The football club’s plan to return to the borough was first announced last February, with the National League side having played at The Hive Stadium over the border in Harrow for the past decade.
Up until 2013 Barnet FC played at Underhill Stadium in Westcombe Drive, close to the location where the club now wants to build a new home.
Club chairman Anthony Kleanthous and architects AndArchitects have now unveiled updated drawings and designs for the stadium, which is set to have a capacity of around 7,000.
The location of the new stadium has also been modified, with the original plan to locate it in the northern section of Barnet Playing Fields, adjacent to Ark Pioneer Academy, ditched in favour of a site on the south side of the playing fields, in an area that will “better suit” the school and local community.
In a statement the club said: “The plans for the stadium, to the south of the original location, allow for more rewilding and biodiversity features whilst better blending the stadium into the local environment.
“This includes trees across the east side of the stadium so local residents will retain nature-based views. This side will also be sunken into the soil, so the height of the stand only reaches a single story. This is the same for the south stand.
“The north and west stands will be the main hubs of the architecture and will feature the entirety of the football club operations. These stands will be out of view of local residents from the east and south sides of the land.”
This latest iteration of the stadium design comes after two public consultations were held in November.
However, some residents remain concerned that Barnet Playing Fields is located within the Green Belt and, although pleased the academy school will no longer be affected, say they are worried about what the benefits would be for non-football fans.
Robin Bishop, planning and environment lead at the Barnet Society, said: “Re-siting the stadium on Barnet Playing Fields instead of the academy playing fields would obviously be more acceptable for the academy, but would have adverse impacts on local residents, dogs and the environment.
“Since the latest plan is very light on design detail regarding the stadium or its surrounding landscape proposals, there’s not much the Barnet Society can yet say, except that it would obliterate a very substantial part of Barnet Playing Fields.
“There’s likely to be considerable local resistance to such a loss. Only generous provision of community facilities as part of the stadium and enrichment of the natural surroundings might have a chance of overcoming that.”
The club said it hopes to submit an application to Barnet Council by the end of the year.
