Barnet’s plans to build a new stadium and return to its home borough have been dealt a significant early blow, after the local council said the project was “highly unlikely to be acceptable”.
The National League club announced its intention to leave The Hive in Harrow and start the process for a 6,000-8,000-capacity stadium in Barnet.
The ground would be built just metres from the site of the club’s former home, Underhill Stadium, which is now a school.
The project, budgeted at up to £14million, would be funded entirely by chairman Tony Kleanthous. But, although Kleanthous ambitiously said he wanted the club to be in its new home by the start of the 2026-27 season, the process is set to be a complicated one.
A spokesperson for Barnet Council said: “While it would be good to welcome Barnet FC back to their home borough, the club has to be realistic about the planning challenges for situating a stadium.
“To date, we have been unable to move forward as they are yet to propose an acceptable site. In our effort to find them a home in Barnet several sites have been looked at but were considered to be unsuitable.
“The Underhill location is highly unlikely to be acceptable because it is on greenbelt land.”
In order to build on the site, plans must demonstrate that the development benefits outweigh the detriment. That is despite the original stadium, of a similar capacity, previously being on the same greenbelt land.
The council say it is “very hard” to see how Barnet can successfully present that case.
“However, our doors are always open to examine other options,” the statement continued.
Concerns have been raised too over the pressure on local roads, though the project does include plans for a drop-off zone to be built for school pupils in an attempt to alleviate rush-hour traffic.
Barnet left the borough to move to The Hive in 2013, amid long-standing lease issues with the council.
Kleanthous, club chairman since 1994, says he always intended to bring the club back to its “spiritual home”, and hoped to receive the green light after unveiling the South Underhill plans.
“Barnet has had time as a council to realise what they have lost,” he told Standard Sport. “We’re an amazing community asset.
“You hope that Barnet council will look at that and think: ‘Are we mad? Why are we not giving them all the support we can?’”
Kleanthous has urged the club’s fans to play their part in emphasising the strength of feeling behind a long-awaited return to Barnet.
“Ultimately, it will be down to supporters to convince Barnet council that this is the right thing to do,” he said.
“Some haven’t ever embraced the move [to The Hive], because they felt I should have tried harder to find a solution in Barnet. I really did try.
“This is an opportunity for them to stand up and help make it happen. Get on those keyboards that you use so readily to complain about not being in Barnet, and advocate for us being in Barnet. It’s an opportunity.”
After finalising the current proposal for 18 months, Kleanthous maintains the development would benefit all parties, from the local residents and school to the club itself.
“It doesn’t happen very often in life, but sometimes there are things that are actually a win for everybody,” he said.
“We have been plagued in the past by politics. There doesn’t need to be a battle here.”
