Controversy has arisen due to voting in a decision at a council area committee.

Residents were infuriated to see changes to their road were decided with a vote which saw half the councillors choosing to abstain at Hendon Area Committee on July 24.

Option A, which was voted through at the committee, will see Abercorn Road in Mill Hill turned into a one way road, though many people living in the street attended the meeting to support Option C, which would see the road become a resident-only road.

One Richard Berman, was particularly frustrated to see an option go through without a majority vote in favour, which he felt was "undemocratic".

He said: "It is the residents’ case that the motion for Option A failed as a majority of the six councillors present at the meeting did not vote for Option A.

"The decision to proceed with Option A is improper, unconstitutional and unlawful."

Mr Berman has since written to David Tatlow, chief legal advisor and monitoring officer about the decision, which he believes should be rescinded or put on hold until a vote with a majority either in favour or against takes place.

Jane Gibson of Abercorn Road felt their voices were not heard, citing a consultation in which she said 49 voted in favour of a residents only road, and only 3 people in favour of a one way road.

She said: "We are unhappy that residents’ concerns were not being taken into consideration at the meeting.

"The council officers present stated their preferred option they were recommending and did not discuss or consider the alternative option at all in the meeting."

Ms Gibson, with Mr Berman, also spoke of their frustration over the reasons for abstention, which they say was given due to the councillors not having sufficient information to vote either way.

She added: "They did not recognise that it is their duty to arm themselves with the facts before voting.

"Abstaining should not be an option unless they have conflicting interests."

Cllr Brian Gordon, who chaired the meeting, has said the decision was validly taken and councillors are entitled to abstain from voting if they so choose.

He said: "I am always careful, as are other committee chairman, to ensure we abide scrupulously by the rules when taking votes.

"To members of the public, voting procedures may sometimes appear a little confusing, and we generally have a trained governance officer present at meetings to advise when necessary on constitutional issues."

A Barnet Council spokesperson said: "We have looked into this matter and are satisfied that the committee was conducted in a fair and democratic way, and in compliance with existing legal and constitutional requirements. The committee’s decision therefore stands.

"The preferred option is one that will aim to improve road safety in the local area and reduce the number of accidents, as detailed in the committee’s report.

"In this particular case, three members voted in favour, whilst the remainder abstained. It is entirely legitimate and lawful for members to abstain from voting."

While the people of Abercorn Road who attended the meeting maintain only two councillors voted, with four abstaining, Barnet Council has said three councillors in favour and three abstained.

Councillors Val Duschinsky, Hugh Rayner, Maureen Braun, Brian Gordon, Nagus Narenthira, and Charlue O’Macauley were in attendance.

The minutes for this meeting have not been made available to the public at this time.