6 Lynton Avenue

Finchley

London N12 9JH

1st April 2000

Dear Sir,

I would like to comment on the process of arriving at a proposal for the future of the old Gaumont site at Tally Ho.

It is important to seek as many imaginative suggestions and alternatives as possible. One good way of doing this is to set up a competition to which every local individual, group, and school class could respond. The results would be published in the local libraries. Then local residents could then make an informed choice.

In addition, the opinion of local residents must be validly tested by random opinion poll carried out on a Saturday at peak hours around the site.

The poll might include questions such as :

Question 1 - Would you like to see at Tally Ho any combination of the following:

* improved bus waiting facilities

* a car park

* open market

* garden

* covered market such as the one at Wood Green

* open (or maybe glass roofed) cafe area such as the one at the Spires

* shops

* health and fitness centre

* arts centre

* low cost flats

* deluxe "apartments"

Question 2 - If you are in favour of a building, how many stories do you think it should be ?

From this the most imaginative, useful, and popular development could be selected - whether it would be a garden or Tower block

But this has not happened. Instead of this apparently very reasonable procedure:

* In complete contradiction to the vaunted "Local consultation" policy, (you spoke we listen), a fully developed proposal has presented, without any consultation with local residents having taken place. Such an important site must cater for the interests of the majority - not the minority.

* A major part of this development, the Arts and Fitness centres, is of interest to a minority only. Arts centres attract relatively little interest, as can be seen from the example of the poorly attended South Bank complex. In addition, there is already a Fitness centre close by.

* This major scheme is now being rushed through to the planning committee with unseemly haste.

* A postal opinion poll has been held after the publishing of the scheme, to which only a small fraction of local people have replied. The data obtained is obviously statistically meaningless, but a long report was published about the data.

* A mendacious headline has appeared in the Community News published by Barnet Council declaring astonishingly that "Nine out of ten back Tally Ho" implying at first glance that the great majority of the local residents approved of the scheme.

The hypocrisy of the action of the proposing group in Barnet Council is so astonishing that I conclude that it has another hidden agenda.

Can someone please tell (a) if there is anything unreasonable about my request for public consultation and (b) what is the hidden agenda involved.

Yours Faithfully

Philip Bowman