At an extraordinary meeting of Full Council on Wednesday 7 October, councillors agreed to publish the new draft of the Local Plan.
The Local Plan sets out how Hertsmere will develop in the years ahead, including where new homes and jobs should be located, the infrastructure and community facilities needed to support growth, and the planning policies that will be used to determine future development.
This stage is known as Regulation 19 - the formal publication of the plan that the Council proposes to submit for independent examination. During this stage residents, organisations and other interested parties will be able to make representations on whether the proposed submission Local Plan is legally compliant and sound.
The Regulation 19 Local Plan has been shaped by extensive feedback from local residents, including over 6000 responses received during the Regulation 18 consultation earlier this year. Following careful consideration of comments, the Council has removed several sites from the final draft, at locations in Borehamwood, Potters Bar, Bushey and Radlett.
The Regulation 19 stage will commence on Thursday 8 October and end on Thursday 19 November 2026.
Once the Regulation 19 period has concluded, the Local Plan will return to Full Council for further consideration of the responses, before any decision is taken to submit it to the Secretary of State for independent examination.
Subject to the decision taken by Full Council at that meeting, the council would then submit the Local Plan, together with the representations received and supporting documents, to the Secretary of State for independent examination by the end of the year.
Cllr Jeremy Newmark, Leader of Hertsmere Borough Council, said:
“This is an important milestone for Hertsmere and for the thousands of local residents who have helped shape the Plan.
“We need to provide new homes and the infrastructure to support them if we are to tackle the housing crisis which is holding back far too many people's life chances and aspirations.
“Having an up-to-date Local Plan gives us much more control over where development should go, securing the infrastructure communities need and protecting the places that matter most.”
Cllr Nik Oakley, Portfolio Holder for Planning, Infrastructure and Transport, said:
“I want to thank every single person who has contributed to the Local Plan process. The feedback we received has helped shape the plan now being put forward.
“Decisions about new development inevitably involve difficult choices. Our approach is regeneration of our town centres using brownfield sites and making the best possible use of that land while protecting the Green Belt sites of greatest value.
“Regulation 19 is now the opportunity for people to consider the published Local Plan and make representations on whether it is legally compliant and sound before it moves on to independent examination by Government inspectors.”