BERFC are not proposing to make use of Christ Church School Field. 

• The proposals do not include making use of any part of the school field, which will remain entirely unaffected.

BERFC’s ground will not be sealed off to the public with 2.5m-high fencing.

• The proposals include repairing the existing chain-link fencing between the club and the school field and installing new waist-level fencing limited to the area immediately around the clubhouse and the new car parking. The exception to this is a security fence limited to the area behind the new clubhouse, where equipment to service the building would be located. 

• This limited quantity of fencing is essential for the security of the new clubhouse, preventing as far as is possible, the ongoing issues we face with vandalism, break-ins, graffiti and antisocial behaviour.

• Planting stretches across the field to discourage, but not prevent, casual access, as well as delivering greater than a 10% net gain in biodiversity. The club suffers from extensive dog fouling and littering, including broken glass on the pitches which obviously poses a high risk to the safety of our players. There are many miles of countryside including public rights of way immediately to the west and the north, and we hope that through considered landscape design (not fencing) people will consider making greater use of those areas.

• BERFC’s ground is not a public open space. It is owned by the club on a 150-year lease.  Notwithstanding, we are hoping to strike the right balance for this community facility between the competing demands of all elements of the community, as well as the safety and security of children and adults playing sport.

How will you manage the opening hours of the club (match days, training, venue hire)?

• We are determined to be good neighbours to those who live close by and will do everything we can to ensure our opening hours don't cause undue disturbance. Should planning permission be granted, we expect that it will include a condition for an Operational Management Plan, which will cover everything from servicing to sports use and hires of the facilities by community groups and the wider public.

• This is a standard approach for this stage in the planning process. This document will confirm the opening hours for different uses, include key contact numbers in case of emergency and/or anti-social problems, key terms for hire, and so forth. Once the clubhouse has been built, this will be a publicly available document and made available on the club’s website (and issued to those using the facilities) so that the club can be measured against its commitments.

Barnet Medieval Festival (and other events) will continue to use Byng Road.

• BERFC has an informal and collaborative partnership with the Medieval Festival and we have consulted with them. The festival will continue at Byng Road by mutual consent, as it always has.

Is the club proposing a change in access to the allotments and council-owned grassland to which there has always been public access?

• The club is not proposing any change in access arrangement to the allotments, and the public will still be able to access the council-owned grassland, as per the existing arrangements. The only change is the introduction of an area of wildflower planting which delivers a biodiversity net gain and helps with drainage. It is also hoped that this area of wildflower planting encourages more responsible dog walking by keeping animals closer to their owners, as unfortunately there are a significant number of occasions where dog mess is left on pitches that players (including a large number of children) use. As you can imagine, this is hugely off-putting and something we really want to address as a club.

Is the club proposing new gates?

• The only new gates proposed relate to the area of the car park that the club has a lease on, meaning the main access to Byng Road fields and the council car park will remain as it is now. This small gated area is proposed to combat antisocial behaviour that the club often encounters (you may be aware of the cars that have been stolen and dumped next to clubhouse before being stripped for parts).

What are we seeking to achieve as a club?

• Our vision is simple: to provide outstanding clubhouse, playing and supporter facilities for rugby that are truly welcoming to everyone in the Barnet community, and which our members can take great pride in for generations to come. This is further defined by five themes, namely: 1) Rugby, 2) Identity, 3) Inclusivity, 4) Viability/Resilience and 5) Continuity.

• When a draft of our vision was shared for member feedback in late 2020, members told us that their most important issue was Viability/Resilience: ‘designing solutions for the long-term, ensuring that the Club remains financially viable and resilient for decades to come’.

Will parking be improved?

• The car park will include a more formal/usable overflow space, as well as using the existing space more efficiently. Our peak use is on Sundays during the season and, by doing this, we anticipate that parking disruption to neighbours will improve.

How will the new clubhouse and ground be operated?

• Having visited a number of newly redeveloped clubs, we’ve observed that some have built very large facilities with eye-watering operational and running costs, including in some instances employing five or six full time staff. Some are open for business 24/7, with rental functions three days a week. Those clubs have to generate very large revenues to remain solvent, which can result in rugby and sport become secondary to the need to rent or monetise the facilities. This puts those clubs at financial risk and, in our view, dilutes their whole purpose.

• Our model is deliberately different. We will continue to be a members’ club, existing for the benefit of the local Barnet community and run by volunteers. We will bring it into the modern age with superb but carefully scoped new facilities.

• As part of that, we will add compatible complimentary sports. For example, written interest using our ground has been received from lacrosse, rugby league and Gaelic football clubs. In addition, women’s rugby has recently been initiated and a single Multi-Use Games Area (MUGA) is proposed.

• In this way, we anticipate that the club can remain sensibly managed and live within it means, serving a diverse, increased number of local members whilst delivering an enhanced and enjoyable experience for members.

Why is the clubhouse in (almost) the same location as the existing one?

• Many different layouts of the ground and clubhouse were considered, based on issues including pitch configurations, viewing sight-lines, delivery and spectator access, sunshine and sun path, security, the impact on the green belt and, significantly, the feedback from the council’s planning team.

• This all led to a clubhouse in almost the same location as the existing one, on the halfway line of a (slightly) relocated first team pitch.

Why aren’t we including things such as a gym, bowling alley, nightclub, squash courts or business centre?

• Many other uses and facilities have been suggested and during the early stages of our plans, extensive market research, as well as two member surveys, was carried out to gauge what the redevelopment of the club, facilities and pitches should offer.

• This research and the feedback from our members has heavily influenced what has gone into our vision for the future of the club. Essentially, we have sought to match anticipated member and community demand to the facilities we are proposing to provide. This includes a full, flexible members and community space on the first floor of the clubhouse.

How many pitches will we have?

• At completion of the project, we will have three full-sized, flat, well drained and irrigated pitches that meet RFU regulation sizes for the first time. To do this, we will be widening the two northern pitches into Pork Chop Hill (to the west) by about 25m.

• In addition, we intend to undertake basic re-levelling of the fourth pitch to remove the worst of its lateral slope and to undertake basic drainage improvements, subject to the permission of the council.

What improvements will the Minis and Juniors enjoy?

• RFU age-grade pitches are designed to slot within standard full sized pitches. Players will be training and playing on far superior surfaces than currently exist, with regular maintenance built in to annual budgets to ensure continued quality. Less muddy, less messy.

• Two floodlit pitches, one in front of the clubhouse, will allow family members and supporters to view training and competitive matches, day or night, from the first floor terrace, supping a hot or cold beverage of their choice.

• Eight dry, warm, self-contained changing rooms with ensuite showers and toilets, meeting RFU playing and safeguarding standards.

Will the pitches be grass, and have we considered artificial pitches?

• All pitches will be grass, well maintained and irrigated.

• The likely wear-and-tear of our pitches has been a major consideration and artificial pitches were discussed as a means of dealing with increased use. However, the main reason we are not pursuing artificial pitches is the cost - both the capital cost of laying them and the exceptionally high cost of replacing/relaying them every 10 years, which (unlike grass) is an unavoidable requirement to keep them safe and playable.

• Predicted income from artificial pitch rental would not match the long-term costs, particularly given the availability of competing local facilities and the reality that rental demand is focused on weekday evenings and at weekends – exactly when we would want to use them.

Will the pitches be floodlit?

• Two of the pitches will be floodlit, including the main pitch in front of the clubhouse.