Residents have demonstrated outside council offices demanding members “save the Green Belt”.

Three Rivers locals and Conservative activists held the protest during the full council meeting on February 20, campaigning against including sites in Maple Cross and Mill End in the district’s Local Plan.

Watford Observer: The protest outside Three Rivers District Council on February 20.The protest outside Three Rivers District Council on February 20. (Image: South West Herts Conservative Association)

The protesters objected to potential plans for 850 dwellings on a 42-acres site west and south of Maple Cross, and a further 550 homes on a 49-acre field west of Mill End.

Watford Observer: The protest outside Three Rivers District Council on February 20.The protest outside Three Rivers District Council on February 20. (Image: South West Herts Conservative Association)Mike Sims, Conservative activist and protest organiser, said: "The people are angry and shocked that our beautiful Green Belt and wildlife will be lost forever if these developments go ahead. 

“There is no good or bad Green Belt and once it is gone we lose it forever."

Watford Observer: Mike Sims, a Conservative activist, helped organise the protest on February 20.Mike Sims, a Conservative activist, helped organise the protest on February 20. (Image: South West Herts Conservative Association)

The council's Local Plan currently aims to build 4,852 over 18 years. 

The proposals for both sites have been watered-down since they were first announced as the total homes proposed for the Maple Cross site fell from 1,500 to 850 and the Shepherds Lane development was reduced from 760 to 550.

While he did not dispute the total number quoted by campaigners, Three Rivers' Liberal Democrat deputy leader, Cllr Stephen Giles-Medhurst, said the claims were “misleading” as the plan would protect 98 per cent of the area’s Green Belt.

He argued that the council would not be able to meet its target with brownfield development alone and emphasised the benefits of the potential housing.

“On both of these sites, we gain new schools, new health facilities, new bus routes, new parks and play areas, additional biodiversity and tree planting," the Cllr added.

Watford Observer: Three Rivers Deputy Leader Stephen Giles-Medhurst at a Green Belt site.Three Rivers Deputy Leader Stephen Giles-Medhurst at a Green Belt site. (Image: Stephen Giles-Medhurst)

He said the plans had received support from the Three Rivers Joint Residents’ Association, which represents 22 local groups, as well as almost 90 per cent of respondents to its consultation in December 2023.

According to the document, published in October 2023, the council has rejected the government's target to build 11,466 homes by 2041 in favour of 4,852 dwellings over the next 18 years.

The council hopes to submit its Local Plan to the government by late 2025 with a view to it being rubber stamped in summer 2026.