A community group has launched a legal challenge following Barnet Council’s approval of its new Local Plan on Tuesday, March 4.
Barnet Council adopted its new Local Plan at a Full Council meeting on Tuesday, March 4, which will guide growth and development across Barnet up to 2036.
Save our Edgware is opposing the council’s decision to allocate Site 28—land currently used for Edgware’s bus station, bus garage, Underground station, and part of the Deans Brook Nature Reserve—for high-rise residential development.
The group, represented by public law specialists Leigh Day, has issued a formal Pre-Action Protocol letter, warning that Barnet’s newly adopted Local Plan is “unlawful, irrational, and based on flawed consultation and planning assumptions that ignore the real-world constraints of the site”.
The site covers 8.17 hectares and has been allocated for 2,316 homes — part of a wider scheme proposing 3,828 units and 25 high-rise towers in partnership with Ballymore and Transport for London.
Anuta Zack, spokesperson for Save Our Edgware, said: “You can’t just draw a line around a functioning transport hub and call it housing land.
“This plan assumes essential infrastructure can be relocated or built over — but there’s no evidence it can be done safely or at all.”
The group also claims that Barnet failed to carry out a lawful consultation. Many local residents were allegedly unaware of the Local Plan’s proposals until Ballymore submitted its initial scoping planning application in 2023.
Save our Edgware are calling for Barnet Council to withdraw the site from the Local Plan, pause all progress related to the site pending legal review, and disclose feasibility evidence.
A Barnet Council spokesperson said: “We have received a letter, which is currently being reviewed.”
Photo credit: Save Our Edgware
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