Revealed: The number of homes built in Watford, Three Rivers, and Hertsmere

We asked Watford, Hertsmere, and Three Rivers to tell just how many homes have been approved by its planning committees within the last five years – but also how many have built.

We also asked how many of these homes met the “affordable” criteria.

Housing is a hot topic at the moment with people in Three Rivers and Hertsmere having their say on potential sites for housing development as part of the local plan.

Since 2015, Watford Borough Council has granted permission to build 2,470 new homes. Notable applications include 400 as part of the Riverwell scheme, 500 in Sydney Road, and around 500 in Ascot Road.

Of these 2,470 approved homes, 920 have been built. Of the 2,470 approved homes, 726 are affordable.

Hertsmere have not provided a figure of how many homes it has approved but between April 2014 and April 2018, 1,343 private homes were built in addition to 136 affordable homes.

There is currently 815 homes under construction in the borough.

While in Three Rivers, between April 2015 and April 2018, 623 homes have been built in addition to 175 affordable homes.

Flats under construction in Rickmansworth

Thousands of new homes need to be built across the three boroughs. Hertsmere and Three Rivers currently have a target of around 500-600 homes a year over the next ten to 15 years while Watford has been given a higher figure of around 700 homes a year.

Watford Borough Council has backed plans for around 3,000 homes in St Albans Road near Watford Junction while planners in Hertsmere and Three Rivers are currently looking at feedback to decide where is most suitable for development.

Homes in Sydney Road, west Watford, which have been given the green light (CGI)

Part of the proposed The Range redevelopment of homes in St Albans Road. No application has yet been submitted.

A new retirement village as part of the Riverwell development, near Watford General, which will bring homes, primary school, shops, and more.

Speaking about the affordable housing numbers, Elected Mayor of Watford Peter Taylor said: “I want to make sure that Watford is a town for everyone. That’s why I’ve set up our own council house building company with Watford Community Housing, providing a much needed permanent roof over the heads of local families who really need them the most.

“However, it is still too difficult for councils to build affordable housing. At the moment, government rules let developers off the hook when it comes to meeting their commitments to affordable housing.

“Some claim that a scheme might be unviable if they provide affordable housing in and the government don’t give councils enough powers to challenge them on this. We need these rules to change so that councils have the power to tackle the housing crisis.”

Each council has a 35 per cent affordable homes policy which applies to applications of ten homes or more. The term affordable is often banded about loosely and can be split into several definitions including social rent, affordable rent, and shared ownership.

An affordable home is one that is rented or is for sale at less than private market rents or prices. But it gets more complicated than this because the government has several definitions for affordable housing. These are:

• social rented housing – rents are up to 40 per cent less than local private rents. In Watford it is owned by housing associations and is available to let to people on the council’s Housing Register

• affordable rent housing – rents are up to 20 per cent less than local private rents. They are also owned by local housing associations and let to people on the council’s Housing Register

• shared ownership – housing that you buy part of and rent part of at rates lower than market prices for similar homes

• intermediate rent housing - rents are more than those charged for social rented homes but are less than local private rents. They are usually let directly by housing associations.