Barnet Council Leader, Cllr Barry Rawlings
As we start a new year, we want to continue to put the community at the heart of what the council does, and in 2023 we will be giving residents even more power and say in the council decisions and plans that affect them.
Our new Community Participation Strategy recognises that residents and community groups have the experience, skills and insight to be more directly involved in improving local services and places. We have already started new and innovative ways of working in partnership with residents and in 2023 we want to continue developing this with you.
Just one of the ways we will do this is through co-production of a new Culture Strategy for the Borough, which we want to involve residents in. We will be working on an exciting, ambitious, and fun Culture Strategy that puts Barnet on the map and celebrates its creativity, heritage, and community, so, if you would like to be a part of the new Culture Strategy Steering Group then please register your interest by 27 January here.
We also recognise that we will continue to face the challenges that defined 2022.
The cost-of-living crisis continues to bite with many people experiencing hardship and struggling to make ends meet. While there is no end in sight, the council is offering help to those most in need. We have a £2m resident support fund for people in financial crisis, as well as the household support fund, discretionary housing payment and school uniform fund. We are also providing advice on accessing benefits, helping people into work, and working with the community to set up a borough-wide network of warm spaces. If you need help or advice please visit: Cost of living support | Barnet Council
Our focus on tackling anti-social behaviour and providing quality homes has seen us make great progress on all fronts. In the past few months, we have launched our Community Safety Hubs and Ward Walks programme, started our community skips service in several locations which has already been used by 1,000 households and begun work to deliver 1,000 new council homes at 50% of market rental rates. This year, we will open more Community Safety Hubs, our community skips will visit scores more neighbourhoods and house building will continue at pace.
2023 will be the year that Barnet truly embarks on our journey to becoming one of London’s most sustainable boroughs.
After declaring a climate emergency in May 2022, we set ourselves the ambitious target of becoming a net zero council by 2030 and borough no later than 2042. Essential to achieving these targets will be the council working in partnership with you, the borough’s residents and businesses, to join us on this journey to a better Barnet.
Our Citizens Assembly, comprising 40 residents from across the borough, launches in the next few weeks, and will help us to answer the question ‘what more can we do together to make Barnet a more sustainable borough?’. In a couple of weeks, we will also launch the first phase of our BarNet Zero campaign to raise awareness and provide information on what we can all do tackle climate change in a way that leaves no one behind.
In the spring, we will publish our corporate plan which will set out how we will work for and with you over the next four years. We are a council that cares for people, our places and the planet. But we can only realise our ambitious plans by working closely with our communities. Together, I am sure we will achieve a great many things in 2023.