We asked, you said, we did

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We asked

We asked for your views on the proposed play facilities at Tudor Sports Ground.

You said

We received 104 responses to the online questionnaire; we received six direct emails and we spoke to 35 people at the two events we ran in the park. The key themes from the public consultation were:

• request for more imaginative play/Wendy house
• separation of the older swings and younger swings
• request for more facilities for disabled children
• request to keep or have new monkey bars
• request for an outdoor gym.

We did

Following the feedback received we developed a revised plan, which includes:

• a Wendy house has been added to the revised design. There is also seating under the ship and a shop under the toddler unit
• the equipment for older children, including swings has been grouped together on one side of the playground, and the equipment for younger children, including swings, has been grouped on the other side
• a mirage swing has been added which can be used by a wide range of physical abilities, and a wheelchair accessible roundabout has been added to the design
• the ship includes a set of banister bars, and you can use your arms to go down or up these.

The order has been placed for this design, and it is likely to be installed in February/March 2023.

In response to the request for an outdoor gym, the funding for the playground can only be used for a playground, so cannot be used for an outdoor gym. A new state of the art outdoor gym opened in August 2022 at Victoria Recreation Ground, which is nearby.

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We asked

We asked for your views on the proposed play facilities at Princes Park.

You said

We received 168 responses to the online questionnaire, we received 28 direct emails and we spoke to 47 people at the two events in the park.

The key themes from the public consultation were:

• a fair number of respondents did not want the new older children’s play area to be on the area proposed, as it is highly valued, unshaded, well used and one of the limited open spaces in the park that can be used by all
• a few respondents said there was no need to replace the current playground
• request for more facilities for disabled children
• request for surfacing under the current benches and picnic tables in the fenced playground, and more benches and picnic tables
• views on the location of the football goals were varied, with a few comments that they should not be installed
• for the older equipment respondents liked items that could spin and where multiple children could play at one time.

We did

Following the feedback received we have produced a revised proposal for the play facilities. We have relocated the older children’s play equipment, and we have changed all the older children’s play equipment to enable more children to be playing at the same time. We will be running a public consultation on these changes in November 2022.

We have swapped a basket swing for a mirage swing, which can be used by young children and those with additional needs. We plan to provide a special strap that can be used with the swing.

Within the revised proposal we will be surfacing under the current benches and picnic tables in the fenced playground. We do not currently have the money for more benches and picnic tables.

The revised proposal includes the provision of two football goals and the public consultation seeks further opinion on the goal posts.

We have added an additional spinner into the fenced playground and removed the spheres, which were not a popular item.

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We asked

We asked you what you thought about the new designs for Plot 1, the first office-led development being delivered in Brent Cross Town. This new building is situated adjacent to the new Brent Cross West Station which is expected to be completed in the new year and will provide a connection to central London in 12 minutes.

We asked you

• whether you like the design of the exterior of Plot 1, as well as the internal layout.
• whether you were supportive of a rooftop space, along with seating for the building’s occupiers.
• if you were in favour of the use of sustainable building techniques such as Cross Laminated Timber (CLT) to reduce carbon emissions associated with building this development.
• if you were supportive of the inclusion of cycle storage and shower facilities to encourage active travel.

You said

You told us that you were supportive of the inclusion of rooftop space, as well as the inclusion of greenery and seating space within this. You liked the proposals inclusion of cycle storage and shower facilities to encourage active travel. You were supportive of the reduction of energy usage by making use of natural daylight. You asked how we were incorporating natural materials within the building and integrating more greenery within the external design of the building. You shared some concern about the exterior design of Plot 1 but were overall supportive of the proposals for Plot 1 at Brent Cross Town.

We did

We have taken on board your feedback and developed the final designs for Plot 1. This included incorporating multiple terraces which provide external amenities at different levels. We have also made the timber on the structure fully visible through exposed ceilings on every office floor, creating a warm and natural environment for the building’s users.

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We asked

We asked young people for their views on several topics to help us unpack key findings from the young person survey (YPS) 2021-222. Topics covered included learning more about young people’s experiences of living in Barnet, their satisfaction with the local area, if they felt Barnet is a Family Friendly borough, understanding and exploring: their top three concerns: feeling safe in the borough; their top personal safety concerns and their health and well-being.

You said

Six workshops were delivered in July with 63 young people across the borough participating. Young people provided useful insights on what they like about the borough, voiced their concerns while exploring the potential reasons behind the YPS results. The importance of raising greater awareness of services and building relationships with young people was highlighted in all sessions.

We did

We analysed the insights gathered from the workshops and shared key findings with relevant stakeholders. This report was also presented to the Barnet Children’s Partnership Board in November 2022, and included the following recommendations:

Adopt a holistic approach to deepen understanding: as there are many perspectives on the reasons behind the YPS results, the findings from this engagement should be contextualised and considered with other insights to drive improvements. Focus areas to include, but not limited to:

• supporting schools to effectively deal with sensitive issues such as racism and homophobia
• improving understanding of different types of disabilities and mental health issues to foster greater empathy
• enhancing relationship with Barnet Carers Centre to ensure the views and experiences of young carers inform service improvements.
• identifying ways to raise greater awareness of what the council does to support Barnet residents, especially young people.

Share and incorporate findings to improve services: ensure that findings from this research are presented at relevant meetings or boards (for example, the Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) Partnership Board) and incorporated into the development of the Children and Young People’s Plan.

Work is underway to incorporate the recommendations to improve the lives of children and young people in the borough.

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We asked

We asked for your views on our proposals to expand SEN provision in Barnet through the opening of an Additional Resourced Provision (ARP) for secondary aged children with learning and cognition needs at Friern Barnet School.

You said

We received four responses to the online questionnaire. All of the respondents said they either agree with the proposal or did not disagree. Respondents agreed on the basis of the following:

• acknowledged the need for additional SEND specialist places in Barnet and the benefit to Barnet children
• acknowledged the need for additional secondary specialist places in Barnet
• Acknowledged the need for greater choice of specialist provision

Additionally, you asked would the provision be teacher led and will there be appropriately qualified specialist teachers?

We did

The school has recruited a qualified teacher to lead the ARP provision, who will work alongside the school Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENCo). Support for meeting the needs of the students will be matched to the different needs of the students admitted. All mainstream schools are able to meet the needs of children with specific learning difficulties such as dyslexia. The pupils who will be admitted to the ARP provision will have more complex learning and cognition needs. Oak Lodge special school have provided buddying support in assisting the school in preparing to meet the needs of the students admitted.

We decided to proceed with the opening of the Friern Barnet ARP provision and the first cohort of children were admitted into Year 7 in September 2022. Cohorts will be introduced at the start of each new academic year until 2026 when the ARP will be able to take its full capacity.

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We asked

We asked for your views on the Barnet Special Educational Needs Places Plan 2021/22.

We asked you to comment on the proposal to maintain the same balance of provision for children and young people with special educational needs with Education, Health and Care Plans across mainstream schools, Additional Resource Provisions (ARPs) and Special Schools?

You said

We received 48 responses to the online questionnaire.

• 58% agreed that we should maintain the same balance of provision across mainstream schools, ARPs and special schools.
• 98% agreed with the proposal to offer more high-quality specialist places (ARPs and special school places) locally in Barnet.
• 78% agreed with our proposals to deliver extra specialist SEN places in Barnet.
• 88% agreed with our proposals for allocating the Special Provision Fund to the projects outlined in the Plan.

Responses were provided with the following issues noted:

• acknowledged the increase in the numbers of children with SEND
• acknowledged that parental preference should guide provision
• acknowledged the need for additional specialist places in Barnet
• acknowledged the need for specialist provision to be developed in Barnet to enable children to attend school locally in their own area
• acknowledged the need for additional provision for secondary aged pupils
• acknowledged the need for greater choice of specialist provision
• acknowledged the need for additional provision for children with Autism
• concern that the need for provision for children with Social, Emotional and Mental Health (SEMH) needs is being overlooked.
• concern that the provision being proposed is not evenly spread across the borough which will impact on transport.

We did

We expanded Northway School on 6 September 2022 to reassure them that the building works were completed, and the school was fully operational for the start of term.

We opened an ARP provision at Friern Barnet School for secondary aged children with Learning and Cognition Needs. The first cohort of children were admitted into Year 7 in September 2022. Cohorts will be introduced at the start of each new academic year until 2026 when the ARP will be able to take its full capacity.

The Windmill School is planned to open in academic year 2023/24. This is a special school which will meet the needs of children with Autism who are unable to access a mainstream school environment even with an ARP provision but do not require a special school placement for significant learning and cognition needs associated with their autism.

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We asked

We asked for your views on how we address sustainability across Barnet and help shape our strategy for the borough.

You said

162 people attended the 11 workshops throughout March 2022. Eighteen key recommendations were made in the workshops over five themes:

• Homes and buildings
• Transportation
• Green skills, circular economy, and promoting recycling and reuse
• Natural environment and water management
• Council operations

We did

These are now being assessed alongside other actions already identified and will feed into the Climate Action Plan which is due to be published in November 2022. A link to our action plan will be made available when it is published.

We have recently commissioned TPXimpact to work with us on delivering a Citizens' Assembly on Climate Change and Biodiversity. This is another opportunity to have your voice heard on sustainability, more information on how to get involved will be available on Engage Barnet soon.

Since these workshops took place, we have declared a climate and biodiversity emergency and increased the ambition of the council's net zero targets for 2042 as a borough and by 2030 as an organisation. We have also joined London's anti-idling campaign, committing us to improving Barnet's air quality.

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We asked

We asked for your views on our proposals to expand Northway Special School through the creation of an annex on the Grasvenor Infant School site.

You said

We received 47 responses to the online questionnaire. 70% of respondents said they agree with the proposal to expand Northway School on the basis that the expansion of specialist placements:

• acknowledged the need for additional SEND specialist places in Barnet and the benefit to Barnet children
• acknowledged the need for additional secondary specialist places in Barnet
• recognised the expertise of the specialist staff at Northway School
• recognised the benefit to the borough of retaining Grasvenor site as a school.

30% said they disagree with the proposal and some of the following factors were cited as reasons why they had concerns:

• concerns about the increased traffic to the school site
• concerns about the need for more experience of teaching secondary age pupils
• concerns about having secondary aged pupils in a school alongside a primary school
• concerns for the Key Stage 1 children already attending Northway school who will have to move to a different site.

We did

We decided to proceed with the expansion of Northway School and are responding to the feedback given as follows:

• concerns about the increased traffic to the school site
• our response: the transport department is working closely with the school to ensure that the number of additional vehicles going to the site will be kept to a minimum

• concerns about the need for more experience of teaching secondary age pupils
• our response: Northway School is employing teaching staff with experience of teaching secondary age pupils

• concerns about having secondary aged pupils in a school alongside a primary school
• our response: whilst acknowledging this concern, there are a number of schools in Barnet that already admit both primary and secondary aged pupils

• concerns for the Key Stage 1 children already attending Northway school who will have to move to a different site.
• our response: whilst acknowledging this concern, the transition for children moving to the new school site was well prepared for. Northway staff reported at the start of term that the children had settled well into their new environment and were enjoying being in school

The expansion was completed by the start of the autumn term 2022. We emailed parents of children at Northway School on 6 September 2022 to reassure them that the building works were completed, and the school was fully operational for the start of term.

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We asked

We asked for your views on our budget proposals for 2022/23.

You said

There were 81 respondents to the consultation. 54% either directly supported the budget proposals (33%) or were neutral (21%). Out of the 81 respondents, 48 responded on the proposed Council Tax increase for 2021/22. Overall, just under half of respondents (46%, 30 out of 81 respondents) support both an increase in general Council Tax (either 1% or up to 1.99%) and the proposal to apply a further 1% Adult Social Care Precept increase.

You can read the full results of the consultation here.

We did

The findings from the consultation were reported to Policy and Resources Committee on 9 February 2022 and will the 2022/23 budget was approved by Full Council on 1 March 2022.

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We asked

We asked you about your views on the proposed Sustainable Drainage Scheme (SuDS) / flood storage detention basin in the north-eastern corner of Halliwick Recreation Ground which aims to store storm water during heavy rain reducing the risk of flooding to nearby properties and highways. We also asked local residents to inform us of their past flooding experiences. The aim was to capture early feedback from residents to inform the detailed design of the scheme ahead of detailed design and construction.

You said

There were 17 responses to the online questionnaire. You told us the road locations and addresses that have experienced flooding and provided details about which areas of your properties have been affected.

Results of the survey showed us that support for the SuDS proposals was high at 94% (56% strongly support the scheme and 38% tending to support the scheme).

The majority of respondents agreed that the proposal will bring benefits to properties and infrastructure, the environment and local community. Several respondents asked for further engagement and education to understand the benefits fully.

We did

The survey has enabled the project team to consider feedback from the community and gather preliminary data about:

• How respondents are connected to the local area – living or working in the area and duration.
• Frequency of property flooding from rainfall runoff and extent of flooding.
• Specific locations where flooding is taking place.
• Local knowledge regarding sewage, access to key infrastructure and ability of highway gullies to cope with heavy rainfall.
• People’s views on the SuDS scheme and levels of support.
• Demographic data of those affected.

We have taken on board your feedback and will use this when developing the final designs for the SuDS. We will also be delivering several consultation sessions across Winter 2022/2023 at Halliwick Recreation Ground to continue engage with local residents and provide further information about the scheme. These sessions will be promoted locally.

A full summary of the survey results can be found here.