News from The Barnet Society

A ten-year campaign to prevent new housing on farmland at Whalebones in Wood Street, High Barnet, ended in defeat despite stark warnings about the loss of a nature-rich habitat in a much-prize conservation area.

A controversial scheme to build eleven blocks of flats to provide 420 homes on the former gas works site in New Barnet has finally won planning approval after years of heated debate.

Associate organist Jonathan Gregory has spent months organising what he hopes will be a unique event at Barnet parish church -- a concert to celebrate the strength of Anglo-Japanese cultural relationships.

There is news of a possible reprieve for the now-closed Prince of Wales -- the last public house in East Barnet village which was registered as an asset of community value at the end of last month in an attempt to safeguard its future.

Worsening subsidence has forced a change of plan at Monken Hadley parish church: instead of renovating the historic church hall, structural engineers have advised that the 200-year-old building is now beyond reasonable economic repair and should be demolished.

Organisers of a community-led campaign are demanding proper consultation and engagement with local residents before Barnet Council goes ahead with a programme of road safety and traffic calming measures in Mays Lane and surrounding roads.

East Barnet's last remaining public house, the Prince of Wales -- which closed in mid-February -- has been registered by Barnet Council as an asset of community value which will provide a limited degree of protection against immediate redevelopment.

Barnet Football Club is preparing a planning application for a possible return to Barnet on a site close by its former stadium at Underhill.

A vast accumulation of car parts and components -- including hard-to-find spares for classic cars -- are being sold off at reduced prices following the closure of Falcon Motor Accessories, thought to be East Barnet's oldest retail business.

A pioneering playground with equipment specially designed for children with disabilities has been opened in Victoria Recreation Ground in New Barnet - the first of a new era of play areas that could be rolled out across the UK.

High Barnet's much-loved Tudor Hall, under used for so long, might become a national focal point for explaining and celebrating the Wars of the Roses and the prominent part played by the 1471 Battle of Barnet.

Almost 30 years have elapsed since there has been a Beating of the Bounds of the ancient parish of Chipping Barnet -- an historic custom which volunteers at Barnet Museum intend to revive on the May Day Bank Holiday.

A community garden is being established on a small piece of spare land in the Old Courthouse Recreation Grounds with the aim of creating a meeting point for local people and encouraging a wider interest in gardening and the growing of fruit and vegetables.

David Parry, founder of the highly successful Open Door Centre and drop-in cafe at Christ Church, St Albans Road, has died at the age of 77.

Another two of High Barnet's ULEZ cameras are out of action after having been cut down with an angle grinder in a fresh wave of sabotage by vandals protesting at Transport for London's £12.50 charge on vehicles which fail to meet the new ultra-low emissions standards.

A fun day out with activities for children and a vast choice of refreshments welcomed families, friends and supporters to the newly established High Barnet Islamic Centre.

A positive -- and perhaps lasting -- outcome from the covid emergency is that local councils relaxed licensing rules on outside seating for public houses, cafes and restaurants -- and one High Barnet beneficiary hopes the changes will be made permanent.

A wide range of road safety and calming improvements are being proposed by Barnet Council along Mays Lane and in several surrounding roads to reduce traffic accidents and increase safety for pedestrians.

A meeting hall with adjoining seminar rooms, which are tucked away behind shops in Barnet High Street, are to become an Islamic centre for High Barnet. Currently Muslim Friday prayers and Sunday Madrasah teachings for children are held at the Rainbow Centre in Dollis Valley.

Barnet Society stalwart David Lee, who was renowned for his dogged determination to do all he could to enhance and preserve the character of Chipping Barnet, has died at the age of 93 leaving a unique and enduring legacy.