Sunday 17th September 2023

EBRA Meeting

A reminder that we'll be holding a members' meeting at the new Community Hall at St Mary's Church this Wednesday 20th September at 7:30pm

The agenda so far is:

• Village Car Park
• ASB in Oak Hill Park car park 
• Bandstand Refurbishment 
• Dogs in the park 
• Church Farm houses (revised plan)
  

There will also be an opportunity to view the new benches which EBRA and the Knitwits have bought for the churchyard.

Please let me know if you have any other items you'd like to add to the agenda. Thank you.

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Village Car Park

Thank you for your feedback on comments on the item in the previous newsletter about how the Council may be able to help residents and businesses make better use of the Village car park by introducing some form of charging to prevent it being abused by long-term parking.

Here's a summary of the results:

So more than 90% of you think it's a good idea, but more than 75% think there should be a free parking period, the majority saying this should be up to an hour.

I'll pass these results (and your verbatim comments) to Craig Miller, the director of Barnet's Street Scene department, who said he should be able to come to our meeting on Wednesday to discuss.

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Advertising & EV Charging Points at Hampden Square

My colleagues at FORAB (the Federation of Residents' Associations in Barnet) alerted me to the likelihood that there would soon be many planning applications to place large advertising video screens targeting drivers at busy locations, under the guise of EVCP (Electric Vehicle Charging Points).

Two applications have just been published for our area, at Hampden Square.

(this is an Australian version of an advertising display/charger. Jolt seem a bit reluctant to show photos of the slightly modified UK version)

The dimensions are, "without any bolt-ons 1161 x 2650 x 470 mm" which is over 8ft 6in tall by nearly 4ft wide, and each video display consumes over a kilowatt of electricity continuously.

Without entering the EV debate or questioning the Council's Net-Zero intentions, I agree with my colleagues that this advertising-led approach is not the best way to provide EVCPs (particularly since their massive video displays consume so much electricity just for advertising).

They could also be a dangerous distraction for drivers who need to keep their wits about them to navigate the busy roundabout. I have objected to them on behalf of EBRA.

If you also wish to comment on the plans, please visit the Council's planning portal:

23/3944/FUL for 11-12 Onslow Parade 

29/3946/FUL for 5-6 Onslow Parade

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Air Quality: Breathe London Node

East Barnet councillor Simon Radford writes "I have been working with Chipping Barnet Foodbank to apply for a grant to host a Breathe London Node which will actively measure air quality locally to us." Simon forwarded this email:

"Dear Councillor Radford, On behalf of Chipping Barnet Foodbank, we would like to express our gratitude in joining with us to support our application for a Breathe London Node to monitor the air quality in the vicinity of our premises. I am delighted to inform you that the application was successful and that we have had our first introductory meeting with The Environmental Research Group at Imperial College London.

Not only do we intend to monitor the air in the vicinity of the foodbank but also utilise the node as an opportunity to encourage learning and participation within our community. As far as we understand (we may stand corrected) we will be the only node in London exclusively allocated to a foodbank. The next stage of the project is to select the exact location for the node and get it fitted."

Bob Bevil - Advocacy and Campaigning Lead chippingbarnet.foodbank.org.uk

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Tudor Park and Pavilion - Update

The latest newsletter from the Friends of Tudor Park and Pavilion is here.

To find out more, you are invited to their next meeting on Tuesday 19th September from 7.30pm at St. Mark’s church hall (junction of Woodville and Potters roads)

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Brookhill Court Extension Refused

The planning application 23/2315/PNV which I reported on in July was a revised attempt to build additional storeys on Brookhill Court (at the junction of Cat Hill and Brookhill Road). It has been rejected.

The Council planners' decision stated:

"the increase in the height of the building, in particular Block B, would result in the property having an excessive height and forming a disproportionate and overly dominant addition which would be to the detriment of the character and appearance of the surrounding area"

and

"the proposed development, by reason of its scale, height, mass, bulk and siting, would have a visually obtrusive and overbearing impact, leading to an unacceptable loss of outlook, and increased sense of enclosure to the neighbouring property, Feline Court, to the detriment of the residential amenities of these neighbouring occupiers"

Thank you to everyone who commented on the plans, pointing out how inappropriate they were.

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Best regards,

Rob White

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