Community Governance Review – Support Changing the Parish Election Date

As discussed in the October Newsletter, due to the changes which will happen when Hertfordshire moves to Unitary Authorities, the Parish Council has requested that Three Rivers District Council (TRDC) carry out a Community Governance Review (CGR) to look at whether:

• the unparished areas of Heronsgate, Stag Lane, Shepherds Lane and Loudwater should remain unparished or potentially join Chorleywood Parish, and
• whether the next Parish Council election should be deferred from May 2026 to May 2027, so that it can be undertaken at the same time as all other parish council elections in Three Rivers and the new Unitary Authorities.

Whilst residents will have differing views as to whether the Parish should be expanded to include unparished areas adjacent to the current Parish boundaries, we encourage residents to respond to the consultation being undertaken to support the change in election date.
 
If the Parish has to go to election in 2026, it means that the Parish elections will be out of sync with other local elections for the foreseeable future, which will cost the parish and local residents about £30,000 for every election going forward. Delaying Parish elections would also provide more stability through the Local Plan Examination expected to occur next year.

The consultation can be found at https://haveyoursay.threerivers.gov.uk/community-governance-review and runs until 8th December.

A leaflet from the Parish Council that explains more about the Review can be found at CPC_CGR_A4_CHORLEYWOOD-ONLINE.pdf.