Mayor opens Barnet’s first major Sustainable Urban Drainage Scheme
A new wetland area in the relandscaped Halliwick Recreation Ground, Muswell Hill, has today been unveiled by the Worshipful Mayor of Barnet, Tony Vourou.
The first of its kind in Barnet, the £1.3m Sustainable Urban Drainage Scheme (SuDS) – as it is known technically – will divert rainwater runoff from Halliwick Recreation Ground and nearby roads towards the newly built water storage basin, reducing the extent of downstream property and road junction flooding from surface water.
Barnet Council announces new Director of Public Health
Barnet Council is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr Janet Djomba as its new Director of Public Health.
A public health professional with over 15 years of experience, Dr Djomba joined the council in 2019. She became Deputy Director of Public Health in Autumn 2022 and has been the acting Director of Public Health since the departure of her predecessor in December last year.
Barnet children’s services praised as ‘strong and effective’ by Ofsted inspectors
An Ofsted inspection has rated Barnet’s children’s services as ‘good’ overall, with an ‘outstanding’ rating for the services and support provided to children in care.
Following an on-site visit, the inspectors found children receive “strong and effective services” from a “stable and committed leadership team [which] has continued to strengthen and enhance social work practice since the previous inspection in 2019”.
Social housing fraudster receives 24-month Community Order and forced to pay council compensation
The London Borough of Barnet has successfully prosecuted Amy Knight for illegally subletting her one-bedroom social housing property at no.7 Abingdon Road, Finchley.
The Council’s Corporate Anti-Fraud Team (CAFT) launched an investigation in September 2018 following a referral from a subtenant seeking the return of her deposit after unknowingly renting a social housing property.
Residents urged to have their say on Barnet Loop proposals
Proposals have been released this week to create a 17-mile walking and cycling loop around most of the borough of Barnet, to help encourage more sustainable travel and improve connectivity across the borough.
The Barnet Loop will enable residents to have better access to parks, green spaces, schools and a range of other amenities – and when completed will form part of TfL’s cycleways network.