People of Hendon. This is an urgent and impassioned call to arms. (Or mouths to be more precise.)
If you think the Hendon Hub development scheme is catastrophic for Hendon, please comment on the Planning Applications - which are live now but not for much longer.
The Save Hendon gang have put together a HENDON HUB PLANNING APPLICATION GUIDE which makes commenting so simple even my wolf-cubs could manage it.
DO IT THIS WEEKEND! TAKE 10 MINUTES TO SAVE HENDON!
"But what's the point?"
The first whiff most Hendon residents got about the "Hendon Hub" regeneration plans was back in January 2021 when a consultation on THE BURROUGHS & MIDDLESEX UNIVERSITY SUPPLEMENTARY PLANNING DOCUMENT began.
The point of this document was to "guide and shape future regeneration opportunities" in Hendon.
Most residents who were aware of the consultation were deeply concerned about the proposals. They took part in meetings, even those they were banned from speaking at, waded through the dense paperwork and tried to unpack the marketing-speak. Facebook Groups were formed, petitions were signed, research undertaken. Feedback was emailed to the council and councillors.
But here's the thing. Within 48 hours of the SPD consultation closing, along came the Hendon Hub consultation.
NOT ONE SINGLE WORD OF FEEDBACK ON THE BURROUGHS SPD HAD BEEN READ BY ANYONE BEFORE THE HENDON HUB PLANS WERE FINALISED.
"So, what is the point of commenting on Planning Applications?"
Bear with me.
Mid-way through the Hendon Hub consultation, Barnet Council proudly announced they had made a few changes based on the feedback they'd received so far.
Odd isn't it? Making changes BEFORE the end of a consultation? It's almost as if they were trying to hurry this all through ...
But even odder than that, the changes that were made did not address any of the main issues that residents had with the Hendon Hub plans.
And what of those who did raise their voices against the plans?
They were slurred as being anti-student, anti-education, anti-young people, NIMBYs "spreading misinformation" and left-wing activists (one could take "left-wing activist" as a slur or a badge of honour depending on your point of view. The thing about the residents opposing these plans is that they're a mixed bag from all backgrounds, ages, classes, religions, ethnicities and political persuasions, from Hendon Tory MP Dr Matthew Offord to Labour GLA member Cllr Anne Clarke).
But anyway, people again took part in the torturous consultation process, around 1,500 signed a petition to save Hendon Public Library from being given away and attended two demos.
Despite the Hendon Hub Scheme being as mis-sold as PPI, 88% of respondents still said NO according to Barnet Council's own data.
But it made no difference. The plans were still approved.
It was made clear that the councillors backing the Hendon Hub scheme knew what was better for the poor unfortunate souls of Hendon than the residents themselves did.
How patronising. And there was no indication they’d even read a single word of residents’ feedback.
Yet again, residents had wasted more of their time accepting Barnet Council's invitation to engage only to be ignored.
Don't misunderstand me.
My wolf-senses know why Barnet Council/Capita want to hand the civc centre of not just Hendon but the whole of Barnet, the beautiful, historic Hendon Public Library building and the sites of Barnet Council-owned community buildings to Middlesex University. ...
And I understand why a university that's currently ranking 121st out of 132 UK UNIVERSITIES is reaching for anything that will enhance its appeal and prestigiousness.
The Burroughs is a grand road. In Mark Amies' recent lovely piece about it in the Barnet Post (HENDON'S CIVIC QUARTER) he describes the grand street as having a "definite sense of place and time" and "a distillation of a civic ‘hub’."
Turning the whole Burroughs and Church End area, where you'll also find the only two conservation areas in the whole of Hendon, into Middlesex Universityland is a fantastic, mutually beneficial plan for Barnet Council and the university.
But there's just one thing.
Actual people live there! The brazen disregard for the community in cooking up these plans is breathtaking.
It sounds dramatic but to many residents who live here, who've tolerated the downsides of the area's transformation since the last huge uni expansion and failed to see many if any upsides when there could have been so many put in place, who raise their children, look after elderly parents, meet friends, laugh and cry their way through life here - this all can't help feeling like colonisation without consent. The fact it's all being dressed up as if it's for their benefit is beyond offensive.
"Seriously, what is the point of me commenting?"
I'm getting there.
This week, the "Save Hendon" campaign received an email from a fellow resident with some advice regarding their fight against the Hendon Hub development plans:
"... unfortunately I think this effort to stop this is a waste of time. Planning is politics and politics is planning - all underpinned by money. If they want this to happen - it will happen".
Who can blame this resident for feeling this way? It's the message that's been coming through again and again. Barnet Council always get their own way. Consultations are box-ticking exercises. Residents justifiably feel completely and utterly ignored.
And it's not just Hendon residents. It's happening all over the borough. People speak only to be ignored.
Barnet/Capita planners seem to view Barnet as Dr Terminus views dragons in the movie "Pete's Dragon" ...
"Every little piece
Every little piece
We could make a million
By slicing it, dicing it"
Right. So what happens if you say nothing?
If you let Barnet Council continue its rampage through the borough monetising every atom of land and space?
If you just shrug and say, "meh, what's the point?".
You can do that of course. It's your choice.
OR
You can join the residents who are going to be saying:
NO!
WE DO NOT ACCEPT THIS!
That's why residents have gone to law, to the United Nations under the Aarhus Convention and to the Information Commissioners Office.
And that is why we have to comment on the Planning Applications.
If we do all these things together and in large numbers it's our best chance of being heard.
Because if we can't be heard, it's the end of local democracy.
People of Hendon.
It's time to turn your collective voice
into a scream that cannot be ignored.
DO NOT BE POOR UNFORTUNATE SOULS.
TAKE YOUR VOICES BACK
USE THEM BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE
FOR THE SAKE OF A FEW MINUTES
ISN'T IT WORTH A TRY?
HENDON HUB PLANNING APPLICATION GUIDE
HENDON T-SHIRTS FOR SALE
Support the cause AND look fangtastic!
THE BURROUGHS & MIDDLESEX UNIVERSITY SUPPLEMENTARY PLANNING DOCUMENT
UK UNIVERSITIES
The Times/Sunday Times Good University Guides 2022
HENDON'S CIVIC QUARTER
27 September 2021