July 2009
Construction Site Guidelines

With the increasing fashion for rebuilds and major buildings works within the Garden Suburb, inconsiderate contractors can - and do - cause considerable nuisance to nearby residents.

Barnet has now agreed, with immediate effect, to enclose with every planning consent, Borough-wide, a set of construction site guidelines based on a draft prepared by Consam in February, drawing on a number of sources.

Although this was a long process, the Cabinet Member for Planning eventually endorsed the proposal in principal in April and we are pleased to have achieved, in the end, a useful outcome, potentially to the benefit of residents across the Borough, not only in the Garden Suburb. To see a copy of the guidelines, click here (pdf).

May 2009
Lyttelton Road mobile phone mast

The Residents Association has consistently opposed the erection within the conservation area of mobile phone masts and their associated equipment boxes which attract graffiti and are unsightly. Aside from the intrusive appearance of such installations, many residents are concerned about health risks, especially to children. In defeating applications from mobile phone operators, the RA has had the consistent support of the Suburb Ward councillors. Since 2004, 22 applications have been refused by Barnet Council. In addition 8 cases have been taken to appeal by the phone operators and in each case Barnet’s decision has been upheld.

The most recent application in the Suburb was from Orange in May 2009,for a mast in Lyttelton Road, opposite Belvedere Court. This was refused on visual grounds and lack of consideration to alternative sites. To read the RA’s objection letter, Click here (pdf).

March 2009
Ossulton Way zebra crossing

In December 2008, the RA learned of a proposal to install a zebra crossing (the first within the conservation area) in Ossulton Way. Consam objected on aesthetic grounds; then, after carry out some observations, concluded that there was not even a strong case on safety grounds. Sample observations on two school mornings revealed that seven and eight families crossed the road on their way to school within a half hour period. In about a quarter of the cases, the road was clear. In about half the cases, oncoming cars stopped to allow the families to cross. In the remaining cases the families had to wait up to 5 seconds for a stream of 3-5 cars to pass before the road became clear to cross.

Consam proposed to Councillor Harper, Cabinet Member for Environment & Transport, that the Council should carry out similar observations to help establish the need. Despite agreeing to this, the 'decision letter', concluding that the installation should proceed, contained no reference to the observations and reported that the proposal was supported by only 31 out of 780 residents consulted. To read the RA’s press release, click here (pdf).

January 2009
Street Clutter removal

In late 2005 LB Barnet Highways expressed support in principle to an exercise to remove superfluous signs, road markings, bollards etc from the Suburb’s streets and in May 2006 the Conservative ward councillors included prominently in their election campaign a pledge to support that initiative. However, in September 2006, Barnet - in a policy endorsed by the ward councillors - refused to fund the work or even to discuss it further until third-party funding had been provided.

In August 2007, when the RA had established that there would be no call on its ordinary funds to pay for its Centenary celebrations, a deal was agreed with Barnet for a budget of £20,000, to be funded 50/50 by the RA and Barnet. The then Cabinet Member for Environment and Transport, Matthew Offord, instructed officers to work with the RA to define the precise scope of the works. Despite pressure from the RA, this process did not begin until January 2008 and full feedback on a joint survey, promised for the end of February 2008, was not received until October. Finally, a schedule of works was agreed in November, the works orders placed in December and the work (or most of it) carried out in January 2009 - three years from the date of the original agreement.

Around 60 signs and/or posts have been removed or relocated at a cost close of around £9,000, of which half is being borne by the RA. Click here (pdf) for detailed list. Some £11,000 of the original £20,000 joint budget remains available for decluttering elsewhere, including along the A1 and its side roads where negotiations with Barnet and TfL continue.

October 2008
Public Realm Design Guidelines

In the introduction to its excellent "Greening the Garden Suburb" report, prepared in 1994, English Heritage wrote:

"In Hampstead Garden Suburb, the planned pattern of roads and open spaces and the views they create are as valuable as the buildings themselves. A potential threat to the remarkable unity of this early 20th century estate arises from pressures for the more effective management of traffic and parking and from routine maintenance decisions. Left uncoordinated and uncontrolled, these pressures can lead to a significant diminution in the character and appearance of the conservation area. The erosion of the townscape by small-scale incremental changes may cumulatively have a major adverse impact."

In July 2006, a proposal by the Consam for the preparation of Design Guidelines for the Public Realm was welcomed by London Borough of Barnet’s Highways and Heritage officers and the Cabinet Member for Environment and Transport. A draft was prepared by Consam, drawing on the Greening report, and subsequently negotiated with the Council’s Highways and Heritage officers. The majority of matters were agreed; the remainder, on which it is hoped that agreement can be reached in subsequent discussion, are documented in an appended Residents Association Position Paper.

The Design Guidelines cover such matters as signs, posts, road markings, street lighting, street furniture and street trees; and standards for maintaining pavements, verges, carriageways, and footpaths.

To read the full document, click here (pdf).

Although LB Barnet has agreed to use its best endeavours to comply with these Guidelines, mistakes can occur. Residents are encouraged to assist the Residents Association and LBB by reporting any breaches of these standards and deficiencies in maintenance of public spaces by emailing consam@hgs.org.uk

2008-2009
The Henrietta Barnett School

In spring 2008, Consam was contacted by Hopkins Architects - responsible for such high-profile buildings as the Glyndebourne Opera House - who had been commissioned by The Henrietta Barnett School to design new buildings to provided much-needed extra accommodation for the school. In May, Hopkins showed Consam the proposals for two buildings, in an L-shape, to be erected on each side of the existing building fronting Central Square. The elevational designs were shown to five members of Consam at the end of July, shortly before the planning application was submitted and, when others had caught up, it transpired that Consam was divided, with some members endorsing the Hopkins design and others having strong reservations - a view shared by many residents who took trouble to view the plans at the Trust or Barnet’s offices. Residents also complained of inadequate public consultation about the proposed design.

However, the Hopkins design was welcomed by Barnet, the Hampstead Garden Suburb Trust, English Heritage and the Lutyens Trust and planning consent was granted in September by both Barnet and the Trust, with conditions as to approval of window design and colour of bricks.

In November 2008, the RA Council passed, unopposed, a resolution expressing its pleasure that permission had been obtained for the new buildings but that it had "serious reservations about details of the submitted design, particularly the fenestration and the colour of bricks and urges the School and its architects to consider designs and materials in closer sympathy with the existing buildings. The Council supports a vertical theme for the windows, and grey and red bricks."

With the support of RA Council, Suburb residents campaigned for changes in the design. The Trust encouraged, and the school agreed to, a dialogue with Hopkins which took place in the early months of 2009. Consam also pressed the School and Hopkins to present the proposals to local residents. Some 130 residents attended a presentation held on 24 March.

In the event, the detailed design incorporating 'horizontal' windows and red bricks was not materially changed and was approved in June 2009.