Draft HGC Stewardship and Placemaking Supplementary Planning Document Consultation
Hemel Garden Communities (HGC), Dacorum Borough Council and St Albans City and District Council are inviting local residents, businesses, and developers to have their say on two new Supplementary Planning Documents (SPD) that will help shape the future housing, neighbourhoods and development of Hemel Hempstead and surrounding area, as well as new guidance for parts of the existing town:
- Draft HGC Framework and Transformation Supplementary Planning Document
- Draft HGC Stewardship and Placemaking Supplementary Planning Document
The consultations runs until midnight on Thursday 19th March 2026.
St Albans City & District Council (SADC) are running the same consultations on the two SPDs in parallel. Comments relating to Dacorum should be submitted to DBC and comments relating to St Albans District should be submitted to SADC.
Visit the SADC Planning Policy Consultation page
How do I have my say?
To participate in the consultation, please read the Draft SPD, complete the questions in the online survey below and then press submit. Comments must be submitted by midnight Thursday 19th March 2026.
Read the document here:
The Draft HGC Stewardship and Placemaking Supplementary Planning Document
To view the consultation for the Draft HGC Framework and Transformation SPD, please click here.
If it is not possible to complete the survey, please visit the Council's website www.dacorum.gov.uk/supplementary-planning-documents to see the other ways you can respond, using the downloadable comments form.
Your comments will be available for public inspection with your full name and therefore cannot be treated as confidential. Your full name and address must be completed for your comments to be considered; however, your address (and any other personal details, other than your name) will not be made publicly viewable.
For further information on how the Council processes your personal data, please visit our privacy policy.
Where can I find more information?
Hemel Garden Communities Supplementary Planning Document Consultations Online Event
Two in person events scheduled for 24 February 2026 at Leverstock Green Village Hall and 26 February 2026 at Redbourn Parish Centre, planned as part of the Hemel Garden Communities (HGC) Draft Supplementary Planning Document (SPD) consultations, will now take place online in March. The change has been made in light of higher than predicted attendance numbers and the capped capacity of the venues.
The joint online event will be held on Monday 2 March 2026 from 7pm to 8pm. Moving the arrangements online will allow more people to attend. Anyone wishing to join this event, will need to register before the event, using the link below:
Date: Monday 2 March 2026, 7pm to 8pm
Where: Online Teams Webinar, please register to join us online.
Registration closes Monday 2 March at midday.
Why do I need to register?
You are being asked to register before the event, so we can follow up with joining instructions and to allow us to email you with any additional information.
Why are we running consultations?
The purpose of a Supplementary Document is to clarify, illustrate or provide detail on how Local Plan policies should be applied in practice and they will help to inform future development across the town.
The Draft HGC Stewardship and Placemaking SPD sets out the approach to stewardship for the Hemel Garden Communities Programme Area (how outdoor spaces and community infrastructure is managed and maintained). This Draft Supplementary Planning Document proposes a coordinated and aligned strategy for stewardship and placemaking across Hemel Hempstead and potentially beyond, so future development sites are consistent in their approach.
What is Hemel Garden Communities?
The Hemel Garden Communities programme is being delivered by a partnership of three local authorities: Dacorum Borough Council, St Albans City and District Council and Hertfordshire County Council, supported by Hertfordshire Futures and the Hertfordshire Innovation Quarter (Herts IQ). It has been set up to enable sustainable local growth, through delivery of up to 11,000 new homes and up to 10,000 new jobs, in the proposed new Growth Areas to the north and east of Hemel Hempstead Hemel Hempstead by 2050. You can view the Hemel Garden Communities’ website here.
What happens next?
Following this consultation, we will consider all the responses received by the deadline date, then prepare and publish a consultation statement.
Comments from the consultation will inform the final draft of the SPD, which will be considered by the Local Planning Authorities.
Draft HGC Stewardship and Placemaking Supplementary Planning Document
Supporting Documents
Videos
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Across the Dacorum and St Albans districts, many organisations are actively caring for the places and spaces around us. Hear them describe what good stewardship means and why it matters.