News on North Finchley

UPDATE ON GREAT NORTH LEISURE PARK

Many thanks to those of you who attended our previous events on Lodge Lane in North Finchley. We are still working through your comments and feedback and will return in the early part of 2024. 

We are aware that many of you are interested in Great North Leisure Park too. This is an update on proceedings.   

The redevelopment of North Finchley and the Great North Leisure Park (GNLP), including the public leisure centre, form a key part of Barnet Council’s ambitious plans to reinvigorate the borough’s public spaces, amenities and public services, as well as provide new homes and respond to the climate and biodiversity emergencies.

Our partnerships with the Council will unlock significant joint investment, for example at GNLP, a new public leisure centre will be provided in place of the existing facility which no longer offers the community an amenity fit for the 21^st century.   

With Glebelands open space positioned directly behind GNLP, the connections to this important landscape for the local community are sorely lacking, with the only access through a dark, small and hidden alleyway. This is a missed opportunity. 

Community engagement to inform our approach

In coming up with our proposals we’ve undertaken significant research and engagement with the local community. We continue to shape our plans based on the understanding of the local need and views.

Over the summer, we held consultations, workshops and focus groups with the residents. Whilst we have talked to local people about the broader GNLP masterplans, Barnet Council have been consulting on the detailed plans for a new leisure centre. 

Over the next year there will be more opportunities for local people to share their thoughts, as we engage in dialogue in 2024 to understand people’s priorities, hopes and ambitions.

Our plans for GNLP

We want to transform GNLP into a place that seamlessly integrates new living, leisure and lifestyle spaces along with opportunities to connect with nature and offers a new dimension to the character of the local area. At GNLP we will create a place that gives everyone in the local area a reason to want to visit and spend time there with a range of new homes, lifestyle and commercial uses, all alongside new green community spaces.  

Our GNLP proposals will provide much needed new homes for the local area, contributing to the council’s targets for provision of new housing.  

Better leisure and wellbeing facilities

To meet Barnet Council’s aspirations for better leisure and wellbeing facilities, our plans will unlock investment from Regal London and Barnet council in a new state of the art leisure centre for everyone. We are in discussion with the council and engaging the community in how we design the public spaces and deliver the leisure centre, on behalf of the council.

We know that it’s important to people that redevelopment minimises disruption to current users of the leisure centre. That’s why our plan is to build this in the early phase of construction, with the existing centre remaining open until the new facility has been built.  

At the Cabinet meeting on the 14 November 2024, an outline business case for the North Finchley Leisure Centre’s redevelopment was approved by councillors after a clear majority of residents said they wanted it to stay in the area.

It is proposed that the new centre will be built on a disused outdoor bowling green and will include a replacement swimming pool and lido together with a learner pool, three fitness studios and a 690 square-metre gym. There would also be an indoor adventure zone, soft play, sauna and steam rooms, health consultation rooms and a cafe.

The proposals would see other existing leisure uses on GNLP, such as the cinema and bowling, moved in the direction of North Finchley town centre under plans to create a destination for leisure, arts and cultural along with food and beverage.

A full business case for the New Leisure centre proposals will be brought to cabinet at a later date. Under a timeline set out in the report, plans for the redevelopment of the site could be submitted in the middle of next year, with the new leisure centre set to open in winter 2027.