We asked, you said, we did

Read more about this consultation

We asked

We asked for your views on cultural and community activity in Golders Green Town Centre, and how you navigate and find your way around the High Street.

You said

We received 75 responses to the online questionnaire.

The summary of the responses:

the majority of respondents walk to the town centre when they visit

• over half of respondents visit the town centre in the evenings
• the most commonly identified buildings and features that make Golders Green unique were the War Memorial, the Hippodrome and the main high street buildings.

Suggestions for activities to encourage more people to spend time in the town centre in the day included:

• Green spaces
• Markets
• Children’s activities
• Seating.

Suggestions for activities to encourage more people to spend time in the town centre in the evening included:

• Theatre
• Cinema
• Music.

Suggested locations that need better signposting include the Library and parks.

We did

The results will be utilised to produce Cultural Activation and Wayfinding Action Plans. A number of projects identified within the Action Plans will be delivered in 2023/24.

Read more about this consultation.

We asked

We asked for your views on the proposals on how Barnet’s Neighbourhood Community Infrastructure Levy (NCIL) is be allocated to Area Committees and the priorities on which they spend NCIL.

You said

We received 47 responses to the online questionnaire.

The summary of the responses is:

• most respondents are supportive of the proposal to allocate Neighbourhood CIL to Area Committees based on the population of that area
• most respondents are supportive of the proposal to broaden how NCIL may be spent
• most respondents are supportive of the proposed NCIL spending priorities:

• Community Engagement

• Sustainability

• Community Safety

• Public Health

• respondents set out the following as additional priorities for NCIL spending:
  • improvement in parks & greenspaces
  • restoring town centres & public realm
  • bringing community assets back into use
  • enhancing youth services and provision
  • improving air quality
  • making public spaces and streets safer for everyone and working with partners to reduce crime
  • contributing to the use of library services
  • addressing poverty & deprivation and alleviating social isolation/exclusion
• most respondents are supportive of the proposal to continue the management of the Barnet Road Safety & Parking fund at the borough level.

We did

The consultation results will be reported to the Policy and Resources committee with a recommendation to approve the proposals, and to implement them for the Area Committee meetings in the spring.

Read more about this consultation.

We asked

We asked for your views on the revised location for the additional play equipment in Princes Park, and views on the revised equipment, as well as the provision of football goals.

You said

We received 36 responses to the online questionnaire, and we received five direct emails.

The summary of the responses is:

• all respondents were happy with the revised location of the additional play equipment
• almost all respondents were happy with the revised equipment
• almost all respondents wanted no football goals.

We did

An order has been placed to refurbish the existing playground and install new equipment on the space where the long log currently lies. This is the location and play equipment described in the Phase 2 consultation. The estimated date for this work is April/May 2023.

An order has not been placed for football goals, so the one existing football goal will remain.

Read more about this consultation.

We asked

We asked for your views on the proposed play facilities at the fenced-in playground at Stoneyfields Park.

You said

We received 33 responses to the online questionnaire and one direct email, and we spoke to 41 people at the two events we ran in the park. The key themes from the public consultation were request for:

• additional surfacing
• the swings to be placed together
• the picnic table to be moved from under the tree canopy
• a see saw, for dual play
• a zip wire.

We did

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

• additional surfacing, so the two largest play areas are joined together
• the picnic table has been relocated and will be near the new litter bin in the playground
• a frame on the tipi carousel so it can be used by multiple children at one time, and also by different physical abilities.

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

There is insufficient space to place the two sets of swings together. Only baby and toddler swings can be placed near the tree, as larger swings require deeper foundations, which would damage the tree roots. There is also insufficient space for a zip wire and a see saw.

We did look to see if a larger piece of play equipment such as a ship would fit in the playground, but unfortunately due to the shape of the playground and the roots of the very large tree, it would not fit.

Read more about this consultation

We asked

We asked for your views on the proposed schedule of fees and charges, to be implemented from January 2023.

You said

We received a total of three responses. The responses were:

• Very good

• Please do not increase parking charges

• I think it wrong that the council are increasing fees in line with inflation when residents are struggling with living costs.

We did

We reviewed the responses, and they were reported to the Council Meeting on 1 November 2022. Council approved the proposed schedule of fees and charges, and they will be implemented from 1 January 2023.

Read more about this consultation.

We asked

We asked for your views on the future of the A1000 ‘pop up’ Cycle Lane, ahead of a Phase 2 formal consultation planned for November/December 2022.

You said

We received a total of 136 people registering for a series of ‘face to face’ and on-line’ workshops and all were offered attendance. A total of 60 of those people attended one of the six workshops.

A mix of opinions were expressed at the workshops, both in support of and opposition to the scheme and overall people were measured in their comments about the scheme, notwithstanding that some attendees would like to see the scheme removed and many made comments about how the scheme could be enhanced and improved in the future.

The high-level summary of the workshop findings is as follows:

• those who support the scheme had reservations about the quality of the provision, as it currently is – not great for cycling and not great for motor traffic
• those who oppose the scheme do so on the grounds of perceived traffic congestion that has arisen both on the A1000 and redistribution, to surrounding roads. Other opposition was more generalised e.g. facilitating cycling is not something that public money should be spent on, or that new infrastructure does not create new cyclists/cycle journeys
• a common issue was that the type and quality of provision is not seen as consistent along the route including. lack of segregation at junctions and confusion about the blue cycle patches as used on the A406 bridge
• there were some concerns around accessibility e.g. disabled parking bays being blocked by other users or insufficient supply of access for disabled people travelling by car
• people identified how and where improvements could be made including the quality of the surfacing and materials used (segregating bollards seen as cheap and of poor quality), widening of the cycle lane particularly in segregated sections to enable street sweeping, proper segregation on the A406 bridge, introduction of early-release traffic signals for cycles.

We did

Following the workshops, we have used the feedback to develop Phase 2 of the consultation process, which runs from 21 November 2022 to 21 December 2022.

The feedback from both Phase 1 and Phase 2 of the engagement and consultation exercise will help inform recommendations for the future of the route, to be presented to Environment and Climate Change Committee in January 2023.

Read more about this consultation.

We asked

We asked for your views on the refurbishment of the Ducks Island playground.

You said

We received 106 responses to the online questionnaire, and we spoke to 14 people at the two events we ran in the playground. The key themes from the public consultation were requests for the following:

• to extend the playground/have more equipment for older children
• steps to young multi play unit rather than a net
• facilities for disabled children including those unable to move from a wheelchair
• a splash park
• imaginative equipment and interactive equipment
• a roundabout.

We did

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

• the net to access the young multi play unit has been replaced with steps.
• a wheelchair accessible roundabout has been included.
• the play panels have been selected to be interactive.

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

In response to the requests, we will not be providing equipment for older children in this location, as when this was provided in the past there were issues of anti-social behaviour. We do not have sufficient budget to extend the play area. We also do not have the facilities or budget to maintain a splash park.

Read more about this consultation

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.

Read more about this consultation.

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.

Read more about this consultation.

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.