Hertsmere Borough Council has launched a public consultation on a new local plan for the borough, following a vote from Councillors at a meeting of the Full Council yesterday evening. Feedback is being welcomed until Friday 29 May.
The six-week ‘Regulation 18’ consultation provides residents, businesses and interested parties with the opportunity to share their views on the council’s early ideas for the future development of Hertsmere.
The decision to progress to public consultation on the plan is an important step in securing certainty, investment and coordinated growth for Hertsmere, and will help to protect the borough from speculative development and appeal-led growth.
The new plan will set out how Hertsmere can grow in a green, sustainable and equitable way, with benefits for all those who live and work in the borough. As a key planning document, it will indicate how and where new development can come forward, from homes and employment space to schools, health services, and new green space.
Government policy requires every local council to maintain an up-to-date local plan, which provides the framework for planning decisions in its area. A local plan can allocate sites for development and set policies that guide how new development is delivered, while protecting the fabric of the local area. As Hertsmere’s current local plan was passed in 2012, it is no longer considered up to date.
The proposals have been informed by a borough-wide spatial strategy, which looks at how growth can be distributed in a coordinated way. The consultation is an opportunity for local people to provide feedback on this spatial strategy, as well as the planning policies which will be used to determine planning applications in the future.
The consultation features a long list of candidate sites to be assessed as potentially making a contribution to the area’s housing needs. Nothing has been decided, and the consultation is the single best opportunity for local people to have their say on how they want to see the borough develop.
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.
The Regulation 18 consultation will feature seven public information events across the borough.
In person events are scheduled for 2:30pm to 8:00pm at the following dates and venues:-
- 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
Find out more at the new Local Plan web-page: Draft Local Plan 2026: A new sustainable Local Plan for Hertsmere - Hertsmere Borough Council
The six-week consultation will run until Friday 29 May.
The consultation document can be viewed, and feedback provided, at https://hertsmerelocalplan.commonplace.is/