Housing and Economic Land Availability Assessment (HELAA)

Further to the approval of the Local Development Scheme (opens in new tab)Update at Cabinet on 6^th March 2025, Hertsmere Borough Council is updating its draft Housing and Economic Land Availability Assessment (HELAA) to identify land available for potential future housing and economic development sites. This will inform the preparation of our new Local Plan. The Council is also seeking to identify sites for other land uses.

To assist in determining whether sites are potentially available, suitable or achievable for housing, economic development, or any other land use, please complete and return the brief online survey per site.

The deadline for submission for this call for sites is 5pm on 24^thApril 2025.

Take the Hertsmere Borough Council call for sites 2025 survey (opens in new tab) which opens in a new window. (Please note, the survey cannot accept submissions started but not completed by this deadline).

Please note:

If you are a member of the public and are not submitting a specific site to be considered for development in our Local Plan, there is no need to respond to the Call for Sites or to resubmit views on sites included in previous Local Plan consultations.
If you are a developer, landowner or consultant intending to promote a new site for development in the borough, please do so using our online survey form (opens in new tab).
If you are a developer, landowner or consultant and are intending to resubmit a previously promoted site with no substantive changes to the site, you should still use our online survey form (opens in new tab) but you will be directed through a shorter version of the survey. However, it is important that you respond so that we can establish whether the site remains available.

Site Submissions

The survey allows for the submission of both new sites and updates to previously submitted sites. If you have responded to an earlier call for sites you can provide information on any substantial changes to the site or more limited updates on site delivery. We are encouraging delivery updates for all previously submitted sites.

Types of Sites

The Council is particularly interested in receiving information about:

Housing and Specialist Accommodation

Any material or significant updates to existing submitted sites (Housing and Employment Land Availability Assessment listed sites), plus information on site delivery.
New brownfield sites within built-up areas (minimum of 5 dwellings capacity).
Specialist housing sites for younger and older people’s housing.
Sites for Gypsy, Traveller and Travelling Showpeople pitches / plots.

Employment

Any material or significant updates to existing submitted sites (Housing and Employment Land Availability Assessment listed sites), plus information on site delivery.
New sites of 0.25 hectares (or 500 square metres of floor space) and above.
Sites should be at least 0.25ha in size or capable of accommodating 500m2 of floorspace and either for offices, industrial, storage, distribution or other related land uses.
Other employment generating development.

Other Uses

Sites that may be suitable for:

Energy infrastructure.
Nature recovery or biodiversity net gain offsetting.
Flood risk management.
Other green/blue infrastructure.

Important – Further Information

The identification of potential development sites within the HELAA as deliverable does not oblige or mean that the Council will allocate the site in its Local Plan or grant planning permission for development. All planning applications will continue to be considered against the appropriate policies in Hertsmere’s local planning framework and any other material considerations. The inclusion of potential housing and employment sites within the HELAA does not preclude them from being developed for other purposes

We undertook a new Call for Sites in October 2022 to get a clear understanding of land that might be available, suitable and achievable at the time for future housing (including self-build and custom-build housing, as well as Gypsy and Traveller pitches) and employment uses over the next 15 years.

We also asked people to submit land for Biodiversity Net Gain, flood risk management and other green/blue infrastructure.

A 'Call for Employment Sites' was previously issued to identify a number of new sites being promoted for economic development, which have not been previously submitted to us for assessment. The identification of such sites will, if included in our Local Plan, help underpin the borough's economic recovery from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Important: The submissions included within the ‘Call for Employment Sites’ are not Hertsmere proposals. Instead they are proposals put forward by site promoters and land owners based on individual representations.

Presentation to Member Planning Panel, 30th March 2021. (7.19KB)

All of the individual site submissions can be found below and any additional supporting technical documents submitted with these responses can be viewed on request.

Further information on this process is provided within the Frequently Asked Questions document (599kb pdf)

Information received through previous calls for sites is set out in the latest Housing and Employment Land Availability Assessment report published in 2019 (see below).

'Call for Employment Sites' submissions March 2021

Land North of the Hilton, Borehamwood Questionnaire (173Kb), Map (643Kb), Representations

Land East of Rowley Lane, Borehamwood Questionnaire (164Kb), Map (746Kb), Representations (2.19Mb)

Land South of Rowley Lane, Borehamwood Questionnaire (172Kb), Representations (640Kb), Concept Plan (394Kb), Concept Document (3.17Mb)

Land East of Furzefield Wood, Potters Bar Questionnaire (1.64Mb)

Land South of Barnet Road, Potters Bar Questionnaire (426Kb), Map (131Kb)

Land East of Southgate Road, Potters Bar Questionnaire (425Kb), Map (654Kb)

Land South-East of Junction 24 (M25), Potters Bar Questionnaire (425Kb), Map (235Kb)

Charleston Paddocks, South Mimms Services Questionnaire (173Kb), Concept Plan (522Kb), Representations (522Kb)

Land on the North side of Little Bushey Lane, Bushey Questionnaire (237Kb), Concept Document (2.63Mb)

Land West of Gullimore Farm, Bushey Questionnaire (8.83Mb)

Mercure Hotel, Bushey Questionnaire (228Kb), Representations (3.94Mb), Concept Plan 1 (3.62Mb), Concept Plan 2 (3.58Mb)

Land between A41 and M1, East of Bushey Questionnaire (1.60Mb)

Bushey Hall Golf Club, Bushey Questionnaire (173Kb), Map (1.15Mb), Representations (614Kb), Concept Plan Phase 1 (2.60Mb), Concept Plan Phase 2 (2.10Mb)

Land to the West of Hillfield Lane, Patchetts Green Questionnaire (1.03Mb)

Hillfield Farm, Aldenham Questionnaire (1.77Mb)

Elstree Aerodrome, Aldenham Questionnaire (1.64Mb)

Slades Farm, Aldenham Questionnaire (1.70Mb)

Home Farm, Aldenham Questionnaire (3.43Mb)

Rectory Farm, Shenley Questionnaire (174Kb), Representations (147Kb), Concept document (4.37Mb), Concept Plan (307Kb)

Land to the North of Bell Lane, London Colney Questionnaire (236Kb), Representations (1.05mb), Concept Plan (1.03Mb)

Land near Salisbury Hall, London Colney Questionnaire (236Kb), Representations (911Kb), Concept Plan (3.12Mb)

Land off Stag Hill (Hadley on Hill), Potters Bar Questionnaire (1.11Mb), Map (104Kb)

The Housing and Economic Land Availability Assessment (HELAA) is a technical study prepared to inform the Council’s new Local Plan. The assessment and identification of sites has no status in formally allocating land for future development and will not be treated as a material consideration in any future decision that the Council makes on individual planning applications. The Draft HELAA report is provided giving the opportunity for comment prior to finalising the study. Should you wish to comment on the HELAA please email: local.plan@hertsmere.gov.uk

This version of the HELAA has been broken down by settlement for ease of viewing.

Please note the site maps will be updated in due course for greater clarity.

Draft HELAA Report 2024 (PDF 2.13MB)

HELAA Index (PDF 537Kb)

This version of the HELAA followed publication of a draft report in 2018 which provided an opportunity for comments to be made prior to finalising the study. A study of those comments and how they have been addressed is set out in the 2019 HELAA Report.

HELAA Report 2019 (4.36MB)

Maps

HELAA 2019 site maps - Bushey (22.5MB)

HELAA 2019 site maps - Borehamwood and Elstree (28.6MB)

HELAA 2019 site maps - Potters Bar (19.6MB)

HELAA 2019 site maps - Radlett (14.3MB)

HELAA 2019 site maps - Shenley (13.4MB)

HELAA 2019 site maps - Elstree Village (6.60MB)

HELAA 2019 site maps - South Mimms (11.4MB)

HELAA 2019 site maps - Other Locations (6.12MB)