As readers will already know, the Borough Council are currently in the process of updating Hertsmere’s Local Plan, the document that will shape development in our area for the next few decades.

The latest stage, published in October, sets out all the potential sites that have been offered to the Council. However, only a proportion of them will actually be used and therefore the Council are asking for comments on which ones would most appropriate for development.

It is vital that residents respond to this as the public’s views are crucial in helping the Council determine which sites will be included for development.

Now is the time to make any objections you have about specific sites known, in particular in terms of any impact on local infrastructure and the environment. If residents do not make their voices heard now it will be much harder to do so later. Now is the moment.

Clearly it would be completely unacceptable to develop all these sites and the Council do not plan to. I, of course, have concerns about many of them. In particular, at my latest meeting with the Planning Department, I reminded the Council about commitments they have already made to keep the Bushey County Club site as an open space at the heart of the village.

But these are rightly decisions that have to be made by the Borough Council and I do not want to pre-judge the correct consultation process that they are going through. I also understand that the Council has to build new homes for our children and grandchildren, and they need to be matched by the right infrastructure.

I will continue to make the case that new homes must never be at the expense of what makes our area special, including the green open, accessible, spaces we value so much and that keep our communities separate, with their own distinct charm.

Finally, allow me to wish you all a very merry Christmas, a happy Hanukkah and a happy Diwali from November.