Selling Land in Hertfordshire

Hertfordshire has ten district and borough councils, which decide planning applications for housing and prepare their own local plans. Hertfordshire County Council looks after roads, schools and minerals.

• Five councils below 75%. Hertsmere, St Albans, Three Rivers, Welwyn Hatfield and Dacorum all delivered around half or less of the homes they needed. Hertsmere delivered 26%.
• Most of the south is Green Belt. In government figures for March 2021, Green Belt covered 81.6% of St Albans district, 79.2% of Welwyn Hatfield, 79.0% of Hertsmere and 75.7% of Three Rivers.
• The Chilterns in the west and north. The Chilterns National Landscape covers the chalk hills around Tring and Berkhamsted and reaches towards Hitchin.
• Chalk streams. The Ver, Gade, Chess, Mimram and Beane are chalk streams, and water use and drainage are looked at closely.
• Four new councils from 2028. On 16 July 2026 the government announced four unitary councils for Hertfordshire, with shadow elections in May 2027 and the new councils starting on 1 April 2028.

The Metropolitan Green Belt

The Green Belt was drawn to stop London spreading north and to keep Hertfordshire's many towns apart. It is why places such as St Albans, Hatfield, Welwyn Garden City and Potters Bar still have open land between them. Some councils have already released Green Belt land for housing through their plans. Since December 2024, land that does not strongly contribute to Green Belt purposes can be treated as grey belt. In Hertfordshire that test matters more than almost anywhere, because the councils with the weakest delivery are the ones with the most Green Belt. Our grey belt guide explains how it works.

The Chilterns National Landscape

The Chilterns cover the west of Dacorum around Tring and Berkhamsted and extend north east towards Hitchin. Major development inside a National Landscape is only allowed in exceptional circumstances, and land just outside the boundary is judged on its effect on the setting of the hills.

Chalk Streams and Water

Hertfordshire's chalk streams are rare habitats that depend on groundwater. Councils and the Environment Agency look carefully at drainage from new homes and at how schemes will manage water. A good surface water strategy is part of every application we make.

Flood Risk

The Lea, Colne, Stort and their tributaries carry flood risk through Hertford, Ware, Broxbourne, Watford and Rickmansworth. Land in Flood Zones 2 and 3 faces the sequential test. Often the homes can be kept to the Flood Zone 1 part of a site, with the wetter land used for open space and drainage.

Heritage and New Towns

The county has two of the first garden cities, Letchworth and Welwyn Garden City, and post-war new towns at Stevenage, Hemel Hempstead and Hatfield. St Albans has Roman and medieval remains and a large conservation area. Heritage shapes layout and density on many sites without stopping them.

Hertfordshire is unusual. The low delivery scores are real, but because most of the land in those councils is Green Belt, the unmet need route in policy S5 applies to only a small share of fields. The main routes are:

1. Grey belt. In Hertsmere, St Albans, Three Rivers, Welwyn Hatfield and Dacorum, the key question for most land is whether it qualifies as grey belt. Fields enclosed by roads, housing or other development, and land that was previously developed, are often the best candidates.
2. Unmet need, outside the Green Belt. Where those councils have land outside the Green Belt, policy S5 treats them as having evidenced unmet housing need, subject to the usual constraints.
3. Local plan allocation. St Albans and Dacorum have plans at examination, and Hertsmere is preparing one. The four new councils will later need new plans. See our guide to call for sites and local plans.
4. Sites near stations. National policy now supports higher density homes within walking distance of well connected stations. Whether it applies depends on the station and its service.

Land values in Hertfordshire are high, so a well made case is worth the effort. The evidence has to be good, because councils and local groups test Green Belt arguments closely. Our guide to option agreements explains how we share that work and its cost.