As covered in the Planning Update last week, the Local Plan is now out for consultation. This is the first formal consultation on the plan (known as a Regulation 18 Consultation) and, though there are later consultations on the plan, this is probably the best chance for the public to effect change in the plan. This consultation has been extended and will run until 20th August.

Chorleywood Residents’ Association, along with Residents’ Associations across the district, believes the Local Plan contains plans for significantly too much housing resulting in unnecessary damage to our environment and, in particular, Green Belt. Independent analysis shows that the Three Rivers district needs approximately 4,800 new homes over the fifteen-year period of the plan to provide sufficient homes for local residents including ensuring that there are enough homes to bring the proportion of the population in all age groups who are householders back to at least that seen at the start of this century. The plan put forward for consultation contains approximately double this amount, resulting in more land being handed over to development than necessary and, potentially, new homes being built without an obvious demand.

Reflecting this, Residents Associations across Three Rivers are preparing a petition requesting that the current Local Plan be withdrawn and new version delivering just the required level of housing and with much less damage to our environment be provided. As soon as the link to this petition is available we will provide details to residents.

The more support we can gather for this petition, the more likely Three Rivers District Council will listen to our voices and protect our environment.

There are a series of sites proposed around Chorleywood and your association is carrying out an analysis of these. You can find the initial analysis of the sites the New Local Plan page of our website. We’ll continue to develop this through the consultation.

A map showing the selected sites can be found here.

Note that many of the original potential sites around Chorleywood are not currently included in this version of the Local Plan. Whilst this is probably good news, it is important to understand that the plan can still change before finalisation and it is possible that these sites could be added back in at a later date, particularly if the Council or Examiner decide to increase the number of new homes the plan will deliver. This reinforces the need to ensure that the council only provide for the houses the district needs rather than an arbitrary centrally set target.

Whatever your feelings about this plan we strongly recommend that you make your views known to the council – this is your best opportunity to influence what will happen in our district over the next 15+ years.

How to respond:

The council’s preferred way for you to respond to is through the online consultation portal. The consultation portal for Part 1 and Part 2 of the consultation can be accessed using the links below:

Alternatively, you can respond to the Local Plan Regulation 18 Preferred Policy Options and Sites for Potential Allocation Consultation by:

  • Email to: localplanconsult@threerivers.gov.uk or
  • Writing to: Economic & Sustainable Development , Three Rivers District Council, Three Rivers House, Northway, Rickmansworth, WD3 1RL.