Hertfordshire is two counties in one planning sense: a tightly controlled Green Belt and Chilterns south, and a New Town north built at Stevenage, Hemel Hempstead, Welwyn Garden City and Hatfield. The route your project takes depends almost entirely on which half you are in.
Ten district and borough councils, not Hertfordshire County Council: Broxbourne, Dacorum, East Hertfordshire, Hertsmere, North Hertfordshire, St Albans, Stevenage, Three Rivers, Watford and Welwyn Hatfield. Each publishes its own Local Plan, householder design guidance and local validation list, and several are working to plans of materially different ages, which affects how much weight a policy carries.
Statutory fees are national and identical throughout the county: £548 for a householder application, £274 for a Lawful Development Certificate, £610 for a new dwellinghouse.
The Metropolitan Green Belt covers the great majority of Hertsmere, Three Rivers, Welwyn Hatfield and Dacorum, and substantial parts of St Albans and Broxbourne. Inside it, an extension is judged on whether it is a disproportionate addition over and above the original dwelling, and prior extensions by previous owners count against the allowance.
The Chilterns National Landscape reaches into western Dacorum and northern Three Rivers, including Chorleywood and the Chess and Gade valleys. Schemes there face a landscape and visual test on prominence, roof form and materials, and permitted development rights for certain elements are narrower than elsewhere.
Heritage is the third constraint and is concentrated. St Albans has an extensive city-centre conservation area over a Roman and medieval core, with the scheduled remains of Verulamium immediately west — meaning ground disturbance can bring an archaeological requirement alongside the planning application. Old Hatfield, Hertford, Berkhamsted and the Metro-land villa streets of Rickmansworth and Chorleywood all carry their own conservation areas.
| Package | Fixed fee | Turnaround |
|---|---|---|
| Essentials — measured survey, existing and proposed plans | 14–20 working days | |
| Loft conversion package — survey, plans, sections, elevations | 14–20 working days | |
| Mansard / roof rebuild package | 18–24 working days | |
| Complete — planning plus building regulations drawings | 20–28 working days |
One of ten districts or boroughs, not the county council: Broxbourne, Dacorum, East Hertfordshire, Hertsmere, North Hertfordshire, St Albans, Stevenage, Three Rivers, Watford or Welwyn Hatfield. Each has its own Local Plan and local validation list.
Yes, subject to the disproportionate-addition test against the original dwelling as first built or as it stood on 1 July 1948. Hertsmere, Three Rivers, Welwyn Hatfield and Dacorum are overwhelmingly Green Belt, so this test governs most projects there.
Possibly. The scheduled remains of Roman Verulamium lie immediately west of the city centre, and ground disturbance within areas of archaeological significance can bring a desk-based assessment or a watching brief as a condition of permission.
Yes, along with parts of western Dacorum and northern Three Rivers. Schemes inside the National Landscape and its setting are assessed on landscape and visual impact, with narrower permitted development rights for some elements.
Send the postcode. We confirm the district, the Green Belt and Chilterns position and the application route before quoting.
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