Public consultation on Barnet Council’s revised plans for area around The Burroughs now open to fresh consultation, reports Simon Allin, Local Democracy Reporter

Revised proposals for the Hendon Hub regeneration scheme indicate there are no further plans to scale back the development.

The council has launched a fresh consultation on the scheme after ditching plans to turn the Grade 2-listed Hendon Library into a business school for Middlesex University.

It shows the historic building will instead be refurbished to provide a “modern library service with flexible and accessible spaces”, including access to computers and exhibition space.

But plans to build 565 student flats and 33 shared-living units in blocks up to seven storeys high in The Burroughs and Church End appear unchanged – despite calls from campaign group Save Hendon for the “scale, size and impact” of the development to be reduced.

The original plans for the Hendon Hub scheme were approved by councillors in January last year, despite more than 1,000 objections from the public. Following Labour’s local election victory in May, council leader Barry Rawlings said the development would not be built in its original form, and in October the authority announced that the library would stay in its historic home.

Under the revised plans, the refurbished library building will also contain space for the Hendon police safer neighbourhoods team and “vastly improved” storage for the local studies and archives.

The ground floor of the Rotunda building, which was previously set to contain the new library, will mainly be used by the university’s business school. Outside of university hours, the space could be used by the community and local businesses.

Proposals for the block that is set to replace the Fenella building include retail space, a new community hall, and “new and improved spaces for existing community organisations affected by the development, including the Citizens Advice Bureau, Meridian Wellbeing, and the African Cultural Association”.

There are also plans for a series of public realm improvements, including pocket parks, play areas for children, CCTV cameras and improved lighting.

The consultation on the revised plans is due to run until 5th May, with new planning applications due to be submitted later this year.

For more information on the Hendon Hub plans:
Visit https://engage.barnet.gov.uk/hendon-hub-revised-proposals-consultation

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