Barnet is one of the most affluent boroughs in the country, so it's surprising to learn that almost half of the surgery premises do not come up to scratch. When disabled and elderly people have trouble accessing facilities, it is clear the state of the
It comes as a surprise to learn that Barnet households waste more energy than homes in almost any other area in the UK. British Gas' statistics are calculated per household, so it is every individual homeowner that is responsible for high energy use
The chairwoman of Barnet Council's Hendon area planning sub-committee erected a shed in her back garden last year without the necessary planning permission, it has emerged. Councillor Maureen Braun installed the three-metre-high shed in her garden in
Regarding the reopening of Partingdale Lane, I have two questions: 1) Was the adaptation cost - now said to be £200,000 - indicated in the surveys delivered to local residents, if not why not? 2) Is the adjacent estate being redeveloped, and what steps
The reorganisation of Barnet's library service is evidently on Barnet Council's agenda. Your report that Councillor Marshall will concentrate in the cabinet on 'the modernisation of libraries' ('New Tory leader names his cabinet', September 14,) follows
I applaud Councillor Alison Moore's letter stating we must all stand against anti-Semitic attacks ('We must all fight hatred', September 14). Her heart is in the right place but referring to this as 'irrational hatred' is inaccurate. The hatred is quite
Britain's Chief Rabbi was presented with the honour of Freedom of the Borough of Barnet on Monday. It is the first time since 1988 that the borough's highest accolade has been bestowed on a person. Sir Jonathan Sacks, Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew
The £2.2million redevelopment of a 173-year-old church in Mill Hill has entered its second phase. But the conversion of the crypt into a community centre at St Paul's, in The Ridgeway, needs a further £90,000 for the work to continue. The centre, which
The Northern Line, often dubbed the Misery Line, will be closed again this weekend for engineering work. It will be closed between East Finchley and Camden Town, in both directions, so old track can be replaced. It will also be suspended between Finchley
Following Councillor Brian Coleman's visit to well-known dogging location Scratchwood, Between the Lines was intrigued to hear that fellow Conservative councillor Brian Gordon was offering guided tours of the car park, just off the A1 near Stirling Corner
A group of volunteers from Barnet's Retired & Senior Volunteer Programme (RSVP) usually meet at Wesley Hall in Stapylton Road, Barnet, every Friday to take part in a knitting club. But with the venue closed during August, organiser Mandy Francis was forced
Celeb-spotters arriving at Brent Cross shopping centre on Friday hoping to meet Little Britain stars Matt Lucas and David Walliams, who were signing copies of their new book Inside Little Britain', were greeted by signs informing them: Unfortunately,
Wingate & Finchley FC paid an emotional tribute to a star striker before Saturday's kick-off against East Thurrock. Simon Patterson, 23, died in a car crash last week. Both teams gathered around the centre circle at the Abrahams Stadium, Summers Lane
Nearly 150 people flocked to Burnt Oak last Sunday to plant flowers, clean up litter, and paint over graffiti as part of ITV show the Big Clean-Up. Barnet Homes teamed up with Community Service Volunteers (CSV) and youth charity V to clean the children's
Forced marriages in Barnet are considered such a problem that the council arranged for a conference to draw attention to it. PETER STEBBINGS investigates. Article 16 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states: "Marriage shall be entered
Barnet Council is facing legal action after admitting it wrongly evicted a man from his home. Andrew Jacobs, 26, was thrown out of his flat, in Philipson House, Alexander Grove, North Finchley, in 2001, and is claiming £130,000 in compensation. Mr Jacobs
Around 21 senior nursing staff at Barnet and Chase Farm hospitals may lose their jobs by December as hospital bosses have des-cribed the posts as non business critical'. Bosses say staff will not be made redundant, but would be redeployed throughout
Rowdy teenagers have been systematically destroying a £30,000 playground in East Finchley. In the latest spate of vandalism, police say teenagers aged 16 and under even dragged a three-piece suite into the playground the the Old Barn Community Centre
The jury hearing the case of a homeless man who admitted killing the Golders Green ice-cream seller Ugo Costa has been unable to reach a verdict on the charge of murder. Dean Davies admitted repeatedly punching Mr Costa, 66, of The Vale, after he allegedly
Students in Barnet are performing well above the national average in their Key Stage 3 exams, according to provisional results published by the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) last week. Pupils are doing particularly well in maths with 66
FA Cup first qualifying round Potters Bar Town pulled off one of the shocks of the round in seeing off Premier Division Wealdstone 2-1 at Parkfield on Saturday. Prolific striker Richard Howard bagged a brace as the Stones were sent reeling. Wealdstone
New legislation came into effect this week which means all children under the age of 12 shorter than 4ft 5in will have to use some form of child car seat. NEETA DUTTA investigates A queue of parents could be seen outside John Lewis, in Brent Cross
Barnet 2 Notts County 3 Coca-Cola League Two Eleven goals in two league games at Underhill. It is great entertainment for the fans, but Barnet manager Paul Fairclough wants to see it come to an end. He said he had given his players licence to get
Three girls aged 14 have been arrested and charged with an anti-Semitic assault on a 12-year-old girl. The victim was attacked on the 303 bus with a friend travelling towards Mill Hill at 6.30pm on August 11. The girl and her friend had been asked by
LEEDS UNITED 3 Blake 7, Moore 55, 74 BARNET 1 Vieira, 78 It is usual for the bigger club to make sweeping changes for Carling Cup ties. But underfire Leeds manager Kevin Blackwell, who was sacked yesterday anyway, put out his strongest side
Mayor of London Ken Livingstone has said an elderly couple from Barnet who would rather go to jail than pay the part of their council tax used to fund the 2012 Olympics should pay up and look forward to the games. Last week, this newspaper reported that
All Barnet players are equal. That was the message from the manager Paul Fairclough after big guns Leeds United beat his side 3-1 at Elland Road on Tuesday night. Though some were quick to question his team selection - he made eight changes from the
Barnet residents waste more energy than almost anywhere else in the UK, according to a comprehensive national survey. British Gas quizzed one million households in the country as part of a campaign launched on Monday to help people save energy, reduce
The number of arrests for domestic violence has nearly doubled in Barnet in the last two years, meaning police are now averaging one arrest every day, latest official figures show. Metropolitan Police statistics show there were 345 domestic violence-related
Metropolitan Police statistics claiming more than 1,000 children were arrested in the borough last year for possessing drugs have been described as inaccurate'. Barnet Council and Barnet police criticised the figures which were released last week following
Almost half of Barnet's GP surgeries have been deemed unfit for purpose, according to the borough's Primary Care Trust (PCT). The Department of Health has strict criteria for surgeries, with standards set for disabled access, the availability of hearing
A jilted boyfriend killed his lover and dumped her body in Elmhurst Crescent, East Finchley, after she told him she had become a lesbian. A court heard how James Seaton, 46, from Thorpedale Road, Holloway, had nearly decapitated his lover, Jacqueline
A mother of three, who was tricked into prostitution by a sex trafficker from Brent Cross, jumped 20ft from a window in a desperate bid for freedom, a court heard this week. The Lithuanian woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was allegedly sold
