Hertfordshire council area

Selling Land in Three Rivers

Three Rivers is the Hertfordshire district where the government stepped in most directly. After the council proposed too few homes, the housing minister halted its plan in February 2026, named extra Green Belt sites it must include, and set a deadline of 30 November 2026 for submitting it.

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Three Rivers at a Glance

The district's three rivers, the Chess, the Colne and the Gade, are described in its new plan as important resources. The plan puts Rickmansworth at the top of the settlement hierarchy, followed by Chorleywood, South Oxhey, Abbots Langley and Croxley Green, and then a ring of smaller places including Moor Park, Carpenders Park, Leavesden and Garston, Mill End and Maple Cross. The plan also records the Metropolitan line, the Chiltern line and the West Coast Main Line serving the district, and Warner Bros. Studios at Leavesden as an internationally acclaimed site.

47% in the Housing Delivery Test. The district delivered 894 homes against a requirement of 1,910 over the three years measured.
A plan from 2011 built around 180 homes a year. The Core Strategy, adopted in October 2011, set that target for 2011 to 2026. The council's own website now gives the government's figure as 832 a year.
76% Green Belt. The council says the scale of need leaves no choice but to build on some greenfield Green Belt land.
A corner of the Chilterns. About 546 hectares of the district lies in the Chilterns National Landscape, around Sarratt in the Chess valley.
Expensive homes. The minister's letter of March 2026 put the ratio of median house prices to median earnings at 12.3.

High prices and low delivery are exactly what drew the government's attention, and they are the backdrop to every planning decision the council now makes.

Three Rivers in Figures

The government's latest figures for the council, and where its local plan stands.

Housing Delivery Test 2025
47%
Below 75%: treated as having evidenced unmet housing need under national policy S5.
Homes built against homes needed
894
of 1,910 needed, April 2022 to March 2025
Most recent strategic plan adopted
October 2011
More than five years old, so its housing figures are usually replaced by the government's standard method.
New plan progress
Updated
Government directions March 2026: plan to be submitted for examination by 30 November 2026
Checked source

Sources: Housing Delivery Test: 2025 measurement, MHCLG, published 17 August 2026; Local plans: monitoring progress, Planning Inspectorate, August 2026. Local plans move quickly, so always check the council's own website for the latest position.

How the Minister Reshaped the Plan

The new Local Plan has been through more twists than most. The sequence is worth setting out, because it explains why sites the council did not want are now in the plan and why the plan still falls short of the full need.

Late 2023. The council consulted on a lower housing growth option between 27 October and 10 December 2023.
January 2026. Full Council agreed a plan for 7,017 homes, ready for its final consultation.
5 February 2026. The minister issued a holding direction stopping the council from taking any step towards adopting the plan.
18 March 2026. An intervention letter followed with nine directions. The letter found the draft would meet only about 56% of need, noted that the 2023 Housing Delivery Test score of 30% was the fifth lowest in the country, and required the council to add named sites: Kings Langley Estate south, Land at Rousebarn Lane, East Green Street, South of Little Oxhey Lane, Land East of Oxhey Lane, Land to East of Watford Road and, if lease issues are resolved, Batchworth Golf Course.
31 July to 25 September 2026. The revised plan was published for its final round of comments.
By 30 November 2026. The directions require the plan to be submitted for examination. The council estimates adoption at the end of 2027 if the plan is found sound.

The published plan now provides for at least 9,253 homes between 2026 and 2042, about 578 a year. By the plan's own reckoning that is roughly 77% of the standard method need of 12,032 homes, leaving a gap of 2,779. The council's leader said publicly that he was extremely disappointed by the direction.

Why the Published Figures Do Not All Agree

Anyone reading the documents side by side will find three differences. First, the council's consultation page speaks of six additional sites, while the council's own press release and the letter list seven. Both are right: the letter names six sites outright and adds Batchworth Golf Course only if its lease issues are resolved. Second, the council's website gives the government's figure as 832 homes a year, while the plan's need of 12,032 over sixteen years works out at 752. The likely reason is that the web page carries an earlier calculation, since the standard method is recalculated as the government's affordability and housing data are updated; the plan's figure is the one the inspector will test. Third, and most important, the letter said the revised plan should meet approximately 85% of need, yet the plan says it meets about 77%. The plan documents we have read do not reconcile the two, and site capacities and the conditional golf course are the obvious candidates. For a landowner, the difference points one way: an inspector comparing the plan with the minister's expectation is likely to ask whether more land is needed, and sites with evidence ready are the ones that can answer that question.

If Your Land Is Not One of the Allocated Sites

A 47% result counts, under policy S5, as evidence that the district has unmet need for homes. Outside the Green Belt that would be a strong route, but with three quarters of the district in it, most fields rely on other policies. The plan's own settlement hierarchy is a useful way to think about where those policies bite.

Tier in the plan	Settlements	What it means for nearby land
Principal town	Rickmansworth	The most services and the best transport. Land inside the town falls under policy S4, and good public transport supports higher density homes within walking distance.
Small towns and large suburban settlements	Chorleywood, South Oxhey, Abbots Langley, Croxley Green	Good candidates for grey belt arguments where their edges are already enclosed by housing, roads or railway lines.
Large villages and suburban settlements	Eastbury, Moor Park, Carpenders Park, Kings Langley, Leavesden and Garston, Mill End, Maple Cross, Oxhey Hall	Smaller infill and edge sites. Much depends on how a field sits against existing housing and roads.

Two further points apply across the district. Previously developed land in the Green Belt, such as yards, depots and redundant commercial premises, has its own routes, which we cover on our page about brownfield land and yards. And land within walking distance of a station with a good service can benefit from national support for homes near well connected stations, subject to its own Green Belt tests.

Land on the Boundary With Dacorum or Watford

Three Rivers borders Dacorum and Watford, and land on these edges can fall under a different council's plan from the field next door. From 1 April 2028 the line will also divide two new unitary councils: Three Rivers joins Hertsmere and Watford in South West Hertfordshire, while Dacorum joins St Albans in North West Hertfordshire. We check exactly which plan and which policies govern your land before anything else.

Our grey belt guide explains how councils judge whether a field strongly contributes to Green Belt purposes. In a district where built-up areas run close together, the question of keeping neighbouring towns apart often decides the answer.

The Chess, the Colne and the Gade

The three rivers are both the district's identity and one of its constraints. The council describes the part of the district inside the Chilterns as the area around Sarratt in the Chess valley. The plan also names the Colne Valley Regional Park and the Grand Union Canal as strategic assets, and records five Sites of Special Scientific Interest, nine Local Nature Reserves and 144 Local Wildlife Sites.

Flood risk. Land along the three river valleys is checked against the Environment Agency flood maps. Homes are usually kept to the higher ground, with the rest of the site used for open space and drainage.
Drainage and water quality. Run-off into the rivers is a common concern at application stage, so drainage design gets close attention.
The Chilterns. Major development inside the National Landscape needs exceptional circumstances, and land near its edge is judged on its effect on the Chess valley.
Heritage. The plan records 352 listed buildings and 22 conservation areas, so layout and design near them are shaped by their setting.

The sequential test that governs building near rivers is explained in our flood risk guide. None of these usually rules a whole holding out. They decide which part of it is best for homes, which is what our early flood, drainage and landscape work, all paid for by us, is designed to show.

The Land We Look for in Three Rivers

Fields on the edges of Rickmansworth, Chorleywood, Croxley Green, Abbots Langley or South Oxhey that are enclosed by housing, roads or the railway.
Land within walking distance of a Metropolitan line, Chiltern or West Coast Main Line station.
Former yards, depots, equestrian centres and other previously developed land in the Green Belt.
Sites outside the flood zones of the three rivers, or with enough higher ground for homes.
Holdings that could help close the gap between the plan and the full housing need.

Land deep in the Chess valley or in the open gaps between the district and Watford faces the highest bar, and our review will say so honestly.

Questions About Land in Three Rivers

The final consultation ends on 25 September. Has the chance to put land forward gone?

Not entirely. The plan still has to go through examination, where inspectors will look at whether it meets enough of the need. If they conclude more land is required, sites with evidence ready are the ones that can be considered. Planning applications under national policy also remain open in the meantime.

The council opposes more Green Belt building. Will it refuse my application?

It may, but a refusal is not the last word. In May 2025 the Secretary of State overturned the council's refusal of a data centre at Abbots Langley, agreeing with the inspector that it was not inappropriate development in the Green Belt. We prepare applications to stand up at appeal from the start, and we pay for any appeal ourselves.

Is my land near Chorleywood inside the Chilterns?

Perhaps. The council describes its Chilterns land as the area around Sarratt in the Chess valley, about 546 hectares in all. The boundary is mapped precisely, and we check it at the start of our review because it changes the tests that apply.

The plan meets about 77% of need. How does that help land outside it?

It shows the district will still be short of homes after adoption, and short of the 85% the minister asked for. That supports the case for well placed land at examination, in future reviews and in the grey belt test, where unmet need is one of the conditions.

Who will decide applications after 2028?

Three Rivers is due to join Hertsmere and Watford in a new South West Hertfordshire council from 1 April 2028, subject to parliamentary approval. Until then the district council decides applications, and the plan in force will carry across until the new council replaces it.

Tell Us About Your Land in Three Rivers

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Sources

We update this page when new Housing Delivery Test results or local plan milestones are published. Planning positions change quickly, so always check the council's own website before relying on it.