# radlett.info — The 2026 Hertsmere Local Plan, in plain English > An independent, resident-led resource on the April 2026 Hertsmere Local Plan proposals for Radlett. Consultation closes **29 May 2026** — `local.plan@hertsmere.gov.uk`. **HTML version:** --- ## Hertsmere wants to build 2,900 new homes in Radlett by 2041 Here is what is actually being proposed, what the Council's own evidence says about it, and how to write a response that will count — before the consultation closes on 29 May 2026. - **Write your response:** [HTML](https://radlett.info/radlett-localplan-response.html) · [Markdown](https://radlett.info/radlett-localplan-response.md) --- ## Three things to know before you respond Each of these is taken from the Council's own published evidence — not from us, and not from any campaign group. ### 5,240 — homes of spare supply The plan identifies 21,400 homes of supply across Hertsmere — against a borough-wide need of just 16,160. That over-allocation is deliberate. Reducing Radlett's share of 2,900 does not threaten the plan's soundness. (Reg 18 Table 12.1, p. 129.) ### 3 — missing technical studies The Level 2 Strategic Flood Risk Assessment, the Water Cycle Study (sewer capacity), and a Transport & Movement Assessment for Radlett are all still in development. Residents are being asked to comment on 2,900 new homes without seeing the evidence that they are deliverable. ### 0.8 FE — primary school surplus The Infrastructure Delivery Plan shows the Radlett school planning area will have only 0.8 Forms of Entry of spare primary school capacity by 2029-30 — about 24 Reception places a year. Any one of the proposed large sites would absorb that buffer many times over. --- ## The seven Radlett sites in the draft plan The Council has identified seven candidate sites (SA1–SA7). Two are already permitted or brownfield infill. Three are very large strategic urban extensions onto Green Belt fields. ### SA1, SA2, SA5 — Support (already permitted / brownfield) ~250 homes combined. The least controversial allocations: - **SA1** Regency House (extant permission) - **SA2** Railway Cottages car park (brownfield, but in Flood Zones 2 and 3) - **SA5** Land South of Shenley Hill (appeal allowed 23 March 2026, 50% affordable, school + medical-centre land safeguarded) ### SA3, SA4, SA6, SA7 — Reduce (large-scale objections) **2,652 homes proposed** — four strategic urban extensions onto Green Belt. Each has serious documented constraints in the Council's own evidence base: - **SA3** (972 homes) contains a **Local Wildlife Site** and Group Tree Preservation Orders within the boundary. The Council's own Sustainability Appraisal flags that the western (Cemex-owned) parcel "would not relate very well to the settlement edge". The wider Kemprow area is also in the recorded distribution of great crested newts (European Protected Species). - **SA6** (1,040 homes) sits on **Grade 2 BMV agricultural land** with the **Hertfordshire Way** long-distance trail running through, listed-building settings, and a single road access constraint. The promoter (Mac Mic Strategic Land) is consulting on **600 homes, not 1,040**, with a primary school, GP/dentist, country park and community stewardship trust. - **SA4** (450 homes) is **HCC public-sector land** — flagged in the SA as a potential location for Radlett's missing secondary school. Sits in the setting of Battlers Green listed buildings (5 × Grade II + 1 × Grade II\*). - **SA7** (190 homes) is safeguarded land already in the 2013 Local Plan; the SA calls it "a relatively strongly performing site". The cumulative-access concern with SA3 is the main residual point. ### Object — cumulative impact on the road network The Council's own Infrastructure Delivery Plan records existing AM-peak congestion "stretching as far back as Colney Street," with knock-on effects on Harper Lane (the M25 route from Radlett). Three of the largest sites would all empty onto the same ~1.5km of Watford Road — engaging the "severe residual cumulative impacts" test in NPPF para 116. No Transport & Movement Assessment has yet been published. --- ## Write your response We've drafted a planning-policy-anchored representation that anchors every objection in NPPF (December 2024) and the Council's own evidence base. Use it as-is, edit the parts you care most about, or copy individual paragraphs into your own letter. **Every individual representation must be counted separately as a matter of law** — your personalised email matters. **Consultation closes 29 May 2026.** Email to `local.plan@hertsmere.gov.uk`. - HTML version of the response (with copy buttons): - Markdown version: --- ## Why this site exists The Reg 18 consultation is the moment when residents can shape *which* sites are allocated and *at what scale*. After Regulation 19 those decisions harden, and after examination the plan is adopted. This is the leverage point. There is already a campaign — **save-hertsmere.com** — circulating a "one-click" template that supports building out SA3 and SA7 while refusing SA4 and SA6. We think that trade is the wrong one. It rests on a "community consensus" claim that no-one has documented and that Radlett residents have publicly disputed. The Council's own Sustainability Appraisal, Infrastructure Delivery Plan, and Green Belt Assessment support a more honest reading: - SA3's western parcel "would not relate very well to the settlement edge" — and the site has a Local Wildlife Site and TPO trees within its boundary. - SA6's promoter is consulting on 600 homes (not 1,040), bundled with a primary school, GP, country park, and community stewardship trust. - SA4 is HCC public-sector land — flagged in the SA as a potential location for Radlett's missing secondary school. - Three pieces of technical evidence (flood, sewer, transport) are still in development. This site lays out the planning evidence in one place, so you can decide for yourself. --- ## Sources - [Hertsmere Local Plan (Reg 18, April 2026)](https://www.hertsmere.gov.uk/planning-building-control/planning-policy/hertsmere-local-plan/new-local-plan) - [Supporting studies (evidence base)](https://www.hertsmere.gov.uk/planning-building-control/planning-policy/hertsmere-local-plan/new-local-plan/supporting-studies) - [NPPF (December 2024)](https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-planning-policy-framework--2) - [Hertsmere Commonplace consultation portal](https://hertsmerelocalplan.commonplace.is/) ## Take action - [Draft response letter (HTML)](https://radlett.info/radlett-localplan-response.html) - [Draft response letter (Markdown)](https://radlett.info/radlett-localplan-response.md) - Send to `local.plan@hertsmere.gov.uk` - Deadline: **29 May 2026** --- ## Site metadata - Sitemap: - LLM-friendly summary: - robots.txt: - This page also available as HTML: ## Disclaimer This site reflects the views of its author, presented as planning-policy argument. Other residents and groups (notably save-hertsmere.com) take different positions on which Radlett sites to support; you are encouraged to weigh both. Hertsmere Borough Council is the planning authority and the official source of record for the Local Plan.