Dan Tomlinson MP backs new housing but says plans to build 300 homes on the High Barnet Station car park must be improved

The proposed site for a 300-home housing development in High Barnet — The proposed site in High Barnet (Credit – Office of Dan Tomlinson MP)

Children and young adults growing up in Barnet today face a harsh reality: the chance to put down roots here is slipping away. Sky-high house prices and rent levels are making it increasingly difficult for young people to live in the area they call home.

I’ve spoken to many families whose children, despite wanting to stay close, are either still living at home into their 30s or have been forced to move out of London due to these rising costs. There’s no place like home, but for too many North Londoners, home is no longer affordable.

The main way to ease the burden on young families is to build more homes—especially in areas where housing shortages are most acute. That’s why this government is investing in affordable housing, creating New Towns, and reforming the planning system.

It’s also why the previous Conservative-run Barnet Council allocated the High Barnet station site for 300 homes. They took the view that this location—close to central London, yet far enough from other homes to avoid overshadowing—was appropriate for new development.

This site allocation means that, even if the local council were to reject the planning application, we can be confident that an appeal would eventually result in approval from the Planning Inspectorate. However, such an appeal would come at a high cost to Barnet taxpayers, who would bear the expense of defending the council’s rejection in the planning courts.

So, given this context, as your local MP, I’m pushing for changes to the scheme to make it better. I’ve pressed the importance of maintaining 40% affordable housing and I’ve already secured a new path down Barnet Hill for pedestrians. I’m also asking the developers to make further changes including reconsidering the height of the 10-storey block, which is beyond that allowed in the local plan; funding to relocate the northbound bus stop so it’s closer to the station; and, investment in lighting and benches on the path from the station up to the junction.

Residents are also understandably concerned with the removal of station car park spaces. As a local driver, I am too. That’s why I’ve asked whether a scheme that maintains some parking is possible – but have been told that planning policies would not allow this. To avoid overspill parking on local roads, I have also requested that TfL fund any consultations on, and changes to, local controlled parking zones.

One approach some politicians take to new development is to turn up at the last minute at planning committees and demand schemes are rejected. This will not be my approach. Instead, I will engage constructively with people proposing new homes – pushing for improvements to schemes from the very beginning. This is already bearing fruit, and I hope to secure more changes on this site soon.

To that end, I am holding a public meeting to ensure that the developers hear directly from people who live in Chipping Barnet and for residents to understand what the developers are planning. The meeting will take place on Thursday 20th March 2025 at 7pm in High Barnet, and residents can sign up here.

Ultimately, MPs write planning laws. We don’t make planning decisions. They are decided by local councillors on planning committees, who must choose whether each scheme is in line with local planning policies. As such I don’t think it’s appropriate for me to put pressure on councillors to vote one way or another.

In addition, because this site has been allocated for development, I’m not going to metaphorically march residents up the hill in opposition to the scheme, only for us all to walk back down again and find the new homes are built anyway.

Time and again, politicians have organised local opposition to schemes that are then built anyway, sometimes after lengthy and expensive (for Barnet taxpayers) appeal processes. For example, developments like Sweets Way in Whetstone, the Victoria Quarter in New Barnet, and North London Business Park in Brunswick Park were all opposed but all ultimately approved.

I will continue to listen carefully to residents and to advocate for further improvements to this development. We need new homes in Barnet to keep the dream of local home ownership alive for the next generation, and we need to make sure they are the best homes they can be too.

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