East Barnet councillor Philip Cohen on working with residents to make a difference

Philip Cohen, a Labour councillor for East Barnet ward on Barnet Council — Cllr Philip Cohen – Labour, East Barnet

I am very proud to represent East Barnet ward. Even before becoming a councillor I believed in public service, having worked for the Department of Health for 13 years in communications, which included secondment to the London 2012 Olympics for a year and contributing to important public health campaigns. But I could not stand in elections until 2013, when retirement seemed to open several doors. I volunteered at Royal Museums Greenwich, started a PhD in history (finally achieved seven years and many dusty archives later) and was selected as a Labour candidate for East Barnet, and elected in 2014.

East Barnet ward covers both New Barnet south of the railway bridge which includes Victoria Recreation Ground and the leisure centre/library, and East Barnet with shops, restaurants and the War Memorial next to Brookside Methodist Church, then up Cat Hill to Cockfosters.

Every November we mark Remembrance Sunday by marching from the British Legion in Brookhill Road to the memorial for a multi-faith service which is attended by hundreds of people who want to pay tribute to the fallen of two world wars.

There are two benches there with a military motif which were funded by the local Knitwits charity and I as councillor helped to liaise with the council to have them installed. Seemingly small actions like that can make people feel their councillors are working for them.

As a Barnet Labour Group we prioritise listening to residents. We have brought back the popular community skips and I took part in a ward walk with council officers to pinpoint hotspots for fly-tipping and anti-social behaviour.

Achieving changes can take time – for example, I and residents lobbied for a pedestrian crossing at the top of Victoria Road to help students and older people cross a busy road, along with 20mph restrictions. That was in 2016 but the crossing was only installed in 2022 after I had been elected to the ward for a second time!

I and my fellow councillors work closely with resident groups such as the East Barnet Residents Association and the New Barnet Community Association on issues that still need to be resolved, such as unblocking the car park at East Barnet village and the Gasworks housing development in New Barnet.

I personally believe that knockbacks or difficulties in life make you stronger. My wife Bernadette and I have been married for 43 years and 18 months ago she was diagnosed with early onset Alzheimers. Dementia is a cruel disease that robs you of your independence and makes you increasingly reliant on family and friends.

It is hard for me to watch her being unable to do things she loves like driving or cooking, although she plays the flute in a group every week and recently walked along Hadrian’s Wall with a friend.

Fortunately Barnet is now a Dementia Friendly Borough and encourages people to secure a diagnosis, get access to services and enjoy activities provided by Age UK Barnet and other voluntary sector organisations. This is vital as there is estimated to be a 66 per cent rise in people with dementia in Barnet over the next 20 years.

I am happy to deal with any queries or issues at [email protected].

Philip Cohen is one of three councillors representing East Barnet ward, along with Edith David and Simon Radford (also Labour).

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