Following the abandonment of Hertsmere's Draft Local Plan earlier this year in the wake of 18,000 objections, the Council are now calling for new development sites.

Objections were clearly focused on the proposals to use thousands of acres of green belt, so now they claim to be particularly interested in sites on land that has been previously used for commercial or industrial purposes.

Among the sites which could be submitted are those capable of delivering five or more homes offering specialist care; delivering only affordable homes; accommodating offices, industrial, storage, or distribution spaces; generating employment.

They also want to hear about sites that accommodate blue-green infrastructure, such as sustainable drainage systems or natural flood managements, and sites that would ensure biodiversity net gain, meaning biodiversity levels would increase following development. 

This is a clear shift of focus since the original call for sites in 2018 when Harts Farm was submitted by Redrow as a potential housing site.

Work is now underway on a new version of the Local Plan, whichis unlikely to be published until after the local elections in May where retention of the green belt is likely to be a key issue.