Barnet Press

Stories we are still following

Barnet Press keeps a page for every subject it has covered at least six times, holding that reporting in one place so a single decision can be read against the ones before it.

• Barnet Council148
• Dean Brennan38
• The Hive31
• Metropolitan Police62
• Transport for London44
• Enfield Council35
• Barry Rawlings14
• Barnet Football Club13
• Greater London Authority20
• Kabongo Tshimanga11
• Peter Zinkin10
• Salford City10

Practical guides

Written by hand rather than assembled from other outlets, and kept useful after the news has moved on. These answer the things people in Barnet actually have to deal with.

• Barnet council tax: what the bands mean and how to challenge yours

  Your band was set on what your home was worth in 1991 — not today. Here is how that works, and what to do if it looks wrong.

• Barnet bin collections: what goes where, and what to do when one is missed

  Which bin takes what, how to report a missed collection so it actually gets picked up, and where the tip is.

• Barnet parking permit: zones, prices and how to appeal a PCN

  The discount for paying early is real, but so is the right to challenge. Here is how the appeal process actually works.

• How to find, comment on and object to a Barnet planning application

  Objections are weighed on planning grounds, not on how many people sign. Here is what actually counts.

• Is Barnet a good place to live? An honest look at London’s largest borough

  Green, safe by London standards, and well connected — with a cost and a commute to match.

• Things to do in Barnet: parks, markets, museums and days out

  What is genuinely worth your time across the borough, including on a wet Sunday.

• Where to eat in Barnet and Finchley: a guide by neighbourhood

  The borough’s food is defined by its communities. Here is where to find the best of it.

• Barnet library opening times, and what they offer beyond books

  Staffed and self-service hours for the borough’s branches, plus the free study space, printing and digital access most residents never use.

• Schools in Barnet: how admissions work, and what actually decides a place

  Distance usually decides it, the grammar schools do not use catchments, and the deadlines are earlier than most parents expect.

• Barnet's recycling centre: what you can take to Summers Lane, and the rules that catch people out

  Book first, check your vehicle, and know which materials are refused before you load the car.

• Council housing in Barnet: the register, bidding, and help if you are at risk of losing your home

  Joining the register is not the same as being housed, and the most useful thing you can do if eviction is coming is act before it happens.

• When the Mayor overrules Barnet: how a call-in actually works

  Barnet refusing an application is not always the end of it. City Hall gets 14 days to decide whether the borough’s decision stands, and objecting to the council does not put your objection in front of the Mayor.

Listen instead

Barnet Press publishes a spoken bulletin every morning covering the day before: the main stories, in about five minutes. Press play, or subscribe and they arrive on their own.

Any other app takes the address directly: barnetpress.co.uk/podcast.xml