Residents given longer to have their say on future of district

Residents in Three Rivers will have a greater opportunity to have their say on six potential housing sites in the district after the deadline was extended by 20 days.

The latest round of consultation  was due to end on 10 March but will now run until 30 March. People are being asked by Three Rivers District Council for their views on four newly submitted sites and two revised sites – in Bedmond, Kings Langley and Abbots Langley.

These and 15 other sites had been put forward by landowners for the council to consider following a large public consultation in 2021 as part of the required Local Plan process. Councillors have ruled out the 15 sites as being unsuitable for a variety of reasons.

Cllr Stephen Giles-Medhurst, Deputy Leader of the Council and Lead Member for Infrastructure and Planning Policy, said: “So far we have had a strong response to our consultation with residents and organisations across the district. These are big decisions which could determine how Three Rivers looks and feels for generations to come – so it is important we get it right. There has been a lot of publicity and public discussion over these plans, including from the council itself, so I felt it was the right thing to do in allowing extra time for people to have their say.

“This of course is not the last chance anyone will have to give their views. All the comments on this consultation and the earlier one will be important and taken into account as we develop our own new Local Plan that will be consulted on, I hope, in October."

Residents’ views on this and an earlier 2021 consultation will be considered along with the effects of the pandemic, population changes and the sustainability of new developments as work to develop a new Local Plan is undertaken.

The revised plan with fewer new homes will go before councillors in the summer to consider and will be followed by a public consultation in the autumn.

The council has changed its approach to the Local Plan following a statement in December last year from Michael Gove, the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, indicating that housing figures would no longer be mandatory. Previously the government had required the district to allocate land for 12,624 new homes by 2038.

As a result, the district council is now in the process of objectively assessing the number of houses as it develops a Local Plan designed to minimise the impact on the green belt and character of Three Rivers.

Take part in the consultation here: https://www.threerivers.gov.uk/egcl-page/new-local-plan