The Barnet Eye weekly Roundup - Doom and Gloom **** Updated 4/4/2011

Photo courtesy of Vicki Morris

Before I start with the round, a little trailer ......

Keep you eyes on the blogs of Barnet this week. There is going to be a very important piece of news launched.

Onwards to the local news. First the sad news that Barnet Council, in an act of Philistinism and stupidity, closed the Church Farmhouse museum. A team of activists from the Barnet Alliance 4 Public services marked this with a demonstration as the museum doors shut for the last time. Church Farmhouse museum Curator Gerrard Roots said...
Church Farm received 9,000 visitors in 2010. Since 3rd January 2011 to its closing date it has received 3,500 visitors, all of whom wanted the museum to survive. RIP to this fine museum.

Many staff at Barnet Council were also made redundant. The head of legal services, Jeff Lustig, took the unprecedented step of emailing all councillors to draw their attention to the fact. This email was leaked to the Barnet Future Shape blog and you can view it here - http://barnetfutureshape.blogspot.com/2011/03/barnet-council-risk-to-democracy.html - either Barnet haas been hellishly overstaffed for the last eight years of Tory misrule, or it now lacks the number of staff to function effectively - make your mind up.

Other news in Barnet. 57 local citizens were honoured by the mayor for their outstanding contribution to Borough life. The council put out a press release to mark this -
http://www.barnet.gov.uk/press_releases.htm?id=2337 - now I happen to know one of the winners of the award who attended. A lavish buffet was laid on, a photographer took pictures, the Mayor made a fine speech and every winner was given a glossy booklet detailing their outstanding work. Now, I don't begrudge these citizens their day out, even in these tight times. What I think is bizarre is that the press release makes no mention of the winners, what they did or why they won the award. As a glossy book was produced, why wasn't this loaded onto the council website for display as a PDF and why didn't the press release link to it?
I rather suspect that we need details of such inspirational citizens. The fact that 57 peoples outstanding efforts warrants only a four paragraph press release is an insult to these hard working citizens. The press release is extremely patronising -  the final line of the press release :-

“It is heartening to know that we can count on so many wonderful people.”

Other news. I've just been called by a local Tory Councillor who told me Matthew Offord was on the BBC at lunchtime saying that the Jewish School in Mill Hill - Etz Chaim - will be opening in September. Now I was under the impression that this was subject to planning consent. Does Mr Offord have some inside information that the process has been in some way knobbled? Offord Twittered he was on the Politics Show, so I guess this is what he meant. The most damaging thing about Etz Chaim, which in many ways is a good proposal, is the fact that there is a perception that Barnet Council has in some way subverted the normal process to ease it through. Offord making announcements such as this surely cannot help. The school would be well advised to steer clear of political controversy, or jumping into bed with local politicians. Schools are community resources.
******** Updated 4/4/2011 -  I was contacted by a representative from Etz Chaim School who suggested that I may have misrepresented what was said by Matthew Offord. Thanks to the Barnet Bugle, who have provided a clip of Mr Offord's contribution on the show. Please watch the clip (in sidebar at the top) and decide for yourself. Many thanks to the representative of Etz Chaim as we are always happy to print corrections and clarifications where necessary ******** Ends ********

Another interesting mystery is the fact that Partingdale Lane was closed to through traffic yesterday (Sat 2nd April). No one seems to know why. This country lane was famously re-opened by Brian Coleman following legal challenges which cost Barnet Council nearly £1 million. It had been closed by the previous Labour/Lib Dem adminstration on safety grounds. Since Coleman reopened it, there have been a string of accidents.

Oh and congratulations to Councillor Hugh Rayner. Seems to me (having read the Business management minutes, special committee) that he's just given himself a promotion and he's now the most powerful man in Barnet politics. Well done to Hugh for promoting himself - No one else would !!!!!!