Residents clash with Barnet Council over playground designs, citing drainage issues and lack of consultation for Mill Hill Park.
Councillor Duschinsky secured funds for improvements in March 2024. Frank Orman leads the Mill Hill Residents’ Association (MHRA), a group with 2,000 members. Frank calls the current plans dangerous.
Frank says the playground’s north part requires drainage, an important detail he believes the council’s plans miss. He thinks this will cause future problems and added costs. He insists the area is unusable without proper drainage. Frank argues the council should consult with residents.
The council’s design includes a willow tunnel, a wildflower area and pathway work. The council plans to remove old play equipment. They expect work to finish in early 2025.
Frank says the council shared designs in January, despite earlier approval. The association offered feedback and solutions for waterlogging. They even offered to pay for a landscape designer. He says the council hasn’t responded for over a year.
Frank questions why councillors avoid resident discussion, saying this leads to bad choices and wasted money, which he finds frustrating. The council says larger projects involve wider engagement, but the Mill Hill Park project is too small for this, and they only did “some engagement.”
The council says they spoke with the Friends of Mill Hill Park. Frank, who is part of the friends group, claims designs were not shared then. The discussion had only been with the chair.
Frank suggests his association could help by sharing resident voices and accuses councillors of being secretive. The council says they engage with relevant groups for special interests and that they engaged with the Friends group in 2023.
The council expects the work to complete by early 2025. They hope kids and families will enjoy the area, which includes a tunnel and earth mounds that should help with wet conditions.