Barnet Council has been slammed for declaring the completion of works to improve a busy junction while an “enormous eyesore” remains in place.

Local Labour councillors criticised the town hall over the “horrendous” red steel framework left at the junction of Cricklewood Lane and Cricklewood Broadway, after it was recently widened.

A parade of shops on Cricklewood Lane was knocked down to enable the widening to take place. Barnet Council says proposals for the site are due to come forward in the new year, and the propping will “remain in place to secure the site” in the meantime.

But Labour’s Cllr Anne Clarke said that if development was planned for the site, it would have been better to decide it ahead of time to avoid “many months of this eyesore followed by construction”.

Cllr Clarke said: “Cricklewood town centre has been left vandalised by Barnet Council. They’ve installed a high palisade fence and an enormous red structure in the town centre. There is no planning application for this and it was never part of the plan. They have whitewashed it and called it ‘an opportunity’. It’s not an opportunity, it’s a disaster.”

Her Labour colleague Alan Schneiderman said many residents thought the widening works were still going on because the “horrendous” structure had been left behind, adding that there had been “no apparent improvement to traffic locally”.

Cllr Clarke claimed Conservative councillors wanted to build flats at the site, while Cllr Schneiderman alleged the real purpose of the widening was “feeding heavy vehicles into the waste transfer site and the aggregate super hub approved by the Conservatives”.

Peter Zinkin, a Conservative councillor for Childs Hill, described these claims as “factually incorrect”, adding that the works were agreed with Transport for London (TfL), the mayor of London and government “many years ago” and had “nothing to do with the aggregate depot”.

He said: “We accept that the current state of the site is not satisfactory, and is only an interim step in the process. The team is currently working out next steps regarding use of the site and the aesthetics of it. Before any decisions are made, this will of course go to committee.”

A council spokesperson said: “The highways improvement works completed in Cricklewood were agreed as part of the planning permission for the Brent Cross Cricklewood regeneration programme. The main purpose of the works was to deliver additional capacity for vehicles travelling through the junction and included improvements to the traffic signals, footways and the installation of a new controlled pedestrian crossing facility.

“The demolition necessary to facilitate the improvement works has been completed and the council is now considering the future use of the land at the former pharmacy on Cricklewood Broadway and Cricklewood Lane, with proposals due to come forward in the new year. 

“The propping and palisade fencing will remain in place to secure the site until the future proposals come forward; however, the council understands residents’ concerns and [is] currently looking at ways to improve the look of the area in the meantime.”