Following a local campaign, supported by CPRE London, Barnet Council voted against Barnet Football Club’s plans for a new stadium.
The club proposed to build a new stadium on the nine-acre green space, which has long been used by the whole community. It would have left local families, joggers, dog walkers, cricketers, friends and grassroots football clubs with nowhere to go.
But a successful campaign led by Save Barnet Playing Fields has overturned the project. At a planning committee meeting on Monday evening, the plans were rejected by six votes (three abstentions). Committee members felt the designated local park, which is also Green Belt land, should be protected and the council has no plans to sell or lease the playing fields.
Chair of Save Barnet Playing Fields, Robert Verrill, said “By securing thousands of objections from horrified locals and with tremendous support from environmental groups such as CPRE London we were able to mount an unarguable defence of this precious community space. Such that last Monday Barnet’s Planning Committee refused outline planning consent with no councillors prepared to vote for the scheme. Thank you CPRE London for your telling contribution to this excellent victory for our green spaces”.
Fans of Barnet FC are keen to bring their football club back to the borough of Barnet, after having moved out to Harrow in 2013. Hopefully an alternative location for the stadium can now be found elsewhere in Barnet, which doesn’t involve building on green space.
Find out more about the Save Barnet Playing Fields Campaign
Read more about CPRE London’s work to protect playing fields