Oliver met with Cllr Morris Bright, Leader of Hertsmere Borough Council, and Cllr Harvey Cohen, Planning Portfolio Holder at the council, on Friday to discuss the future of the draft Local Plan.

Hertsmere Borough Council’s consultation on the draft Local Plan closed on 6 December 2021 and the Council is considering the feedback it received in the 20,000 responses to the consultation. This is the highest number of responses to any Hertsmere Borough Council consultation.

Oliver and Cllrs Bright and Cohen discussed the future of Hertsmere’s draft Local Plan and Oliver raised his continued support for protecting Hertsmere’s green open spaces as part of the Local Plan process.

This follows Oliver writing to the Housing Secretary, Michael Gove, in October to challenge Hertsmere’s housing numbers and he continues to directly lobby the Housing Secretary to look again at the Housing Department’s approach to Hertsmere given the acute pressures the area faces.

Oliver also made the case to the Housing Secretary that the planning process needs to place a greater emphasis on protecting existing natural environments, getting matching improvements in local infrastructure in place and ensuring that local plans respect local democracy.

After the meeting, Oliver said: ‘It was good to catch up with Cllr Morris Bright and Cllr Harvey Cohen to talk about the future of the draft Local Plan.

I will continue to follow the Local Plan process closely and will continue to engage with the council and the Housing Secretary on the pressures Hertsmere and its green open spaces face on behalf of local residents.’