests at what was seen as TfL’s high-handed approach in banning a rally on their land.

In particular, the wording of the notices – suggesting their presence might lead to prosecutions – led some residents to complain that TfL seemed to be turning High Barnet into a police state where free speech and protest were being suppressed.

While remaining friendly and approachable, the four London Underground staff on duty outside the station entrance were a clear indication that TfL meant business – the rally had apparently been banned on grounds of health and safety.

As the crowd of protestors continued to grow in size – approaching 250 people or more on some estimates – the organisers said they were delighted by the turn out.

Four thousand leaflets had been distributed calling for support, reminding residents they had until Friday 19 September to register their objections with Barnet Council.

Gordon Massey, who analysed the scheme on behalf of Barnet Residents Association, told the crowd they had to recognise that TfL – through its subsidiary Places for London – was determined to build as many homes as possible on spare land at London Underground stations.

“283 flats on this site are far too many and the design of them is absolutely dreadful. Just listen to the noise from the road and think what it will be like living there.”

He praised the joint effort there had been with the Barnet Society whose planning and environment spokesman Robin Bishop said the society’s team approach would allow them to present Barnet Council with “a substantial submission” detailing the faults in the scheme.

As the rally continued, hand-made posters held up by the grandchildren of Jane Ouseley (far left) amused passing motorists who tooted their horns in support of the message: “No tower blocks in High Barnet”.

Summing up the defiance of the crowd was a slogan on one of the posters: “The new Battle of Barnet”.

Another poster on the roadside at the entrance to the station left passers-by in no doubt about what the protest was all about.

Ken Rowland, chair of the residents’ association, said the size of the crowd showed why residents felt so strongly about an “appalling and monstrous” development.

“We need to stop this…the children living in homes in these blocks will not be able to open the windows…they will be overlooking an electricity sub station and railway tracks, and it is not the appropriate place for a development of this size.”

Kim Ambridge, a founder member of Hands-Off High Barnet which fought successfully against a 2019 plan – later withdrawn – for high-rise flats, deplored the loss of the station car park.

Her concern was reinforced by Barnet Vale Councillor David Longstaff who thought that by building over a well-lit car park, TfL was failing to acknowledge the fears of women arriving at the High Barnet station late at night.

At the end of the rally the crowd showed their contempt for TfL’s ban on the protest outside the tube station by marching up the High Street to the parish church of St John the Baptist.

Mass protest rally against tower blocks of flats at High Barnet tube station goes ahead despite Transport for London ban on gatherings outside the station entrance

A final photo-opportunity underlined another message of from the rally – that the proposed 11-storey block of flats at the station would break the historic skyline of High Barnet and compete with the commanding presence of the church tower.

Posted on by — 1 Comment

Work underway to stabilise precarious brickwork in fire-ravaged Hadley Green house before reconstruction starts

A massive crane has been brought in by contractors to help install scaffolding and internal braces to stabilise the walls of a large Georgian house on Hadley Green which was gutted in a disastrous fire over the May bank holiday.

Seventy firefighters supported by ten fire engines fought the blaze at Hollybush House, but the roof collapsed and all that was left was the shell of the Grade II listed building and its chimney stack.

Plans are now being prepared for the repair and restoration of the house, which was built in around 1790 and which the owners say they recognise is an important part of the historic heritage of Monken Hadley.

An application has been submitted to Barnet Council for the post-fire reconstruction, including repairs to the walls, high-level masonry, windows, doors and roofs and the reinstatement of historic stairs and rooms.

Work starts on reconstructing Hollybush House, a Georgian property on Hadley Green which was gutted in dramatic May bank holiday fire.

A report to the council by architects and historic building consultants Donald Insall Associates says masonry at a high level and in some areas at the rear of the property was left structurally unstable and needed to be stabilised.

Work is due to start on the reconstruction in October and should be completed by March 2027.

Because the internal floors and fabric of the building were totally destroyed, the architects say it will only be possible to recreate the original appearance of the house.

The rebuilding would go “as far as it is possible” to restore the significance of the Grade II listed building and its contribution to the character and appearance of the Monken Hadley Conservation Area.

Hollybush House is one of several Grade II-listed buildings along the east side of Hadley Green, including Wilbraham Almshouses and Grandon to the north-

east, and Livingstone Cottage, Monken Cottage, Monkenholt, and Fairholt to the south-west.

The houses along Hadley Green Road are all located within the registered battlefield for the 1471 Battle of Barnet, a defining conflict of the Wars of the Roses.

Hollybush House is described in the consultants’ report as a modest country house formed of an amalgamation of 18th century domestic buildings and later additions.

It is thought that the site began as an early-18th century cottage, which was extended in the late-18th century with a classic Georgian country house façade.

The main house, which retained the majority of the historic features and decoration, suffered the worst damage.

However, there are some surviving historic items – a few sashes, shutters, and doors – which were temporarily removed for repair and refurbishment, but the loss of original historic fabric meant that the significance of the house had been permanently diminished.

Soon after the current owners purchased Hollybush House in 2020, they applied for planning permission to restore the building.

After 18 months of restoration work, which included installing a new roof and windows, the refurbishment was due to have been completed sometime in early 2026 – until fire broke out in one of the rooms in the early hours of Bank holiday Monday and spread to the roof.

Posted on by

Barnet Council goes to High Court to challenge a planning inspector’s go ahead for a travellers’ caravan site in Mays Lane

An application has been made to the High Court to challenge the go ahead for a travellers’ caravan site on a field in Green Belt land off Mays Lane, Barnet, on the grounds that the decision was inaccurate.

A planning inspector approved the plan for pitches for two travellers’ caravans because the needs of two gypsy families with seven young children “tipped the balance” in their favour.

Barnet Council had previously refused permission but after a lengthy planning inquiry, the inspector, Graham Chamberlain, decided that the “very special circumstances” of the two families outweighed any harm to the Green Belt.

In seeking to reverse the decision through a judicial review, the council will have to indicate why it believes the inspector’s conclusion was factually flawed.

Mr Chamberlain had concluded that the best interests of the “seven young children” in case would be served by “establishing a secure permanent home” for them at the appeal site”.

But in challenging the decision, the council is expected to argue that the evidence showed that in fact only four or five children would live on the site, with just one of them enrolled in school.

Therefore, the council could insist that the inspector’s decision was legally unsound.

Quinta Village Green Residents’ Association – which opposed the caravan site, and which was disappointed by the go ahead given by the inspector – has welcomed the council’s High Court challenge.

When he overturned the council’s refusal to grant planning permission, Mr Chamberlain acknowledged that a travellers’ caravan site on a two-acre paddock, previously used for grazing horses, would result in “some modest harm to the character and appearance” of the Mays Lane area.

However, he concluded that the balance in favour of the scheme changed significantly when the personal circumstances of the two gypsy families were factored in, especially the best interests of the seven children.

“Indeed, personal circumstances tip the balance in favour of the scheme when all other considerations are contemplated cumulatively…It follows that the very special circumstances necessary to justify the development have been demonstrated.”

Members of the residents’ association have now been told of the legal challenge which is being made by the council close to what would have been the end of the six-week period for a judicial review.

In going to the High Court, the association hopes the council will emphasise that Green Belt protections carried substantial weight under national planning policy.

Inappropriate development of the kind proposed, should only be allowed in “very special circumstances”.

While the welfare of children was rightly a primary consideration, it had to be based on accurate evidence.

The inspector had relied on the advice of the barrister for the brothers Patrick and J Casey, who had made the planning application, but by seeking a judicial review the council implies these submissions were incorrect and failed to consider the actual circumstances of the children involved.

Posted on by — 5 Comments

Co-ordinated fight back by community groups organising a united front against plans for high rise flats at High Barnet station

Community groups are presenting a united front in objecting to Transport for London’s planning application to build five high-rise blocks of flats on a car park and strip of land alongside the London Underground station for High Barnet.

To highlight the strength of opposition to the “wrong scheme in the wrong place” a rally is to be held on the morning of Sunday 7 September at the lower entrance to the tube station starting at 11.30 am.

Barnet Council has extended until Friday 19 September the deadline for residents to respond to the scheme.

After widespread complaints about the decision to organise public consultation during the summer holidays when so many people were likely to be away, the council acknowledged extra time should be given to ensure residents understood the full impact of the application being made by TfL’s property subsidiary, Places for London.

Leading the way in opposing the scheme are the Barnet Society and the Barnet Residents Association which have both been preparing a detailed list of objections to the application to provide 283 flats in five high storey blocks, one of which would be 11 storeys high.

They say the five blocks of flats are “unattractive and overbearing” and completely out of scale and character for the locality with the eleven-storey block rising above the skyline.

Gordon Massey, who prepared a point-by-point summary of the association’s objections, says the proposed development is a “poorly designed blot on the landscape” with the expectation that the flats would be overwhelmingly purchased by buy-to-let landlords.

Living conditions on the new estate would be poor as 75 of the flats would be single aspect facing west, raising issues of noise, heat and ventilation with the likelihood that with all windows having to remain closed, they would rely on mechanical ventilation.

“We are not opposed to the redevelopment of this site for housing, but the people of High Barnet and future residents of this development deserve something much better than this.”

Mr Massey’s conclusions are in line with those of Robin Bishop, who leads for the Barnet Society on planning and the environment, and who thinks the scheme would have a brutal impact on the existing townscape and greenery of High Barnet, Underhill and Barnet Vale.

“Our main objections to the scheme are to the alien scale and character of the designs; its unsustainability as a neighbourhood; its unsafe environment; and the lack of community benefits.”  

Other community groups warn of grave consequences if the development goes ahead with the danger that sandwiching high-rise blocks of tiny flats onto a strip of land between the tube line and Barnet Hill would, in their opinion, be destined to create the slum housing of tomorrow.

Hands Off High Barnet, a campaign group which co-ordinated objections to a 2019 scheme to build seven blocks on the site – a plan which was later reduced and withdrawn – fears the same mistakes are being made once again.

Of the 283 flats being proposed, 68 would be of only one bedroom when High Barnet desperately needed more family homes.

The loss of a well-lit station car park would pose a particular danger for women returning to High Barnet late at night.

“After all the objections we made to the last application, TfL are still not making it any easier for disabled passengers who need to be dropped off or collected at the station,” said Kim Ambridge, one of the founders of Hands-Off High Barnet.

John Dix of the Save New Barnet Campaign – which fought long and hard trying to prevent too many new flats being squeezed into the Victoria Quarter site – said he thought the station scheme was “really shocking”.

The children’s play space in the new development was the “absolute bare minimum” for under 11s.

“One of the children’s play spaces is a steep slope – it drops by 3.3 metres from top to bottom – with steps down the middle underneath one of the blocks.

“They call it the ‘undercroft’ play area, but the wind assessment says it is a problem area and is not for lingering.

“How any human being could classify this dark, draughty underpass as a play area is beyond me.

“The children’s play area for the 12-18-year-olds is, wait for it…500 metres away on Barnet playing fields.”

Mr Dix said he hoped Barnet Councillors read the details of the application, refuse to give approval, and tell the developers to go back to the drawing board.

To raise awareness of TfL’s application and publicise the rally on Sunday 7 September volunteers hope to distribute a leaflet – see below – to around 4,000 households in High Barnet.

Community groups across High Barnet organising co-ordinated fight back against plans for high rise blocks of flats at High Barnet tube station
Posted on by — 6 Comments

Landing on Barnet Hill soon – unless the Council can be persuaded to refuse it

This development would permanently alter the identity of Chipping Barnet. If approved by the Planning Committee, it would set an extremely damaging precedent for the town centre and neighbouring areas. We have until Friday 19 September to comment on it – see how to do so at the end of this post.

The planning application

Places for London (PfL, a partnership between Transport for London & Barratt London) want to build 283 flats over the whole of the present car park in blocks of 5 to 11 storeys high. You can see the full application at https://publicaccess.barnet.gov.uk/online-applications/ (reference no. 25/2671/FUL).

At a public meeting on 20 March Dan Tomlinson MP was neutral about the scheme, but asked PfL to deliver more benefits for the community. Examples suggested were moving the northbound bus stop closer to Station Approach and providing bus access to the station forecourt. Frustratingly, the application offers only some benches and better lighting to the pedestrian ramp and a couple of extra disabled car bays.

Mr Tomlinson has told the Society that he is reviewing the application and will reassess his position.

The Barnet Society’s response

The Barnet Society strongly objects to the application.

We do so with regret because we respect Barnet’s need for new homes and support good design. We also accept the principle of building at transport hubs, and would welcome improvements to this prominent site.

But the designs submitted are not appropriate for this location. They amount to massive overdevelopment, to the great detriment of the character of Chipping Barnet and with almost no compensating benefits to the local community. Our main objections are summarised below.

An alien imposition

The designs are entirely out of scale and character with our green and historic neighbourhood.

At the top and bottom of Barnet Hill, few buildings exceed three storeys, but those proposed would rise over three times as high. They would totally dominate the existing townscape and greenery that make High Barnet, Underhill and Barnet Vale special. They would break the historic skyline from several viewpoints.

Two of the published visualisations are particularly misleading. View 2 (from Underhill) shows only three of the five blocks. Our own version (above) shows a truer picture.

View 14 (from Pricklers Hill) hides St John the Baptist’s church, which currently dominates the skyline, behind a tree. Below, our version demonstrates how the development would compete with – and detract from – the traditional preeminence of the church.

We do not object to gentle densification of our neighbourhood, but this would be a brutal and irreversible step-change.

It would also be a clear breach of Barnet Council’s own recently-adopted Local Plan, which expressly rules out buildings over 7 storeys at High Barnet Station.

The developers’ claim that ‘the tallest building serves [as] a welcoming and attractive gateway from the Station’ is a sublime example of marketing oversell. The trees lining both sides of Barnet Hill already provide a distinctive and beautiful southern ‘gateway’ to our town. The Station needs no such a grandiose landmark: its reticence is part of its charm.

An unsustainable neighbourhood

The applicants and their designers describe their proposals as an ‘exciting well-connected and highly sustainable residential neighbourhood’ (Planning Statement 2.6). On the contrary, it is disconnected and unsustainable at almost every level.

The constraints of the A1000, Northern Line, TfL structures, unstable geology and sloping topography force the applicants to propose a height and density that would be expensive to build, service and maintain for decades to come.

Squeezed between the busy, noisy and polluted road and railway, the new homes could not economically provide healthy environments internally or externally. The promised Passivhaus standards require levels of construction skill and expenditure that we doubt would be attainable.

Flat layouts are often poor.  Some are only single-aspect and, facing north-east, would have very poor sunlight and natural ventilation. A high proportion face south-west with potential to over-heat in summer. Expensive acoustic mitigation and mechanical ventilation (costly to run) would be necessary.

Only 35% of the total number of flats would be ‘affordable’. No guarantees are provided to restrict buy-to-let or overseas investors. At least some of the flats would probably become over-occupied, resulting in a population of nearly 1,000 with no gardens and minimal amenity space.

It would have a high proportion of children but only token outdoor play space. Outdoor play and social space for older children, young adults and the elderly would be negligible. Family stress would increase.

A truly sustainable scheme would place public health, community energy and low waste at its heart. It would be complemented on-site by a rich range of habitats and community gardening, and supported by excellent public transport connections and cycleways. None of these are on offer. Biodiversity net gain could only be achieved by substantial off-site provision. Residents would lack most of the physical, social and economic infrastructure necessary for a settled, inclusive and intergenerational neighbourhood.

An unsafe environment

We are unconvinced that there would be a net improvement in safety. Removal of all general car parking spaces would increase risks to women and other travellers with concerns for their personal safety, especially in late evening and early morning.

Although the ‘woodland walk’ would get an upgrade, the new recessed benches are likely to encourage misuse. The long and contorted strip between the new flats and the tube tracks would invite anti-social behaviour. With its many dark recesses and corners, the project would rely heavily on CCTV cameras and external lighting to meet Secure by Design standards.

Lack of community benefits

Connectivity between tube, buses, taxis and private vehicles would remain poor. Direct bus access to the Station forecourt is ruled out. TfL make no commitment to moving the northbound bus stop closer, or to a cycle lane on Barnet Hill. Pedestrian and wheelchair accessibility would be only slightly improved. Congestion would worsen.

New demand for local surgeries, nurseries and schools would be significant, with no certainty of the developer’s contribution to meeting it.

Loss of car parking

We are unconvinced by the rationale for removing the car park. The only spaces left would be a few disabled bays and (ironically) those for TfL staff. Yet park-and-ride is an option highly valued by residents on the fringes of Barnet and Hertfordshire and boosts tube use. Without improved public transport and connectivity to the Station consequences would be severe, both for travellers and for residents near the Station.

The inconvenience and distress caused by CPZs has lately been illustrated at Underhill South. Similar protests can be expected from residents in the proposed Zones E (Barnet Lane & Sherrards Way) and F (Meadway, Kingsmead, Potters Lane, Prospect Road, Leicester Road & King Edward Road) as well as others affected in Barnet Vale and parents of pupils at St Catherine’s RC Primary School, many of whom have to drive considerable distances due to its wide catchment area.

Postwar mistakes repeated

The mistakes of postwar estate planning – not least in the nearby Dollis Valley Estate – have been forgotten. If approved, in a few years’ time future Barnet residents, politicians and planners will wonder how this development was allowed to happen.

Above: proposed view from King George’s Fields

How you can comment

Have your say one of these ways:

  1. on the Council’s planning portal (ref. no. 25/2671/FUL) via the Comments tab;
  2. email comments direct to planning.consultation@barnet.gov.uk;
  3. post your comments to the Planning Officer: Sam Gerstein, Planning and Building Control, Barnet Council , 2 Bristol Avenue, Colindale, NW9 4EW.

In the cases of 2 & 3, be sure to include the application reference no. (25/2671/FUL) clearly at the top plus your name, address and postcode.

Increase the effectiveness of your objection by sending a copy of your comments to our MP dan.tomlinson.mp@parliament.uk and to your local Councillors.

Posted on by

Race is on for community groups rallying opposition to “massive” high-rise redevelopment around High Barnet tube station

Overwhelming local opposition is emerging to Transport for London’s latest application to build five high-rise blocks of flats on a car park and land alongside High Barnet tube station.

Since plans were published four weeks ago, the response has been heavily against the scheme for being a “massive overdevelopment” with the tallest 11-storey block being described as “horrendous” and “overbearing”.

But the race is now on among community groups to raise public awareness and marshal their case against the plan before the September 2 deadline for registering comments with Barnet Council.

Ward councillors and High Barnet MP Dan Tomlinson are to be briefed by the Barnet Society and Barnet Residents Association as the two organisations finalise their detailed responses.

There have been some complaints of underhand tactics: Why is a consultation on such a significant application being conducted during the summer holidays when so many residents are likely to be away? 

Some of the comments posted so far online have been in favour arguing that 283 new flats would provide “much-needed housing” and “smarten up” the area.

But comments posted on the Barnet Society website since 23 July – and direct responses to the society’s draft of its own objections to the plan – indicate mounting opposition.

Issues of greatest concern are the potential harm a massive development might have on the historic character of High Barnet; the loss of the station car park; the smallness of the flats (68 of 283 would be one-bedroom); the lack of community benefit or support for a new neighbourhood of nearly 1,000 people; and the failure to make substantial improvements to public access to the station and connections for bus passengers.

A fuller understanding of the implications of the development by TfL’s subsidiary Places for London is generating additional criticism.

To offset the loss of the station car park – and prevent commuters parking in nearby roads – new controlled parking zones are being proposed for Underhill (Barnet Lane/Sherrards Way) and Barnet Vale (Meadway, Kingsmead, Potters Lane, Prospect Road, Leicester Road and King Edward Road).

There are also increasing doubts about the poor layout inside the blocks and fears that a high proportion of the flats facing south-west could probably overheat in the summer.

Robin Bishop, who leads for the Barnet Society on planning and environment, says the five blocks of flats would have a brutal impact on the existing townscape and greenery of High Barnet, Underhill and Barnet Vale.

The tallest block of 11 storeys – seen superimposed in orange on the photograph above of the view taken from Pricklers Hill –would “break the historic skyline from several viewpoints and compete with, and detract from, the traditional pre-eminence of St John the Baptist parish church”.

“Our main objections to the scheme are to the alien scale and character of the designs; its unsustainability as a neighbourhood; its unsafe environment; and the lack of community benefits.”

Under the approved Barnet local plan, land around the tube station is earmarked for the construction of up to 300 homes but with a height limit of seven storeys.

Breaking that undertaking by approving the plan would be regarded by the scheme’s opponents as a grave betrayal by Barnet Council.

Community groups marshalling opposition to massive high rise flats at High Barnet tube station before deadline for comments on 2 September.

If the application is approved, it would mean the closure of the container yard operated by Container Safe Ltd which rents out around 120 self-storage containers on what was originally the station coal yard.

Paul and Bev Meehan, who run Container Safe, say that under the terms of their lease for the site from TfL they are subject to six months’ notice.

The couple faced the same uncertainty in 2020 when an application was made to build 292 flats on the site – a plan that was subsequently withdrawn.

They point to the fact that they do provide a vital service for many small businesses and traders in and around High Barnet who store equipment and supplies inside the containers.

Storage space has become increasingly expensive for small businesses which find the rents being demanded on new industrial units are prohibitive.

Comments on the plan can be made via the Barnet Council website quoting reference no. 25/2671/FUL.

Alternatively, you can email comments direct to planning.consultation@barnet.gov.uk or post your comments to the Planning Officer: Sam Gerstein, Planning and Building Control, Barnet Council , 2 Bristol Avenue, Colindale, NW9 4EW. In both cases you must also include the application number (25/2671/FUL) and address (High Barnet Underground Station Station Approach Barnet EN5 5RP) plus your name, address and postcode.

The Barnet Society recommends that views should also be forwarded to your local councillors.

Posted on by — 1 Comment

Work well underway on Victoria Quarter flats at New Barnet…but uncertainty over much-used footpath and tunnel

A long-established footpath under the main railway line at New Barnet faces an uncertain future after being deemed unsafe during redevelopment of the former gas works site off Victoria Road.

Victoria Quarter – a massive new complex of 420 flats in eleven blocks of up to eight storeys in height – is rapidly taking shape after finally securing planning approval last year.

Save New Barnet mounted a sustained campaign to try to ensure improvements and safeguards during lengthy appeals and legal challenges over a succession of applications to develop the vacant site which lies between the main line and Victoria Park recreation ground and leisure centre.

Developers Citystyle Fairview promised that as part of the scheme it would install a well-lit new footpath to a tunnel which provides a right way connecting Victoria Park and its surrounding roads with streets on the other side of the main line around Cromer Road and Tudor Park.

But there is uncertainty now because Network Rail has detected structural faults in the railway embankment and tunnel which forced the closure of the footpath last year soon after construction work started.

East Barnet councillor Simon Radford (above) has taken up complaints made by residents and the Save New Barnet campaign about the continued closure of the existing overhead walkway leading to the tunnel, and the resulting loss of a much-used public right of way.

“Unfortunately, there is no indication yet as to what work is needed to stabilise the embankment and tunnel or how much it will cost,” said Councillor Radford.

“The footpath should have re-opened in July. We hope it might be sorted out by the end of the year, but who knows now.”

At his request there will be regular joint meetings between Network Rail, Fairview and Barnet Council and he has promised to keep the community informed.

“The trouble will probably be sorting out who should pay for any remedial work that is needed to the tunnel.

“Clearly the developers have a responsibility as they promised a new footpath, but it is complicated now Network Rail and Barnet Council are involved.”

The uncertainty has been criticised by John Dix of the Save New Barnet campaign who agreed with Councillor Radford that the re-opening of the footpath might take “significantly longer” than the target date of November.

“Apparently the embankment is already subject to cracking and instability at track level, and this has necessitated a redesign of the works.

“Sadly, this is something we specifically warned the council about before they granted permission to close the public right of way, but when do they ever listen to residents.”

The frontage to the Victoria Quarter redevelopment off Albert Road has been transformed by the completion of the new Park Quarter flats which front on to Victoria Road. Many are now fully occupied.

A start has already been made to marketing homes in the larger Victoria Quarter complex – as seen in the image above from the housing association Sovereign Network Group which is promoting the sale of some of the flats on a shared ownership basis.

SNG, which started promotion in June of the sale of a group of 22 one-, two- and three-bedroom flats in an area to be known as Quartoria, says that priority for the shared-ownership homes will be given to people who live or work in Barnet.

Its website says that based on a 25 per cent shared ownership one-bedroom apartments will be available from £91,250; two-bedroom from £113,750; and three-bedroom from £142,500.

There will be one parking space per apartment, either off-street or under croft parking.

There has been a succession of applications to redevelop the cleared site of the former New Barnet gas works in a long-running saga dating back over 16 years.

Residents and amenity group mounted fierce opposition fearing developers would cram in too many high-rise blocks.

It started when ASDA dropped their 2008 plan to build a new supermarket on the 7.5-acre site.

In 2017 approval was given for 317 flats but this was increased to 652 in a subsequent application proposing ten-storey blocks.

After local criticism this was reduced to 554 and finally Citystyle Fairview gained permission last year for 420 flats in blocks ranging from four to eight storeys with an undertaking to ensure the “removal of the existing elevated footbridge (leading to the tunnel) and creation of new pedestrian routes”.

A separate development is proposed by Berkeley Homes for the northern section of the gasworks site.

Victoria Quarter complex of 420 flats in New Barnet is well underway but residents fear for future of pedestrian tunnel under main railway line.

Late last year, it unveiled a plan to build 200 homes – a scheme which would result in the demolition of the 90-year-old gasometer, a well-known local landmark.

National Grid Property Holdings said the 38-metre-high frame of what was originally known as a column guided gasholder had “no particular historic or architectural merit” and “little, if any heritage value”.

Posted on by

Family needs for travellers’ caravan site outweighs Green Belt protection for Mays Lane countryside says planning inspector

Spirited opposition by a residents’ association has failed to prevent the go ahead for the development of a site for pitches for two travellers’ caravans and other buildings on a field in Green Belt land off Mays Lane, Barnet.

An application for permission was rejected by Barnet Council but this has now been overruled by a planning inspector who said the needs of two gypsy families with seven young children “tipped the balance” in their favour.

Quinta Village Green Residents Association, which had argued that a travellers’ site would harm the openness of the Green Belt and the character of Mays Lane, expressed their “deep disappointment”.

After a lengthy inquiry, the inspector Graham Chamberlain acknowledged there would be “some modest harm to the character and appearance of the area” but there were “very special circumstances” which outweighed the harm to the Green Belt.

The application to station caravans for residential use with hardstanding and dayrooms was made by Patrick Casey who appealed against the council’s refusal to grant planning permission on the grounds that it breached the Green Belt.

Mr Chamberlain said that he understood Mr Casey, who was currently living at the Barley Mow site near Hatfield, and his brother J Casey, were both “unlawfully doubling up as a temporary measure” and needed a secure and settled site.

“The Casey brothers are gypsies, and they want to follow a traditional lifestyle that involves living in culturally appropriate accommodation, this being a caravan on a pitch.”

There were seven young children in the case and their best interests would be served by “establishing a secure permanent home at the appeal site given the lack of suitable alternatives, including where they currently live unlawfully”.

Mr Chamberlain did conclude that a travellers’ site was inappropriate development; would harm the Green Belt; and that the unmet need for caravan pitches in the London Borough of Barnet was not extensive.

However, the balance in favour of the scheme changed significantly when personal circumstances were factored in, especially the best interests of the children.

“Indeed, personal circumstances tip the balance in favour of the scheme when all other considerations are contemplated cumulatively…It follows that the very special circumstances necessary to justify the development have been demonstrated.”

In expressing their frustration at Mr Chamberlain’s go-ahead for the site, the residents’ association said that during the inquiry “no robust evidence of these personal or accommodation circumstances was provided by the appellant, despite repeated requests, and yet these claims were given decisive weight by the inspector.

“The decision overrides local and national planning safeguards, potentially setting a concerning precedent for Green Belt protection.”

Much of the inquiry revolved around whether establishing a site for travellers’ caravans on a two-acre paddock which had been used for grazing horses would extend urban sprawl along Mays Lane and encroach the countryside.

Planning inspector agrees to site for pitches for two travellers' caravans in Green Belt land off Mays Lane, Barnet, despites residents' opposition.

The field is next door to the Mays Lane car park of the Centre for Islamic Enlightening (formerly a Brethren Gospel Hall).

In his report allowing Mr Casey’s appeal, Mr Chamberlain agreed that the paddock had an open rural character free from development, and it was open land that one would expect to “strongly contribute to restricting the urban sprawl of Barnet”.

Accordingly, he recognised that a caravan site next to the Islamic Centre and opposite the Partridge Close estate, would “compound an incongruous finger of development in the countryside” – a factor which was outweighed by the “very special circumstances” he subsequently outlined.

Concerns about the impact on great crested newts and bats were among the issues raised by the residents’ association, but these were not upheld by Mr Chamberlain.

He said a survey showed there were no great crested newts present on the site, and he did not believe either that travellers’ caravans would have an adverse impact on the bat population.

When Mr Casey made his application in 2023, after purchasing the field at auction, the residents’ association raised objections with Barnet Council and welcomed the refusal to grant permission.

The association, which is named after Quinta Village Green and represents 150 families living nearby, succeeded in raising only half of the £15,000 needed for legal representation at the inquiry after already securing a barrister.

“Without access to the council’s expert evidence, the association was left to try to continue contesting the issues alone and under-resourced.

“Adding further controversy, the inspector rejected Barnet Council’s request to limit the planning permission to a five-year temporary term, instead granting permanent consent.

“Residents fear this undermines policy safeguards and opens the door to piecemeal development across London’s Green Belt.

“This is a disappointing outcome for our community, and a worrying moment for Green Belt protections in Barnet.

“Residents engaged in good faith, supported their council, and upheld planning policy – but this decision shows how fragile these protections can be when decision-makers prioritise unevidenced claims over adopted policy.”   

Posted on by — 3 Comments

Bees stay in Hive for now: Council rejects Barnet FC plans for new Underhill stadium

A 100+ crowd packed planning committee rooms at Barnet Town Hall last night for the big match – Barnet Football Club v defenders of Barnet Playing Fields, the proposed site of a new 7,000-seat stadium. After more than two hours of impassioned debate, the result was announced: 6-0 against the Bees.

Barnet FC left its traditional home turf at Underhill for The Hive in Harrow in 2013, selling its site for the Ark Pioneer academy. Ever since, fans have pined for its return to the Borough, and the Club’s recent promotion to English Football League 2 has exacerbated pressures on The Hive. Design began on a new stadium, culminating last December in the outline planning application that was now to be determined by Barnet’s Strategic Planning Committee (visualisation by And Architects below).

There have been vigorous campaigns both for and against the proposal. Barnet FC’s Bring Barnet Back (BBB) claimed 9,500+ supporters. Save Barnet Playing Fields (SBPF – see photograph above) asserted that 90% of local residents opposed the development, and CPRE London said that almost 19,000 had signed a petition against it. The Council received 1,274 online comments plus 72 letters supporting the proposal (35%), as against 1,162 online and about 1,308 paper objections to it (64%). The numbers can be disputed, but division was clearly deep.

The Planning Officer’s report, which recommended refusal, ran to 120 pages – unusually thorough for a project of this size. For comparison, the report last year on the Whalebones application was a mere 103 pages. It reflected local sensitivity, especially around development in the Green Belt. As Committee Chairman Councillor Nigel Young noted, approval could set a precedent for building on other Barnet green spaces.

The significance of the matter was demonstrated by no fewer than five local politicians addressing the meeting in person (in addition to the nine Councillors on the Committee itself). Cllrs Zahra Beg (Underhill), Paul Edwards (High Barnet), David Longstaff (Barnet Vale) and London Assembly Member Anne Clarke all wished to see Barnet FC return to the Borough, but opposed a stadium on Barnet Playing Fields. Only Cllr Tim Roberts supported it.

They were followed by Robert Verrall representing opponents of the scheme, and by Ian Botterill and Sean McGrath representing BBB and the Club’s design team respectively.

All spoke with passion, occasionally interrupted by bursts of audience applause and heckling despite the Chairman’s repeated requests for quiet.

Committee members then discussed the proposal between themselves. Most reiterated support for Barnet FC’s return, just not to this particular location. Several called for consideration of alternative sites, but as the Chairman pointed out, the Committee could only decide on the application in front of them.

In the end, the outcome was decisive. Three members abstained but the others were unanimous in denying planning permission.Their key reasons for refusal were that

‘the proposed development would result in substantial and irreversible harm to the openness and function of the Green Belt, and…the applicant has failed to demonstrate the very special circumstances necessary to justify such harm. The proposal would also result in the loss of valued public open space…’

Other reasons for refusal were insufficient information to safeguard protected species; insufficient information on archaeology; inadequate assessment of on-street parking impacts; unacceptable site access and junction design; and lack of a Section 106 Agreement (detailing the applicant’s financial contribution towards community infrastructure costs).

Barnet Society position

Consultation with our members last February indicated that they were roughly evenly split over the scheme.

Our Committee agreed that we wholeheartedly support the principle of Barnet FC returning closer to its historic roots. And a building and landscape design of exceptional quality could enhance Barnet Playing Fields, which make only a limited contribution to local biodiversity and are little used for sport. But we had severe reservations about key aspects of the Club’s case with regard to the Green Belt and the environment; transport and parking; community uses and benefits; and economic value.

We therefore took a neutral stance but submitted detailed comments that you can read on our website.

What will happen next?

Barnet FC has the right to appeal to the Planning Inspectorate against the Council’s refusal, but its chances of overturning the decision are not great – and will involve yet more expense.

A better way forward would be to build on the constructive discussions that its team held with the Barnet Society and Barnet Residents Association, and to engage more closely with the Council and other stakeholders about alternative sites.

Although disappointed, Bees fans remain defiant. As BBB organiser Keith Doe (seen below with Ian Botterill) said after the meeting, ‘One way or another, we’ll bring Barnet back!’

Posted on by — 6 Comments

Setback for Barnet Football Club as planning officials recommend refusal of plan for a new football stadium at Underhill

Barnet Council’s planning department has come down firmly against Barnet Football Club’s application to build a new 7,000-seat stadium on Barnet Playing Fields at Underhill.

A decision on whether or not the council should give its support is in the hands of its strategic planning committee whose members meet at Hendon Town Hall at 7pm on Monday 14 July.

So far there has been little advance indication of how the committee might respond but the planning department could not be clearer in recommending refusal.

It says the plan to build a new stadium on a “valued local park” would result in “substantial and irreversible harm to the openness and function of the green belt”.

BringBackBarnet, the group which has been campaigning in support of the club returning to Underhill from its existing stadium at The Hive, Harrow, says it is disappointed by the recommendation against the application.

Whatever the outcome of Monday’s meeting, the campaign says it will not give up.

If the plan is rejected, the supporters’ group is convinced that Barnet FC will appeal against the decision and ask for a planning inquiry.

They believe government policy is moving in favour of releasing some green belt land for development and that Barnet Council should take advantage of the offer by the Barnet FC chairman Tony Kleanthous to invest £14 million in constructing a new stadium.

Disappointment for Barnet Football Club as council planners recommend refusal of bid for new stadium at Underhill on Barnet Playing Fields

Since Barnet’s success in gaining promotion next season to League Two of the English Football League, BringBackBarnet have made much of the boost which they believe the club’s return could deliver for Barnet town centre and the local economy.

However, that argument is dismissed by the planners who say any possible “socio-economic” benefits from Barnet’s return to its historic home at Underhill – which it left in 2013 – would not outweigh the significant harm that would result from the “permanent loss of a significant portion of this protected open space”.

The club had failed to demonstrate “very special circumstances” and had failed to address the impact of displaced spectator car parking on the surrounding highway network.

Barnet FC’s full application is for a stadium, with ancillary uses including food and beverage outlets, office and community space, a club shop, a diagnostic centre, an on-site car park for 165 vehicles and parking space for five coaches.

The proposed site is within the Metropolitan Green Belt and the loss of playing field land would be in conflict with national, regional and local planning policy.

An application of such strategic importance to London — and its location within the green belt – would necessitate it being referred to the Mayor of London.  

Currently under the Barnet Local Plan, Barnet Playing Fields and the adjoining King George V Playing Fields immediately to the south of Dollis Brook, are designated as a sports hub site.

There was an earlier proposal by Barnet Council for the construction of new central facilities for the playing fields – including changing rooms and a cafe – but no detailed plan has been submitted and one of the arguments of BringBackBarnet is that a new football stadium could provide amenities for the community which Barnet Council simply cannot afford.

One issue not addressed in the club’s application is the question of whether ownership of a new stadium site would be transferred to club chairman Tony Kleanthous.

The playing fields are currently the subject of a restrictive covenant between the National Playing Fields Association and the Mayor and Councillors of Barnet which requires them to be preserved as a charitable trust in perpetuity as a memorial to King George V and the King George’s Field Foundation.

Posted on by — 8 Comments

With a decision likely within weeks, BringBarnetBack step up their campaign for Barnet Football Club to return to Underhill

In advance of a key meeting which campaigners understand will be held in mid-July, BringBarnetBack have launched a last-minute appeal to Barnet Council to give the go-ahead for a new football stadium at Underhill.

From their own extensive soundings, they believe that there is a 50/50 chance of the council’s strategic planning committee granting planning approval for a 7,000-seat stadium at Barnet Playing Fields.

If the application is rejected, they are confident that the club will launch an appeal and they think it could become a test case in the push by the government to free up some Green Belt land for redevelopment.

However, BringBarnetBack warn that if the playing fields are redesignated as Grey Belt and freed for development, there is a danger the open space might be lost to make way for new housing.

At issue is the argument between many local residents who want to preserve the playing fields as a vital open space and Barnet FC supporters who are fully behind the offer of the club chairman Tony Kleanthous to move the club from The Hive at Harrow to a new £14 million stadium at Underhill.

BringBarnetBack have issued a 14-page dossier examining the arguments for and against the application which ends with a plea to the council to vote for a project that would be a sustainable development; enhance the surrounding Green Belt land; and bring back a football club that has “never stopped believing in coming home”.

(Bring Barnet Back – The Case http://eepurl.com/jhcTaU )

The proposed stadium would take up 22 per cent of the southern section of the playing fields – see above – which BringBarnetBack argue is in effect a “de-facto abandoned field with a monoculture of weeds and grass”.

Campaigners have visited the site at “hundreds of different times and in all weather conditions and claim there were “no people” on the proposed site, beyond the odd dog and its owner.

They believe the case for it becoming the new home of Barnet FC is strengthened by the fact that under a previous plan Barnet Council had proposed redeveloping the playing fields with a new 10,000 square foot destination sports hub that would have included two multi-purpose activity spaces, a cafe, six changing rooms and 55 new car parking spaces.

Because of severe funding restraints the council has not proceeded with its own plan and the reality is that all these facilities – and more – could be included in the new Barnet FC stadium “at no cost to the council”.

 Included in the new stadium would be medical facilities, which could be used by NHS patients; new public toilets which could encourage more use of the existing children’s playground and basketball courts; and community space for local food hubs and other charitable organisations.

One issue not addressed in the BringBarnetBack dossier is the wider use of the playing fields for large public events.

Last minute appeal by BringBarnetBack campaign to persuade Barnet Council to give go ahead for a new football stadium at Barnet Playing Fields

In May the playing fields hosted a five-day visit by Zippos Circus and other events are planned for later in the summer.

Organisers who have previously presented music and community festivals at other nearby sites such as Trent Park and Oak Hill Park, are switching to the playing fields at Underhill because of what they say is excellent access to public transport.

Other events being advertised at the playing fields are the Eagle Festival of Music over the weekend of June 21-22; the Ghana Party in the Park festival and the Mauritius open air festival which will be staged separately on the Saturday and Sunday of July 12 and July 13.

BringBarnetBack underline the urgency of the application: currently Barnet FC is loss-making and kept afloat at Harrow by Mr Kleanthous who is “willing to subsidise the club at a personal loss”.

Since moving to The Hive from Underhill in 2013 the club has lost between 25 per cent and 30 per cent of its core support and despite its promotion to the League Two of the English Football League, Barnet’s future is “unsustainable away from its home”.

Securing a return to Underhill – its home of 107 years — represents in planning terms “very special circumstances” to justify building a stadium on Green Belt land.

Posted on by — 1 Comment

Mays Lane residents are increasingly concerned about the continuing failure to restore the derelict Quinta Youth Club building

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.

After their success in obtaining and maintaining protected status for Quinta Village Green — which adjoins the derelict clubhouse — residents are increasingly concerned about continuing vandalism and anti-social behaviour.

Barnet Council and representatives of other local groups are to be sounded out by the Quinta Village Green Residents Association to see what could be done to restore a sadly neglected building.

Planning approval was given in 2021for use of the clubhouse to be changed from community use to become a store for the library service for schools in the Borough of Barnet.

Although said to be “derelict and in a poor condition” and vacant since 2006, the council proposed to refurbish the existing single-storey building, install new doors and windows, and use it for the storage, archiving and dispatching of library books as part of the borough’s Schools Library Resource Service.

But nothing further has happened to the building in the intervening four years, prompting residents’ concerns about continuing vandalism, resulting in their appeal for more thought to be given as to its future use. 

After the being re-established and named after Quinta Village Green, the residents’ association has been engaged in several campaigns against threats to the Green Belt and is seeking better consultation on road safety schemes in Mays Lane.

Residents to launch fresh attempt to see whether derelict former Quinta Youth Club in Mays Lanes can be restored for community use.

Gina Theodorou, the first chair of the newly formed association, promoted their work with a stall at the Arkley Village Fayre.

“Given all that we have been doing to strengthen the Quinta village community, we do think it is perhaps time to see whether something can be done about the abandoned youth club.

“As it has been boarded up for the last 20 years, we are now reaching out to Barnet Council, who own the building, and to other local partners to explore opportunities for restoring it and bringing it back into community use.”

Currently the association is crowdfunding for the cost of legal representation at a public inquiry into an application for a travellers’ caravan site on Green Belt land in Mays Lane.

So far, a crowdfunded appeal has raised half the cost, but the association still needs to raise almost £7,000.

After getting the village green registered as a public open space, the association liaises with the council to ensure maintenance of the green and to ensure that fly tipping is removed.    

Posted on by — 1 Comment

Amid East Barnet’s Edwardian houses is an amazing new self-build home – an ideal solution for downsizing to a smaller property

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.

She has moved to a new, smaller, eco-friendly house which is next door to what had been a family home for 60 years, midway between Church Hill Road and Oakleigh Park Station.

She readily acknowledges her good fortune.

Kathryn did have a house to sell and space alongside large enough for a new architect-designed property complete with a bedroom, living area and the facilities she needs all on the ground floor, with two bedrooms above.

Her achievement, at the age of 83, has won national acclaim.

Her ambitious, high spec self-build won glowing praise from television presenter Kevin McCloud when he visited the house for his programme Grand Designs, which was followed by an expansive feature spread in House Beautiful.

Kathryn decided to see if she could downsize – and still live nearby – after the death of her husband Jon, who was a prominent East Barnet architect.

He designed St John’s United Reform Church at the corner of Somerset and Mowbray Roads, New Barnet, which was opened in 1968 and won a Civic Trust award.

“After Jon died in 2022, I decided with the family to see if we could build a new house on our plot next door.

“Our family house was too big for me, expensive to run, and needed a lot of improvement like a new boiler and electrics.

“Jon had built a music room on the plot, and I knew it was big enough for a house as developers searching Google earth were always wanting to buy it.”

Kathryn’s son introduced her to architect James Mak who came up with the idea of a living area and bedroom on one level with two bedrooms above for family members.

“His drawings and design for the house were lovely. It seemed like the dream solution as I would end up living in the same street in a new super-efficient, low-cost home.”

Built London Ltd started construction in September 2023 and Kathryn moved in in November last year.

“Here I am living in an ideal position close to so many friends, near the station, and just a short walk to East Barnet village and lots of bus routes, which will be so important if I have to give up my car.”

The construction costs of over £800,000 were met from the sale of the family home next door, a four-bedroom Edwardian house built in 1908.

Kathryn was rather pensive for a moment when asked whether the whole exercise had all been a little daunting for an 80-year-old.

“Yes, I would do it again. The new house is so well insulated, with triple-glazed windows, and the energy use is so much more efficient, and I am delighted with the result.

“Perhaps if I was starting out again, I would think carefully as to whether it should all have been to such high spec.

“But then I did want it all to be as eco-friendly as possible and to save what material we could from Jon’s music room.

“He put down a wonderful elm floor and that wood has been used again in fitting out the kitchen and in building a new bookcase so that gives me real pleasure.”

Down sizing to a smaller eco-friendly property has been achieved in style by long-standing East Barnet resident still in same street after 60 years.

“I suppose my experience is an example as to how it is possible to downsize if you are fortunate enough to already own a property which can be sold to finance a new build.”

“I never thought we would attract the attention of Grand Designs but appearing on television has really raised my profile.

“I am very amused by the number of people who now say, ‘I’ve seen you on tv’ and who like to stand and admire the house.”

Posted on by — 6 Comments

Barnet’s promotion to League Two of the Football League is being hailed as a boost to campaign to build new stadium at Underhill

After Barnet secured their return to the Football League with a decisive 4-0 win against Aldershot, supporters of the BringBarnetBack campaign hope it might strengthen the club’s chances of obtaining planning permission for a new stadium at Underhill.

There was a sell-out crowd for the last home match of the season (Saturday 26 April) at the club’s current stadium, The Hive, Harrow.

Their comfortable defeat of Aldershot ensured the Bees’s promotion to League Two of the English Football League.

Post-match celebrations for the team and spectators made the front page of The Non-League Paper (27.4.2025)

A largely unbeaten run had kept Barnet safely at the top of the Vanarama National League for months on end – a lead which extended for a time to nine points.

Barnet’s success – and a place back in League Two after relegation in 2018 – has boosted the efforts of supporters who have put up banners and posters around the town backing the club’s bid to build a new stadium at Underhill.

After seven years out of League football, securing promotion with a game in hand, has added further impetus to calls for Barnet residents and community groups to back the club chairman Tony Kleanthous who has promised to invest £14 million in a new stadium. 

Arrangements are already in hand by BringBarnetBack for a celebration in High Barnet to congratulate the club and manager Dean Brennan for turning around the club’s fortunes.

Barnet have only lost once this year and nine consecutive wins from February to March had already given the club a commanding lead.

Tickets sold out fast for the crucial match against Aldershot with 4,500 home supporters expected at the stadium together with away fans – for full match report see club’s website above https://barnetfc.com/

Two first half penalties by Mark Shelton and then two goals within four minutes in the second half by Callum Lee Stead sealed the match and promotion with a game to spare.

Victory over Aldershot put Barnet on 99 points (followed in second place by York on 93).

Barnet now have the chance in their final match of the season against AFC Fylde on 5.5.2025 to break the 100-point barrier.

After failing to gain promotion in the two previous seasons after being beaten in the play offs, Dean Brennan’s success in steering the team to automatic promotion does raise the club’s profile at a critical point in their future.

Since moving to The Hive in 2013, Barnet have failed to match previous attendances at Underhill.

The average gate in recent months has been around 1,800 and club officials believe a move back to Underhill could increase that to around 3,500 given the strength of local support.

Campaigners for Barnet FC to return to Underhill encouraged by club's promotion to League Two of the Football League

Discussions are continuing with Barnet Council’s planning department over the plan to return the club to “where it belongs” – a constant refrain of BringBarnetBack.

In February, Barnet FC completed another stage in its attempt to gain approval when its application to construct a 7,000-seat stadium on playing fields at off Barnet Lane was validated by Barnet council, a step which enabled the club’s consultants and architects to start discussions with planning officers.

There is no indication yet of how the talks are going and so far, no date has been set for when the application might be considered by the strategic planning committee.