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Barnet Council’s NET ZERO challenge winners were announced at a special event to mark the end of Barnet Climate Action Month held at the RAF Museum in Hendon last night, Monday 15 July. The collaborative initiative held by Middlesex University and the council, and sponsored by Hammersons, Microsoft and Natwest, invited those who, live, work or study in the Borough to design and then vote for the best carbon-reducing sustainability project, with the top three projects winning a share of £10,000 in prize money.

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.

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.

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”.

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.

Work is set to begin next week on the £3 million reconstruction of Hampden Way in East Barnet representing the largest investment ever in a single road by Barnet Council. The project forms part of the £97m Barnet Road and Pavement’s Investment Programme and is expected to take between nine and ten months to complete.

Middlesex University has confirmed that Barnet Council’s Suicide Prevention Campaign, delivered in 2021, may have contributed to reducing suicide rates in the Borough. The evaluation showed that Barnet saw a significant drop in suicide rates for the three months that the campaign was live (Oct – Dec 2021) and for a further six months following the campaign's conclusion.​

The Leader of Barnet Council says we must stand together and stop hate spilling over into our borough following the outbreak of violent unrest across the country. Leader of Barnet Council and the Labour Group, Cllr Barry Rawlings, said:

The Leader of Barnet Council, Cllr Barry Rawlings, has responded to information circulating on social media and national media about a planned demonstration in North Finchley this evening (7 August). “You will be aware that information has been circulating on social media about a possible ‘protest’ in North Finchley on Wednesday evening.  If you live, work or travel through the area then we advise caution and to be mindful of your safety. 

The Leader of Barnet Council, Cllr Barry Rawlings, has thanked Barnet’s communities, and those who came to stand with them, for their peaceful counter-protest following the threat of a far-right demonstration in North Finchley last night (7 August). He also thanked Police and other partners for their handling of the situation, including their support in providing reassurance.