New Southgate is a residential suburb straddling three Outer London Boroughs: a small part of the east of Barnet, a south-west corner of Enfield and in loosest definitions, based on nearest railway stations, a small northern corner of Haringey in North London, England where estates merge into Bounds Green.

The later mental health hospital closed in 1993 and has been redeveloped into two housing estates, Princess Park Manor and Friern Village in New Southgate.

The low-rise residential area with some mid-rise pockets and many small parks, recreation grounds, schools and playgrounds is characterised by housing estates with rear gardens, resulting in its relatively low population density.

From 1851 Southgate constituted a district chapelry under Edmonton which replaced the semi-private Ward Chapel at Arnos Grove built in the 17th century — immediately north-east of Betstyle.

Maps show the name Colney Hatch, interchangeably with New Southgate, coming to cover the more developed hamlet Betstyle, in the chapelry of Southgate within the parish of Edmonton; the refined hamlet and grand asylum outweighed the initial stigma in official maps and deeds, but less so in social organisations and in the naming of the railway station, the line of which resembles the historic split between the two parishes and later districts including today's boroughs.

[5] It saw very little change in the 19th century before the construction of the county lunatic asylum: in 1882 Colney Hatch was described "as a village which had sprung up to serve the staff".

The vast site operated for many decades, first under an enforced mass segregation regime which was later abolished nationwide, to treat the mentally unwell — Colney Hatch Lunatic Asylum.

All 19th century urban development was concentrated in the east on what had been Betstyle, 1 mile (1.6 km) from the rural centre of the ancient, that is to say medieval-founded, elongated parish of Friern Barnet to the northwest.

[6] St Paul's Church, New Southgate was consecrated in 1873,[7] taking part of its parish from Christ Church, Southgate and part from St James the Great, Friern Barnet, the latter transferring land east of the Great Northern Railway.

[9] Many tens of acres were bought and used by the second county lunatic asylum for Middlesex, as maps of before World War II show.

It originated in 1870 in a mission to the new district of Colney Hatch by the assistant curate of the church built seven years previously in Southgate.

The station is served by Great Northern and Thameslink trains, which link the area to destinations in Hertfordshire to the north, including Potter's Bar and Welwyn Garden City.

According to Inrix, the A406 between East Finchley and Edmonton (which passes through New Southgate), is the sixth most congested stretch of road in the UK.

A shared-use path for cyclists and pedestrians runs northbound from New Southgate to East Barnet through Brunswick Park.