Newsletter January 2009

Welcome to 2009. It seems a long time since our last newsletter in September. Back then banks were still fully functioning, new developments for the Spires and the market site were confidently anticipated, and local shop occupancy seemed to be holding up quite well. We report below on the descending gloom, though there is one bright spot regarding the proposed gaming centre in the High St.

Conservation in the High Street

Members may recollect that one result from the town centre survey we undertook early last year revealed how most residents were unaware that much of the High Street had conservation area protection, and hardly anyone thought that the state of these buildings reflected their perception of what a conservation area should look like.

We have now taken the issue further and put a submission to Barnet council highlighting their dismal failure to effectively supervise these properties. We finally decided we had to do something following the awful changes allowed to the frontage of the former Crown and Anchor pub.

Instead of a collection of charming period properties presented to best advantage, much of the High St. has a distinctly down market image. We have drawn comparisons with well-managed conservation areas such as Epping and Hertford. Particularly sad is the state of the buildings south of the church. The view up the hill towards the church flanked by rows of period buildings is the iconic image of High Barnet. What we get are modern frontages such as Paddy Power and Chicken Cottage (thankfully now closed), which dominate the eye and crowd out the finer features. We are not opposed to such outlets existing in the High Street, but we do want them to blend with the surroundings and reflect the style and historic value of the buildings around. Otherwise, how are we going to maintain an appealing, prosperous shopping centre if tawdry and garish shop fronts are High Barnet’s image to the world?

Barnet has some very good guidelines for the management of shops in conservation areas, but sadly the council has just not been following them. It is evident that the council has taken decisions in ignorance of its guidelines, has given them insufficient attention, or has not had the courage to stand up to retailers, especially national chains eager to promote their corporate image.

We have asked that councillors on the Area Planning Committee to take a much more robust line when considering applications for new signage and alterations to protected shop frontages. You can see in full the submission to the council on our website.

The Crunch comes to High Barnet

So far, the most significant local casualties of the ‘credit crunch’ are two of the planned major commercial redevelopments in the town centre -- the rebuild of the Market and the expansion of The Spires. We are keeping in close touch with these projects. So far there is no indication that they have been abandoned, but no expenditure is being committed in the current climate. Fortunately the public sector College rebuild is continuing apace. One surprise is that the Albion pub in Union Street is about to reopen.

Windsor Classics in The Spires,and QS and Turbo in the High St are closing. Adams in The Spires is in receivership. Tchibo are pulling out of the UK, so another shop in The Spires will also soon disappear. The loss of Windsor Classics is particularly sad, being the kind of small independent retailer that we have so few of these days. Out photograph shows owner and local resident Martin Wengrow looking remarkably stoical in the circumstances. In the current climate it is surprising that the owners of The Spires are continuing to ratchet up rents, a major factor influencing retailers in whether or not to renew their leases.

Barnet Market

We have continued our active involvement with "Friends of Barnet Market". The group has put up posters and distributed over 6000 leaflets to local households advertising the market on its temporary Stapylton Rd. site. The various groups who contribute to the Friends, including ourselves, have provided the funds for this. It is pleasing to report that our efforts seem to be bearing fruit with the market holding up well, though understandably the recent very cold spell has discouraged shoppers and traders alike.

The Friends have also been very active in engaging with various involved parties, including the market owners, the council and local MP Theresa Villiers. Not only do we lack any certainty over the long-term fate of the market, we have no resolution regarding the location of the market when the current temporary lease on the car park expires later this year. This last issue is currently the major focus of activity.

Agora Gaming Centre

One very encouraging instance of community power in action was the recent decision by the Area Planning Committee to reject the application by Agora Ltd to convert the former Mothercare shop on the High Street into a gaming centre. Residents’ groups urged the public to complain and eventually the council had over 150 individual and group objections to take into account, including our own. A key factor that allowed the council to reject the application was the requirement that 75% of the commercial outlets in the town centre should be retail, and currently the proportion is lower than this.

So far no appeal has not been lodged, and following a very short temporary let to a clothing retailer the premises remain empty, with no indication of any alterations taking place. Hopefully they will now go away, but if Agora does proceed with an appeal we, along with other local groups, have pledged funds to hire a barrister to fight the case.

As this saga has proceeded we have realised how unaware the public is of changes to the gaming laws. Many people thought that the Agora proposal was for the kind of ‘penny arcade’ that largely appealed to young people and over the years attracted a somewhat unsavoury reputation. These new centres are very different. Most people remember the very public debate regarding the proposed legislation to allow a ‘super casino’ and some twenty smaller ones to be opened around the country. In the event, the super casino idea was dropped, but the rest of the legislation went ahead, including the little noticed provision that allowed high-stake/high cash prize Las Vegas style gaming machines in controlled premises where people under the age of 18 are not admitted. They have proliferated at a rapid rate. Betting shops are allowed up to two machines each, and these can now be found in Ladbrokes and Paddy Power in our High Street.

Your writer was recently surprised to find that the former amusement area at an M1 service station that previously offered playstation type games had been replaced by an adult gaming centre with machines offering prizes up to £500. Many town centres, such as Borehamwood, now have premises of this kind, and a planning application has recently been submitted for one in Potters Bar. Keeping them out of High Barnet will not be easy.

Crime and Disorder

There was an upsurge in handbag thefts in the High Street early in December, though the problem has now subsided to the general trend of about one loss per week. A number of shops in outlying locations such as Potters Road and Alston Rd have been burgled; with cigarettes the main target. Thefts from cars have also risen. However, the crime rate remains very low with little change overall. It is pleasing that not a single crime was recorded at the High St Xmas fair. A recent initiative to target blue badge abuse identified ten miscreants.

The police recently closed two local brothels, much to the surprise of many residents who could not imagine that such establishments existed in High Barnet. Another success was the rejection of Costcutter’s appeal to have their alcohol licence restored after they lost it for selling to minors. Add in the rejection of the gaming centre, and it looks as though High Barnet is well on course to earn a fearsome reputation as a centre for moral rectitude!

Parents taking children to Christchurch school have been ignoring the 20mph limit on Byng and Wentworth Roads, some noted doing 35mph with a child in the car. The school is taking steps to advise parents of the importance of observing the speed limit. We hope that this works rather than the police having to consider a more heavy-handed solution.

Parking -- the campaign continues

One welcome change to local parking controls was the council’s agreement to abandon the confusing early morning and late afternoon restrictions on the High Street that led to many hundreds of unwary motorists being fined every year. We featured this problem in our last newsletter. The changes came into force in December. The local traffic wardens routinely hung around the High Street at these times knowing there was easy prey in the offing. We wait to see whether warden numbers will be reduced in number in anticipation of lower income to fund them, or whether they will find other activities where rich pickings might be found.

Our proposal for a shake-up of commuter and shopper parking in our town centre has so far failed to stir the council into action. Despite the potential to improve their income from parking if our ideas are adopted, they appear to be inclined to lump this issue with a planned review of CPZs sometime later this year. CPZs are of course designed to protect residential streets from being swamped by commuters and others, so the link between the review and our proposals is extremely tenuous. But there we are; never under estimate the sheer inertia of large bureaucracies. We continue to suffer a council which deludes itself that Barnet Borough is a single entity where one size fits all, when in reality we are made up of a collection of small towns with their own distinct characteristics and needs. We continue to press the issue, though rumours that the already too-high parking charges are about to be increased suggests that the council continues to be impervious to more enlightened thinking.

Newsletter

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