Let me ask you a few questions :-
a) Do you think Barnet Council has enough school places for the ever growing population in Barnet?
b) Do you think that Barnet Council has not got any spare land to increase provision if it needs it?
c) Given the furore over the closure of the Garden Centre and the Mill Hill Sports club, both well loved local facilities, to accomodate new schools, do you think that there are any other site which could be found?
d) Do you believe the Barnet Tories, when they say that they do not want to get rid of playing fields?
Well depending on your answers, you may be shocked to know that Barnet Council is sneakily selling off huge sites for housing developments, which were school playing fields at Northway School and Broadfields School. It may shock you to find out that they are being extremely sneaky about this, doing it under delegated powers and not mentioning the fact that the sites are playing fields in the title of the document, preferring the description "surplus land". As they build ever more houses, the recreational green space is gobbled up. They don't think that the children who live in these buildings will require even more school places. Councillor Daniel Thomas made a video last month. claiming that we have a massive shortfall coming in school provision, but they are selling land whihc could be used to grow existing schools. There are so many things in this which are disgusting, that I don't know where to even start to analyse the stupidity of this plan. It is all about selling the family silver to pay for the gross mismanagement of Council resources by the incompetent Conservative regime in Barnet. Not only that, but they are selling these assetts when the property market is depressed, so they won't even get a decent price. It's all in here.
Here's the link to the document describing how Council Leader Richard Cornelius is squandering these precious resources -
http://committeepapers.barnet.gov.uk/democracy/reports/reportdetail.asp?ReportID=10673
Or you can read it here.
DPR-6
We are clearly being run by people with no concern for the future and no sense of responsibility towards our children or our money.
a) Do you think Barnet Council has enough school places for the ever growing population in Barnet?
b) Do you think that Barnet Council has not got any spare land to increase provision if it needs it?
c) Given the furore over the closure of the Garden Centre and the Mill Hill Sports club, both well loved local facilities, to accomodate new schools, do you think that there are any other site which could be found?
d) Do you believe the Barnet Tories, when they say that they do not want to get rid of playing fields?
Well depending on your answers, you may be shocked to know that Barnet Council is sneakily selling off huge sites for housing developments, which were school playing fields at Northway School and Broadfields School. It may shock you to find out that they are being extremely sneaky about this, doing it under delegated powers and not mentioning the fact that the sites are playing fields in the title of the document, preferring the description "surplus land". As they build ever more houses, the recreational green space is gobbled up. They don't think that the children who live in these buildings will require even more school places. Councillor Daniel Thomas made a video last month. claiming that we have a massive shortfall coming in school provision, but they are selling land whihc could be used to grow existing schools. There are so many things in this which are disgusting, that I don't know where to even start to analyse the stupidity of this plan. It is all about selling the family silver to pay for the gross mismanagement of Council resources by the incompetent Conservative regime in Barnet. Not only that, but they are selling these assetts when the property market is depressed, so they won't even get a decent price. It's all in here.
Here's the link to the document describing how Council Leader Richard Cornelius is squandering these precious resources -
http://committeepapers.barnet.gov.uk/democracy/reports/reportdetail.asp?ReportID=10673
Or you can read it here.
DPR-6
We are clearly being run by people with no concern for the future and no sense of responsibility towards our children or our money.
Both of these sites are advertised with D1 use education along with Copthall which also has D1 use. So that makes 3 brownfield sites suitable for schools plus the possible regeneration of the former Boys Club in Deansbrook and the former Royal British Legion Site. Barnet are deperate to off load those.
ReplyDeleteBarnet's Children Services does not list MILL HILL as having a shortfall of Primary School places and given that the idea is to have schools within walking distance the other sites are nearer to areas where there would appear to be the want. There will be a need for a primary school in Mill Hill East and this has already been built into the 10 year plan at the former Inglis Barracks.
Any school should add to a community not take away. The loss of a reasonably priced Sports Club and a Garden centre which in any way you want to look at served the community is wrong.There are things in life sadly can never be changed there are other things that you can do something about. A good education is a good education where ever it is delivered. Take something away from others and what are you teaching? If they build the houses then what? Oh, a shortfall of schools and lets not forget these children need secondary education too. Where?
I went to Broadfields School for a year or so before I went to St Vincent's: the site is right on the edge of green belt land, and I am sure that the school will not want to have this developed.
ReplyDeleteNot only are our council services being flogged off to the highest bidders, we are now seeing anything an everything else being put for auction. How much more of our community assets and greenspaces is going to be pilfered and sold on by this thieving Tory council?