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Following the resignation of Barnet Vale Councillor, Marianne Haylett, a by-election will be held on Thursday 4 July 2024 in the Barnet Vale ward to elect a new councillor. After two years in office, Barnet Vale Councillor Marianne Haylett has decided to stand down due to family and work commitments and has thanked residents and colleagues for their support during her time as a councillor.

A cross-party civic delegation from the London Borough of Barnet visited the Nepalese city of Pokhara recently to strengthen cultural ties and understanding between the two areas. The six-strong delegation – who all paid for themselves – were invited for a week-long visit by the Mayor of Pokhara, Dhana Raj Acharya. It is the first official delegation from Barnet to visit its ‘twin’.

The London Festival of Architecture has returned to Barnet for the 20th anniversary of the festival with an exciting programme of activities and events taking place across the borough, throughout June. One of the first community events will be at the Copthall pavilion where there will be free workshops with the DJ Academy, football mentoring, food and wellness classes – you can even cycle your way to a free smoothie! A Barnet Council spokesperson said:

Watling Park in Burnt Oak will be transformed by an ambitious package of improvements that will reduce the risk of flooding to nearby homes and streets during periods of heavy rainfall. Barnet Council’s Flood Alleviation Scheme (FAS) for Watling Park will help tackle the climate emergency and support its mission to make the borough net zero by 2042. Work on the £1.5million project begins this Monday and will see wetlands created along with new and resurfaced paths, tree-planting and an exciting new playground for younger visitors.

Barnet Council is estimated to have saved more than £1.3million in temporary accommodation costs by cracking down on social housing fraud, a new report reveals. It shows that 41 properties were recovered for those in need during the 2023-2024 financial year after being used illegally. This helped the council save £1,313,272 in temporary accommodation costs that it would otherwise have spent to house residents facing homelessness.

Barnet Council’s Summer of Fun continued as it marked South Asian Heritage Month through a vibrant celebration of the region’s cultures and heritage. The event at Barnet Multi Cultural Community Centre on Saturday, 10 August saw councillors, council officers, members of Barnet’s South Asian communities, friends, families and others enjoy an afternoon of cultural performances, music, art, delicious food and vibrant festivities.

Students across Barnet are celebrating their A-level and vocational results today (15 August) with many schools across the borough having reported improvements on last year’s results. Over the last seven years, A-Level results in Barnet have consistently been in the top 5% of the country. This trend looks set to continue as provisional A-level results from 16 of the 25 Barnet schools with a sixth form show more outstanding results this year.

By Cllr Barry Rawlings, Leader of Barnet Council The recent antisemitic hate crime data published by the Community Security Trust (CST) is stark evidence of the surging levels of abuse and violence experienced by Britain’s Jewish communities. As the Leader of Barnet Council, I am deeply concerned and angered by the fact that 40% of all antisemitic crimes recorded in Greater London in the first half of this year occurred in our borough. 

When we took office in 2022, we pledged that we would transform Barnet for the better making it a great place to live, work and study for all. We also committed to being open and accountable, giving people the chance to have a say in important decisions that affect them and to be informed of what the council is doing.

Cllr Ross Houston, Cabinet Member for Homes & Regeneration and Deputy Leader of Barnet Council, said: “The report into the Grenfell fire has highlighted how systemic failures led to a disaster that should have never happened. Our thoughts remain with the family and friends of everyone affected.