Scheme had been rejected by Barnet council
City Hall has overturned Barnet council’s rejection of a 1,485-home regeneration scheme in north London.
Proposals for the redevelopment of Great North Leisure Park in Finchley were brought forward by Arada London, then known as Regal, in January 2025.
As well as a large residential component, Arada’s plans include a replacement for the commercial leisure centre that currently occupies the site, as well as more than 4,000 sq m of public realm and a sports pavilion.
Barnet council refused the application in December 2025, but it was subsequently called in by the mayor of London, whose deputy, Jules Pipe, this week issued his determination on the scheme.
The site has been in use for swimming-based recreation since the 1930s with the opening of the Finchley Open Air Pool, which made way in the early 1990s for the commercial leisure centre that currently occupies the site.
With the council-owned facility approaching the end of its life, the local authority’s cabinet identified redevelopment including the provision of a new leisure centre as its preferred option in November 2023.
However, the proposals designed by JTP Architects and brought forward by Arada were rejected by Barnet on the basis that their “high density and excessive height, scale, massing, and bulk” would be an “overdevelopment on the site”, as well as the fact that the application “does not include a formal undertaking to secure the planning obligations which are necessary for the development to be found acceptable”.
The scheme comprises several residential buildings arranged around courtyards, plus the leisure centre and pavilion, rising to 25 storeys at its tallest. No objections were raised by the Environment Agency or Natural England.
Following a call-in hearing, the deputy mayor resolved to grant planning permission subject to the conclusion of a s106 legal agreement.
A decision report published this week by the mayor of London’s office said that the design and layout of the development were “well considered and would optimise development capacity”, and that its officers had not identified “unacceptably harmful neighbourhood amenity impacts including a loss of daylight, sunlight, and outlook”.
A quarter of the residential units by habitable room are to be designated affordable, with a 60:40 tenure split between social rent and London shared ownership.
The developer says that the scheme’s landscaping, play areas, ecological corridors and green roofs will deliver a 150% biodiversity net gain uplift.
“London continues to fall significantly short of its housing targets, with schemes such as Great North Leisure Park capable of contributing in a meaningful way to the capital’s housing needs,” said Steve Harrington, planning director at Arada London.
“Having submitted our proposals for the site more than a year ago, in January 2025, and experienced unnecessary and costly delays, we are pleased to be progressing the scheme with the support of the Greater London Authority on one of the borough’s largest underused sites.
“GNLP will make a tangible contribution to the local community, delivering amenities and new green spaces that will support the health and wellbeing of local residents and visitors.”
Regal London was purchased by the UAE-based Arada Group in September 2025, subsequently being renamed Arada London.
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