Barnet Council - Tories yet again exposed for their hatred of Football

So what is our national game? What is the game that most boys would play out of choice at school? The answer is Association Football. There are many sports played in the UK, but football is head and shoulders above the rest in terms of levels of participation, interest and affection for our young people. It is a sad fact that there is one place where this is not the case. That is here in the London Borough of Barnet. We used to have two clubs with famous histories and traditions in the Borough. Sadly both have been shafted by Barnet Council. Barnet FC were forced out of the Borough by Council intransigence and hostilty. The club now play in the London Borough of Harrow at the Hive, having finally given up on trying to get the Council to cooperate. For Hendon FC, it is even sadder. The team now groundshare with Wembley, their ground being sold to a property developer of £20 million. 

It seems that the Council have no clue about the vital role of having a local team to inspire youngsters. It goes deeper than that though. Barnet has a reputation for poor maintenance of pitches in the Borough for youth teams. I recently visited Burnt Oak lesuire centre and was dumstruck to see the state  of the youth football pitch. The season has only just started, but the pitch is in a highly dodgy state. The number of playing fields that the council has concreted over in the Borough or left to fall into rack and ruin is scandalous. Within a couple of miles from my house we've lost Pavillion Road and the Mill Hill Sports club in recent years. There now seems to be a massive question mark over the future of Mill Hill Village FC, a club which has been around for over 100 years. It seems that there are issues with the lease on the ground. There is a suspicion that the council sees such sites as prime real estate.

For some reason, whilst Barnet Council hate local football clubs, they love rugby. Now I personally have no issue with Rugby, I've been to Saracens RFC a few times. I am however appalled by the double standard. Saracens RFC have had a huge subsidy from Barnet Council in the form of  a "sweetheart deal" on their Copthall ground. Now the ground clearly was decrepid before the Saracens development and they've done a great job, but given the lack of previous ties to the Borough, one has to point out the double standard.

The latest example of anti football bias is revealed in a press release on the Barnet Council website. It seems that any sport is encouraged in Barnet apart from football. I was pleased to see a press release on the Barnet Council website announcing funding from Sport England to get young people off their backsides and into a sport (http://www.barnet.gov.uk/news/article/591/sport_england_funding_helps_barnet_young_people_get_in_shape) which is clearly a step in the right direction. Then I read what the press release and I was horrified. It seems that any sport except football is encouraged.  Read these snippets

The Sport England money will be combined with additional funding from Barnet Council’s Public Health and Children Services departments, the Saracens Foundation and Middlesex University to create a £3000,000 project fund.Young people will be able to take part in a range of coaching sessions in sports and activities including basketball, rugby, boxing, athletics, self defence and dance. They will also have the chance to take part in a number of ‘come and try’ days.

 It goes on

Councillor Helena Hart said: “We are absolutely delighted to receive funding from the Community Sport Activation Fund which will allow us to develop our sport and physical activity offer to 14 to 25-year-olds.We will offer a selection of sports and physical activity sessions ranging from self-defence, athletics, basketball, Tai Chi and much more. Young people will be able to have their say about how they can get into sport and I am sure it will encourage them to come back for more.”

As you can see no mention at all of football. Now of course all of these sports are great things to get involved with and all should be encouraged. We have to wonder why in Barnet there is such a bias against our national game? Now it may very well be an oversight. It may well be that there is money in the pot for football (we sincerely hope so) but how could you fail to mention it. It would be like setting up a Battle of Britain museum appeal and not mentioning the RAF.

I've raised this seeming blindspot on serveral occasions with Barnet Tory Councillors. They've all assurred me that there is no "anti football" policy, but not a single one has ever been able to quote a single example of anything where Barnet Council were promoting our national sport. Once again, I am throwing down the guantlet to Barnet Council. Get behind our national game. Tell us what you are doing for young footballers to help and encourage them. We'd be the first to promote any scheme which was good for football in the Borough so tell us about it. My son plays under 15 football for a local club, Watling Youth FC. Guess what the council did to their clubhouse/centre? You've got it. The Watling Boys club building was recently demolished for "new homes". What I see every week is dozens of parents taking excited youngsters for what is the highlight of their week. Like me they stand for a couple of hours at the side of the pitch, come rain or shine. I've seen the boys in the team grow up and I've seen the dedication and hard work they put in. Is it too much to ask for a bit of support from our local Council.

The Saturday List #47 - The seven deadly sins - The most missed seven things in Barnet

As is the tradition, we like to have a list on a Saturday. We've had a pretty full on week with the Your Choice Barnet Week, so here is a bit of a change. I thought I'd list the seven things which we've lost from living in the London Borough of Barnet. It is a personal list

1. Barnet FC - The club still exist but now they play in Cannons Park, Harrow. A crime and a scandal.

2. Edgware General Hospital. I was born there, but first the Tories, then Labour shafted us and we lost our hospital. Now we have to go to Barnet General and wait for hours

3. Woolworths. I don't care what anyone said. Every High Street needs a Woolworths. I loved it and my kids loved it. Don't believe the porkies that it was an outdated business model. The company was shafted by asset strippers, who flogged off the properties, took all the money out and then crashed the company. If you own shares in any company where they flog off the properties, my advice is run a mile (please note this is not financial advice, as I am not qualified to give it, just a personal view).

4. Hendon FC. Another great football club shafted by the Council.

5. Watling Boys Club. A community asset in the heart of one of the more deprived parts of Barnet.

6. The Oriental Centre. The heart of the local Asian community. A great food hall and a much loved centre. Shafted by greedy property developers and left to rot.

7. Mill Hill Swimming Pool. Forget the Garden Centre, the real crime of Barnet Council was closing Mill Hill Swimming Pool, bequeathed to the people of Mill Hill in perpetuity as a community asset. This covenant was ignored by a greedy council who flogged it off as a Garden Centre. I always felt bitter about this, which is why I was totally ambivalent about the campaign to save the Garden Centre.

The smell of a huge rat in Barnet - Councillor Jack Cohen exposes the sale of Hendon FC ground as sham

From last night's Cabinet resourses committee, we have details of the latest legal cock up to hit Barnet in regards to a land sale. Barnet Council spent £1 million on the inquiry into the cock up of Barnet FC's Underhill ground. It looks like they haven't learned. Councillor Daniel Thomas starts by explaining why the council are seeking to exempt the process from scrutiny. Jack Cohen makes a compelling case for completely re-examing the decision and exposes some highly dodgy sound shenanigans. Jack also explains that the preferred bid is not the highest and the company making it is not legally allowed to.



I suspect that the lawyers will be rubbing their the hands together (yet again). I should imagine that all connected with the Jewish community will be especially interested in why the Council has snubbed their offer for the site, for a lower offer from a property developer. Note must also be made of the intervention of Hugh Rayner, who quite correctly expressed his displeasure at the way the Cabinet resources committee were seeking to bully the scrutiny committee into backing off.

The Barnet Eye commends both councillors for their good work.

The Barnet Eye covered this subject back in February, full details here -

http://barneteye.blogspot.co.uk/2012/02/london-jewish-girls-high-school-issues.html

The more I hear about this case, the stranger it sounds. I fully support the efforts of the efforts of the London Jewish Girls High School to get to the bottom of the issue. Whilst I do not support the loss of the site to football, if the council is intent on selling it, then they should take the highest offer, especially since there is a clear community benefit to doing so.

London Jewish Girls High School issues legal challenge to Barnet Council

Today I received this email :-

Dear Roger

 

I was told to write to you about a major situation which is coming to a head this evening at the cabinet resources committee at the Hendon town hall at 7pm.

 

hundreds of local people are going to be there to protest the council selling off the former Hendon fc ground to an individual against a higher bid put in by a local Barnet school.

 

see attached letter sent by our solicitors earlier today to the council

 

David Hersh

Chairman LJGH School

 

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It contained this document

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Hendon FC - Legal Challeng

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I have to confess that I know nothing of th LJGH School or their proposal and little about the Montclare Ltd Proposal. The Hendon Times published this report about the site last year :-

 

http://www.times-series.co.uk/news/topstories/8832007.Complaint_launched_over_ex_football_club_site/?action=complain&cid=9120439

 

Personally I deplore anything which removes a well established football ground and sports facility from the London Borough of Barnet. I would not support the proposal for flats or a school on this particular site. I do however agree with the point that it is strange that it is not being sold to the highest bidder, given the council doesn't care about retaining a football club on the site. I would welcome more information regarding this issue

Urgent : Library review and Hendon Football Club

If you have any interest in the subjects of the Barnet Council Library review or Hendon Football club, both are being discussed by Barnet Council on the 11th of July. The relevant papers are here :-


http://committeepapers.barnet.gov.uk/democracy/meetings/meetingdetail.asp?meetingid=6817

I'd suggest that everyone has a look through these papers. There is a common theme. It is that the ordinary people of Barnet do not matter. When discussing the closure of Friern Barnet Library, no mention is made of elderly local residents, who paid taxes all their lives and rely on the library. The councillors of Barnet don't seem to realise that a schlep up to the Arts Depot is not convenient or practical for many people.

It is interesting to review the shameful history of the sale of Hendon FC's ground. They want to build hundreds of flats on the site and loose another rare football pitch. Does it matter that Hendon FC had a rich history? Do they care about a generation of teenagers growing fat and slothfull and developing type 2 diabetes as a result?

Nope, all they care about is milking community resources so property developers can get fat on the riches of the people of Barnet. How many of these rabbit hutch flats will have a garden for the kids that live there. When we have appalling teen on teen murders such as Marvin Henry, does anyone ever pause and say "are we failing these kids by flogging off all of the amenities where they could do something constructive?".

There are many things wrong in Barnet. Not all of them are the fault of Barnet Council, but the destruction of these public amenities is clearly an area where they have behaved in an appalling fashion. What legacy will the councillors of Barnet leave for the next generation and the one after that? Do they care. They really should