Barnet have announced plans to leave The Hive and build a new stadium, ending what chairman Tony Kleanthous has described as a “ten-year exile in Harrow”.
Underhill Stadium was Barnet’s home for more than a century, before the club relocated in 2013 amid lease disputes with the council.
The Bees have played at The Hive since then, though Kleanthous has made clear his desire to one day bring the club back to its original home.
Underhill has been demolished, but the process of moving the club back to Barnet is set to begin, with plans for a new stadium with a capacity of up to 8,000. WSP Planning Consultancy have been instructed to commence the pre-application process.
A statement from Kleanthous read: “During the long months of Covid, I busied myself with trying to find a way to bring the club back home and met with Barnet Council to ask for their support in locating a suitable site on which I could build a new stadium.
“I undertook to fund the full cost of construction so that we could progress without any funding delays.
“After months of searching, it became clear that the best site was the one we originally identified at South Underhill and so we asked our architect to revisit these proposals. This new scheme is a redesigned slimmed down version of our original planning application at the South Underhill site.”
Barnet have pledged to put a school in the area “at the forefront of the project”, with a drop-off zone for pupils included in plans to help address rush hour traffic problems. There will also be two Multi Use Game Areas, as well as a training pitch next to the new stadium.
The club are expected to provide an update on progress at the end of the month.
“We hope that we will receive the full support of Barnet FC fans, local residents and the council so that we can bring our incredible club back to where it belongs,” Kleanthous said.
