Permission refused!

Redevelopment of the Great North Leisure Park site:
Council refuses planning permission

An application by developer Regal to demolish all the current facilities at the Great North Leisure Park and replace them with 1485 flats and a new Leisure Centre was refused by Barnet Council Strategic Planning committee on 4 December. The proposed housing, on a suburban site with very poor public transport connections, is as dense as a city centre development might be. That, together with the heights of up to 25 stories in an area not considered to be suitable for more than 7 stories and the poor transport were given as reasons for refusal.

The scheme will now be sent to the Mayor who has the final say. Ward Councillor Anne Hutton and Mary Hogben of the Finchley Society both spoke in objection to the scheme and answered questions. Among the many concerns they expressed  were the impact on local infrastructure of potentially 4800 new residents and minimal on-site parking, together with the long-term impact on the health of residents in flats with poor daylight and little outside space .

Michael Levitsky joined Mary in answering questions about the effect on the largest London colony of great crested newts who live alongside in the nature reserve. A petition opposing the development with 8000 names had been presented to the council before the meeting.

The Society will be making representations to the Mayor and the GLA once the process and timetable are clarified. The Finchley Society had unsuccessfully called for a brief for the site to be prepared with resident input and had expressed concern at the development scheme on the few occasions it was presented to the public. Had a well-considered brief with community input been prepared in 2022 for the Developer to follow then perhaps the new Leisure Centre might already have been built, along with some much-needed affordable housing. The new Local Plan that should have provided guidance has been ignored. If the Mayor agrees with the Committee decision to refuse, then the developer could still appeal the decision. Not the speedy process that the Government would like.

You can read the Finchley Society document objecting to the planning application here.

For further information on the decision, see the Evening Standard article.

Mary Hogben