We asked, you said, we did

We asked

We asked for your views on the council’s parklets scheme. This scheme has seen small seating areas take over car parking spaces in the borough’s town centres. Parklets was first implemented during the Covid-19 pandemic, in 2020, as businesses had their trading spaces reduced due to government restrictions. They provide more outdoor seating space, either for a business or the wider community.

The council embarked on an evaluation of the programme in October 2023, and as part of this wanted to get the views on it from residents and other users of Barnet’s town centres. This evaluation sought to look at the effects and the success of the programme.

We asked questions linked to the objectives of the programme, such as whether you thought the parklets had improved the pedestrian environment or the character of the town centre was improved. We also asked for feedback on what people liked, disliked and would change about the parklets, along with suggestions for winter uses of parklets, when the weather is often too cold to sit outside.

You said

Many thanks to residents and businesses for taking the time to provide feedback.

There were 931 responses to our online questionnaire, along with an additional seven emails sent feeding back directly on the scheme.

In terms of the following statements:

• ‘The character of the town centre is improved with the parklets in place’: 72% of respondents disagreed, 22% of respondents agreed and 7% neither agreed nor disagreed or did not know.

• ‘I like having the parklets in place in Barnet’s town centres’: 74% of respondents disagreed, 21% of respondents agreed and 6% neither agreed nor disagreed or did not know.

• ‘The overall environment for pedestrians has improved with the parklets in place’: 70% of respondents disagreed, 20% of respondents agreed and 9% neither agreed nor disagreed or did not know.

• ‘I am more likely to frequent a business if it has a parklet in place’: 74% of respondents disagreed, 14% of respondents agreed and 12% neither agreed nor disagreed or did not know.

• ‘I would use a parklet as a seating area without using the business (such as when it is closed or if it was not linked to a business)’: 70% of respondents disagreed. 16% of respondents agreed and 15% neither agreed nor disagreed or did not know.

When asked what they disliked or would change about the parklets, major themes in the responses included: preferring the spaces being used for parking, that they are not well maintained, and that some are used for anti-social behaviour. Comments on what people liked about the parklets included the added greenery on the high street and having somewhere outdoor to sit in summer. There were more comments stating what people disliked or would change about the parklets than what they liked.

Notable suggestions on winter uses for parklets included market stalls, or the reversion to parking bays.

We did

This engagement has formed part of a wider evaluation of the parklets programme. Alongside this, we have also engaged with other stakeholders, and surveyed local businesses.

All feedback will now feed into the wider programme evaluation, as well as recommendation for how to progress the programme. A further update will be given on the evaluation and next steps on Engage Barnet at a later date.