This London village located near the boundary of the M25 is a fairly recently built neighbourhood that combines the charms of a rural area with the benefits of a fast commute to the city centre. Serviced by both the Cockfosters Underground Station and New Barnet Station, trains run to the centre every thirty minutes, making this an ideal neighbourhood for those who work in the city, but prefer a more rural landscape. There is a total of six green spaces in this area, with the colossal hidden north London gem, Trent Park, stretching far beyond its boundaries in the eastern side. Trent Park covers an area of 3.2 square kilometres, where visitors and residents can enjoy activities such as angling, racket sports, cricket, football, dog walking, golf and horse riding. All the open green spaces and fresh air don’t mean that the conveniences of city-living are sacrificed, as there is a dense cluster of food markets, restaurants and cafes along East Barnet Road. Overall, this area is the perfect place to visit if you are itching for some outdoor activities.

This neighbourhood area was historically a large rural area with a sparse population. In the 14th century, the area began to be populated by wealthy elites who built large estates on the land, which were grazed and cultivated by a small number of peasants. One of these land-owners was William Pymme, who the Pymmes Brook in the northern part of this neighbourhood is now named after. The house was later occupied by a number of other notable elites over its history, including Thomas Wilson (1524-1581), the co-secretary to Queen Mary and William Cecil, first Baron Burghley (1520-1598), who was a close confidant to Queen Elizabeth I. Unfortunately, the house was completely demolished in 1940 after it was destroyed by fire.

New Barnet Station was opened in 1850, a mile from the town centre and with staggered platforms. It was not until 25 years after this, when the service from Finsbury Park opened that the area started to develop. Although the station was refurbished in the 1980s, the original station booking office and overbridge between platforms were retained. However, they were lost in a fire in 1989, leading to another refurbishment in 2006.

Unfortunately, vandalism and burglary are the most frequent crimes to occur in this neighbourhood area. Violent crimes are extremely rare, however, and conversations with residents stated that the majority of this happened in the town centre of East Barnet.

Housing continues to be an issue in this north London borough, and as a result, the local council aims to alleviate pressure by building 35,000 new homes over the next 15 years, of which 50% will be affordable. The council is also working with Visit London in order to boost the local economy through tourism, which is expected to increase dramatically with the opening of the Crossrail service in the coming decade. This will mainly be focused around the area’s green spaces, where investments will be given towards the creation of new tourist attractions.

The local council have expressed a desire to continue to preserve the green spaces that are integral to this neighbourhood area in an effort to protect the existing green belt boundary which is one of the largest areas of rural landscape in London. Nonetheless, housing continues to be an issue in this north London borough, and as a result, the local council aims to alleviate pressure by building 35,000 new homes over the next 15 years, of which 50% will be affordable. Therefore, building will only be allowed on brownfield sites (areas where building has previously occurred) in order to help alleviate existing development pressure on the local community by creating new affordable housing for residents. There are therefore a number of projects currently underway in this neighbourhood, the largest of which are the four new apartment buildings under construction on Cockforsters Road. A similar scheme is set to be completed on Cockfosters Road in 2024 adjacent to the picturesque Trent Park.