[Reposted from Feb 2010] Colindale Area Action Plan approved by Barnet Cabinet

Councillor Melvin Cohen
Cabinet Member for Planning and Environmental Protection

As a successful city-suburb of a world class city, Barnet plays a major role in London’s success, attracting people to the city with the necessary skills to enable it to compete effectively at a global level. Whilst recognising current economic conditions are uncertain, over the long term, Barnet remains London’s fastest growing outer London borough and has a prosperous future. Our Three Strands Approach to planning, development and regeneration: Protect, Enhance and Grow, establishes a boroughwide strategy to protect our most important open and green spaces, enhance our existing centres and quality residential suburban neighbourhoods and plans for growth in appropriate brownfield locations and areas in need of regeneration and renewal. Colindale, located in the west of the Borough, has an important role in all of these priorities, especially Strand 3: Growth, as Barnet’s largest housing-led regeneration area.

Colindale is already identified in the London Plan and Barnet’s adopted Unitary Development Plan as an area that could support significant new development with new housing and jobs. Our aim is to ensure that growth in Colindale is focused around an accessible and attractive new neighbourhood centre that serves the everyday needs of local people combined with an exciting transport gateway interchange at Colindale Underground Station. It is essential that Colindale provides the full range of community and education services that are so important for communities to flourish. New areas of housing will be linked to existing neighbourhoods by an improved network of streets and quality green open spaces. The Council, with its partners, has prepared this Area Action Plan to provide a comprehensive but flexible long term strategy to manage change and deliver high quality sustainable development in Colindale.