Residents watching a livestream of a recent Three Rivers District Council (TRDC) meeting were excluded from part of the discussion.
The Local Plan Sub-Committee meeting took place on Tuesday, November 25, and followed the Local Plan public consultation which took place in summer 2025.
During the meeting, TRDC agreed that public access to the report and to the decision be denied until after a meeting of the Policy and Resources Committee on Monday, January 26.
At this meeting, councillors will be asked to agree to the final Local Plan, including the number of homes and sites, that is to be submitted to the Planning Inspector.
The council agreed: “That the press and public be excluded from the meeting for the following item(s) of business on the grounds that it involves the likely disclosure of exempt information… It has been decided by the council that in all the circumstances, the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information.”
Abbots Langley Councillor Vicky Edwards said: “The council’s entire approach was based around officers’ conclusions at this meeting. It obviously isn’t in the public interest to cover it up just so the council’s leadership do not have to admit they got it wrong.
“By the time of the next council meeting, it will be too late for residents to provide their views on the Local Plan and have it changed before it is submitted to the Planning Inspector.
“The decision on which sites to allocate for housing will have ramifications for years to come, and residents must be given a say.”
The Leader of Three Rivers Council councillor Stephen Giles-Medhurst responded, saying: “The council had clear legal advice that in accordance with the Local Government Act, these items should be discussed in private. All the other political parties on the council understand this and support this.”
0 Comments