Local Democracy Week
18-22 October is Local Democracy Week
Local Democracy Week highlights all the ways that you as a Barnet resident can get involved with local affairs – making your voice heard is more than just voting in elections. There are many ways that you can roll up your sleeves and get involved.
Submitting an issue to a Residents Forum:
Resident Forums are an opportunity for you to raise and discuss any local issue (except from Planning) directly with elected councillors. There are three Area Residents Forums: Chipping Barnet, Finchley & Golders Green and Hendon. To submit an issue or to find out more, follow this link.
If you and other residents have an issue that you collectively want the council to investigate, then you can submit a petition. You will need at least 25 signatures and all signatures must be from residents living within Barnet.
We accept e-petitions – which can be submitted through our website here.
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We also accept paper petitions which should be clearly labelled as a petition and addressed to the Head of Governance, Assurance Group, London Borough of Barnet, 2 Bristol Avenue, Colindale, NW9 4EW.
Asking a public question or raising a comment at a meeting:
If you have a specific question or comment you would like to make in relation to a substantive item on an agenda for a meeting, you can do so by contacting the lead Governance Officer for that committee. Contact details will be found on the front cover of the agenda. All meetings and agendas can be found here Committee structure (moderngov.co.uk).
One comment per resident, per agenda item will be accepted. These will be published alongside the agenda.
One question, per resident, per agenda item will be accepted, up to a maximum of two questions in total for each item. Questioners can ask one supplementary question at the meeting.
There is a 100-word limit for both comments and questions.
Speaking at a planning meeting:
If there is a planning application that you feel strongly about, then you can request to speak at the meeting at which the decision is being made.
Requests must be submitted to the relevant planning case officer by 10am the third working day prior to the meeting. To find the relevant case officer, please visit the following link. There are always two speaker slots available and one additional slot reserved for the applicant. Where more than two residents register to speak, individuals will be contacted and asked to decide who will represent them at the meeting.
Barnet Youth Assembly is an opportunity for Young people to come together to debate local issues and work on projects collectively with young people from across the borough. It is open to ages 11-18 (up to 25 for those with additional needs) who live, study or work in Barnet. To find out more please contact YouthAssembly@barnet.gov.uk
Attending a meeting as an observer:
All meetings are open to the public and are held at Hendon Town Hall, with seats available within the public gallery. Our calendar of meetings can be found here - Monthly meetings calendar - October 2021 (moderngov.co.uk)
Raising an issue with a councillor:
All elected Members (ie councillors) can be contacted directly about local issues in your ward. The full list of contact detail can be found here.
Becoming a councillor:
Are you passionate about your local community and want to make a different? Have you considered becoming a councillor? The next Local Elections will be on 5 May 2022. For information on what standing for a councillor involves, please visit this page Standing for election