A controversial East Finchley housing scheme may not now go ahead reports David Floyd
Designs for the Manor Park Road housing scheme (credit London Placemaking)
Barnet’s opposition leader has welcomed the council’s decision to pause plans to develop an East Finchley green space and car park.
Places for Barnet, a partnership between the council and developers London Placemaking, had previously unveiled plans to build ten homes on the site in Manor Park Road, despite the fact that it had been removed from the council’s local plan when a planning inspector said its inclusion was “not justified and should be deleted”.
The plans were opposed by The Finchley Society and a group of local residents.
Following a Freedom of Information request, Barnet Post can now reveal that the plans have been paused.
As part of her response to a series of questions about the scheme raised by Conservative opposition leader, Peter Zinkin, the council’s executive director of growth, Naisha Polaine, said: “Places for Barnet project team have decided to take time to re-consider the proposals. As such, a planning submission is no longer imminent.”
She added: “Consultation on future proposals will allow for residents to be involved before any final decisions are made.”
Cllr Zinkin told Barnet Post: “We welcome the decision of the council to put a pause on the scheme. However we are concerned that anybody believed that a scheme of that scale on that site would have been appropriate.”
In her response to Cllr Zinkin, Naisha also included the council’s responses to a series of questions raised by local residents in Manor Park Road, who had approached cabinet member for housing Ross Houston for a response.
The residents had raised a series of concerns about the selection of Kuropatwa Group, now London Placemaking, as the council’s partner in the formation of Places for Barnet.
In response to questions about due diligence, the council confirmed that “given the recent company name change to London Placemaking the council will be re-running its due diligence checks” on the company.
In response to a question on why Kuropatwa Group was chosen as a partner in preference to other bidders following meetings in 2022, the council admitted that it no longer had this information. The council explained: “The post holders however, involved in the assessment have both left the council and we unfortunately no longer have access to these files.”
It added: “We recognise that we have not met the standards we would expect in terms of digital record keeping and have taken steps to ensure that this does not happen in the future.”
There is no suggestion that the council’s failure to meet expected standards in its processes are any reflection on London Placemaking or its suitability as a partner.
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