Finchley and Golders Green MP, Mike Freer, successfully pressed the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities to halt planning consent at the B&Q development, Cricklewood Lane.
Under plans previously approved by Barnet Council in September 2021, the development at B&Q in Cricklewood Lane would have seen up to 1050 residential units being built in a 19-storey building.
Mr Freer, who strongly opposed the plans, asked the Secretary of State to call in this planning application. The process of a “call in” is where the Secretary of State may wish to take over the planning application rather than letting the local authority decide.
In the last few days, it was revealed that an order was put in place preventing planning permission being issued without the agreement of the Secretary of State.
Commenting on the decision, Mike Freer MP said, “I was delighted to learn that the Secretary of State has halted development at the B&Q site in Cricklewood Lane. As MP for Finchley & Golders Green, I received many objections from residents regarding the proposals to redevelop the old B&Q site.”
Mr Freer added that “the size of the proposed development was entirely out of keeping with the local area in design and scale. In addition, if the development was approved, it would have pushed our local services to breaking point.”
Mike concluded that “this is a brilliant outcome for the many residents of my constituency who worked tirelessly to stop the development from going ahead.”