By Simon Allin @SimonAllin3 Local Democracy Reporter, Barnet, Enfield and Haringey
Nurseries could struggle if funding is not increased (Image: StockSnap, Pixabay) Councillors have continued to raise concerns over the long-term funding of nursery schools that could face annual deficits of up to £100,000 a year. Labour’s Cllr Pauline Coakley Webb called on Barnet Council to cover the budget shortfalls for the borough’s four maintained nursery schools at the end of the current financial year. But her bid failed after officers cautioned councillors against backing the request, warning that it may not be lawful. Barnet has four maintained nurseries – Brookhill, Hampden Way, St Margaret’s and Moss Hall. They missed out on a grant from the Department for Education designed to help maintained nurseries following a shake-up of early years funding in 2017-1
By Simon Allin @SimonAllin3 Local Democracy Reporter, Barnet, Enfield and Haringey
Public health chief Dr Tamara Djuretic Barnet is “doing well” on getting coronavirus jabs to care homes for the elderly and aims to reach three-quarters of them by the end of this week. That was the message from Dr Tamara Djuretic, director of public health, who said 34 care homes for older residents were expected to complete vaccinations this week. Her comments came after MP for Chipping Barnet Theresa Villiers revealed she had been told by the chairman of the health overview and scrutiny committee that only 13 care homes out of 85 in Barnet had received vaccinations, which she described as “very concerning”.
By Simon Allin @SimonAllin3 Local Democracy Reporter, Barnet, Enfield and Haringey
A CGI of the proposed development (Image: Maccreanor Lavington architects) A plan to build flats on Tube station car parks has been recommended for approval again, despite extra objections from an MP, councillors and residents’ groups. Planning officers at Enfield Council say the proposals to build 162 homes at Grade II-listed Arnos Grove Underground Station in Southgate “align with relevant local, regional and national policy”. The application by Connected Living London – a partnership between Transport for London and Grainger – was taken off the agenda for a meeting in November after the council received “additional representations”. It is now up for debate at a planning committee meeting on Tuesday.
By Simon Allin @SimonAllin3 Local Democracy Reporter, Barnet, Enfield and Haringey
A CGI of the proposed development (Image: Maccreanor Lavington architects) A plan to build flats on Tube station car parks has been recommended for approval again, despite extra objections from an MP, councillors and residents’ groups. Planning officers at Enfield Council say the proposals to build 162 homes at Grade II-listed Arnos Grove Underground Station in Southgate “align with relevant local, regional and national policy”. The application by Connected Living London – a partnership between Transport for London and Grainger – was taken off the agenda for a meeting in November after the council received “additional representations”. It is now up for debate at a planning committee meeting on Tuesday.
By Simon Allin @SimonAllin3 Local Democracy Reporter, Barnet, Enfield and Haringey
Chipping Barnet MP Theresa Villiers welcomed a Govt U-turn on a housing algorithm An MP has welcomed the Government’s decision to drop a controversial housing formula that she warned could lead to “mass high-rise development” in Barnet. MP for Chipping Barnet Theresa Villiers hailed a “major victory” after ministers abandoned plans for a new algorithm designed to calculate housing need in local authorities. Ms Villiers had warned the new formula would more than double the homes built in Barnet to 5,744 per year, leading to the creation of “East Berlin-style tower blocks” in the borough.