Golders Green conservation area
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Location
The Golders Green Town Centre conservation area lies in the southern tip of Barnet close to Hampstead Garden Suburb. It is located about half way between Chipping Barnet, to the north of the borough, and London’s West End. It lies to the south of the Finchley Ridge Natural Landscape Area.
The Conservation Area is comprised of Golders Green town centre together with the railway and bus/coach station.
The shopping centre straddles the main roads, namely Finchley Road which runs north to south, and Golders Green Road and North End Road which run east to west. The junction of these roads, marked by a war memorial, creates a notable centre for the conservation area.
The conservation area straddles 2 administrative wards (Childs Hill and Hampstead Garden Suburb).
There is a population of over 16,000 people living within the Golders Green area of which approximately 400 live within the Conservation Area.
Description
Golders Green Town Centre is almost exclusively made up of purpose built parades with retail uses on the ground floor and residential above. The shops are split between national chains and those selling goods catering for niche markets. There is a tradition of providing high quality shops and catering for local groups such as the predominant Jewish and Japanese communities.
The parades have traditionally included many cafes and notable restaurants, and still do so today. Many cater specifically for the Jewish community such as Solly’s restaurant on Golders Green Road. Staple goods such as food and household items are catered for by supermarkets such as Sainsbury’s, which has stores on both Finchley Road and Golders Green Road.
The shopping parades were originally conceived to meet the needs of the residential population which expanded rapidly following the development of the Golders Green underground station. However today the historic nature and tradition of the commercial centre and the full range of high street uses such as banks, buildings societies and estate agents ensures a wider catchment area beyond the surrounding residential streets and Hampstead Garden Suburb.
Principal leisure uses today include numerous restaurants and cafes which ensure the area is lively and active throughout the day and into the night. A night time economy has its obvious benefits but as in all areas of this type, issues can arise that can create disturbance to residents and local businesses on occasion.
Adapted garage and storage buildings off the narrow service roads (behind the parades) such as Accommodation Road and St. Albans Lane provide a mixture of small, mainly light industrial and business uses. The rear of the shop parades have a varied and distinctive character. Because of the nature of their use, acting as a service area to the shops and providing a frontage to the businesses opposite, they can be cluttered, and there are occasional problems with flytipping. The railway arches off Finchley Road provide accommodation for industries such as garage workshops.
The Conservation Area includes a number of places of worship including the Golders Green Hippodrome, which is adjacent to the underground station, St. Michael’s Church (which became the Greek Orthodox Cathedral of the Holy Cross and St. Michael in 1970) at the extreme western end of Golders Green Road, St. Alban’s the Martyr on North End Road along with a number of mainly small synagogues which tend to re-use other buildings, such as at 5 – 11 Broadwalk Lane.
The railway interchange and bus / coach station dominate the junction of Finchley Road with Golders Green Road and North End Road. The area is very busy and noisy with buses, coaches and associated passenger traffic, particularly at peak times, when conflict can arise between traffic and pedestrian needs.
Parking is both limited and restricted on all roads surrounding the town centre. The bustling commuters and shops add to the energetic vibrancy of the area, creating opportunities for further economic prosperity and emphasising the need for a well designed public realm.