The floodlit 3G pitch planned for West Hendon Playing Fields will not be decided before summer 2027, because planners want a year of ecology surveys first.

A decision on the floodlit 3G football pitch planned for West Hendon Playing Fields will not be made until summer 2027 at the earliest. Barnet Council’s planners have asked for more ecology surveys before they decide, and some of those can only be done next spring and summer.

The delay is set out in a council update for the Welsh Harp Joint Consultative Committee, which meets on Wednesday 18 November. The committee brings together Barnet and Brent councils, the Canal and River Trust and the reservoir’s sailing, canoe and conservation groups.

What the pitch plan includes

The council’s own application, 26/2192/FUL, was received on 12 June and validated on 22 June 2026. It covers the sports centre site off Goldsmith Avenue, NW9, and proposes:

  • a 3G artificial grass pitch with perimeter fencing
  • floodlights
  • a storage container and hardstanding areas
  • a modular toilet and catering facility
  • an access footpath and a bund

The register still shows it as pending consideration.

According to the update, autumn surveys are under way now. Further surveys are needed next spring and summer, so no decision can come before summer 2027. The council also plans a funding bid to the Football Foundation, which worked with it on the pitch’s feasibility study. The timing of that bid is under review because it depends on the planning decision.

The pitch is part of the next phase of the playing fields masterplan, which Cabinet approved in July 2025. The report says that phase is working towards a sports hub “within current budget limitations”. Officers are also still reviewing how to deliver the remaining path, drainage and access works.

Silk Stream Bridge will not start this winter

Barratt’s bridge over the Silk Stream, part of the West Hendon estate scheme, is also running late. Its permission dates from 2018, and the materials, woodland, ecology and bird-feature conditions have now been signed off after Natural England reviewed them.

But the council says that “due to delays the project is not predicted to commence this winter”. A new start date is expected at the committee’s next meeting. The council has told Barratt it needs a detailed questions-and-answers page and clear communication with residents and the reservoir’s other landowners before work begins.

Other changes at the Welsh Harp

The same update records several smaller changes on the Barnet side of the reservoir:

  • The bus stop has a new name. The stop on the A5 has been called Priestley Way / Welsh Harp Reservoir since 18 October, after the council asked TfL to rename it.
  • 52 bird species and six bat species were recorded by five wildlife sound monitors left on the site from 3 June to 2 July 2026, run with the charity Citizen Zoo.
  • Bird ringing will continue this winter. The council and the Canal and River Trust have given a qualified volunteer permission for another season.
  • Beaver experts have looked at the reservoir. Citizen Zoo led a walkover and a beaver suitability assessment with Natural England, the London Wildlife Trust and the Beaver Trust. The report does not say any release is planned.
  • Fewer, bigger bins. Damaged bins are being replaced by the end of March 2027, with fewer, larger bins placed near the entrances.

Fly-tipping remains a problem, the report says, with several major dumps cleared along Cool Oak Lane over the summer. The council is also investigating a case of unauthorised encroachment onto the nature reserve on its western boundary.

Brent Council’s own update for the same meeting covers the Brent side of the water, in Kingsbury. Brent applied on 25 August 2026, under its reference 26/2156, to replace the Welsh Harp Centre in Birchen Grove with a one-storey environmental education and community centre.

What it means for you

If you want to comment on the pitch, you still can. The council’s report says comments can be emailed to planning.consultation@barnet.gov.uk, quoting 26/2192/FUL, up to the date a decision is made. They can also be left on the application page.

If you want to help on the reservoir, The Conservation Volunteers run Welsh Harp Wednesdays on the Barnet side, every Wednesday from 10am to 3pm. Brent’s free health walks leave from the Welsh Harp Open Space end of Birchen Grove, Kingsbury, on Thursdays from 10am to 11am.

The committee meets online on 18 November. Its agenda has a slot for public questions and comments.