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143 stories from and about Barnet, mostly transport & tfl, local news, council & politics. The most recent ran on 14 September 2026. Page 1 of 8.
From 10 pm to 5 am on 30 September, the westbound A406 will close as TfL starts the Brent Cross flyover renewal. The two‑year scheme, funded with £10.8 million by the DfT, will remove a 7.5‑tonne weight restriction and involve lane changes through October.
The Met has recorded 1,379 antisemitic offences in the year to July, a 25 percent rise. In July the government allocated £86 million for extra officers. Barnet’s Golders Green will see new community protection teams, boosting the current 36 dedicated officers.
A Old Bailey judge imposed a £500,000 penalty on Appledorn Developments and a £650,000 fine plus £40,000 costs on T Vaughan Limited after a trench collapse on 24 June 2020 killed site manager Gheorghita Arsene. Contracts manager Anthony O’Connor got a suspended sentence and unpaid work.
Jamie Duncan, 21, of Highgrove Close, New Southgate, was charged with murder after a 19‑year‑old woman was shot dead in Dale Grove, Finchley on 8 June 2026. He was arrested in Spain on 23 August, appeared at the Old Bailey on 1 September and is due to stand trial on 7 June 2027.
Four young men admitted to destroying four Hatzola ambulances in Golders Green in March, causing roughly £1 million of damage. They were remanded in custody and will be sentenced in spring 2027, while a fifth defendant remains on trial.
A former chemistry teacher at Christ's College in Finchley has been found guilty of seven counts of indecent assault against two teenage pupils. Sally-Anne Bowen, 65, will be sentenced on November 20.
Barnet Council has closed the Watling Avenue car park at Burnt Oak Station until winter 2027/28 to allow Transport for London to carry out step-free access works. Edgware Community Association has voiced concerns about the impact on local businesses and disabled motorists.
Laura Johnson, who faced criticism for her role during the Grenfell Tower fire, has been appointed group director of development and property at The Barnet Group. The council stated she was appointed on merit after a robust recruitment process for the publicly advertised role.
London Assembly member Thomas Turrell has called for a ban on motorcyclists with provisional licences undertaking commercial deliveries across the capital. He argues current training is insufficient for professional use, a view shared by the Mayor of London.
Ali Fallahi, 46, has pleaded guilty to arson after setting fire to a memorial cabinet in Golders Green. The incident occurred on 27 April at a wall dedicated to protesters killed in Iran and victims of the Nova music festival attack.
Enfield Council is engaged in a legal battle concerning the ongoing occupation of Southgate Police Station. The property owner lost a planning appeal last year, and an enforcement notice requiring the site to be cleared has now expired.
Barnet Council plans to increase council tax and reduce bin collection frequency to address a £200 million structural deficit. A report by Cipfa recommends reviewing the historically low Band D rate of £2,060, while the council aims to close the gap by March 2029 through savings and efficiencies.
Barnet Council has extended its contract with Barnet Mencap until August 2028, allocating £586,000 to maintain services for residents with autism and learning disabilities. The decision, made by the council’s executive director of communities, aims to delay reliance on adult social care and improve independence.
Barratt London has released 59 new flats at Hendon Waterside in West Hendon, Barnet. The Magnolia Apartments, priced from £350,000, are the last with direct views of the Welsh Harp Reservoir. The scheme includes affordable housing, a school, and a community centre.
Around 90 Barnet Council depot workers are owed twelve years of holiday pay after Capita failed to include overtime in calculations. The council has offered six months’ backpay, which workers rejected. A strike ballot closes on 18 August 2026, with further action expected.
Barnet Council will take over Barnet Hill Academy in West Hendon as a voluntary-aided Islamic faith school from September 2026, removing fees and doubling projected pupil numbers by the early 2030s. All respondents backed the proposal during a statutory consultation.
Barnet Labour has called on Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch to drop Joshua Bonehill-Paine as an adviser after his selection as a council candidate in Somerset. Barnet Tories refused to condemn the decision, citing rehabilitation. Bonehill-Paine was jailed for antisemitic offences, including plans to burn the Talmud in Golders Green.
Barnet Council has approved revised plans for a Waitrose supermarket on Cricklewood Broadway, reducing retail space to make room for staff facilities. The store, part of the Eden NW2 development, is scheduled to open in autumn 2024 following a public consultation on signage.
Andy Taylor, a teacher at Northwood College, ran six marathons between January and May 2026, raising £12,374 for the Paul Strickland Scanner Centre. The funds will support early cancer diagnosis and treatment in memory of his mother-in-law, Margaret Gross.
Arriva North London drivers will strike on 14 days between 14 August and 20 October over dangerously high cab temperatures. Unite says Arriva has failed to act despite reports of heat exhaustion, while Arriva cites air conditioning upgrades and new fleet investments.
Borough-wide and national stories that name Barnet or bear directly on it.
BBC forecasters say London will not see a heatwave in September, with Met Office temperatures forecast between 24 °C and 19 °C. Thames Water’s hosepipe ban, issued on 23 July, remains active for Barnet, and the Environment Agency warns the drought will persist until nationwide rainfall resumes.
Local authorities have removed 3,393 dockless e‑bikes across London in 2026, a 23% increase on the previous year. Lime operators account for over 2,000 of those bikes. The RNIB says the growing clutter endangers blind and partially sighted people, prompting calls for city‑wide regulation.
The BBC gives a 47% likelihood of thunder and lightning at about 10 am on Sunday 13 September, and the Met Office expects rain between 5 am and 11 am. Temperatures will reach 23 °C, dropping to 16 °C overnight, prompting residents to carry umbrellas.
A technical failure at NATS caused 177 flights to be cancelled on Wednesday, mainly from Heathrow. Ryanair said more than 65,000 of its customers were impacted, while British Airways cancelled or diverted over 100 flights. Luton Airport remained open but warned of possible delays.
A technical fault in NATS’s flight‑processing system forced the cancellation of over 400 flights on Tuesday. Ryanair, British Airways and EasyJet all reported large numbers of disrupted customers, while the transport secretary said she is seeking assurances that the problem will be prevented in future.
A Traveller community in North London reports that on one pitch up to 15 people are forced to share a single bathroom. The group says the situation is dangerous and calls for immediate action, while no official response has been recorded.
The London Chamber of Commerce and Industry has called on the government to lower business costs and undo the £20bn increase in employer National Insurance contributions. Chancellor John Healey is expected to announce a £150m fund for fast‑growing northern firms on 28 October.
On 4 September 2026 Mayor Sadiq Khan unveiled a £15.6 million fund aimed at making streets, parks and transport hubs safer for women and girls. Delivered through City Hall, the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime and TfL, the scheme joins a wider £37 million citywide plan.
Barnet Council has joined three inner-London boroughs in a formal challenge to government funding reforms that would remove £292 million over four years. The councils say the cuts threaten essential services and will force council tax rises. Residents can respond through a survey open until 15 October 2026.
London Stadium 185 has asked Newham Council to raise the number of non‑sport events from ten to 24 per year, increase concert capacity to 85,000 on eight days and lift noise limits. The stadium claims the changes are needed to offset £19 million in yearly losses.
The Office for National Statistics July 2026 release indicates London’s average private‑rental price climbed 2.2% to £2,302 a month. Kensington & Chelsea stayed the priciest borough at £3,596, Bexley the cheapest at £1,528, and Barnet’s exact figure was not disclosed.
Prime Minister Andy Burnham has pledged £168.3 million to reduce rough sleeping in London by Christmas, with Barnet-based charity Homeless Action in Barnet allocated £330,997. The funding aims to provide emergency accommodation and support services, though no fixed duration for housing offers has been set.
Children in Barnet and across London showed faster lung growth after the Ultra Low Emission Zone was introduced, according to a study published in The Lancet Public Health. The research tracked 3,400 pupils aged six to nine in 84 schools, comparing London with Luton, where no clean air zone exists.
Residents using High Barnet and Edgware Tube stations face longer waits as Transport for London reduces escalator replacements. Over a quarter of London Underground escalators now operate beyond their expected lifespan, with TfL spending £56.1m last year on repairs and upgrades.
Barnet residents selling homes are waiting nearly a week longer than last year, with properties now taking 52 days on average to secure a buyer. The increase mirrors a wider slowdown across London, where 23 of 32 boroughs report longer sale times amid higher mortgage rates and rising inventory.
Barnet and the wider south-east could see another heatwave in September, the Met Office has warned, as the region remains a month’s worth of rain below normal levels. Heavy rain forecast for Monday may ease wildfire risks but will not end drought conditions or hosepipe bans, experts say.
Barnet Council’s December 2025 rejection of 283 flats at High Barnet Underground Station may now be harder to defend under new planning rules. Housing Secretary Angela Rayner’s policy requires councils to approve developments within a 10-minute walk of transport hubs unless strong evidence justifies refusal. The scheme was later approved by City Hall after a mayoral call-in.
Metropolitan Police seized 2,367 illegal e-bikes in the year to 19 May 2026, the highest total in the UK. Under the Crime and Policing Act 2026, officers can now confiscate modified e-bikes without issuing a warning. Barnet residents report rising concerns over speeding and pavement use.
Virgin Trains will operate international rail services from London St Pancras to Europe from October 2030, breaking Eurostar’s 36-year monopoly. The Office of Rail and Road approved 20 daily return trips to Paris, Brussels and Amsterdam until 2040, pending final safety and network approvals.
An emergency alert warning of extreme wildfire risk was sent to mobile phones across the UK on 14 August 2026, disrupting television broadcasts. Barnet residents were advised to avoid barbecues, fireworks and other fire risks as temperatures reached 38.1°C in London.
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