Council service changes over Christmas and New Year
Contacting us
If you need to contact us over the festive period, our customer contact centre will be open as usual between Christmas and New Year (apart from Thursday 25 and Friday 26 December and Thursday 1 January, which are bank holidays).
The out-of-hours service will still be answered 24 hours a day for emergencies. See full contact details here
Bins
Blue recycling bin and black refuse bin collections will return to normal collection days from the week commencing Monday 5 January 2026.
Check the revised recycling and refuse collection days
The first garden waste collections in the new year will either take place on Saturday 25 January or Saturday 1 February.
Real Christmas trees placed at the boundary of your property will be collected on Saturday 10 January or Saturday 17 January. Please ensure your real Christmas tree has all decorations and tree lights removed, is cut in half and put at the boundary of your property before 10 January.
If you would like your tree to be collected a little earlier, for a small donation, volunteers will collect Christmas trees between Wednesday 7 and Friday 9 January in aid of North London Hospice. The postcode areas served are: N2, N3, N9, N11, N12, N13, N14, N18, N20, N21, NW11, EN1, EN2, EN3, EN4, EN5, EN6, or EN8. Find out more, including how to book a slot.
Libraries
Here are all the changes to opening hours at Barnet's libraries over the Christmas period:
- Wednesday 24 December - all libraries close at 1pm
- Thursday 25 and Friday 26 December - all libraries closed
- Saturday 27 December - all libraries open as normal
- Sunday 28 December - all libraries closed
- Monday 29 and Tuesday 30 December - all libraries open as normal
- Wednesday 31 December - all libraries close at 5pm
- Thursday 1 January - all libraries closed
- Friday 2 January - all libraries open as normal
Chipping Barnet Library is currently closed for electrical works and will reopen on Monday 5 January 2026.
Leisure centres
All council-owned leisure centres will be closed on Monday 22, Thursday 25 and Friday 26 December and Thursday 1 January. From Tuesday 23 December until Wednesday 31 December they will be operating with reduced hours. Normal hours will resume on Friday 2 January.