Process What happens now
What happens next
The Regulation 19 consultation closed on 25 September 2026. The plan now goes to a government Inspector for independent examination. It is not over — and there is still a way to be heard.
The journey from here
- Every representation is sent to the Inspector. The comments people made are not a vote that the council tallies and answers on its own — they become part of the examination evidence.1
- The council submits the plan by 30 November 2026. At that point the full evidence base, and a statement of who was consulted and what they said, must go with it.2
- An independent Inspector examines the plan. They will test whether it is sound (see below). They can require changes, or find the plan unsound.
- There may be hearing sessions. The Inspector holds public hearings on the issues that matter, and invites people who made representations to take part.
- Then adoption — if the plan passes. If it fails, the council must go back and fix it.
The tests it must pass
An Inspector judges a plan against national policy — the “tests of soundness”. In plain terms, the plan must be:
- Positively prepared — it meets as much of the area’s need as it can;
- Justified — it is the most appropriate strategy, on the evidence;
- Effective — it is deliverable, and its infrastructure can actually be built;
- Consistent with national policy — and legally compliant.3
Those are the hooks our own evidence hangs on: the grey-belt finding, the water and wastewater capacity, the missing secondary school, the roads, and the fact that the cluster is never assessed as a whole.
Officers are concerned that this puts the plan at risk of being found unsound. As such, the plan is likely to be thrown out at examination.
Three Rivers District Council · report to Full Council, 27 January 2026
The report-back the council owes you
The council’s own consultation rulebook promises that, after a consultation, it will report back — who was consulted, what they said, and how it was addressed.4 That report-back has not been published for this consultation, nor — as far as we can tell — for any earlier stage. A formal statement of who was consulted and what they said is due with the plan on 30 November 2026.2
There is a strong case that the report-back should be published before the plan is submitted, so people can see how their comments were handled. It is one of the things we will keep asking for.
How you can still be heard
- Keep contributing evidence. A photo of flooding under the Gallows Hill bridge, a note on the school run, a bus that got stuck — lived experience strengthens the record.
- Watch for the Inspector’s hearing sessions and take part where the issues you raised are on the agenda.
- Follow the campaign — we will flag every milestone and any chance to speak.
- Read the evidence so the detail is in your hands, not just ours.
Sources
- Three Rivers District Council / Have Your Say, Local Plan Regulation 19 consultation — threerivers.gov.uk; Planning Inspectorate — gov.uk.
- MHCLG, Three Rivers Local Plan intervention letter (18 Mar 2026) — gov.uk.
- NPPF (2024), paragraph 36 — soundness tests, as set out in the council’s Statement of Representations Procedure — threerivers.gov.uk.
- Three Rivers District Council, Statement of Community Involvement (2020) — threerivers.gov.uk.
Said fairly
Going to examination is normal and does not mean the plan is doomed — most plans are examined and many are found sound with modifications. Our point is narrower: on this site, the council’s own officers warned it was “likely to be thrown out at examination”, and the evidence on water, roads and schools is what the Inspector will test. That is why the record matters.
Read the evidence
It isn’t over — keep the record
Every photo, every delayed bus, every flooded lane adds to the evidence an Inspector will see. Keep sending it in.