A better Mill Hill abettermillhill.blogspot.com

This blog is now closed - I will be posting in future at A Better Mill Hill- see you there!

Hasmonean School expansion

Hasmonean School's proposals to take 15 acres of Green Belt land to accommodate their expansion plans were rejected this week by the Mayor of London. I welcome the saving of our Green Belt land. In my opinion Hasmonean School's proposals were an unnecessary grab of public land and their transport plan was not robust enough. Page Street residents in particular would have had unacceptable traffic problems at peak times and our currently open land  at Copthall would have been bulldozed and hidden behind a high security fence.


There is no doubt that Hasmonean School still need to redevelop. They are oversubscribed and badly need new school buildings. I would hope that Hasmonean will now consider seriously the options of either developing the existing Girls School site or to look elsewhere.


Another issue causing great concern to local residents near the school is traffic. The school needs to produce a far more robust and sustainable travel plan, one that will eliminate the need for private cars to pick up and drop off pupils. JFS run an extensive school bus network across North London. I would want to see similar proposals for any new plans for Hasmonean School and for them to make use of existing bus services as well as safe cycling proposals.


If all of this can be achieved, we will have a win-win situation for both the School and residents.

Barnet's Children's Services are Inadequate - OFSTED

I'm getting to the point where very little surprises me about Barnet's services to residents. However OFSTED's judgement of Barnet's Children's Services as Inadequate has shocked me to the core.

How can a council allow its services to deteriorate to such an extent that a Commissioner has now been sent in to run the Children's services directly.

The Councillors responsible for the service need to accept responsibility and resign. There's no excuse. If you are a regular listener to full council meetings then you will know that the Conservative Councillors spend more time making childish statements about the opposition rather than being constructive.

This situation is really beyond a joke and I hope that in May 2018 we will see a change of council. That's why I intend to run as a candidate for Mill Hill along with my Liberal Democrat colleagues. We need change and we need a compentent council. Enough is enough.

Mill Hill Pocket Park delayed

I understand that Cllr Sury Khatri has stated in a Barnet meeting that he could not see any demand for the proposed Mill Hill Pocket Park to be located at the junction of Brockenhurst Gardens and the Broadway and that he had not been consulted. 

This is incredible considering that not only have the Neighbourhood Forum have been very much promoting this plan for a long time, even Cllr Khatri's own party have mentioned the Pocket Park proposals on their own leaflets!

Cllr Khatri's opposition to the scheme means that the Pocket Park is now delayed. This scheme would be a welcome addition to Mill Hill. This is really needed to deliver improvements to make the Town Centre more attractive and to encourage greater footfall and investors.

A polite email to Cllr Khatri, supporting the Pocket Park proposals for Mill Hill, copied to Jamie Cooke, the senior officer from Barnet involved with the Pocket Park proposals would really help. Their email addresses are: cllr.s.khatri@barnet.gov.uk and jamie.cooke@barnet.gov.uk

End of an era as Andrew Dismore decides not to run in General Election

The snap General Election announced by Theresa May this week has led to a few surprises so far, but the biggest surprise is the fact that Andrew Dismore AM will not be the Labour Party candidate for Hendon.


Our former MP made the announcement today that he would not be running for personal reasons. Mr Dismore was an outstanding MP for Hendon between 1997 and 2010 and even his detractors will admit that he has always been a diligent and hard-working MP and since 2012, the Barnet & Camden member of the London Assembly, taking over from the widely hated Brian Coleman.


There are in my own opinion, many talented and able people in Barnet Labour who will now be in the running for the Labour Candidacy. Ammar Naqvi, Adam Langleben, Sian John and Arjun Mittra amongst many others. All will prove to be good candidates if chosen.


For myself however, I do think Andrew Dismore's departure increases Alasdair Hill's chances of actually being elected as the next Hendon MP. The Liberal Democrats have been the only party that have been consistently against the Brexit madness convulsing the political class. On the doorsteps we are hearing that the Hard Brexit being pushed by Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn is not what people in Hendon want.


One thing is for sure, this contest is wide open and Matthew Offord may well be spending more time at his luxury thatched cottage in deepest Berkshire before long...

Barnet Conservatives protect Capita and Re: (Again)

I was at the Barnet council meeting tonight, where I got a taste of the sheer contempt the Barnet Conservatives have for the public.

Labour councillor Adam Langleben proposed a motion for an emergency council meeting to ask the council to set up a cross party review of Barnet Planning which has been failing the public for some time. Cllr Langleben specifically mentioned Barnet's incompetence over the proposed Milespit Hill cemetery extension that many believe is a Trojan horse for a Mausoleum or even Crematorium project on the site.

In theory this motion should have had cross party support but the Conservatives submitted an amendment to the motion that kicked the investigation to the existing scrutiny committee that has allowed Capita and Re: to literally get away with astonishing levels of incompetence over the last few years.

In reply Cllr Cornelius the Conservative leader of the council stated that Barnet planning's problems were nothing to do with incompetence but rather the leglislation they were working under. No mention whatsoever of what happened in Mill Hill at all.

In reply Cllr Langleben asked the Monitoring Officer to exclude members of the Hendon Conservative Association from the vote as one of the planning schemes under debate was the demolition of the White Bear pub in Hendon. Before the General Election the pub was bought out by a developer who was a staunch Conservative supporter who erected large billboards supporting the Conservative candidate Matthew Offord. In addition there was a question as to whether individual councillors who are members of Hendon Conservative Association had received donations from the same developer. I was sitting in the public gallery but could not hear a response from the Interim Monitoring Officer David Tatlow but the vote went ahead anyway with the Hendon Association councillors. The motions went to vote (all Mill Hill councillors voted for it) and of course the Conservative amendment was adopted and the original motion lost.

So no scrutiny and Capita remain protected. Next time you see our Mill Hill councillors please ask them why they are blocking real scrutiny of Barnet Planning.

Barnet Council reprimanded over lack of care for homeless

Barnet Council have been reprimanded by the Local Government Ombudsman for systematic failures in dealing with homelessness.


A homeless woman approached Barnet Council in January 2015 for help following her eviction from private rented accommodation. Incredibly she had to remain homeless during the winter months and was even hospitalised for an asthma attack. Barnet Council were approached four more times by her over the following 15 months and on each occasion she was told she was not a priority need.


What she wasn't told was that Barnet Council were obliged to give her a formal decision about her homelessness and that she could then appeal the decision. The woman and her father complained to the Local Government Ombudsman who investigated.


Barnet Council had the sheer brass neck to tell the Ombudsman this in their defence. "were it (Barnet Council) were to issue formal decisions to all those seeking housing assistance there would be significant challenges with the number of Housing Needs officers being required to conduct such a high volume of assessments and write the subsequent decision letters".


So in other words, we don't have enough staff and we really can't be bothered.


The Ombudsman found against Barnet Council and the woman concerned has had an apology from the Council. Additionally, the Ombudsman ruled that: "the Council should also ensure that in future, homelessness applications are taken and decision letters issued in all appropriate cases".


More at http://www.lgo.org.uk/information-centre/news/2017/mar/ombudsman-finds-systemic-problems-with-barnet-s-homelessness-services-during-investigation

The Thin Blue Line

I work on the Thameslink Programme at Network Rail's offices in Southwark. It's a central location and no more than 15 minute's walk from either the City or the Palace of Westminster. I'm an occasional visitor to the Houses of Parliament, and I'm always impressed by the courtesy and professionalism of the Police and Security staff who work there.

Yesterday as many of you know by now, Constable Keith Palmer lost his life defending the Palace of Westminster. Only moments before he was attacked he was taking selfies with tourists. He was unarmed. Four other people died yesterday including the perpetrator of the attacks. Many more were injured, including French schoolchildren on a trip to London. Westminster is the very heart of our democracy; the Police did great work yesterday to keep our streets and our Parliament safe for us. I must mention Conservative MP and Minister Tobias Elwood who fought hard to try and save PC Palmer's life.  Life goes on; as it always must. The only answer to attacks like these is to just bloody well get with life. See you Saturday morning on the Unite for Europe march!

Adds: Julia Hines has since brought this blog post to my attention. It contains very practical and useful advice: http://whatkirstydidnext.com/lifestyle/practical-ways-to-help-in-times-of-an-attack/

1. Show your appreciation for our AMAZING emergency services by making a donation. Text SAVE to 70800 to donate £5 to London’s Air Ambulance, who were quickly on the scene.
2. It’s reported that members of the public gave first aid to those who were injured whilst waiting for the emergency services. Consider a donation to St John Ambulance who provides training in first aid. Text AID to 70030 to donate £5.
3. Go on a first aid course.
4. Tower RNLI was deployed to save a woman who had fallen into the Thames and who is among the injured. Support their work with a donation. Text RNLI to 70300 to donate £5.
5. To honour the policeman who lost his life, tweet your appreciation of our policemen and women who put their lives on the line for us every day. Better yet, tweet a local police department.
6. Retweet this and call out anyone sharing inappropriate images.

1. I know it's Twitter and there's no editor but please don't RT pictures of dead and wounded on Westminster Bridge. They have loved ones.

— fleetstreetfox (@fleetstreetfox) March 22, 2017

7. If you see something suspicious but you don’t want to waste police time because ‘it’s probably nothing‘, report it. If you think it might be suspicious, it probably is.

If anyone sees anything suspicious or that causes them concern please call 0800 789 321 ASAP – always call 999 in an emergency #London

— Metropolitan Police (@metpoliceuk) March 22, 2017

8. Donate blood. Find out where you can donate blood on the NHS Blood and Transplant website.
9. Show your appreciation for the amazing work of our NHS staff. Sign the Save our NHS petition.
10. If you were in the area at the time of the incident and have any footage – photos or video, send it to to the police via this website.
11. Don’t spread fear. Do not share anything that is mere speculation. Arm yourself with knowledge and FACT. Share news only from verified and trusted sources such as the BBC.
In times like this it’s difficult to comprehend such an attack but we mustn’t just stand by. We can do something and we must.

Mill Hill Italian Market 17-18 March

Don't forget the Italian Food Market returns to Mill Hill Broadway this Friday 17th March and Saturday 18th March. See you there!

Lib Dems Mill Hill Action Day 5th March 2017

Richard, Charity and Alasdair on the stall today.

I woke at 6.30am this morning to hear the rain hammering onto my bedroom window and to see part of my garden fence had blown down in the night. My first job this morning was getting my fence back up. Not promising for our first Lib Dem action day in Mill Hill, but luckily by 10.00 the rain had stopped. Alasdair and I got our stall ready and we were joined by Charity Pierce and many other local Lib Dem activists who came down to help man the stall and get those all-important Focus deliveries done across Mill Hill. We had a really positive reception on the street, many people were asking us "are the Lib Dems back in Mill Hill?".

Our answer is of course, yes and we intend to win our council seats back! Look out for our Mill Hill Focus leaflet dropping into your letterbox soon.

Hasmonean School Plan approved - despite Officers recommendation to refuse

Last night the Barnet Council planning committee voted by 6-5 to approve Hasmonean School's plans for expansion. As mentioned before, these plans will take 15 acres of publically accessible Green Belt land.

One of the Green Belt fields that will be redeveloped

The breakdown of councillors who voted were:

In favour of the Hasmonean Scheme - Conservatives Melvin Cohen, Mark Shooter, Eva Greenspan, and Mill Hill resident Cllr Maureen Braun. Labour's Devra Kay and Agnes Slocombe.

Against the scheme - Conservatives Stephen Sowerby and Wendy Prentice. Labour's Laurie Williams, Jim Tierney and Claire Farrier. 

Melvin Cohen and Mark Shooter declared a non-pecuniary interest in being Hasmonean old boys, Eva Greenspan declared a non-pecuniary interest in being a former governor of the school.

It is clear that Hasmonean's current premises in Holders Hill Road for the boys school is now cramped and no longer suitable but I hoped that there would have been a refusal of the proposed scheme last night and that we as a community would have worked on a compromise that could have given Hasmonean the space they needed while protecting our Green belt. Unfortunately there are other school schemes waiting in the wings who will welcome this vote and I believe the decision made last night has now set a dangerous precedence for those of us who value our open land.

Hasmonean aren't home and dry yet either. The scheme will now be reviewed by the Mayor of London and there is the possibility of a judicial review. 

In the longer term, if the scheme goes ahead as planned, how do we mitigate the impact on local residents as parents drop off and pick up their children, and are the proposed cycling routes safe and fit for purpose? I think we should look at banning parent drop off and pick ups and get the children there by bus if appropriate? JFS in Kingsbury operate a comprehensive bus service across much of North London. Perhaps something similar could be set up for the Hasmonean children who travel from out of Mill Hill to attend the school.


The next item related to Barratt's proposals for the former NIMR site on the Ridgeway. The committee as a whole expressed grave reservations about the proposed designs of the flats and houses on the site. No councillor voted to approve the proposals, 8 voted against them and 2 abstained.


As part of their Section 106 obligations Barratt offered to pay "up to" £300,000 towards the cost of step free access at Mill Hill East station. I would suggest they should pay a hell of a lot more than that. This is a significant site in Mill Hill and no doubt Barratt will turn a tidy profit on this development.


The Labour committee members each raised the usual Barnet developer's fudge on affordable housing. Remember, Barnet Council are obliged to allow 40% affordable housing in schemes. More often than not, the obligation is either shifted to Colindale or fudged. When these points were raised by Cllr Jim Tierney, Cllr Melvin Cohen in the Chair lost his temper and told Cllr Tierney to "shut up". Cllr Cohen continued with this childish and petulant behaviour right to the end of the item.


By the end of this item, I had enough and retired to the Greyhound for a well needed pint.


Meanwhile, Cllr Devra Kay, who had earlier voted to take away Green Belt land in Mill Hill, and without any sense of irony, tweeted the following:


"Tories at Barnet Planning Mtg condemn oldest building in Finchley in favour of flats with "modern feel" overdevt out of character no parking"

. 

Hasmonean School Plans - Planning Officers recommend a refusal

Barnet Council Planning Officers recommend a refusal of Hasmonean School's plan to build a new combined school and sports facilities on Green Belt land in Copthall Open Space.

The prime reason for the recommendation to refuse planning permission is to protect the integrity of Copthall's Green Belt space. Originally Hasmonean School proposed to take 15 acres of public open land on which to build a combined school and sports facilities. The land would have been closed off to the public and surrounded by a security fence.

The planning committee are due to meet on February 22nd. The final decision will be taken by a majority of councillors on the committee. Let's hope they follow the planning Officer's recommendation.

Here is the text of the refusal:

1. The proposed development, by reason of its location and its excessive

footprint , represents inappropriate development within the Green Belt which

would cause substantial harm to the fundamental intention and purposes of

including land in the Green Belt and the applicant has failed to demonstrate

very special circumstances necessary to warrant an exception to the National

Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) (paragraphs 88-90), Policy 7.16 of the

London Plan (2016), Policy CS7 of Barnet’s Core Strategy and Policy DM15

of the Barnet Development Management Policies Document.

2. The proposal would result in the loss of a significant area of public open

space without replacement, to the detriment of the amenities of users of this

space along with neighbouring occupiers contrary to the provisions of Policy

7.18 of the London Plan (2016) and Policy CS7 of Barnet’s Core Strategy .

3. The proposed development would result in the permanent net loss of the

Copthall South Fields Site of Local Importance for Nature Conservation

(SLINC) involving the loss of 1.2 hectares of woodland and 3.0 hectares of

grassland resulting in potential negative impacts to wildlife species. The

proposal would therefore be contrary to the aims of the National Planning

Policy Framework (NPPF) in aiming to achieve sustainable development and

the obligations on public bodies to conserve and enhance biodiversity. The

proposal would also be contrary to policies 7.19 of the London Plan 2016 and

policies CS7 of Barnet’s Core Strategy and Policy DM16 of Barnet’s

Development Management Policies.

4. The proposed development would result in the direct loss of a substantial

numbers of trees of significant amenity value protected by a Tree Preservation

Order. The loss of these trees would result in a severe and demonstrable

impact upon the character and appearance of this part of the Green Belt and

would be severely detrimental to the visual amenities of the area. The

proposal is therefore considered contrary to the provisions of the NPPF,

Policy 7.21 of the London Plan and policies CS7 of Barnet’s Core Strategy

and Policy DM15 of Barnet’s Development Management Policies.

5. The application does not include a formal undertaking to secure the planning

obligations which are necessary for the development to be found acceptable.

The application is contrary to London Plan Policies 5.1, 5.2, 6.2, 6.3, 6.9, and

8.2, Policies DM15, DM17, CS7, CS9, CS13 of the Barnet Local Plan Core

Strategy and Development Management Policies Document (adopted

September 2012), the Barnet Planning Obligations (adopted April 2013).

The full report can be read here: http://barnet.moderngov.co.uk/documents/s38084/Hasmoneon.pdf

Daws Lane Zebra Crossing work finally underway

Traffic on Daws Lane continues to get worse. I walk down Daws Lane every weekday morning on my way to work and I can see for myself how busy the road is. It's also incredibly dangerous for parents and children of Etz Chaim school trying to cross over the road. There have been white Belisha Beacon Refuge crossing points for many years on the road but these crosssings don't offer the same level of protection for the pedestrian as a Zebra Crossing.

Clare Lister Zinkin, who is a parent at Etz Chaim as well as their librarian, has been spearheading the campaign to get a Zebra crossing on Daws Lane. John Gillett of the Mill Hill Neighbourhood Forum and I through the Mill Hill Residents Association have also been lobbying Barnet Council on this matter. Thankfully it seems our work has finally paid off. 

Clare spotted this scene on Monday afternoon on Daws Lane. At last workmen acting for Barnet Council have started to construct the long awaited Zebra Crossing. All that is now needed is for proper School markings to be placed outside the school...