Draft Local Plan 2026: Enabling Hertsmere’s Sustainable Growth
This consultation has now closed.
Hertsmere Borough Council undertook a Regulation 18 consultation on the emerging Local Plan between 16 April and 29 May 2026. The Council is currently reviewing the responses received and preparing the Regulation 19 Local Plan.
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.
The Regulation 18 consultation took place over a six-week period between 16 April and 29 May 2026. The consultation sought views on the emerging spatial strategy, planning policies and potential development sites which could form part of the new Local Plan.
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.
The consultation document included a long list of candidate sites that could form part of the council’s response to the Government’s updated housing requirements. Responses received during the consultation are now being reviewed and will inform the preparation of the next version of the Local 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.
Next Steps
The Regulation 18 consultation closed on 29 May 2026. The council is currently reviewing all representations received. This feedback will inform the preparation of the Regulation 19 Local Plan, which the Council intends to publish later in 2026.
The complete consultation document and evidence base can be downloaded from this page.
Following publication, interested parties will be able to make representations on the Regulation 19 Local Plan before it is submitted for independent examination by the Planning Inspectorate.
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 address the borough’s housing need.
To pass the Government’s examination process (to be found ‘sound’) the local plan will need to 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.
The next stage in the process will be the publication of the Regulation 19 Local Plan. This will be the version of the Plan that the Council intends to submit for independent examination. Representations can be made at this stage, with the focus on whether the Plan has been prepared in accordance with legal requirements and whether it is sound.