Underhill village residents face intense competition in Barnet Council bidding process to buy back former youth club for local community

As Barnet Council starts to consider numerous bids to buy the derelict former Quinta Youth Club in Mays Lane, the residents’ association for the neighbourhood has appealed for the building to be returned to community use rather than go to the highest bidder.

Quinta Village Green Residents’ Association has submitted what it says is a “comprehensive competitive bid” for the building on which the council has placed a £300,000 valuation.

Association chair Gina Theodorou says she hopes the council will finally agree to return to Mays Lane residents a clubhouse which was built by the community in the 1960s and which been derelict for the last 20 years.

Plans have been prepared with pledges of financial support to use the site to build a combined community hub, cafe and youth centre.

With the expiry of a six-month pause allowing community groups to prepare their bids after the clubhouse was designated an asset of community value, the sale process was opened to public bids.

Council officials are understood to have been surprised by the number of commercial as well as community offers for the property.

There are said to have been as many of 40 expressions of interest.

In acknowledging they are up against competitive offers, Gina Theodorou, chair of the residents’ association, said they recognise the council must assess the bids through its formal disposal process.

“But we hope the council will give full consideration to the lasting social and community value that our proposal could deliver, alongside the financial offer.

“Residents have already done an extraordinary amount to demonstrate what a community hub could become.

“We now hope the council will give this community-led proposal the opportunity it deserves.”

Initially the Quinta Project, a newly incorporated company, is proposing a fully-functioning single storey building, designed to allow for possible future expansion, should funding and community needs justify it – see artist’s impression above.

A new, accessible community hub would offer youth activities, sport, music and creative opportunities, a community café, and affordable space for local charities and community groups.

A consultation conducted by the association attracted over 440 responses, of which 97 per cent were in favour of the building being returned to community use and 78 per cent identifying provision for young people one of the area’s most underserved needs.

Pupils at Totteridge Academy and Underhill School had been consulted and one of their clearest messages was that young people wanted somewhere welcoming and affordable to meet friends and engage in organised activities.

The derelict building sits alongside Quinta Village Green, which is a legally protected open space. A new community hub would be able to connect with outdoor sport and recreation.

In preparing their submission, for which there is said to be significant financial backing from the Hadley Trust, the association commissioned extensive feasibility work and prepared detailed five-year operating forecasts.

The Quinta Club was conceived in the 1960s when the local community drew up plans for a youth centre for what was then the Whitings Hill estate in view of a “dearth of opportunity” for young people in Underhill.

The foundation stone was laid in July 1965, and the club was built with the help of local volunteers and tradespeople.

Ms Theodorou believed there is a chance to recreate that sense of community.

“We want to bring that spirit back, creating somewhere young people can feel safe, make friends and develop their interests, while offering a welcoming place for residents of every generation.

“More than 60 years later, Barnet’s own youth strategy needs analysis reaches the same conclusion about this part of the borough.

“After two decades of closure and decay, residents now hope to restore the club’s original purpose for a new generation.”