Three Rivers Three Rivers District | |
---|---|
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Constituent country | England |
Region | East of England |
Non-metropolitan county | Hertfordshire |
Status | Non-metropolitan district |
Admin HQ | Rickmansworth |
Incorporated | 1 April 1974 |
Government | |
• Type | Non-metropolitan district council |
• Body | Three Rivers District Council |
• MPs | Daisy Cooper Gagan Mohindra Dean Russell |
Area | |
• Total | 34.3 sq mi (88.8 km2) |
• Rank | 206th (of 296) |
Population (2021) | |
• Total | 93,952 |
• Rank | 254th (of 296) |
• Density | 2,700/sq mi (1,100/km2) |
Ethnicity (2021) | |
• Ethnic groups | |
Religion (2021) | |
• Religion | List
|
Time zone | UTC0 (GMT) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC+1 (BST) |
ONS code | 26UJ (ONS) E07000102 (GSS) |
OS grid reference | TQ0591494481 |
Three Rivers is a local government district in south-west Hertfordshire, England. Its council is based in Rickmansworth. The district borders Hertsmere, Watford, St Albans, Dacorum, Buckinghamshire, and the London boroughs of Hillingdon and Harrow.
Three Rivers District was created on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972, covering the whole area of two former districts and most of a third, which were all abolished at the same time: [2]
The new district was named "Three Rivers", referencing the rivers Chess, Colne, and Gade which flow through the district and have their confluence in Rickmansworth, the largest town in the district. [3]
Three Rivers District Council | |
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Type | |
Type | |
Leadership | |
Joanne Wagstaffe since 3 February 2020 [6] | |
Structure | |
Seats | 39 councillors |
Political groups |
|
Elections | |
First past the post | |
Last election | 4 May 2023 |
Next election | 2 May 2024 |
Meeting place | |
Three Rivers House, Northway, Rickmansworth, WD3 1RL | |
Website | |
threerivers |
Hertfordshire has a two-tier structure of local government, with the ten district councils (including Three Rivers District Council) providing district-level services, and Hertfordshire County Council providing county-level services. In some areas there is an additional third tier of civil parishes. [7]
Three Rivers District Council carries out a variety of district council functions including:
The Liberal Democrats have held a majority of the seats on the council since 2018. The leaders of the council have been Liberal Democrats (or their predecessors, the SDP–Liberal Alliance) since 1986, including through some periods of minority administrations when the council was under no overall control.
The first election to Three Rivers District Council was held in 1973, initially acting as a shadow authority alongside the outgoing authorities until the new arrangements took effect on 1 April 1974. Political control since 1974 has been as follows: [8] [9]
Party in control | Years | |
---|---|---|
No overall control | 1974–1976 | |
Conservative | 1976–1986 | |
No overall control | 1986–1987 | |
Alliance | 1987–1988 | |
Liberal Democrats | 1988–1990 | |
No overall control | 1990–1999 | |
Liberal Democrats | 1999–2015 | |
No overall control | 2015–2016 | |
Liberal Democrats | 2017–2018 | |
No overall control | 2018–2018 | |
Liberal Democrats | 2018–present |
The leaders of the council since 1986 have been: [10]
Councillor | Party | From | To | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Ann Shaw | Liberal Democrats | 1986 | 17 May 2016 | |
Sara Bedford | Liberal Democrats | 17 May 2016 | 14 Jul 2020 | |
Sarah Nelmes | Liberal Democrats | 14 Jul 2020 |
Following the 2023 election and a by-election in December 2023, [11] and change of allegiance in February 2024, [12] the composition of the council was: [13]
Party | Councillors | |
---|---|---|
Liberal Democrats | 21 | |
Conservative | 12 | |
Labour | 3 | |
Green | 2 | |
Independent | 1 | |
Total | 39 | |
The next election is due in May 2024.
The council's main offices are at Three Rivers House on Northway in the centre of Rickmansworth, which was purpose-built for the council in 1991. The site had been part of the grounds of Basing House, which had bought by the old Rickmansworth Urban District Council in 1930 to serve as its headquarters. [14] [15]
Since the last boundary changes in 2014 the council has comprised 39 councillors representing 13 wards, each of which elects three councillors. Elections are held three years out of every four, electing one councillor from each ward each time. Elections to Hertfordshire County Council are held in the fourth year of the cycle when there are no district council elections. [16]
The wards of the district are: [16]
For elections to Hertfordshire County Council, the district is divided into six divisions, three of which are held by the Conservatives, and three by the Liberal Democrats:
Division | Councillor | Party | |
---|---|---|---|
Abbots Langley | Sara Bedford | Liberal Democrats | |
Croxley | Chris Lloyd | Liberal Democrats | |
Rickmansworth East and Oxhey Park | Reena Ranger | Conservative | |
Rickmansworth West | Paula Hiscocks | Conservative | |
South Oxhey and Eastbury | Christopher Alley | Conservative | |
Three Rivers Rural | Phil Williams | Liberal Democrats |
For parliamentary elections, the district is divided across three constituencies. Most of the district is within the South West Hertfordshire constituency, which is considered a safe Conservative seat and held by a Conservative MP (currently Gagan Mohindra) since its creation in 1950. The eastern parts of the constituency, to the north and south of Watford, are part of that borough's constituency, which is a three-way marginal currently held by Conservative Dean Russell, having fluctuated between Labour and the Conservatives. Parts of two wards, north of the M25, are in the St Albans constituency, which is currently held by the Liberal Democrat Daisy Cooper.
Seat | Wards | MP | Party | |
---|---|---|---|---|
St Albans | Abbots Langley and Bedmond (part), Gade Valley (part) | Daisy Cooper | Liberal Democrats | |
South West Hertfordshire | Carpenders Park (part), Chorleywood North and Sarratt, Chorleywood South and Maple Cross, Durrants, Moor Park and Eastbury, Oxhey Hall and Hayling (part), Penn and Mill End, Rickmansworth Town, South Oxhey | Gagan Mohindra | Conservative | |
Watford | Abbots Langley and Bedmond (part), Carpenders Park (part), Gade Valley (part), Leavesden, Oxhey Hall and Hayling (part) | Dean Russell | Conservative | |
Source: Boundary Commission for England |
Train services are provided by Chiltern Railways and the Metropolitan line of the London Underground.
London Underground stations:
Chiltern Railways stations:
A special fare structure exists as the stations are outside the Greater London boundary.
London Overground stations:
West Coast Main Line stations:
Three Rivers is partially parished. There are six civil parishes in the district: [18]
There are also two unparished areas in the district, both comprising parts of the former Rickmansworth Urban District which have not subsequently been added to a parish: one larger area including Maple Cross and Mill End, Rickmansworth; and a smaller area including part of Loudwater. [18]
Welwyn Hatfield is a local government district with borough status in the county of Hertfordshire, England. Its council is based in Welwyn Garden City. The borough borders Hertsmere, St Albans, North Hertfordshire, East Hertfordshire, Broxbourne, and the London Borough of Enfield.
Rickmansworth, is a town in south-west Hertfordshire, England; it is located about 17 miles (27 km) north-west of central London, 5 miles (8 km) south-west of Watford and is inside the perimeter of the M25 motorway. The town is mainly to the north of the Grand Union Canal and the River Colne.
Hertsmere is a local government district with borough status in Hertfordshire, England. Its council is based in Borehamwood. Other settlements in the borough include Bushey, Elstree, Radlett and Potters Bar. The borough contains several film studios, including Elstree Studios and the BBC Elstree Centre at Borehamwood. The borough borders Three Rivers, Watford, St Albans, and Welwyn Hatfield in Hertfordshire and the three north London boroughs of Harrow, Barnet and Enfield. Hertsmere is located mainly within the M25 Motorway.
Croxley Green is both a village and a suburb of Rickmansworth in Hertfordshire, England. It is also a civil parish. Located on the A412 between Watford to the north-east and Rickmansworth to the south-west, it is approximately 20 miles (32 km) north-west of central London.
Chorleywood is both a village and a civil parish in the Three Rivers District, Hertfordshire, on the border with Buckinghamshire, approximately 20 miles (32 km) northwest of Charing Cross. The village is adjacent to the Chiltern Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and is part of the London commuter belt included in the government-defined Greater London Urban Area. Chorleywood was historically part of the parish of Rickmansworth, becoming a separate ecclesiastical parish in 1845 and a separate civil parish in 1898. The population of the parish was 11,286 at the 2011 census.
South West Hertfordshire is a constituency in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament, represented since 2019 by Gagan Mohindra, a Conservative.
Watford is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2019 by Conservative Party MP Dean Russell.
Watford Rural is a civil parish in the Three Rivers District of Hertfordshire, England. Located approximately 14 miles (23 km) northwest of central London and adjacent to the Greater London boundary, it is an urbanised parish characterised by suburban residential development. The local council is Watford Rural Parish Council. The parish covers South Oxhey and Carpenders Park, which although part of the Watford urban area, are outside the borough of Watford. The parish was created in 1894 when the ancient Watford parish was split into urban and rural parishes. At the 2011 census it had a population of 20,867.
South Oxhey is a village in the Watford Rural parish of the Three Rivers district of Hertfordshire, England. It is located in the south western corner of Hertfordshire and close to the boundary with Greater London. At the 2011 Census South Oxhey's population was included in the Northwick Ward of Three Rivers Council.
Three Rivers District Council elections are held three years out of four to elect members of Three Rivers District Council in Hertfordshire, England. Since the last boundary changes in 2014 the council has comprised 39 councillors representing 13 wards, each of which elects three councillors, one at each election such that a third of the council is elected each time. Elections to Hertfordshire County Council are held in the fourth year of the cycle when there are no district council elections.
Moor Park and Eastbury is a ward in Three Rivers, in England. It is located in south-west Hertfordshire, in the East of England region. The ward includes the eponymous twin settlements of Moor Park and Eastbury, lying between Rickmansworth to the west, Croxley Green to the north, South Oxhey to the east, and Northwood to the south.
Carpenders Park is a suburb of Watford in the Watford Rural parish of the Three Rivers district of Hertfordshire, England. It is located in the south western corner of Hertfordshire and close to the boundary with Greater London. It is bounded to the West by a railway line that separates it from South Oxhey, to the East by the A4008 Watford to Harrow Road, to the South by the B4542, Green Belt and the boundary with the London Borough of Harrow and to the North by woodland.
The politics of Three Rivers, a district in England, are played out at local, Hertfordshire-wide, and parliamentary levels. Three Rivers is a non-metropolitan district governed locally by a district council composed of 48 councillors that is responsible for such services as housing, waste disposal, and local planning. The district is represented by six members on the 77-councillor Hertfordshire County Council, which is responsible for such services as education, transport, and social services.
This page provides brief details of primary schools in the borough of Three Rivers in Hertfordshire, England, United Kingdom.
Elections to Three Rivers District Council took place on 6 May 2021 alongside other local elections in the United Kingdom. 13 of the 39 seats were elected: the seats elected were last contested in the 2016 election. The election was originally scheduled to take place on 7 May 2020, however elections were delayed nationwide by one year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Elections to Hertfordshire County Council took place on 6 May 2021 alongside other local elections in the United Kingdom. All 78 seats to the council were elected.
An election to Three Rivers District Council took place on 5 May 2022. 14 of the 39 seats were up for election. The election took place alongside other local elections across the United Kingdom.