Message to Cabinet Member

6 November 2025

We have today written to Barnet Council Cabinet Member Alan Schneiderman:

"In relation to the Underhill South CPZ, we are outraged that you have allowed officers to act in a way that completely ignores resident feedback on multiple fronts.  The lip service paid to residents in consultation is palpable and we do not believe that the response is legitimate.

We understand that the Environment and Climate Change Committee was terminated after the Cabinet system was created in May 2023 and that now all responsibility rests with yourself.  We are led to understand that scrutiny of what you do is virtually non-existent.

It is our understanding that area committees have been terminated, apparently to save money, stopping any local engagement and discussion of local issues.  Even so, you appear to have found a spare £85K to force a controlled parking zone on an area where, even in the roads selected, more than 60% said they didn't want it.

When was the consensus principle abandoned?

You are operating in an opaque environment that lacks transparency and accountability and does not command widespread support.  Almost 750 people have signed our online petition against the zone and whether or not you respond, we will update them accordingly. It will therefore become less easy to ignore us."

UPDATE - 23 December 2025

The following is extracted from the response received from Cllr. Schneiderman:

"I know that ward councillors and senior council officers have been regularly engaging with residents regarding the CPZ proposals and that there have also been face to face meetings to discuss the concerns that have been raised.

As you are aware, the council has switched from a committee system to a Cabinet system. Policy decisions that would have been made by the Environment and Climate Change Committee are now taken at Cabinet meetings (made up of all of the council's Cabinet members). This change was primarily made to enable quicker and more joined-up decision making as many issues cut across different areas of the council. It is possible for members of the public to ask questions and make comments at every Cabinet meeting, in addition to the online cabinet question time events that have been held.

Although the policy for CPZs is set by Cabinet, the implementation of specific proposals, such as Underhill South are signed off by the council's Director of Highways and Transportation in line with council policy and the delegation of decision making set out in the council's constitution.  However, these decisions are made after consultation with residents and ward members - and I have discussed the Underhill proposals with officers to ensure that this has happened.

It is always very difficult to get a consensus on CPZ proposals. These often originate from  resident requests to deal with parking problems, but also include a data led multi-criteria analysis (MCA) study which takes into account a range of factors, including vehicle ownership, on-street parking demand, capacity and occupancy as well as accident data and a review of why people may be parking in the area. The result of the MCA study indicated Underhill South as being a high priority for introducing a CPZ. 

As you know, as a result of consultation with residents, the number of roads in the proposed zone was reduced to focus on those where there is the most parking stress. However, this is not the end of the consultation period as the CPZ is being introduced using an experimental traffic order. This means that the first 6 months of its operation count as a formal consultation period and a decision will then be made on whether or not to make the zone permanent and whether to make any amendments."