We asked, you said, we did

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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.

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We asked

During the third pre-planning consultation round, we showcased the final design proposals for Clitterhouse Playing Fields, demonstrating how feedback from the second round had been incorporated.

We asked you:

• what you thought about the addition of new seating and picnic benches; new rubbish and recycling bins; and whether you liked the biodiversity and nature improvements
• what you thought about the new pavilion, which will include a café, indoor seating, public toilets and changing rooms
• whether you liked the variety of sports and play facilities on offer
• whether you were happy with the plans to deliver fewer pitches (compared to the original Reserved Matters Application (RMA)) - and for these to be all-weather pitches so that they can be used year-round
• what you thought about the plans to involve the community in the management of and decision-making around the playing fields
• what you thought about giving discounted pitch hire rates and priority booking to local groups/people
• whether you liked the plans to improve existing and create new entrances and pathways across and around Clitterhouse Playing Fields, to make it more accessible
• whether you agreed with plans for only Blue Badge holders to park at Clitterhouse Playing Fields, with other visitors encouraged to use public transport
• what you thought about the use of CCTV to help deter anti-social behaviour to make the playing fields a safer place for all.

You said

This third consultation phase, which included both in-person and online events, gathered a total of 442 feedback forms, 28 comment cards, and six emails. We engaged with a total of 693 individuals throughout the in-person events held.

You told us that the variety of sports and play facilities was welcome, along with the plans for lighting the pitches and courts to ensure they can be used year-round. You were overwhelmingly supportive of the proposed improvements to nature and biodiversity. You liked the addition of a new pavilion within the playing fields and the new seating and picnic benches proved popular among respondents. You told us that you had some concerns around the sports pitches, with the opening hours, location, noise, fence height and lighting among the issues raised (these comments came predominantly from residents living in the immediate vicinity of the playing fields, including Swannell Way and the Golders Green Estate). However, you were supportive of the plans to move the pitches further away from neighbouring homes and welcomed the fact that the designs included fewer pitches than in the existing RMA. You were supportive of the plans to include the community within the decision-making and management of the playing fields, and of the proposals for CCTV to deter anti-social behaviour.

Parking was another frequently mentioned theme, with concerns related to a lack of car parking space for non-Blue Badge holders, larger families with prams, and visiting teams who might be carrying heavy equipment (and for whom public transport or walking/cycling might not be an option). Respondents were also keen to understand the mitigations in place to ensure that visitors to the new facilities do not park on local roads.

We did

In response to your feedback, we incorporated an additional two drop-in sessions specifically for the residents of Swannell Way and Golders Green Estate – those living closest to the site and the proposed sports pitches. The session focused on our response to concerns raised during the consultation related to parking, lighting, noise, anti-social behaviour, and the number, location, and operating hours of the sports pitches. We made changes in light of this feedback, which included closing the pitches an hour earlier than originally planned, at 9pm rather than 10pm; lowering the fencing around the pitches from 4.5 to 3 metres, except where taller fencing is needed for safety reasons; moving the Blue Badge car park further away from people’s homes; planting more hedges and trees along the southern and northern boundaries; redesigning the coach drop-off point and removing an additional grass pitch that had been planned for use during the football season as part of the multi-use lawn area.

Following this third and final phase of pre-application public consultation, and the additional changes made to the proposals following feedback, a planning application was submitted for proposed improvements to Clitterhouse Playing Fields in November 2022 (application reference: 22/5617/FUL).

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We asked

Between February and March 2023, we carried out an informal parking consultation with the residents and businesses of West Hendon to review the parking situation in the area. This was in response to concerns raised regarding increased parking pressure on the roads within and outside West Hendon Controlled Parking Zone (CPZ).

Following the feedback to the informal consultation, we conducted the statutory consultation on proposals to introduce changes to the operational times on the following roads in the CPZ:

• Algernon Road
• Audley Road
• Bertram Road
• Dartmouth Road
• Montagu Road
• Park Road
• Vicarage Road

You said

We consulted approximately 700 properties as part of the statutory consultation, receiving 29 responses which included objections, comments and suggestions as follows:

• those objecting to the changes mentioned that the existing operational times are adequate, and the changes would affect parking for their visitors
• many respondents supported the proposed waiting restrictions (double yellow lines) at the road junctions, stating they would improve road safety
• several respondents indicated they would not mind the changes provided the parking controls are enforced, especially during late hours
• those in support of the proposals felt the changes would reduce parking pressure on their road
• respondents requested traffic calming measures in the area to improve road safety, especially for school children and other vulnerable road users.

We did

We will now consider the response to the statutory consultation and decide on whether to proceed with the proposals.

We will write again to the previously consulted residents and respondents to inform them about the outcome once a decision has been made, and we will publish the decision on this webpage.

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We asked

We asked your views on our draft School Streets Permit and Exemption Policy.

The aim of the policy is to make the exemptions and permits associated with School Streets schemes clear in order to help schools, residents and businesses understand how a School Streets scheme operates.

You said

We received 84 responses to our online questionnaire. 59.52% of people either strongly agreed or tended to agree, 35.72% strongly disagreed or tended to disagree and 4.76% neither agreed nor disagreed with the policy.

Comments made on the draft policy consultation included:

• information on whether permits are free / when school streets will operate
• displaying signage for school streets
• Taxi access
• school staff requiring access through restrictions due to their contracted hours of work
• causing further congestion on neighbouring roads.

We did

We have included further information regarding permits and highlighted the signage used in the final policy. Hackney Carriages (Black Cabs) will now be exempt from school street restrictions. Furthermore, we are approving the implementation of permits for permanent school streets on an initial 18-month trial basis.

The final School Streets Permit and Exemption Policy has been approved and adopted and is available to view here.

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We asked

We asked for your views on the proposed refurbishment of the playground at Bittacy Hill Park.

You said

We received 75 responses to the online questionnaire, we spoke to 19 people at the two events we ran in the park and received a submission from the 16th Hendon Scouts Group who provided the council with drawings and comments. A submission was also received from the Hendon Beavers Group containing comments and feedback.

The key themes from the public consultation were:

• request to swap the spinner
• request for improved and more engaging flooring features
• lots of positive comments were received on the design and on the Councils commitment to update and refurbish the playground
• that a good balance of equipment be available for mixed ages
• the location of the goals would be better suited near to the tennis courts.

We did

We considered all the feedback and respond to the comments as follows:

• the spinner bowl has been replaced with a horse springer
• the flooring was considered, and we have added graphics to the floor, to make it more interesting
• we believe that we have a good mix of equipment for all ages
• the football goals will be installed near to the Tennis Courts, subject to discussion with the council’s contractor.

This project and the agreed funding are for the playground and football goals only. A separate project is taking place to install a new path and entrance to the park.

The order has been placed for the new equipment and work is expected to commence in spring 2024.

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We asked

As part of a long-term ‘Flourishing Index’ project led by University of Manchester for Brent Cross Town, and to provide a benchmark to measure over time, we asked about your direct experiences of wellbeing, both personal and community wellbeing. Questions ranged from your sense of belonging and overall happiness, to how you rate wellbeing support activity and neighbourhood satisfaction.

You said

We did this via face-to-face and online surveys. We received 1,518 responses from local residents who live within 20 minutes walking distance of the forthcoming high street at Brent Cross Town. These were primarily people who stopped to talk to us and complete the survey in local public spaces. We also received 50 responses to the online survey targeted at the local community.

Together, the research revealed multiple wellbeing strengths in the area, to be maintained and bolstered into the future, such as a strong sense of belonging and social cohesion. The work also demonstrated several wellbeing opportunities where there is scope to help improve how local people are doing. For example, helping to improve job satisfaction, by providing good quality jobs for local people. In addition, boosting personal happiness – by supporting more, varied social activities locally and providing more support for girls and women to use local outdoor green spaces.

We did

As pledged previously, we will donate £1 for each local person who fully completed the online survey to a local charity. For those respondents who expressed an interest, we will keep them up-to-speed with the research, including invitation to co-interpret the findings this year (2024). Both a high-level and more detailed summary of the Flourishing Index baseline will be publicly available this year (2024) through the Brent Cross Town website. The findings will be used to inform an overarching evaluation framework and ongoing design and management decision making.

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We asked

The Government are extending childcare to support more parents returning to work after their parental leave ends. By September 2025, working parents of all children from 9 months - 5 years-old will be entitled to 30 hours of childcare. In addition, the Government's ambition is to provide primary school childcare provision for every family between 8am and 6pm by September 2026.

Here is a timeline for the proposed early years changes:

• from April 2024, all eligible working parents of two-year-olds will be able to access funding for 15 hours per week of education and care
• from September 2024, all eligible working parents of children aged nine months up to three-years-old will be able to access funding for 15 hours per week of education and care
• from September 2025, all eligible working parents of children aged nine months up to three-years-old will be able to access funding for 30 hours per week of education and care.

To find out more about the changes, you can visit the Government’s Childcare Choices website.

To help us plan and ensure that we have sufficient childcare provision, we asked Barnet parents, carers and families, plus early years providers and schools, for their views on the upcoming changes. Their responses are helping us to ensure we can meet the future needs of our Barnet families.

You said

A total of 304 questionnaires were completed. 212 completed the parents and carers questionnaire, 63 completed the childcare provider questionnaire and 24 completed the schools questionnaire.

Summary of provider questionnaire findings:

• 70% of providers (38 out of 54) said they currently offer FEE2 and 91% (49 out of 54) said they offer FEE3&4
• 73% of providers (24 out of 33) are planning to offer the 30 hours for under 5’s entitlement in Sept 2025
• over half (55%) of the providers we asked said they were not at full capacity and 38% (20 out of 52) said they had the potential to extend/increase their capacity
• 38% (20 out of 53) of providers reported that they will be considering adjusting their 2-year-old ratios to 1:5, while 62% (33 out of 53) reported that they will not be considering this.

Summary of parent/carer questionnaire findings:

• the parent/carer questionnaire revealed that 19% of children (59/317) do not access a childcare provider; 6% of children (18/317) access a childminder; 37% of children (119/317) access an early years setting and 38% of children (121/317) access a school setting for childcare provision
• of the parent/carers who responded, 41% of children accessed some kind of childcare funding
• 56% of those who responded reported accessing at least 15 hours of childcare per week
• 82% of parent/carers reported that they were aware of the new scheme and 59% (104/177) said that they were planning to access the newly announced scheme.

Summary of schools’ questionnaire findings:

• 87% (20 out of 23) of the Barnet schools who responded reported currently offering a breakfast club and 86% (19 out of 22) currently offer after school provision
• following the Government’s announcement regarding wraparound provision, over 40% of schools anticipate that the demand for breakfast club and after school provision will increase
• 4 out of 19 schools said they will be considering introducing/extending their breakfast club provision and 3 schools said that they will be considering introducing/extending their after-school provision in the next 12-24 months.

You can read more detail in the full consultation results.

We did

We have reviewed the findings from the questionnaires and the insights have helped shape our Early Years Expansion and Wraparound Action Plans. The findings have also informed our Childcare Sufficiency Assessment and childcare supply and demand analyses for Barnet. Additionally, we will be contacting and working closely with those providers who have reported that they have capacity to expand to explore how we can support the expansion of their provision.

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We asked

We asked for your views on the implementation of parking controls, including the introduction of a Controlled Parking Zone (CPZ) in East Finchley, to address local parking concerns and demand.

You said

A total of 434 responses were received.

The analysis indicated that whilst 316 (72%) of the 434 total respondents did not provide a positive response to supporting a CPZ, 93 (29%) of the 316 confirmed that they suffer from parking issues in their roads.

Overall, 22%, of respondents specifically confirmed their support, and it is felt that the further 29% who are experiencing issues would benefit from parking controls. Taking this into account would mean that a total of 51% of respondents’ concerns would be resolved with the implementation of a CPZ.

Residents consulted had stated that commuter/non-residential parking was the biggest factor to the issues they were facing. The other main issues mentioned includes dangerous and obstructive parking reported on junctions and other requests for parking restrictions to improve road safety.

We did

Following the informal consultation feedback, we are developing proposals that would help to improve parking situation in East Finchley and the surrounding area.

The proposals will be discussed and agreed with your Ward Members and, subject to funding availability, will be progressed to statutory consultation and implementation.

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We asked

We asked for your views on our proposed Friary Park Flood Alleviation Scheme.

The scheme proposes to:

• construct a wetland / flood storage basin in the upper section of the Blackett’s Brook in the north-western corner of the park.
• carry out river restoration works including removal of artificial banks, constructing two stage channel (river widening) and a series of small ponds, and introducing leaky woody dams (natural barriers) to hold back flow along the middle reach of Blackett's Brook as it further flows down the park.

You said

We received 20 responses to our online questionnaire. Below is a summary of the results:

• overall, 94.74 of respondents supported the proposed Friary Park Alleviation Scheme
• 78.95% of respondents strongly agreed that the scheme would deliver flood risk benefits / reduce flood risk to properties and infrastructure.
• 89.47%% of respondents either agreed or strongly agreed that the scheme would improve water quality.
• 84.21% of respondents either agreed or strongly agreed that the scheme would deliver benefits beyond flood risk (social, environmental, amenity benefits)
• 100% of respondents either agreed or strongly agreed that the scheme would improve habitats and local wildlife
• 68.43% of respondents either agreed or strongly agreed that the scheme would increase awareness and involvement from local communities
• 75% of respondents either agreed or strongly agreed that the scheme would encourage people to spend more time in the park

Concerns were raised in the comments section over the potential removal of trees and shrubberies around the scheme.

Alongside the online questionnaire, the council in partnership with Thames21, organised two events:

• an online meeting on 9 October 2023
• a consultation event in Friary Park on 21 October 2023. Approximately 62 people attended the consultation event in Friary Park, with 27 completing a feedback form.

Feedback at the events was positive, with 23 of the survey respondents choosing, ‘I love them!’, in response to the question: “What are your first impressions of the proposal?”

We did

We have considered all the feedback received and final designs are now being developed ahead of progressing with a tender process for construction. The scheme is expected to go out to tender in spring / summer 2024.

The concerns raised about the potential removal of trees have been passed on to the council’s tree officers who oversee this area.

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We asked

We asked for your views on our proposal to introduce a second phase of selective licensing scheme for all privately rented properties that are not covered by licensing of houses in multiple occupation (HMOs), in a total of ten wards in Barnet.

You said

We received 369 online responses to the questionnaire and seven written responses via email.

• overall, the majority (70%) of respondents opposed the introduction of the selective licensing scheme for privately rented properties in Barnet
• opposition, however, was stronger amongst managing or letting agents and private landlords (100% and 94% opposing respectively) and support was stronger amongst owner occupiers and those renting from private landlords (63% and 43% support respectively)
• the majority (45%) of respondents were private landlords, with 8% stating they were a managing or letting agent or work for a managing or letting agent. Only 20% of respondents said they rented their home from a private landlord. A further 14% of respondents were owner occupiers.

There were also several comments made by respondents completing the questionnaire and in written responses in relation to the proposals.

Those who opposed the proposed scheme gave reasons which included:

• landlords would exit the market
• the number of rental properties would reduce and so increase homelessness
• rents would increase as the cost of the licence would be passed on to tenants
• it is just a money-making exercise for the council
• it penalises good landlords, whilst bad landlords will not get a licence
• unnecessary red tape and bureaucracy
• concern that the council would not be able to adequately resource the scheme
• fees are too high.

Respondents who supported the scheme gave reasons including;

• too many poor properties
• poor conditions affecting tenants’ health
• landlords need to be better regulated
• to make landlords maintain their properties
• landlords making short-term profit at the expense of tenants
• to identify more rented properties
• reduce crime and anti-social behaviour
• to protect tenants .

A large number of people objecting to the proposals did not give reasons for their objection other than indicating their disagreement with licensing. Other comments related to issues that were already explained in the consultation documents.

More information is available in the full consultation report.

We did

Comments objecting to the scheme were primarily from landlords. The extent of the objections from respondents has been carefully considered and it is deemed that the data and reasons established that led to the proposal in the consultation remain sound and, although there are strong representations from one category of respondent, these do not undermine the original intentions to introduce the scheme. Whilst the council acknowledge the specific responses received from the consultation, the evidence held by the council highlights the issues in the condition and management of private sector accommodation in the ten wards in the borough, and therefore a selective licensing scheme to address poor property conditions in those wards remains a justifiable approach.

Amendments have been made in response to comments received:

• although not strictly an amendment to the proposals, we have clarified that the council intend to inspect the majority, if not all licenced properties during the life of the scheme
• we have removed the proposed additional fee if the second element of the fee isn’t paid in a timely manner
• we have undertaken that the operation of the fee structure in Phase one of selective licensing, due to be implemented in early 2024, will be carefully monitored and propose that alternative models of fees and discounts given by other authorities will be closely examined with the potential for an alternative fee structure, whilst still covering costs of the scheme
• we took on board various comments relating to the licence conditions and have amended them accordingly, where we thought this was appropriate.

The final proposals were considered by the council’s Cabinet on 12 December 2023 and the amended proposals described above were agreed. The designation will not be made until the council is satisfied that there is sufficient evidence to demonstrate strong outcomes, efficient delivery, robust enforcement and adequate resourcing for the existing mandatory and additional licensing schemes and the proposed phase one selective licensing scheme. Once these safeguards are deemed to be met, which is anticipated to be early 2025 at the earliest, then the designation will be signed. After signing, the designation must be confirmed by the Secretary of State for The Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities before it can be implemented.

You can view the final report on the consultation and the summary of comments and the council’s response to them, as well as the final licensing designation (once signed) on the council’s website,