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⚡ 3 Cool N2 Community Projects

newly planted garden with seating area — Have a moment of quiet reflection at Leopold Road Neighbourhood Garden

Community is the name of the game for us here at Finchley Now. Let’s put the spotlight on a few local projects.

The East Finchley Community Trust is a local charity set up to make life better for people in East Finchley and the surrounding area. It works to protect the environment, improve parks and play spaces, look after public facilities, and support education, skills, and community learning. And they support three great projects.

1: Leopold Road Neighbourhood Garden

A volunteer-led green space on Leopold Road in East Finchley, the Neighbourhood Garden transforms a small plot into a pollinator-friendly pocket park. Through planting native flowers and creating habitat, it supports local bees, hoverflies, and other beneficial insects while providing a tranquil, community-nurtured haven on the street. Insta.

2: Friends of Market Place Playground

A community initiative centred on enhancing the local playground. Just recently the donor sign has gone up in the playground featuring a short history of the area and thanking all major donors and supporters. There was not enough room to include every one of the hundreds of individuals and local businesses who championed them. That’s what we call community. Insta.

3: East Finchley Pollinator Project

Dedicated to supporting local pollinators through community “nectar cafés” and planting projects. Insta.

To find out what’s on in N2, checkout I Love N2 Insta. This is your sign to connect with a local community programme. ⚡

Events

OLDER PEOPLE

Thursday 11th September

Beginners Bridge Club | Thu, Sep. 11 | 3:00 pm to 4:00 pm | Wilmot Community Centre, Tarling Road, N2 8LB | £64 for 8 weeks | Looking to learn something new and make new friends? Come along to the age UK friendly Beginners Bridge Club, starting 11 September, every Wednesday from 3.00–4.30pm. No experience needed. | To book your place, email or call 07384 466 840.

COMMUNITY

Tuesday 26th August

Friday 5th September

Rangeelu Gujarat | Fri, Sep. 05 | 11:00 am to 6:00 pm | Roe Green Park, NW9 9HA | £6 | Rangeelu Gujarat 2025 is an immersive celebration of Gujarat’s rich culture, combining tradition with vibrant modern-day experiences. Whether you're here to dance, taste, create, or connect, there’s something for everyone to enjoy and cherish.

Saturday 7th September

'Finchley Goes To War' - guided walk | Sun, Sep. 7 | 2:30 pm to 4:30 pm | Starts at Henly's Corner | Various tickets ranging from free to £15 + booking fee | Commemorating the 111th anniversary of the First Battle of the MarneIn. Men and women volunteered or were recruited to serve, letters were written to loved ones back at home, hospital staff nursed the injured, families tried to keep going in the absence of breadwinners, modern technologies were adapted to urgent needs. This will be a gentle 2-hour walk starting at Henly’s Corner and ending in Finchley Central.

Saturday 13th September

OperaCocktail by OperaUpClose | Sat, Sep. 13 | 3:00 pm to 4:00 pm | artsdepot | Tickets from £19 | A delicious cocktail of classics by Puccini, Mozart, Verdi and more, in sparkling English translations with a contemporary twist, performed by the UK’s brightest and best.

Summer Party - Onestonegrove | Sat, Sep. 13 | 12:00 pm to 3:00 pm | Onestonegrove, 5 hayling Way, HA8 8BN | Free | Unleash your creativity at the Arts & Crafts station. Bounce 'til you drop on the Bouncy Castle. Get a magical makeover with Face Painting. Groove to awesome Music and challenge your friends to Games.

KIDS

Wednesday 27th August

SPORT

Saturday 13th September

The Play-Off’s: Free competitive socialising | Sat, Sep. 13 | Exploratory Park and Claremont Park, Brent Cross Town, NW2 1FE | Free | Get ready for The Play-Offs – the UK’s first FREE competitive socialising weekender, landing at Brent Cross Town this September for a whole weekend of high-energy fun, fitness and friendly rivalry.

NATURE

Saturday 30th August

Bioblitz | Sat, Aug. 30 | 1:00 pm to 2:30 pm | Barnet Environment Centre, Byng Road, EN5 4NP | Free | Barnet Environment Centre are running a Bioblitz on Sat 30th Aug - where you count all the species in their grounds. Ages 8+. Under 16s need to be accompanied by an adult. Sign up on their website. There is also a members only Dawn Chorus (bird survey) and evening Bat Walk.

Thursday 4th September

A walk through Finchley Church End Town Centre, Past, Present and Future | Thu, Sep. 4 | 10:30 am to 12:00 am | Meet outside the entrance to St Mary-at-Finchley, N3 1TR | Free | Join for a walk though the town centre, stopping at 6 'points of interest' observing heritage features, interesting art and architecture, and learning about connections that Finchley has with famous people, such as J.M.W. Turner, Isaac Newton and Lewis Hamilton. The walk is approximately 0.7 mile and finishes on Ballards Lane just South of Victoria Park.

Events - Book Ahead

Friday 10th October

Hub Connections, World Mental Health Day Event | Fri, Oct. 10 | The Meritage Centre, Church End, NW4BY 4JT | Free | In honour of World Mental HealthDay, well being barnets next #HubConnections event will focus on making mental health a priority in the workplace.

Sunday 26th October

Local Lowdown

Hollybush House before the fire | Image from Google

Rebuilding

Rising from the ashes. Hollybush House in Monken Hadley, the Grade II-listed gem ravaged by fire in May, could soon see new life. Plans are now with the Council to rebuild the 18th-century home. Its roof and interior are almost completely destroyed. Thankfully, no one was hurt.

Building

Bricks are flying up at New Barnet’s Victoria Quarter, where 420 flats are rising fast. But locals aren’t cheering just yet. The much-loved tunnel footpath under the railway is closed after safety worries. Network Rail hasn’t explained what repairs are needed.

Slowing

Barnet Council wants your say on its draft 20mph Zone Policy. The plan aims to cut speeds and boost road safety, especially for kids and other vulnerable road users. No blanket rollout - zones will be community or council-led. Have your say in the consultation before decisions are made this September.

Snapping

Picture this. The Barnet & Finchley Photographic Society has filled Chipping Barnet Library with amazing photos, and now you can be the judge. Drop by, cast your vote for the best snap, and maybe pick up some inspiration.

Acing

Local brainboxes are smashing it again. With 86% clinching a standard GCSE pass (well above the national and London averages), and 42% nabbing top grades, our local teens are officially overachievers. Copthall and Finchley Catholic students are part of a proud group. It’s time for celebrations, and maybe some cake.

The Finchleyite: Regents Park Road

This bus just can't squeeze through the new road markings

Regents Park Road has a history going back over 200 years – in fact 2026 is the anniversary of the parliamentary act allowing its construction.

Two weekends ago we saw changes to the road layout between Henley’s Corner and the junction with East End Road / Gravel Hill. New bus lanes and road markings, and some changes to street furniture. There are further weekend works planned.

This is part of Barnet’s delivery of TFL’s London Bus Priority Programme. Barnet conducted a statutory consultation on 28 November 2024, closing on 19 December 2024 – you can see the plans here.

Some in the local community feel the consultation process was ineffective with many affected unaware of the proposals until road closure warnings for the works began to appear.

There is serious concern about pedestrian and driver safety. This is based on narrow lanes, narrow parking spaces, traffic straddling "the middle of the road line" and hazardous pinch points.

There’s a local WhatsApp group specifically talking about how to solve these vital local issues – if you’d like to join, here's the link

All about protecting the safety of all Finchley residents.

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Editors' Note - From Tessa

Had a week in Los Angeles with my 18 year old just before she is set to leave home.

Checked out Hollywood, walked amongst the stars, and hung out on Santa Monica beach.

It was very special.

Also, let us know about local events or local news. We curate our content to keep it a 5-minute read, so can't include everything we're sent.

You can now get a guaranteed (paid) listing for local events or local lowdown/news items.

And email us with any projects or ideas you'd like us to write about.

Tessa Davis

Sasha Frieze

Finchley Now

🗞️ The new (controversial) bus lane in Finchley