Early plans for the East Finchley site envision ten homes on the car park between a row of terraces, reports Grace Howarth, Local Democracy Reporter

Manor Park Road housing scheme (credit London Placemaking)

A residents’ group has raised concerns over plans to build ten homes on a car park in East Finchley.

Places for Barnet, a partnership between Barnet Council and London Placemaking, unveiled proposals for ten homes on a car park located between a row of terraces in Manor Park Road.

Although no formal application has been submitted, The Finchley Society has raised initial concerns.

Mary Hogben, a member of the society’s planning committee, said: “It [the site] is a designated open space, of which there’s very little in the area, so the loss of that would be felt by locals. Then there’s parking there as well which was put in in the 1970s when the area was created.”

In March, Barnet Council approved its new Local Plan for 2021-2036 and, in terms of Manor Park Road, seven properties were initially proposed for the site, but this allocation was rejected.

Explaining The Finchley Society’s confusion, Mary said: “Barnet [Council] put it into the Local Plan for a possible seven dwellings and the [planning] inspector said it wasn’t a site for suitable development, so it was taken out again.”

Mary said the group also took issue with the lack of affordable housing proposed, despite the 35% provision required in the Local Plan.

In response to concerns, a council spokesperson said: “There has been regular communication with residents at engagement sessions to hear any views and concerns they may have.

“Three professional parking surveys were commissioned, which show that there is sufficient capacity to accommodate additional parking by new residents, and is within accepted industry standards.

“The current proposals for Manor Park Road also include the reprovision of public open space, which will be accessible and available for residents to use and enjoy.

“Whilst the site was removed from the Local Plan, this does not prevent applications coming forward to be assessed against council planning policies. At the current time, no planning application has been submitted.”

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.