Four urban extensions with 6,752 homes are out of Hertsmere's final Local Plan, but sites for 14,390 stay in. Councillors vote on 7 October. Every Borehamwood site is listed.
The plan to build 3,750 homes at Well End, between Borehamwood and Shenley, has been dropped. It is one of four large urban extensions that Hertsmere Borough Council has taken out of its final Local Plan after the spring consultation.
The four sites removed are:
- Well End, Borehamwood and Shenley: 3,750 homes
- Mutton Lane, Potters Bar: 1,750 homes
- Compass Park, Bushey: 802 homes
- Land at Battlers Green Farm, Radlett: 450 homes
That is 6,752 homes taken out. The council announced the change on 29 September.
The plan that remains is still large. Its site allocations have capacity for at least 14,390 net new homes over the plan period, which runs from 2026 to 2041, according to the Regulation 19 Local Plan published with next week’s council papers. Borehamwood carries the largest share.
The vote is on Wednesday 7 October
Cabinet meets at 4pm on Wednesday 7 October to consider the plan. An extraordinary meeting of the full council follows at 7pm the same evening, where all 39 councillors will be asked to vote on it.
The Cabinet report (CAB/26/143) asks councillors to agree three things:
- publishing the plan for six weeks of formal comment, from 8 October to 19 November 2026
- submitting it to the Planning Inspectorate on or before 31 December 2026
- letting officers make minor changes and answer the inspector’s questions without going back to the council
The report says that if councillors agree, the next time the full council decides anything on the plan is likely to be at adoption.
Why the December deadline matters
The government is bringing in a new plan-making system in 2027. A plan submitted before 31 December 2026 can be examined under the current rules. The council’s report warns that missing the date could mean “significant changes” to the plan under the new system.
The report also ties the plan to the borough’s planning designation. Hertsmere is currently designated under section 62A, which lets major applicants bypass the council and go straight to the Planning Inspectorate. Officers say a continued absence of a plan is “unlikely to address the current issue of removing the decision-taking designation”.
Hearings are not expected quickly. The council’s own frequently asked questions say that because so many plans will be submitted by the end of December, hearing sessions are “unlikely to begin before summer or autumn 2027”.
Where the 14,390 homes would go
We added up the indicative capacity of every housing site in the plan’s town chapters. The totals come to exactly the plan’s own figure of 14,390:
| Area | Homes in the plan period |
|---|---|
| Borehamwood and Elstree | 3,413 |
| Potters Bar | 3,049 |
| Bushey | 2,793 |
| Radlett | 2,635 |
| Bowmans Cross new settlement | 2,500 |
| Total | 14,390 |
Bowmans Cross is a new town east of London Colney on former minerals and waste land. The plan allocates it for at least 5,000 homes in total, with at least 2,500 expected before 2041.
The plan bases its target on the government’s standard method, which gives Hertsmere a need of at least 975 homes a year. Because recent building fell below 85% of the target, a 20% buffer applies for the first five years. That raises the requirement to 1,170 homes a year until delivery improves.
Every Borehamwood site in the plan
These are the 15 Borehamwood and Elstree housing sites, with the indicative number of homes the plan gives each one.
| Site | Homes |
|---|---|
| Imperial Place, Elstree Way | 550 |
| Retail Park, Borehamwood town centre | 500 |
| Land North of Allum Lane and the golf course site | 486 |
| Hertsmere Civic Offices cluster, Elstree Way | 345 |
| Land north of Barnet Lane | 220 |
| The Point, Shenley Road | 200 |
| Old Haberdasher’s Sports Ground, Croxdale Road | 200 |
| Aycliffe Road and Leeming Road local centre | 200 |
| Elstree Way cluster (offices, Shell garage and Kwik Fit) | 170 |
| Land South of Allum Lane, Elstree | 150 |
| Organ Hall Farm, Theobald Street | 102 |
| Land West of Vale Avenue | 98 |
| Land North of Barnet Lane (west), off Hartfield Avenue | 74 |
| Fire Station and Job Centre cluster, Elstree Way | 63 |
| Regent House and car park, Theobald Street | 55 |
Two figures in the plan do not agree. The site table for the Fire Station and Job Centre cluster gives 63 homes, but the policy text below it says “at least 134”. We have used 63, because that is the figure that makes the borough total add up to 14,390. The fire station would have to move before that site could be redeveloped.
Some sites already have planning history. Land off Hartfield Avenue has outline permission for up to 74 homes (23/0053/OUT), and a reserved matters application for 73 has followed.
Two extra employment sites are allocated in Borehamwood as well: an extension to the Borehamwood industrial area of about 88,504 square metres, most of it the permitted film and television studio expansion, and about 35,000 square metres at Lismirrane Industrial Park.
What the plan says about schools and GPs
The council’s announcement says residents’ worries about infrastructure were heard. The plan sets aside land for:
- nurseries, primary schools and a secondary school at Bowmans Cross
- a primary school at Barnet Road, Potters Bar
- the expansion of Newberries Primary School, on land south of Shenley Hill in Radlett
- a new medical centre at Organ Hall Farm, Borehamwood
- a new medical centre south of Shenley Hill, Radlett
- a possible larger, relocated GP surgery with the homes south of Allum Lane
How many people responded
The council’s consultation statement says it received 6,374 individual responses to the spring draft. Of those, 4,733 were based on templates written by community groups. The consultation ran from 16 April to 29 May 2026, with seven public events across the borough.
Concern was the dominant reaction: 66% of representations were classed as concern and 10% as opposition, against 11% positive.
Four of the five most-commented sites were in Radlett, led by Home Farm. The fifth was Bowmans Cross. All of them are still in the final plan: Home Farm Meadows is allocated for at least 650 homes, and land at Kemprow Farm and off Watford Road is combined into one extension of at least 1,573.
Councillor Jeremy Newmark, the council leader, said: “No development is not an option. Without an up-to-date Local Plan, it will be more difficult to resist inappropriate development, including on the Green Belt.”
What it means for you
- If you objected to Well End, Mutton Lane, Compass Park or Battlers Green Farm, those sites are out of the plan the council intends to submit. That does not stop a landowner applying for planning permission, but the plan would no longer support it.
- If a site near you is still in, the formal comment period opens on 8 October if the council agrees the plan. Comments at this stage have to say why the plan is not “sound” or not legally compliant, and what would fix it. They go to the independent inspector, not just to the council.
- The comment window closes on 19 November. There is no further change stage before submission, the council’s FAQ says, other than minor corrections.
- The meeting is at the Civic Offices, Elstree Way, Borehamwood, WD6 1WA. The papers, including the full plan, are on the council’s committee website now.
For other schemes going through the system now, see our Borehamwood planning news page, including the 228-room co-living plan at NatWest House.
Sources
- Hertsmere Borough Council, Hertsmere Local Plan: You spoke, we listened, 29 September 2026, for the four removed sites, the infrastructure list and the councillors’ quotes.
- Cabinet, 7 October 2026, agenda item 7.1: report CAB/26/143, Hertsmere Regulation 19 Local Plan, with Appendix 1 (the plan), Appendix 4 (Regulation 18 Consultation Statement) and Appendix 5 (Frequently Asked Questions).
- Extraordinary Council, 7 October 2026, carrying the same plan and appendices.
- Site capacities, housing need and the Bowmans Cross figures are from the Regulation 19 plan’s town chapters (14 to 18) and paragraphs 7.1 to 7.5. The area totals are our own sum of the plan’s indicative capacities.
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