Draft Local Plan 2026: Enabling Hertsmere’s Sustainable Growth
Hertsmere Borough Council has launched a public consultation to seek feedback from residents on the early ideas for a new local plan for the borough.
The local plan is a key planning document which details how and where new homes, jobs and investment can be brought forward in Hertsmere, along with public infrastructure such as transport, schools and health facilities. It will also contain the policies which the council will use to inform decisions on future planning applications.
Following a meeting of Hertsmere Borough Council on 15 April, the consultation will run over a six-week period from 16 April to 29 May 2026. In addition to a digital consultation platform, Hertsmere Borough Council will be hosting a series of seven information sessions around the borough (see below), to enable residents to discuss their ideas and receive information about the emerging plan from council officers and the Portfolio Holder for Planning, Infrastructure and Transport.
The council previously consulted on a draft of the local plan in 2024, and the feedback received as part of that process has been taken on board.
Government planning policy requires all councils to plan for a set number of new homes, with targets determined at a national level rather than locally. While the council does not determine the overall level of development in Hertsmere, the local plan can determine where and how that development is delivered.
As such, the consultation document includes a long list of candidate sites that could form part of the council’s response to the Government’s updated housing requirements. This stage of the process, known as a Regulation 18 consultation, is designed to enable you to provide views on these sites prior to an updated list of sites being produced later this year. The consultation is also an opportunity for local people to provide feedback on the spatial strategy and planning policies which will underpin the new plan.
These early proposals have been informed by a borough-wide spatial strategy, which looks at how growth can be distributed in a coordinated way. Without an up-to-date local plan, development would be more likely to come forward through speculative applications and the appeals process, reducing the community’s ability to influence where and how development comes forward.
Regulation 18 Consultation
The consultation for this part of the local plan process will run for six weeks, closing on 29 May 2026.
Feedback received as part of the consultation will inform the next phase of the process and a further consultation (known as Regulation 19) will be held later in the year.
To comment on the local plan consultation document, please visit the dedicated consultation platform at the link below:
https://hertsmerelocalplan.commonplace.is/
The complete consultation document and evidence base can be downloaded from this page.
The Regulation 18 consultation will feature seven public information events across the borough, to enable you to meet the local plan team from Hertsmere Borough Council and discuss the early ideas.
Each event will run from 2:30-8:00pm. The details for the events are as follows:
> Monday 27 April: South Mimms Village Hall, Blanche Lane, South Mimms, EN6 3PB
> Wednesday 29 April: Borehamwood Civic Centre, Elstree Way, Borehamwood, WD6 1WA
> Thursday 30 April: Radlett Centre, 1 Aldenham Avenue, Radlett, WD7 8HL
> Wednesday 6 May: The Manor Elstree, Barnet Lane, Elstree, WD6 3RE
> Monday 11 May: Shenley Chapel, Shenley, WD7 9EZ
> Monday 18 May: Wyllyotts Theatre, Wyllyotts Place, Darkes Lane, Potters Bar, EN6 2HN
> Tuesday 19 May: St James’s Church House, Rectory Lane, Bushey, WD23 1BD
The Local Plan Process
Government policy states that every local council requires an up-to-date local plan to underpin planning policy in its area, and to provide policies for decision-making on individual planning applications. Local plans can allocate individual sites for development, while also setting out a range of policies which determine both how new development should proceed, and how the existing fabric of the area should be maintained.
Since Hertsmere Borough Council’s last local plan consultation in 2024, the Government’s updated housing requirements mean that for many areas like Hertsmere, the number of new homes required to address local housing needs has increased.
This means that the council has had to identify additional sites with the potential to addressing the borough’s housing need.
To pass the Government’s examination process (to be found ‘sound’) the local plan will need meet the borough’s needs in full. The lack of a local plan would not stop new development taking place but would see it come forward in an uncoordinated, speculative fashion, with less accompanying infrastructure, and fewer benefits for existing residents. While the council cannot change the overall level of housing growth, it can determine which sites come forward through the local plan process.
A local plan provides the framework to assess reasonable alternatives, compare sites, consider cumulative impacts, and identify the most sustainable options, while ensuring that development meets housing needs, including affordable homes.
An adopted local plan enables the authority to promote urban regeneration by prioritising brownfield, infill and other under-utilised urban sites, reducing pressure on the green belt. Through its spatial strategy, site allocations and density policies, the local plan directs growth to the most sustainable locations, including town centres, sites and areas with strong public transport links.
This approach supports the regeneration of Hertsmere’s town centres by encouraging a critical mass of homes, footfall and activity, helping to sustain a wider range of shops, services and employment opportunities. It also enables investment in high-quality public spaces, improved streetscapes and supporting infrastructure, ensuring town centres remain attractive, accessible and resilient.
To be considered under the existing system for making Local Plans, the Council must submit the local plan for examination by 31 December 2026. To meet this deadline, the current (Regulation 18) consultation will be followed later this year by a Regulation 19 consultation on a full draft of the plan, where comments are typically limited to procedural matters rather than policy. As such, this current consultation represents the single most important opportunity for interested parties to influence the shape of the emerging plan.