Plans for Hendon hub and Finchley shul improvements backed by Barnet Council
Jewish Futures' proposal in Brent Street will involve a communal hub to replace the Post Office, while a synagogue gets a green light to go ahead with 'environmental retrofit'
Two Jewish community projects were given a boost on Tuesday night as they both won unanimous approval and planning permission from Barnet Council.
Rabbi Naftali Schiff’s ambitious plan for a communal hub in Brent Street, Hendon, was successful and will mean the demolition — and eventual replacement — of the current Post Office.
The Jewish Futures group, which will build a four-storey building with a museum, a gift shop and cafe, has a legal obligation to find a new site in Brent Street for the Post Office, though its agent, giving evidence to the councillors, admitted no new site had yet been found.
But she said the current Post Office would not close until a new operation was up and running. The Jewish Futures group says it will be open to all sections of the community. Its new centre will have a maximum capacity of 300, but no parking space has been allocated within the new building.
In Finchley, meanwhile, there was joy as Finchley Progressive Synagogue got the green light from Barnet’s Planning Committee to go ahead with “environmental retrofit” plans to improve its building. Richard Allen Greene, chair of the synagogue’s building committee, said costs would not be known as it had been impossible to ask for tenders from builders until planning permission was received.
But, he said: “FPS will be 70 in 2023. It’s my hope that in Rosh Hashanah of that year we can open the doors of the improved synagogue and say, this building will take us into the next generation”.
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
