Draft Growth Strategy 2030 Consultation

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This consultation has closed.

Overview

The council is consulting on its draft Growth Strategy. The strategy sets out the council's role and our priorities for regeneration, development and business, employment and skills activity across the borough from 2019 to 2030.

Background

The Growth Strategy responds to expected economic, social and environmental trends to 2030, including a significantly growing and aging local population, changes in the employment market and how we work, how we use our high streets, as well as environmental concerns. To ensure Barnet continues to be a pleasant and well-maintained place to live, work and visit, the Growth Strategy sets a direction

Overview

The council is consulting on its draft Growth Strategy. The strategy sets out the council's role and our priorities for regeneration, development and business, employment and skills activity across the borough from 2019 to 2030.

Background

The Growth Strategy responds to expected economic, social and environmental trends to 2030, including a significantly growing and aging local population, changes in the employment market and how we work, how we use our high streets, as well as environmental concerns. To ensure Barnet continues to be a pleasant and well-maintained place to live, work and visit, the Growth Strategy sets a direction for change by addressing requirements to increase the housing supply, supporting places across the borough most in need of investment, and maximising the benefits of growth for residents to ensure we continue to offer top-class education, great open spaces, and a good quality of life.

To find out more about our plans, please take the time to read our summary consultation document and the full strategy. Background papers on how we have developed our strategy are also provided in the Document Library on this page.

What are we seeking your views on?

The consultation is seeking your views on a range of themes included in the strategy, in particular we are asking for your views on:

  • our proposed guiding principles for the Growth Strategy
  • our approach to growth across five themes, and the objectives that sit under each theme
  • our area based approach to growth, and infrastructure priorities across the borough
  • if you think we have missed anything in the strategy
  • any further comments you may have on the strategy overall.

The consultation is open to all our residents, businesses, workers, organisations, community groups, and anyone else who has an interest in the area, including those from outside of the London Borough of Barnet.

How can you give us your views:

  • Please take the time to read the read our summary consultation document and the full strategy before completing our online questionnaire.
  • We are also running a series of public events for the draft Growth strategy, where you can come along and view the strategy. Council staff and representatives will be on hand to discuss the priorities and objectives, and answer any questions.
Date
Time
Location
Saturday 20 July
(Stall at Community Festival)
12.00pm – 3.00pm
Community Festival,
Heybourne Park, Lanacre Avenue, London, NW9 5QD
Tuesday 3 September
(Drop-in session)
3.00pm – 8.00pm
London Borough of Barnet, Colindale Office, 2 Bristol Avenue, London, NW9 4EW
Wednesday 4 September
(Drop-in session)
3.00pm – 8.00pm
Arts Depot, 5 Nether Street, Tally Ho Corner, North Finchley, London, N12 0GA
Thursday 5 September
(Drop-in session)
3.00pm – 7.00pm
Chipping Barnet Library, 3 Stapylton Road, Barnet, EN5 4QT
Tuesday 10 September
(Meeting for developers)
9.30am – 11.00am
London Borough of Barnet, Colindale Office, 2 Bristol Avenue, London, NW9 4EW


For any further information, or to request a questionnaire in an alternative format, please email Kieran.hyland@barnet.gov.uk or telephone 020 8359 3224. Alternatively, you can write to us at Growth Strategy Consultation, London Borough of Barnet, 2 Bristol Avenue, Colindale, London, NW9 4EW.

The council will use the findings from the public consultation to inform the final version of the strategy, which will be presented to a future meeting of the Assets, Regeneration and Growth Committee later this year.

This consultation has closed.
  • We asked, you said, we did

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    We asked

    We asked you to share your views on the draft Growth Strategy 2020 - 2030. Specifically, we asked for your views on each of the three guiding principles, the five key priorities of the draft strategy, and our character-led spatial approach to delivering growth and associated infrastructure priorities borough-wide and across three main areas. The five key themes of the Growth Strategy are:

    • A Growing Borough
    • A Connected Borough
    • An Entrepreneurial Borough
    • A Borough of Thriving Town Centres
    • A Great Borough to Live in and Visit

    You said

    The survey received 142 responses. Overall, they showed support for the strategy, with 54% of respondents agreeing with the aims and objectives of the strategy to some extent, in contrast to 15% of respondents disagreeing. The guiding principles outlined within the strategy were strongly supported, and 61% of respondents confirmed their agreement with the principles.

    The strategy’s approach to growth was outlined through the strategic themes, which was strongly supported by respondents. All five strategic themes received support from respondents, with the Connected Borough theme seen as the most important; 86% of respondents supported the theme and 87% of respondents agreeing that “enabling new and enhanced public transport connections” was the most important objective within the strategy. By contrast, the objective to “Establish Brent Cross as a destination” was not considered as important by respondents, and subsequently this objective was integrated within a wider objective around ‘growing the visitor economy’.

    The survey invited respondents to provide their views on the spatial approach to growth developed, which outlines the Council’s approach to growth in Barnet until 2030, based upon expected development. These were also supported by respondents, with 56% of respondents agreeing with the spatial approach to growth. Furthermore, the six boroughwide infrastructure priorities underpinning the strategic approach to growth were supported by respondents (84%).

    Across the three spatial areas in the west, centre, and east of the borough, the connectivity priorities were identified as the most important, supporting the strategic theme, but interestingly the growing borough theme was completely split being identified as the most and least important priority in all three areas of the borough to some extent or other. It is thought this may reflect the difference between respondents indicating a view that housing affordability is most important, versus respondents indicating that the overall housing target and proposal to increase housing supply went too far.

    Alongside the questions outlined above, respondents also had the opportunity to provide qualitative comments on the draft Growth Strategy 2030, and the five most frequently given responses related to environmental sustainability, infrastructure provision, affordable housing provision, protecting Barnet’s heritage and avoiding overdevelopment.

    We did

    All of the comments received in the consultation were fed into the final strategy and accompanying consultation report, which both went to Housing and Growth Committee on 27 January 2020. The comments around connectivity emphasised the importance of the theme on ‘Enabling new and enhanced public transport connections’, as well as sustainability and transport and development concerns to promote healthier street design. These comments informed the development of the final version of the Growth Strategy approved by Housing and Growth, as well as the Local Plan (Reg 18), Long Term Transport Strategy, approved at Environment Committee in September 2020, as well as the forthcoming Sustainability Strategy currently in development. Based upon some of the free text responses, amendments to the guiding principles and some of the detail of the proposed projects and outcomes have also been made, which were also compiled through a delivery plan to more explicitly set out proposed projects and programmes of work.