Grasping the opportunity in Barnet

摘要

The obvious way to start a piece on local government transformation would be to say that there's no money and that it's very difficult. But you know that, so I won't. Besides, I'm an optimist. I want to focus on how, in Barnet, we're grasping the opportunity to do things differently. Our strategy is based around three strands: growth, development and employment; service transformation driven by insight-led commissioning; and greater community participation. Alongside this, we're investing for the future - in housing, transport, schools and infrastructure. We're confronting the challenge head-on and getting on with it. That's not to say we aren't afraid to argue the case and lobby Whitehall where it's needed. We are, and we've been successful at it - £97m secured from the Treasury to build a new Thameslink station to unlock plans for 7,500 new homes at Brent Cross and to regenerate the shopping centre.