{"id":34346,"date":"2022-09-17T16:06:07","date_gmt":"2022-09-17T15:06:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsblogsnew.ihbc.org.uk\/?p=34346"},"modified":"2022-09-16T17:51:04","modified_gmt":"2022-09-16T16:51:04","slug":"ihbc-features-heritage-from-the-civic-doorstep-mp-joins-residents-protest-in-last-minute-bid-to-halt-demolition-of-local-landmark","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/?p=34346","title":{"rendered":"IHBC features \u2018Heritage from the (civic) doorstep\u2019: MP joins residents’ protest in last-minute bid to halt demolition of local landmark"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Theresa Villiers, MP for Chipping Barnet, has stepped in to support residents in a renewed attempt to stop the demolition of 33 Lyonsdown Road, New Barnet, a locally-listed Victorian villa\u00a0 reports The Barnet Society.<\/h3>\n

image: The Barnet Society website<\/em><\/h6>\n

<\/p>\n

\u2026 plans to build new flats on the site have been turned down twice\u2026<\/span><\/em><\/h2>\n

The Barnet Society writes:<\/p>\n

[Theresa Villiers] said the developers\u2019 decision to press ahead with their plans was a terrible shock and it would be a tragic loss if such a stunning building was replaced with a block of flats.<\/p>\n

Ms Villiers, who joined a residents\u2019 protest outside the front door of the villa, promised to reinforce their campaign. She said she would write to the development company Abbeytown Ltd, at the offices of estate agents Martyn Gerrard, to ask them think again and instead of pulling it down, convert the existing building into flats and housing.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is so sad to see such a beautifully designed villa, which is such a feature of New Barnet, threatened at the last minute with demolition, when the Barnet Society and others have fought so successfully to have it preserved.<\/p>\n

\u201cI do hope Abbeytown will think again and safeguard the future of the villa.\u201d<\/p>\n

Abbeytown\u2019s plans to build new flats on the site have been turned down twice by Barnet Council\u2019s planning committee \u2013 and two planning appeals have been lost \u2013 but approval for demolition was given unexpectedly in June under what is known as the permitted development procedure.<\/p>\n

Simon Gerrard, one of the Abbbeytown directors and the managing director of the Martyn Gerrard estate agency, is prominent supporter of the permitted development procedure which was introduced by the government to speed up planning approvals.<\/p>\n

Ms Villiers said she disagreed with Mr Gerrard and believed consent for the demolition of 33 Lyonsdown Road should not have been given under permitted development procedure.<\/p>\n

\u201cPermitted development rights have gone too far because they have taken democratically elected representatives out of the process.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have opposed a number of applications for permitted development. I\u2019m sorry, but I\u2019m not on the same page as Simon Gerrard on this procedure. I hope to talk to him and the other directors about it, and about the future safeguarding of 33 Lyonsdown Road.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mr Gerrard, who is a director of the National Federation of Property Professionals and a past president of the National Association of Estate Agents, has criticised the approach of local authorities which have stood in the way of developers and blocked the approval of permitted development applications.<\/p>\n

In a commentary published in February, he warned that the delivery of much needed new homes was fading fast because the government had no interest in following through on their promise to \u201cget Britain building\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cGrand announcements made last year encouraging developers to pursue permitted development applications have proved to be a work of fiction, with councils almost unanimously turning down applications the government assured the sector would be approved.\u201d<\/p>\n

Since Abbeytown\u2019s success in June in persuading Barnet Council to grant the demolition of 33 Lyonsdown Road \u2013 a decision taken \u2018by default\u2019 and without reference to the planning committee \u2013 Mr Gerrard has declined to engage with local residents, the Barnet Society or other groups on the company\u2019s plans for the villa.<\/p>\n

There has been no reply to the society\u2019s most recent letter and the absence of a dialogue with the community was regretted by Ms Villiers.<\/p>\n

Her support in attending a residents\u2019 protest at the front door of the villa was welcomed by the Barnet Society\u2026.<\/p>\n

Residents say 33 Lyonsdown Road is one of the finest buildings in New Barnet.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are so pleased the MP came along to give support. No.33 is part of our neighbourhood. We all want to see it renovated and put to good use rather than replaced with a block of flats,\u201d said Sue Robinson.<\/p>\n

Read more….<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Theresa Villiers, MP for Chipping Barnet, has stepped in to support residents in a renewed attempt to stop the demolition of 33 Lyonsdown Road, New Barnet, a locally-listed Victorian villa\u00a0 reports The Barnet Society. image: The Barnet Society website<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-34346","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ihbc-newsblog"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34346","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=34346"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34346\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":34348,"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34346\/revisions\/34348"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=34346"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=34346"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=34346"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}