Resident 'over the moon' at scrapping of community hub (From Times Series)

Residents did not want Brunswick Park community hub says campaigner

11:20am Thursday 29th July 2010 in News By Alex Hayes

RESIDENTS living near the planned site of a new community hub in Brunswick Park are celebrating after the project was scrapped last night.

Yesterday plans for a new combined health centre, library and nursery in the park were pulled at the eleventh hour after the Department for Education withdrew vital funding.

Many locals protested against the plans saying it would create a noise and traffic “nightmare” in Osidge Lane and turn one side of the road into an island.

Plans for the hub were drawn up between Barnet Council and NHS Barnet after an existing health centre burnt down in January.

Sue Northwood, whose home backs onto the proposed site, led the protests and organised a petition and letters for dozens of residents to sign.

She told the Times Series: “I'm over the moon, it's been a hard fight and I was scared they would just push this through.

“Despite what (council leader) Lynne Hillan claimed most people didn't want this new centre, we're happy with the existing facilities.

“What we really need now is for a new health centre to be built to cater for the community on existing land, not taking away some of our park.”

Ms Northwood said she and other residents would keep up the pressure on NHS Barnet to restore the two surgeries which have been housed in temporary offices since the fire.

She added: “We had everything prepared and I had been speaking to Boris Johnson's office and the DfE about it, telling them how unhappy we were.

“We took a lot of photographs and prepared speeches, but I'm not going to get rid of them just in case we have to fight this again in the future.”