News from The Barnet Society

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

When customer satisfaction is the only protection against the tsunami of change that is sweeping through so many of Britain’s high streets, few Barnet traders can match the long-standing loyalty of local residents for the refreshments served at Dory’s cafe, still going strong and now in the hands of the third generation of an Italian

Transport for London has turned down a suggestion by the Barnet Society that by slightly extending the final destination of the 34 bus service (Walthamstow Central to Barnet) there could be a reorganisation of bus stops at the top of Barnet Hill and an easing of traffic congestion.

New look for Spires shopping centre: a continental cafe-style culture for Barnet High Street? A computer-generated image released by the Williams Pears property group gives an impression of the proposed new-look entrance to the Spires shopping centre and an outside seating area in front of a new Carluccio’s restaurant.

Barnet Council has promised that a heritage officer will carry out an inspection in Church Passage in the “very near future” in an attempt to resolve continuing disagreement over cladding on the frontage of retail premises in the heart of the High Barnet conservation area.

Barnet Council has almost £150,000 available which could be spent immediately on improving the road junction at the top of Barnet Hill, if only an agreement could be reached on how best to ease traffic congestion and make it safer for pedestrians.

A new layout for High Barnet’s bus stops could benefit passengers and speed up traffic flow.  Transport for London has been asked to consider reorganising the bus stops at the top of Barnet Hill in order to reduce traffic congestion around Barnet parish church and to provide easier access for bus passengers.

The Barnet Society pinpoints the sites of missing telecoms cabinets needed to deliver a fast broadband service.  The Barnet Society has identified eight sites where it believes British Telecom needs to install additional kerbside telecoms cabinets if several thousand High Barnet households are ever going to have the chance to obtain a fast broadband connection.

After collecting High Barnet’s rainfall figures since the 1980s, a Barnet family can say without hesitation that this winter has been the wettest locally for at least thirty years.

Two designs for a new High Street entrance to the Spires shopping centre – one of which would be without the two original spires of Barnet Methodist Church – are now on public display and open for consultation. But Barnet residents have only a matter of days to give their reaction.

A long-awaited meeting between Theresa Villiers MP and senior executives of British Telecom has still left unanswered many of the questions about when – or if ever – many High Barnet residents will be offered a superfast broadband connection.

Barnet has probably more to thank the politicians and planners of the 1930s and 1940s for than any other town in north London. With protected Green Belt land on three sides, the High Barnet of today is blessed with some unrivalled countryside on our door-step.

Like much of the south-east of England, Chipping Barnet is seeing a rapid rise in home extensions and offices being converted into flats.  An easing of planning restrictions has given home-owners and property developers greater freedom.  But are large home extensions an intrusion for neighbours?

All the fun of the fair filled the High Street for the annual Barnet Christmas Fair, which many judged was the most ambitious and best supported since the event was first held twenty years ago.

Local shops and businesses are pulling out all the stops to ensure a spectacular line-up of events and attractions for High Barnet’s annual Christmas Fair on Sunday 1st December. A fun fair, a stage for dancing, food stalls and other attractions will fill the High Street, which will be closed to traffic from 8am to 7pm.

Celebrations along the high streets of Britain have been few and far between in the last few years, so the official re-opening of Barnet Market after its recent make-over was just the kind of fillip local traders have been crying out for.

New recycling service: an eyewitness report from a Barnet Society member. High Barnet householders have been told they should become their own recycling monitors and report back to Barnet Council on the efficiency of the new service for collecting recyclable refuse.

Several thousand properties in and around High Barnet’s conservation area have been left without any clear explanation from British Telecom as to when – if ever – their premises will get a superfast broadband connection.

Whitings Hill is hardly likely to rival New England in the fall, but two plantations planted almost 20 years ago by the Barnet Society are now resplendent with mature trees and are presenting a vibrant display of autumn colours.

Reorganise chaotic approach to High Barnet tube station to provide space for a bus service direct to the Spires and Barnet Hospital – plea by the Barnet Society.