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Home , Brunswick Park, Burnt Oak, Colindale, Friern Barnet, Mill Hill, Osidge

Mayor of and Authority Elections – 6 May 2021

Polling arrangements on behalf of the Constituency Returning Officer for the

Introduction On 6 February 2021, the Government advised that the and London Assembly elections will go ahead as planned on 6 May 2021. Electoral Services are working hard to ensure that polling stations will be safe places to vote. To prepare for these elections Electoral Services have visited every polling place in the borough to assess their suitability for use, given the social distancing requirements and other COVID secure arrangements that will be necessary at these elections. Following consultation with Barnet’s Health and Safety Team and Public Health Colleagues, the Electoral Commission’s Polling Station Assessment Form was adapted to include COVID specific considerations, and this was used for every visit. Key to the considerations were:  Space available for queuing (either outside and/or inside the venue)  Capacity of the venue within social distancing requirements  Potential to apply a one-way system (e.g. separate entrance and exits)  Ventilation available within the venue (e.g. opening windows or air conditioning etc) Where a polling venue was assessed as being unsuitable to manage the numbers of electors expected to vote there (based on previous elections), alternative venues were investigated.

Further review of schools used as polling places The Ministers of State for the Cabinet Office and for Schools Standards sent a letter on 11 February to all Returning Officers and Headteachers requesting that schools are not used as polling places ‘where it is practically possible to do so; in particular, we are clear that where schools would be required to close, Returning Officers should look to other available venues first’. Following this Electoral Services conducted a further review of all 31 polling districts where a school is a designated polling place. Potential alternative venues were identified for 8 schools and following further investigation and visits 6 have been assessed as suitable (and are included in the table below). Of the 25 schools that will still be used as polling venues, 11 expect to remain open on polling day with additional arrangements in place to ensure pupils continue to be safeguarded. Feedback from those schools will close is that they are continuing to explore ways to ensure pupils do not lose teaching times. If should be noted that, in Barnet a review of polling arrangements is conducted every year (in addition to the statutory review every five years) and all potential alternative polling sites that have been identified or that are put forward are assessed. The review criteria for polling stations, as laid out by the Electoral Commission, are that they must be easy to find and within easy reach for all electors within a defined area. Polling stations should also be accessible for people with disabilities and they must be ‘affordable’. In order to assist Councils and Returning Officers in meeting these requirements for polling stations, Electoral legislation makes publicly funded buildings (and specifically schools) the only venues whereby a Returning Officer has a right to use them by law. Schools should only be used where there is no practical and affordable alternative. However, it is often the case that only a school can meet the specific criteria.

2 Polling venue changes for 6 May 2021 New Proposed new Polling type of Comments / PD Ward Current Polling Place Place(s) for GLA 2021 polling rationale place Portable Office (Brunswick MOVE TO: Move away from Park Road), Library portable offices. CCC in the Car Park, Brunswick Brunswick Park Road, Library Moving to Park Road, Osidge, adjacent polling Southgate N11 1HA London N11 1EY district Move away from MOVE TO: Portable Office (Balmoral portable offices. St John’s Parish Centre Avenue/ Regal Drive) at Church hall at CDB Coppetts St John’s Church, Hall Junction of Balmoral Avenue/ border of Road, Regal Drive N11 3QA adjacent polling London N11 3EQ district MOVE TO: Move from school St Andrew’s JMI School Village Hall venue to village CFA Totteridge The Green, Totteridge N20 Badgers Croft Hall hall within the 8NX (Off Totteridge Lane), polling district. Totteridge N20 8AH School buildings MOVE TO: not available. The Sports Pavilion Catholic High School Alternative venue Finchley Catholic High CFD Totteridge Woodside Lane, Finchley N12 Hall on school playing School Playing Fields, 8TA fields (just Southover, outside polling London N12 7ES district) MOVE TO: Move away from Portable Office (The Green) Brooklands Infant portable offices. The Green, Widecombe School Primary FJB Garden Merge with Way/Vivian Way, London N2 Hill Top, School adjacent polling 0HL Garden Suburb, district London NW11 6EJ Move away from Portable Office (Synagogue, MOVE TO: portable offices. Norrice Lea) in the Car Park, St Jude’s Church Hall FJC Garden Suburb Hall Merge with The Synagogue, Norrice Lea, 1 South Square, adjacent polling Garden Suburb N2 0RE London NW11 7AH district MOVE TO: Move from school Claremont Primary School Carey Hall venue to hall FLC Claremont Road, 58a Claremont Road, Hall within polling NW2 1AB Cricklewood, district London NW2 1BU

MOVE TO: Moving away John Keble Church Deansbrook Infant School from school. Hall HOC Hale Church Close, Hall Hale Drive, London NW7 3ED is within the off Deans Lane, polling district HA8 9NT MOVE TO: Move away from Baden Powell Centre Portable Office at Harvester portable offices. John Keble Church, HOD Hale Car Park, Selvage Lane, Hall Moving to Church Close, Edgware HA8 9RZ adjacent polling off Deans Lane, district Edgware HA8 9NT

3 MOVE TO: Moving away Dollis Primary School East Church from school. Hall HPD Mill Hill Pursley Road, Mill Hill Hall Pursley Road, Mill Hill is within the NW7 2BU NW7 2BU polling district

St Mary & St John CE School MOVE TO: Move away from Bennett House, Library school venue to HQB Hendon Library Sunningfields Road, The Burroughs, Hendon library within Hendon NW4 4QR NW4 4BQ polling district Community CHANGE TO: West Hendon Community Centre not School Centre available. Moving HRD West Hendon Hyde Crescent/ School Marsh Drive, West Hendon to adjacent , NW9 7QE polling district Hendon NW9 7EY within existing polling place. Estate Management CHANGE TO: Estate Management Suite Suite not Barnet Council Offices HSD 16 Heritage Avenue, Beaufort Hall available. Moving 2 Bristol Avenue Park, London NW9 5EN to new venue Colindale NW9 4EW within the polling district. Watling CHANGE TO: Community Watling Community Centre Library Centre used as HTD Burnt Oak 145 Orange Hill Road, Library 99 Watling Avenue, Testing Site, Edgware HA8 0TR Edgware HA8 0UB Change to Burnt Oak Library

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