Sir Sadiq Khan will hold a public hearing before making a decision on the North Finchley development which was refused by Barnet Council’s strategic planning committee in December reports David Floyd

A group of people standing outside Hendon Town Hall holding banners and placards — Campaigners from Our North Finchley outside Hendon town hall – (Credit – Sammi Davis Photography)

Campaigners fear the Mayor of London may give the go ahead to a controversial North Finchley development after he “called in” in a decision by Barnet councillors to block the scheme.

The council’s strategic planning committee voted in December to refuse the application by developers Arada-Regal to build up to 1,500 homes on the Great North Leisure Park site.

Councillors made this decision on the basis that the proposals were “out of character with the surrounding area” and risked “creating harm to the proposed environment” despite council officers recommending that the plans should be approved.

Following the decision, campaigners from Our North Finchley, whose petition opposing the scheme has attracted over 8,000 signatures, had been encouraging supporters to post on the GLA planning website to make the mayor aware of their views before he decided on the next steps.

Now, the mayor has announced that the decision has been “called in”, which means he will take over responsibility for deciding whether the development goes ahead.

As part of this process, the mayor will hold a public hearing at City Hall where he will listen to the views of Barnet Council, the developers and other objectors and supporters before making a decision.

Barnet Post understands that the hearing is likely to take place during February.

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