Theresa Villiers MP has contacted thousands of constituents to urge them to email the Mayor of London to tell him they oppose plans to build 652 flats in blocks of up to ten storeys in Victoria Quarter in New Barnet.
Following the unanimous rejection of these proposals by Barnet Council’s planning committee, this planning application has been referred to the Mayor of London.
In what is known as a Stage Two referral, the Mayor will decide whether to allow Barnet's decision to stand, or to take over the application himself. If he takes it over (Stage Three), a public hearing is held at which he can choose to either approve or reject the plans.
In her email to residents, Theresa Villiers said: "The Mayor has until 9th December to make his Stage Two decision. It is vital to ensure that he knows there is strong local opposition to this development which would change New Barnet forever and irrevocably alter its landscape and skyline. Can I strongly encourage you to let the Mayor know your view on Victoria Quarter? 1049 people sent objections to Barnet Council and this ensured that local councillors were aware of residents’ opposition before they determined the planning application."
The comments function on the GLA website does not currently work and will not be fixed before the 9th December. Please, therefore, email the Mayor of London directly – [email protected].
You should use the following subject line: GLA Application Reference 2020/6213/S2 – Objection. In the body of your email, along with your comments on the application, you need to include your full name, your address, your stance - “Object”. You can find suggestions on points to make against the application at:
https://www.theresavilliers.co.uk/news/urgent-update-victoria-quarter
http://www.newbarnet.org.uk/
Reasons for the Mayor to turn down the appeal and back the local decision to reject the development are also set out in Theresa's speech to the Barnet planning committee so residents might consider drawing on this in their messages to Mayor Khan:
"Three years ago, One Housing obtained permission to build 371 brand new homes at Victoria Quarter. It was the culmination of nearly ten years of debate on the future of the site which saw residents campaign actively in favour of new homes, defeating plans for a supermarket. A huge amount of time was spent in consultation with the community to agree on an application delivering homes in tune with the surrounding neighbourhood.
The masterplan put forward by Save New Barnet, and the late David Howard, made a substantial contribution to what became the consented scheme. Residents were involved in detailed discussions on matters such as height, lay-out, density and design. Many therefore felt able to support the 2017 plan, despite its being more dense than would normally be acceptable in a place like New Barnet.
Now this committee’s being asked to rip up that hard-won compromise and replace it with 652 flats, including ten buildings over six storeys, with residents having had a tiny fraction of the input they had into the 2017 proposal.
The dense lay-out of this towering scheme of repetitive rectangular blocks will loom over Victoria Recreation ground, giving the appearance of a solid wall of buildings overshadowing this important open space. This grim inner-city style development clearly contravenes the Barnet Planning Policy [CS5] which restricts tall buildings to specified locations.
Its height, bulk, and density are inconsistent with the predominantly open, low-rise, character of New Barnet. The monolithic massing of these blocks would have a visually intrusive impact on the recreation ground and the locally protected view from Hadley.
Closely spaced high rise buildings will block out daylight from many rooms, and there’s a shortage of private external space, and hasn’t lockdown taught us how important both of those are?
So let One Housing build the scheme they already have consent for. It’s a far better plan because it was heavily influenced by residents who care about their neighbourhood.
This current application would overturn a decade of community involvement in the future of Victoria Quarter. It would change New Barnet forever, irrevocably altering its landscape and its skyline.
It would open the door to further intensive city-style development and I appeal to the planning committee to reject it this evening."
