Category Archives: News

Clitterhouse Playing Fields

20th May is the deadline for the new round of public consultation for the amended Brent Cross Town’s planning application.

Join us, together with the Voice of Reason Choir, the Handley Page & the Victor Associations, and many others to ✨CELEBRATE✨ the playing fields’ medieval and aeronautical past, its present. and how together we can shape its future, next Saturday 13th May 2 – 4pm in front of Clitterhouse Farm Café.

Thanks to everyone who has already commented. Below is a summary of what together we have achieved so far and what still needs improving. Whether you have already commented or not, it is worth having your say here.

There is no change to the controversial 4 full-size, fenced-off, flood-lit, AstroTurf, pay-to-play area, 9 am – 9 pm every day of the year.

Partial 3 m high noise barriers are proposed to the south of the all-weather pitches. (See picture below.)

It is positive to see some proper noise mitigation measures in place. However, these might not be enough against the cumulative noise levels for everyone in the park and for Prayle Grove residents, who live at a similar distance from the football pitches. Although the barriers would be covered with plants, they will reinforce enclosure and further obstruct the long views to and from Clitterhouse Farm buildings, locally listed for their historical value.

The phasing has changed

The proposed CPF Part 1 area will be delivered in a single phase. Although the improvements to Purbeck Drive (in the immediate vicinity of the southern gateway to CPF) are outside the site, it is proposed that these works are completed at the same time as the CPF Part 1 area.

CPF Part 1 area: This area includes the northern area facilities, the blue badge car park, the multi purpose lawn, amphitheatre and central plaza, the pedestrian/cycle path through to Purbeck Drive as well as new planting and the pathway along the southern boundary of CPF. This first phase will deliver the two MUGAs, the basketball court and teqball tables, new challenger sports including the all-wheel park, parkour and bouldering zone, a swings area, children’s playground, four new and improved entrances, seating, cycle stands, wayfinding signage, lighting and paths, as well as trees, ornamental and hedge planting, wildflowers and grass to create an attractive green space, all of which will activate the playing fields. The existing site levels in this northern part of the Site will be gently reshaped to provide the new, more accessible, northern entrance to CPF.

CPF Part 2 area: The remaining areas within CPF will be delivered in two phases, with the first phase including the CPF Pavilion, mini golf, boules court, part of the dry SUDS stream, two 3G all-weather pitches and the Sports Storage Building. CPF Part 2 Phase 2 will then be the final delivery phase for CPF. This will include the two sand-dressed all-weather pitches, the Clitterhouse Stream improvements and nature park, the remaining section of the SUDS dry stream, areas of incidental play, the CPF Maintenance Storage Facility (and delivery of the associated maintenance staff welfare facilities), farm playground, learner’s bike track, community orchard, wayfinding signage, seating, cycle stands all interspersed with trees, ornamental and hedge planting, wildflower meadows and grassed areas to create places for all to enjoy.

Our local Councillors, GGERA and its residents strongly objected to the omission of the South Entrance to the site on Purbeck Drive in the original application. This was a major strategic oversight. We welcome the Purbeck Drive improvements, as well as its proposed CCTV and the South Entrance being included in the overall governance and management of the park.

We have campaigned actively against the pay-to-play excluding local residents. Amended proposal includes 1,000 free hours per year for 5 years. This is good news for locals who would like to use the sporting facilities. It is not clear how this would operate.

We strongly objected to the lack of proper space for community use space, as the only multiple use space had a pay-to-play grass pitch. It is great news that the grass pitch is no longer needed and multiple use space will be available to the public throughout the year. However, this is temporary.

We have been actively asking for sporting activities to finish at 7 pm or at sunset, whichever is earlier. However, no concessions have been made to the negative impact that 9 am to 9 pm perpetual noise and light nuisance will have on the mental health and well-being of immediate neighbours, young children and those working from home. We would welcome peace and quiet to have allocated times each day, and in the yearly calendar.

A growing group of very concerned residents has been proactively researching AstroTurf’s risks to human health, environmental pollution, climate change and increased flooding. At a time of climate emergency, there is no justifiable argument to replace many hectares of natural grass with plastic grass laid on tons of toxic, polluting rubber crumb, leaking into Clitterhouse Stream, the allotments and, further down, into the Welsh Harp reservoir. We welcome the rephasing of the football pitches to Part 2 Phase 1, with the hope that in the meantime legislation will change and truly environmental materials become available.

Thanks to all for your continued support. If you’d like to know more about the above, have any questions or would like to share your views, please do join us on May 13th. Alternatively, you can email us at contact@ggera.org.uk. In any case, please keep in touch and have your say.

Planters of Hope

Thank you to everyone involved in transforming our public spaces in this creative and beautiful way.

This is how it started – many months ago – thanks to the 2022 Brent Cross Community Fund:

This is how it is going. 8 wonderful flower boxes to cheer the heart outside the Pennine Parade shops and the Purbeck Drive entrance to the park:

This is what’s happening next … Our Planters of Hope Tea Party!

Join us for a free cup of tea and a slice of homemade cake at the Purbeck Drive entrance to Clitterhouse Playing Fields on Sunday, 14th May, 4 pm (weather permitting). The planters on Pennine Drive survived the cold and wet winter very well and some of the plants have already started flowering. However, the Purbeck Drive planters could do with a little TLC as some of the perennials will need replacing.

Why don’t you give us a hand on the day or just pass by to say hello? We look forward to seeing you!

Safer Neighbourhood Team and Owl

Cricklewood Safer Neighbourhood Team
Colindale Police Station, Grahame Park Way, NW9 5TW
Telephone: 0208 733 5060
Web: www.met.police.uk
Email : naz.gungor@met.police.uk

Online Watch Link (OWL)
Each SNT sends a lot of community messaging / crime prevention advice out over OWL. You can join OWL here. Simply enter your postcode to find your local watch and register!

Coronation Care
Celebrating the Coronation this weekend? Have a great time & keep a watchful eye on your surroundings

Our Yard at Clitterhouse Farm

An update from Anika …

Spring has sprung at Clitterhouse Farm at last! The days are getting warmer, the tulips are blooming beautifully … and the weeds are growing. There is so much to do at this time of year, and we would love extra help. The garden is open for Community Gardening sessions on Thursdays and Saturdays. With or without green fingers, pop in and give us a hand with weeding, watering, potting on or just pass by to say hello.

This year’s plant sale kicked off at the beginning of March. We have a good range of annuals and perennials available, all organically grown in peat free compost. Tomato seedlings will be for sale from next week.

Join us for a holler and a sing! The Yardbirds Choir meets on Thursdays, 6:30 pm – 8 pm. Everyone can join, no experience needed, no sheet music, no auditions, no pressure! Let’s just have fun! £7.50/session, coffee and tea provided.

“Mindfulness through Art”, “Introduction to Watercolour Painting” and “Hatha Yoga” sessions are happening throughout the month. Please check our website for more details.

Sunday, 7th May: Boozy Brunch! We are excited to be collaborating once again with our resident chef duo, Sean and Megan of Sean’s Loaf, who are both professionally trained Michelin chefs. We will bring you a great selection of brunch options and classic cocktails. Please visit our website to have a look at the menu and to book your seats.

Saturday, 13th May from 4pm: Night Market! Our Yard Night Markets are back every second Saturday of each month. Expect delicious food stalls, drinks, live music, arts & crafts to create on the day or to take away, plant sale, pressed flowers, pottery, handmade jewellery, art workshops, face painting, wood craft and much, much more.

Friday, 16th June: We are pleased to announce that the touring theatre company Shakespeare in the Squares will perform Twelfth Night, Shakespeare’s glorious romantic comedy of mistaken identity in Clitterhouse Playing Fields. Tickets are on sale here now!

An Update from our Local Councillors

If we can help in any way, please do contact us:

Donoghue waste site: The good news is that Donoghue will be leaving its Claremont Road site following recent Council approval for a residential development on the site. We do not yet have an exact date yet for the move but expect it to be later this year. Along with residents, we have been pushing for Donoghue to go and it is happening far earlier than originally planned as part of the Brent Cross/Cricklewood regeneration. We are however aware that Donoghue vehicles are still using Pennine Drive despite a weight restriction being in place. We are continuing to raise this with the Council and are trying to get a site visit for officers to see what is happening for themselves and to follow this up with Donoghue.

Millennium Green: We are really pleased that as part of the planning application for the Donoghue site, the developers will be funding improvements to the green and are discussing this with the trustees.

Brent Cross Town Community Fund: This has been supporting local community projects since 2019. It has supported a wide range of organisations, from support services to sports clubs, childcare providers to community gardeners. This year will be the fund’s fifth birthday, and the plan is to make it bigger and better! The fund will launch in May 2023 with the award winners chosen by the community, alongside a panel of judges by July. If you are part of a community group and have a great idea, you can reach out to the team at Related Argent by emailing: community@brentcrosstown.co.uk.

Controlled parking zone (CPZ): Consultation on a CPZ to cover the Golders Green Estate is expected to start in the summer. More information can be found on the Brent Cross Regeneration website.

Brent Cross West station: This is expected to open in October and will provide an additional stop on the Thameslink line.

Buses: Transport for London have announced that the changes proposed last year to our local bus routes 189 and 113 are not going ahead and the routes will remain the same. There has been a more recent consultation on some small changes to routes, including 102, 189, C11 and 210: the destinations will remain the same but there will be some tweaks to the routes to allow them to serve the new Brent Cross West station and the new housing at Brent Cross Town. More information can be found on the TfL website.

Schools: Work to improve the environment around Claremont and Whitefield Schools is happening soon with new planters outside Claremont and painting of the fences around Whitefield.

Remember this Car?

Sue Jones from the Real Car Company in Bethesda, Gwynedd contacted us a few weeks ago.

She wrote that they had a 1930s Rolls-Royce car which in 1946 / 1949 was owned (as per the documents) by a B F Withy (Withey) of 8 Clifton Gardens, Golders Green. She was trying to find out some family details so that she could expand the file she has on the car.

Thanks to a resident who is a professional genealogist (see www.kerrywood.co.uk), 19 days later, Sue and the owner’s daughter – now in her 80s – were sharing stories. The car file is now complete and can be seen online here https://www.realcar.co.uk/view-cars/2564.

It is GGERA’s joy and strength to have such enthusiastic and proactive neighbours willing to help.

Community Skips

Barnet Council continues to provide a Community Skip Service to help residents get rid of large unwanted items.

This service is free to use and is available to all residents across the borough, but you will need to prove that you live in the neighbourhood.

You can find out when the next skip will be in the area by following the links here.

David Lang

It is with great sadness that we received the news of David Lang’s passing away on 3rd March. He was a well-respected resident and neighbour.

Former Handley Page apprentice and member of both the Handley Page Association and the Victor Association, he became a devoted Handley Page ambassador, raising awareness among residents, Barnet Council and the Brent Cross Regeneration about the amazing and innovative aeronautical past of this area.

It was thanks to him that we learnt about Handley Page’s innovative airplane designs and the setting up between the World Wars of Handley Page Transport – in particular its pioneering civilian aviation flight from London to Paris, starting from the former Cricklewood Aerodrome, now the Golders Green Estate. Handley Page Transport later merged with other companies to form Imperial Airways, now British Airways.

Golden Jubilee Exhibition to mark the 50th anniversary of the building of the Golders Green Estate on the site of the former Cricklewood Aerodrome. Seen from left to right are David Lang, former Handley Page apprentice and resident of the Golders Green Estate, Kay Pass a former Airwork air hostess and the guest of honour, Wing Commander R H McIntosh DFC AFC RAF (retired), popularly known as All-Weather Mac.
All-Weather Mac had a distinguished flying career which began in 1917 and lasted 54 years, flying in both world wars, between the wars and after the second world war. On this historic occasion, David Lang had arranged for All-Weather Mac to return to the site of Cricklewood Aerodrome 60 years after he flew the last international scheduled air service from Cricklewood Aerodrome to Paris, Le Bourget on 28th May 1921 in the Handley Page biplane airliner with the registration G-EATM. He flew this aircraft back to Croydon Aerodrome the following day.

David influenced and was always supportive of the Clitterhouse Farm Project, now Our Yard at Clitterhouse, and the Memories Local History Group.

His legacy will always be remembered.

Our sympathy goes to his family.

Golders Green

The Golders Green Town Centre is changing. Full details here. Local communities are invited to take part in community workshops and visit the What’s On page to see what’s planned. If you want to join the Town Team or contribute to their projects or join the mailing list, please email goldersgreentowncentre@gmail.com.

The Head Room Café is a café run by mental health charity Jami (website). It offers “so much more than just coffee and great food”. There are free daily groups and activities providing support and education to everyone, improving mental health, raising awareness and creating connection throughout our community. Check out their free Community Programme here.