Both Monken Hadley Church and Lyonsdown Church Partnerships have submitted plans for new halls to Barnet Council, reports Grace Howarth, Local Democracy Reporter

Monken Hadley Church Hall (top) and Bodens Performing Arts (bottom)

Barnet could be getting two new church halls if plans win approval.

Both Monken Hadley Church and Lyonsdown Church Partnerships have submitted plans for new halls to Barnet Council.

Monken Hadley Church comprises several buildings, located on the corner of Camlet Way and Hadley Green Road, while Lyonsdown Church will move into the space currently occupied by a performing arts school at 99 East Barnet Road.

The plans for Monken Hadley’s hall are to demolish an existing building, construct a replacement and move the building one metre to the east.

The hall, locally referred to as the ‘church house’, is a non-designated heritage asset, and sits among several listed buildings.

Architects and planning consultants Alan Cox Associates acknowledged the building’s non-designated heritage status in a design statement and said this “automatically” meant it made a “positive contribution” and it was likely “demolition would not be considered acceptable”.

However, following inspection, the team stated the building was considered “dangerous and unsuitable for occupancy” and described as “beyond economical repair”. As such the church chose to close it.

The building was further inspected by Historic England in 2019 and it was concluded the building lacked “sufficient surviving fabric to merit special interest in a nation context”. This referred to the multiple uses of the building over the years, which began as a stable block and was then used as a domestic residence before becoming a church hall.

Alan Cox stated the new building’s design would reflect “as close as possible, the original building” and would be done in a “Georgian style”.

Bodens Performing Arts School in East Barnet Road is also set to be demolished and be replaced with a church hall if permission is granted.

Developers Lyonsdown Church Partnerships confirmed in its design statement the site wasn’t within a conservation area and had no “architectural vernacular”. The proposed building would be “contemporary” in design and “improve the site and the street-scape and tie it in with its surroundings”.

However, some residents did not approve of the plans. One local resident commented on the application: “We already have four churches and one mosque on the same road and we do not need more churches in the neighbourhood.”

Another local resident was concerned about the disturbance the building work would cause as their property backed on to the site.

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