Barnet’s Labour councillors are calling for Conservative-run Barnet Council to drop a scheme to restrict access to and reduce space in some of Barnet’s parks and green spaces by building solar panel farms on them or installing electricity storage units in them. The forty-five parks and green spaces at risk are all on the Council’s ‘low quality/low value’ list – a category that was invented by the Barnet Conservatives to justify investing less money in some parks.

Labour councillors have submitted a motion to tomorrow night’s Full Council meeting (19 January) calling for the scheme to be dropped, and for all parks and green spaces to be protected.

The scheme to generate money from parks by doing this was announced at the last Environment Committee, but Labour councillors believe there is other land that the Council owns that would be more suitable for this purpose, and there should be a red line on building anything on parks apart from play equipment or other parks facilities that enhance and improve access to and use of parks.

Labour Childs Hill councillor, Anne Clarke, who is raising this issue at the Full Council meeting said: “Access to our parks and green spaces has proved to be so important to the health and wellbeing of local people during the pandemic.

“Many more people are visiting and using parks regularly and will continue to do so after the pandemic.

“I’m calling on the Barnet Conservatives to drop this terrible scheme and protect all our parks and green spaces.”

Barnet Labour’s Environment spokesperson, Cllr Alan Schneiderman said: “This scheme is yet another attack on our parks and green spaces from the Barnet Conservatives when they should be protected.

“It’s nothing new from them, they like building on parks – look at what they did in Victoria Park – replaced the park keeper’s lodge with a block of luxury flats!”

Ends.

Notes:

  1. A copy of Cllr Clarke’s motion can be found here:
  2. A copy of the 45 parks deemed ‘low quality/low value’ can be found here: https://barnet.moderngov.co.uk/documents/s28489/Figure%20AI.13%20-%20Low%20ValueQuality%20and%20Undesignated%20Sites.pdf
  3. Copy of the motion to Barnet Council can be found here: https://barnet.moderngov.co.uk/documents/b36786/Amendments%20to%20Motions%2019th-Jan-2021%2019.00%20Council.pdf?T=9
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