The plans by Regal London for Great North Leisure Park will also include a replacement leisure centre, reports Grace Howarth, Local Democracy Reporter

Great North Leisure Park with (inset left) plans for a new commercial building and (inset right) the existing leisure centre that faces demolition — Great North Leisure Park with (inset left) plans by Regal London for a new commercial building and (inset right) the existing leisure centre that faces demolition

Plans for 1,500 homes and a new leisure centre in Finchley are set to be submitted this autumn, developer Regal London has confirmed.

The long-awaited redevelopment of Great North Leisure Park (GNLP) is also set to include 2,000 square metres of commercial floorspace.

The cinema and bowling alley currently sited within GNLP will be moved about a mile away to North Finchley town centre.

The new leisure centre would replace Finchley Lido Leisure Centre, after it was deemed not fit-for-purpose by Barnet Council in 2022.

Regal has now confirmed that following a further public consultation, anticipated to take place in summer, a submission of a full planning application will follow in the autumn.

The news comes after Regal submitted an application for a two-storey commercial and office space building near to the leisure park’s entrance.

The proposed site currently contains landscaping and advertising signage and is located at the junction of High Road and Leisure Way. The development, referred to as the ‘Pavillion’, will comprise of a restaurant and office space.

The restaurant will facilitate some of the “wider relocation” of eating places set to move once work on the broader GNLP development takes place.

Regal met with planning officers in February for a consultation on the Pavilion and the development’s land usage were said to be deemed “generally acceptable”.

More information on the scheme can be found via Barnet Council’s planning portal, using reference number 24/1609/FUL.

No news is bad news

Independent news outlets like ours – reporting for the community without rich backers – are under threat of closure, turning British towns into news deserts.

The audiences they serve know less, understand less, and can do less.

If our coverage has helped you understand our community a little bit better, please consider supporting us with a monthly, yearly or one-off donation.

Choose the news. Don’t lose the news.

Monthly direct debit

Annual direct debit

£5 per month supporters get a digital copy of each month’s paper before anyone else, £10 per month supporters get a digital copy of each month’s paper before anyone else and a print copy posted to them each month. £50 annual supporters get a digital copy of each month's paper before anyone else. £84 annual supporters get a print copy by post and a digital copy of each month's before anyone else.