The site is referred to in the Three Rivers District Council (TRDC) draft Local Plan as “Land to the West and South of Maple Cross” (SHELAA Reference: EOS12.2). It is a 52.2-hectare (129 acre) site bounded by the M25 to the west and the A412, Denham Way to the east.

Three Rivers District Council (TRDC) is required to identify sites to meet local housing need in its Local Plan. Initial discussions commenced several years ago and since 2020 the site has been deemed appropriate for residential development.

The site is a draft allocation in the emerging Local Plan known as Site H41.

There is currently a significant undersupply of housing that meets local needs.

While the Local Plan process is continuing, the government has asked Three Rives District Council to find additional sites for housing. This will extend the time for the Local Plan to be officially adopted.

The Council have supported the delivery of a planning application on this site for a number of years: bringing an application forward enables the Council to deliver on its housing targets as soon as possible.

The Council's assessment concluded that the site represents a logical and sustainable location for development, with any Green Belt impacts capable of being appropriately managed through careful design, landscaping and site planning.

While the site is currently located in the Green Belt, the allocation in the draft Local Plan states that “[the] site is considered to be mostly Grey Belt". 

Grey Belt refers to land within the Green Belt that does not strongly fulfil the main purposes the Green Belt was created to protect.

The Green Belt exists to prevent towns from spreading endlessly, stop neighbouring settlements merging together, protect open countryside, preserve the setting of historic places, and encourage redevelopment of land within existing towns.

Grey Belt land is identified when an area contributes only weakly to these goals. 

This might be because the land is already influenced by development, has limited openness, is contained by roads or buildings, or does not play a meaningful role in keeping settlements separate.

Because it performs less strongly against these purposes, Grey Belt land may be considered more suitable for development than other parts of the Green Belt, provided important environmental, landscape, and community factors are still carefully considered.

This requires schemes to deliver clear public benefits, including high levels of affordable housing, significant green space, and supporting infrastructure.

The Council has suggested that there is an indicative capacity of up to 1,500 homes, with supporting mixed uses including primary education, community, retail and commercial space.

However following receipt of some initial techincal work we think this site is likely to have capacity for up to 1,200 homes.

• Up to 1,200 energy efficient new homes
• Mix of house types including 50% affordable housing. Affordable housing can be a combination of discounted rent, discounted sale (for first time buyers) and shared ownership housing, provided to eligible households whose needs are not met by the market.
• A mixed-use local centre, which could provide a range of shops and services, along with healthcare and community facilities and small business start-ups and live-work units.
• Extra-care housing facility for elderly residents
• Substantial public open spaces including children’s play areas, community orchards and allotments. Plus potential enhancement to existing sports facilities in the local area
• Expansion of existing education facilities
• Enhanced cycle and walking connections both with the development and the wider area, with primary access from Denham Way and Chalfont Road
• Investment in delivering more public transport services

The proposals will promote walking, cycling and public transport alongside appropriate road infrastructure to ensure the development can be safely and effectively accommodated within the local transport network.

The site's location also provides opportunities to strengthen bus services and improve connections to Maple Cross, Rickmansworth and wider transport networks, helping to reduce the need for car journeys and supporting a more sustainable and accessible community.

Our vision for the site is to create:

• A high-quality place to live for all generations, providing a range of well-designed homes, including accessible and adaptable housing, which meet identified local needs and support people at every stage of life.
• A distinctive and sustainable neighbourhood with a strong sense of place, drawing on the character of Maple Cross and its surrounding landscape to create an attractive and enduring neighbourhood.
• A connected and walkable environment where residents can easily access homes, schools, services, employment opportunities, public transport and open spaces, encouraging active travel and healthier lifestyles.
• A welcoming and inclusive community that promotes social interaction, community cohesion and a genuine sense of belonging for residents, visitors and future generations.
• An environmentally responsible development that embraces innovative design, enhances biodiversity, integrates green infrastructure and supports the transition to a low-carbon future.
• A resilient and future-ready neighbourhood that responds to changing needs, supports sustainable living and creates lasting social, environmental and economic value

This will add to the long-term sustainability of Maple Cross and provide a significant boost to the local economy and environment.

A Sustainability Statement will accompany the planning application, setting out measures relating to energy efficiency, water use, waste, transport, air quality and open space.

Homes will meet or exceed relevant Building Regulations, with sustainability embedded through design, construction and technology.

This includes:

• Complying with the Future Homes Standard
• Using appropriate materials and techniques to maximise insulation, air tightness and heat recovery
• Procuring materials from sustainable sources
• Including domestic energy generation
• Electric vehicle (EV) charging points for every home.

In addition, a Biodiversity Strategy will accompany the application, supported by environmental surveys.  These will set out how existing habitats are protected and enhanced and how biodiversity net gain will be delivered.

Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) is a planning requirement in England that ensures new developments leave the natural environment in a measurably better state than before.

Under current legislation, most developments must deliver at least a 10% increase in biodiversity value compared with the existing site.

This is assessed using a recognised metric that measures the quality, type and condition of habitats on the land. Developers can achieve this by retaining and enhancing existing habitats, creating new wildlife areas such as wildflower meadows, hedgerows, ponds or woodland, and managing them to support plants and animals over time.

To make sure these improvements last, Biodiversity Net Gain must be secured for a minimum of 30 years.

This is typically done through legal agreements attached to the planning permission, such as planning conditions or Section 106 agreements, which require the habitats to be created, maintained and monitored according to an approved management plan.

In some cases, off-site habitat improvements or statutory biodiversity credits may also be used if the required gain cannot be delivered entirely within the development site.

This approach helps ensure that new homes can be delivered while also supporting the long-term recovery of nature.

The project team is aiming to submit what is known as an outline planning application by the end of 2026. This will set out the masterplan and specific elements of the proposals including on transport, noise, air quality, sustainability and biodiversity.

A further detailed applications will then be required, which includes the design of buildings. Subject to planning permissions, work could begin on site by around 2029.

You can provide your feedback to the proposals on this website and we will be holding meetings with local stakeholders over the Summer. We will also be holding an in-person event in early Autumn. This will give everyone an opportunity to view and influence the masterplan process and provide feedback on how we have amended our plans based on comments received.

In accordance with local policy a percentage of the homes provided on this site will be classed as affordable housing.

This will ensure local people from first-time buyers to families, can access high-quality housing, helping more residents stay close to the community they know and love.

Affordable housing is available to households who otherwise could not house themselves, for example, because they would struggle to afford the cost of housing in the open market, or they need a specific type of house which is not commonly available.

Types of affordable housing can include:

Shared ownership housing is provided through a Registered Housing Association and helps households who can afford a small mortgage, but that are not able to afford to buy a property outright.

To be eligible for a shared ownership property, the annual household income can be no more than £80,000 and applicants must be registered on the Home Buy Register.

It enables purchasers to buy a share between 10% and 75% of the home’s full market value and then pay rent to the landlord for the share they own.

Social rented housing is owned by local authorities and Registered Providers, for which guideline target rents are determined through the national rent regime.

The rent is calculated using a set formula that takes into account the value of the property, the average earnings in the area and the number of bedrooms.

Social Rented properties are the most affordable tenure type, typically around 60% of an open market rent. Housing Benefit is available to qualifying households where they are unable to pay their Social Rent.

Intermediate housing includes homes for rent and sale provided at a cost above social rent but below market levels.

Affordable Rent (Or intermediate rent) is housing is let by Local Authorities or Registered Providers to households who are eligible for Social Rented housing. Affordable Rent is subject to rent controls that require a rent of no more than 80% of the local market rent.

Rent to Buy means you rent a newly built home at approximately 20% below the market rate for up to five years (exact period of time varies by property). During that time period, you have the option to buy the property or to buy part of the property under a Shared Ownership scheme. When you get to the end of the time period, you either have to buy part of the property or move out.

An outline planning application is used to agree the key principles of a development before the detailed design is prepared. It does not fix every aspect of the scheme, but it does set important parameters that must be followed when a future reserved matters application is submitted.

These parameters help provide certainty about what can be built on the site. They usually include:

• Developable area – the parts of the site where buildings and housing can be located.
• Amount of open space – how much land must be kept for landscaping, and other green or community spaces.
• Building heights – the maximum heights that new buildings are allowed to reach.
• Character areas – the general layout and feel of different parts of the site, such as where homes, streets or green spaces are focused.
• Access and movement arrangements – the key routes for vehicles, pedestrians and cyclists, and where the main access points to the site will be.

Once these parameters are approved at outline stage, the reserved matters application must work within them. The reserved matters stage then provides the detailed design, such as the appearance of buildings, exact layouts, and detailed landscaping.

Parking for residents and their visitors will be provided depending on the size of the home (based on the number of bedrooms) and with reference to the Council’s parking policy

Cycle parking will be provided for each plot, and provision will be made for electric vehicles as well.

The application will be supported by a flood risk assessment which analyses the site’s current level of flood risk and how this could change once the site is developed. 

It also considers how rainfall will be collected and directed to the existing water courses and the impact this could have on the current flow and capacity of these water courses. 

The FRA has to demonstrate that the development of this site will not increase the risk of flooding either for the new homes or existing homes. 

The appearance of the new homes will be determined at a future Reserved Matters stage, but it is anticipated that the appearance will be informed by the context and local character of the area.

Reserved Matters are the detailed aspects of a development that are not fixed at outline stage and are approved later.

If outline permission is granted, then following this Reserved Matters Approval (RMA) must be obtained before development can begin.

The five reserved matters are:

• Access – site entry for vehicles and pedestrians

• Appearance – design, materials and architecture

• Layout – arrangement of buildings, roads and spaces

• Scale – height and size of buildings

• Landscaping – planting, open space and boundaries

The local authority assesses whether these details comply with the outline permission.

Should planning permission be granted and at a later  date in the process construction will be managed in accordance with a Construction Method Statement (CMP) to be agreed with the Council by condition.

The CMP will include safeguarding measures to deal with matters such as:

• Point of access into the site for construction vehicles
• The parking of vehicles of site operatives and visitors
• Loading and unloading of plant and materials
• Safety hoarding
• Wheel washing facilities
• Measures to control the emission of dust and dirt during construction
• Waste recycling
• Working hours, including deliveries
• Large vehicle and delivery routing plan