Newsletter September 2008

Our AGM in June proved to be a very lively affair. Many members were clearly worried about the future of our shopping centre and the meeting was very supportive of the proposal to redevelop The Spires. We were also encouraged to press on with our own initiatives regarding parking and traffic management that arose from the comprehensive survey that we conducted earlier this year (reported in detail in the May Newsletter). In this issue we report in detail on our proposals for re-organising parking in High Barnet which have now been submitted to Barnet Council.

Town centre parking

The response to our residents’ survey convinced us that the current parking arrangements are having a significant negative impact on the economic health of our town centre. Apart from the high short-term charges being a major source of complaint, poor availability of parking spaces close to the shops is another. We have been struck by the fact that the three main council car parks are almost entirely occupied by commuters, some having business permits and others paying the £3 daily charge (the on-street daily charge is £4). A further concern, raised by the traders association and recently featured in the Barnet Times, is the confusing wording on the restriction notices in the High St which are generating hundreds of fines each year. It is no surprise that shoppers are put-off.

The proposals we have put to the council provide for an easily understood system of designated zones:

- An inner shoppers zone: This would embrace the High St, Wood St between the Church and Stapylton Rd, and Stapylton Rd car park. Here parking would be short-term only (maximum 3 hours) and attractively priced. We have asked that the first hour should be free. We have asked for the confusing restrictions on the High St to be reviewed. We have also asked that consideration is given to converting the Library car park to short-term pay and display as the fenced off staff area is now grossly underused. In total these revised arrangements would provide some 100 shoppers bays to supplement the spaces in The Spires.

- An outer commuter zone: This would be aimed at workers who commute to work in High Barnet along with those central London commuters who cannot use the station car park because it is routinely full. The daily charge would remain at £3.

- A residents zone: For CPZ areas we are proposing no changes. The high short-term charges and £4 daily fee would remain to protect residential streets from being swamped with cars. We have no proposals to change the arrangements in residential streets where parking is currently free, but hopefully reduced short-term charges in the other two zones would relieve some of the pressure.

To compensate for the loss of commuter spaces in the inner zone we have identified up to 115 spaces in the outer zone that are currently little used where the £3 charge could be introduced. These include bays on the main road through Hadley Common, bays around Ravenscroft Park (both pictured on a weekday afternoon) , and some of the bays in Hillside Gardens. It is our belief that arrangements along these lines would actually increase the council’s revenue from parking charges. At the moment most of the on-street charged bays on the fringes of the town centre see little use.

In the next issue we hope to report on the council’s response. In the meantime we have turned our minds to traffic management. Some time ago the council promised a traffic survey but it has never happened. So as a starter we have decided to do our own this autumn. Some members have already volunteered to help with this, and anyone else who might like to assist should contract the Secretary please. We are looking for people with an hour to spare mid-morning and/or mid-afternoon.

Spires redevelopment

In our previous newsletter we revealed the proposals for a major redevelopment of The Spires site. We do not have a lot to add for now. We know that the developer is having talks with the council’s planners and in the near future there is every prospect of detailed plans being available for us to see and comment on.

Meantime the proposals for large Asda and Tesco stores in New Barnet rumble on towards the likelihood of planning applications being submitted sometime soon, despite fierce local opposition. The prospect of one or both of these applications being successful cannot be good news for High Barnet. Both proposals are for large stores that would sell far more than just groceries. Nowadays the big superstores are more like departmental stores and could steal a lot of trade from our remaining High St retailers.

Barnet market

Over the summer rumours were rife that the market owners had decided to delay the re-development because of the collapse in the housing market. We understood that work was due to start this September so by the time members receive this newsletter they will be able to see for themselves what is - or is not - going on. Our approaches to the owners to seek clarification have so far been met with silence.

Such is the level of concern that various groups in the area have banded together to see what might be done in the meantime to ensure the market does not whither away. Hadley Residents Association, The Barnet Society, SPACES, Barnet Historical Society and ourselves have joined forces as "Friends of Barnet Market". The first initiative has been the production of some promotional material. Between us we have funded some posters and leaflets which are planned to be delivered to selected streets in October. We would be glad to hear from anyone who can find a site for a poster or help with deliveries.

Peace in the High St?

The conversion of the notorious Dandelion pub (formerly Red Lion and other incarnations) to a Toby Carvery seems to have had a dramatic effect on the problem of disturbance in the High St. Indeed some regular pub-goers have complained about the loss of atmosphere, with one older pub regular saying that on Saturday nights the High St now feels like a ghost town. It may well be that the large influx of revellers from other areas is now behind us. Observations suggest that restaurants are generally doing quite well, and they do tend to generate an older clientele and a more civilised atmosphere. However the downside is that some of the old pubs are clearly struggling, and their loss will be lamented by those who see pubs as providing an important casual and relaxed social environment

The spate of shop closures experienced over last summer and winter has abated and some of the vacant units are being occupied. Following the established trend the new occupiers are more specialised outlets with a currency exchange/travel agent moving into the former Argos premise, and (another) spectacle shop occupying part of the former Tally Ho premises. The proposal to establish a gaming outlet in the former Mothercare premises generated over 130 objections so the council knows it has a hot potato on its hands - hence the unusually long time being taken to decide the planning application.

Local Development Framework

Whilst Barnet council can sometimes perplex us with its decisions or unwillingness to act on matters of concern, we can never complain about their ability to produce weighty tomes on various ‘strategic’ or policy issues. Whether the grandiose considerations and decisions arising from these documents are followed or ever translate into meaningful action on the ground is often open to doubt. One such document that could easily suffer such a fate is the recently published draft Local Development Framework. The theory is that once adopted this document, and the supplementary documents set to follow it, will form the basis of planning policy for the next ten to twenty years. It describes the profile of the borough of Barnet and the council’s vision of a successful "city suburb". The population is expected to grow and the council are examining options to provide the infrastructure to support this. They are looking at a potential parking strategy, how to keep people moving around both by public transport and private car, necessary community services and, last but not least, a planning strategy. Should they give preference to houses over flats? Housing or commercial space?

This is a very detailed, and potentially a very important, document, and your committee is taking it very seriously and preparing a detailed response on the issues mentioned above. We will keep you informed.

We could fill the whole newsletter with this, but for anyone who wants to read the detail the draft plan can been seen at any of Barnet’s libraries or on-line at http://www.barnet.gov.uk/core-strategy-consultation.htm. It is open for consultation until 5pm on 29 September 2008.

And finally....

Has anyone heard anything more about the rebuild of the Dollis Valley estate? All went quiet 18 months ago and activity seems to be shrouded in a cloak of secrecy. We reckon no private partner is going to build 800 flats for sale in the current housing market, especially as the saleability of such a volume of that type of property in a suburban location was always questionable anyway. So we would not be surprised if the scheme has effectively collapsed. We would not be sorry to see the private flats lost or scaled down, but the estate continues to deteriorate. The people living there are getting a raw deal - as well as the poor housing their school closes next year, supposedly to enable the land to be used for the first phase of the redevelopment.

Newsletter

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