Hertsmere plans 16,893 homes by 2041, including 900 south of Potters Bar and a 5,000-home town at Bowmans Cross. Comments close at 11.59pm on 19 November.
Hertsmere Borough Council’s final draft Local Plan sets out 16,893 new homes across the borough on Barnet’s northern border by 2041. It includes 900 homes on farmland at the south of Potters Bar, about two miles north of High Barnet, and a new town of at least 5,000 homes at Bowmans Cross, east of London Colney.
The plan also sets aside land for two data centre sites beside the M25 at South Mimms and Potters Bar.
This is the last round of comments before the plan goes to a government planning inspector. The council’s Local Plan page says the publication period runs until 11.59pm on Thursday 19 November 2026. Anyone can respond, including people who live in Barnet.
Where the homes would go
The figures below come from Table 13.1 of the Hertsmere Local Plan 2026-2041. They are net new homes over the plan period.
| Area | New homes | Employment floorspace |
|---|---|---|
| Borehamwood | 4,242 | 150,000 sqm |
| Potters Bar | 3,369 | 219,000 sqm |
| Bushey | 3,214 | 88,000 sqm |
| Radlett | 2,907 | 9,500 sqm |
| Bowmans Cross | 2,500 | to be confirmed |
| Other locations | 661 | 15,700 sqm |
| Total | 16,893 | 482,200 sqm |
The sites closest to Barnet
South of Potters Bar (site HPBA9). The plan allocates 63.4 hectares of farmland between Baker Street and Barnet Road for at least 900 homes. The M25 runs along its southern edge. The plan says the site would have a neighbourhood centre and a primary school. The developer’s outline application (24/1101/OUTEI) also included land for a care home of up to 80 beds. Hertsmere refused that application, and the plan records that an appeal is in progress.
North of Barnet Lane, Borehamwood (HBA19). At least 220 homes on 12.55 hectares. Permission for up to 220 homes, half of them affordable, was allowed on appeal, and the detailed plans (25/1554/REM) have since been submitted. The plan says Woodcock Hill Village Green is not part of the area to be built on.
Barnet Lane west, Elstree (HBA17). At least 74 homes, a scheme that also won permission on appeal.
Bowmans Cross
The largest single site is a new settlement on 420 hectares east of London Colney, about six miles north of High Barnet. It sits between Coursers Road and St Albans Road / Blackhorse Lane, around Tyttenhanger Quarry and close to junctions 22 and 23 of the M25.
The plan allocates it for at least 5,000 homes, with at least 2,500 built by 2041. The plan lists what it should include:
- housing for older people and employment space
- a main mixed-use centre and neighbourhood facilities
- shops, health, community and sports uses
- nurseries, primary schools and a secondary school
- public transport links to nearby towns, and new walking, cycling and riding routes
The developer, Urban & Civic Tyttenhanger Ltd, has already started the planning application process. A statutory notice dated 2 September 2026 announced an outline application for a “residential-led mixed use development” on the land.
Two data centre sites on the M25
The plan says Hertsmere needs up to 10.8 hectares of land for data centres. It allocates two sites by the motorway:
- Land east of South Mimms Services, at junction 23. Outline permission for a data centre campus of up to 187,000 square metres (24/1152/OUTEI) was granted in February 2025. Detailed plans for the first phase of roads, utilities and building platforms (26/1187/REM) were awaiting a decision when the plan was written.
- Land south-east of junction 24, north of The Ridgeway, Potters Bar. About 30,000 square metres of industrial and storage space, which “may include the provision of a data centre”. This six-hectare site is half of a larger one that runs east into the London Borough of Enfield.
The council’s research says the borough also needs 10.2 hectares of extra land for the film and television industry.
What it means for you
- You can comment until 11.59pm on Thursday 19 November. Responses go in online through the council’s Local Plan consultation site, or by email or post using the council’s representation form.
- This stage is narrower than the spring consultation. The council says comments now should be about whether the plan is legally compliant and “sound”, and should say what change would make it sound.
- Paper copies are available locally. The nearest to Barnet are at Oakmere Library and the Wyllyotts Theatre in Potters Bar, and at South Mimms and Ridge Village Hall on Blanche Lane.
- What happens next: the plan goes back to Hertsmere’s Full Council with the responses. If councillors agree, it is sent to the Secretary of State and examined by an independent planning inspector.
None of this land is in Barnet, so Barnet Council does not decide any of these applications.
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