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The COVID-19 crisis has been devastating for many but seen Barnet at its best with communities pulling together to help those most affected. While lockdown has meant strict social distancing, many local groups and charities have found interesting and novel ways to combat loneliness, provide essential support to those most in need, and to keep the community united.  

The Barnet Community Response Fund has awarded £50,000 to 28 of Barnet’s local voluntary, community and faith organisations, with grants of up to £2000 each. Set up in partnership with Barnet Together and Barnet Council, the Barnet Community Response Fund enables local organisations to continue providing frontline support to those most in need.

Barnet Council has awarded £50,000 of grants to voluntary and community organisations facing threat to their survival through loss of income, due to the coronavirus pandemic.

This summer, Better Health have again teamed up with Disney to help get kids active throughout the holidays by playing free 10 Minute Shake Up games. The games are inspired by some of their favourite characters – including Disney’s Encanto and Frozen, to Pixar’s Lightyear, and Marvel’s The Avengers. Visit the 10 minute shake up website to get started.

During the pandemic we saw a rise in residents wanting to access more services online with 70% of residents choosing to use online tools to resolve their queries rather than call. This resulted in council services having to consider how we can support all residents better remotely and inclusively. 

An award-winning film is spearheading a campaign by Barnet Council to encourage thousands of young carers to come forward and get support. We Know What to Do stars young carers from Barnet and focuses on the skills, heart, resilience, and creativity they display during their everyday lives.

The Leader of Barnet Council, Cllr Barry Rawlings, has said that the council is facing a “perfect storm” of rising costs of delivering core services and increasing demand for expensive services, such as adult social care and placing homeless families in temporary accommodation.

Schools and businesses across Barnet are being urged to prepare for the introduction of separate food waste collections next year. Under a national sustainability drive, all schools and commercial businesses with the equivalent of ten or more full-time employees in England will be required to separate their food waste for recycling, as well as recycling glass, paper, cardboard, cans, and plastic pots, tubs and trays, from March 2025.

Illegal tobacco products with an estimated street value of £61,000 have been seized as part of a major crackdown in Barnet. Trading standards officers from Barnet Council confiscated thousands of illicit goods on Wednesday 16 October, using sniffer dogs to find products that had been concealed in hideaways within shops.

Celebrations have been held at Cherry Tree Wood after it was officially recognised as one of the country’s best parks. The popular East Finchley park has received the coveted Green Flag Award - the international quality mark for parks and green spaces.