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:[1]
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.[2]
| Three Rivers District Council | |
| Logo Pic: | Three Rivers District Council.svg |
| Logo Res: | 200px |
| House Type: | Non-metropolitan district |
| Leader1 Type: | Chair |
| Leader1: | Raj Khiroya |
| Party1: | Liberal Democrats |
| Election1: | 12 December 2023[3] [4] |
| Leader2 Type: | Leader |
| Leader2: | Stephen Giles-Medhurst |
| Party2: | Liberal Democrats |
| Election2: | 21 May 2024[5] |
| Leader3 Type: | Chief Executive |
| Leader3: | Joanne Wagstaffe |
| Election3: | 3 February 2020[6] |
| Members: | 39 councillors |
| Structure1: | Three Rivers District Council 2024.svg |
| Structure1 Res: | 250px |
| Political Groups1: |
|
| Voting System1: | First past the post |
| Last Election1: | 2 May 2024 |
| Next Election1: | 7 May 2026 |
| Session Room: | Three Rivers House, Northway, Rickmansworth.jpg |
| Meeting Place: | Three Rivers House, Northway, Rickmansworth, WD31RL |
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 | |
|---|---|---|
| 1974–1976 | ||
| 1976–1986 | ||
| 1986–1987 | ||
| 1987–1988 | ||
| 1988–1990 | ||
| 1990–1999 | ||
| 1999–2015 | ||
| 2015–2016 | ||
| 2017–2018 | ||
| 2018–2018 | ||
| 2018–present | ||
The leaders of the council since 1986 have been:[10]
| Councillor | Party | From | To | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ann Shaw | 1986 | 17 May 2016 | ||
| Sara Bedford | 17 May 2016 | 14 Jul 2020 | ||
| Sarah Nelmes | 14 Jul 2020 | 21 May 2024 | ||
| Stephen Giles-Medhurst | 21 May 2024 | |||
Following the 2024 election and a change of allegiance in May 2024, the composition of the council was:[11] [12]
| Party | Councillors | |
|---|---|---|
| 21 | ||
| 11 | ||
| 3 | ||
| 3 | ||
| 1 | ||
| Total | 39 | |
The next election is due in May 2026.
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.[13] [14]
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.[15]
The wards of the district are:[15]
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:
| Abbots Langley | Sara Bedford | ||
| Croxley | Chris Lloyd | ||
| Rickmansworth East and Oxhey Park | Reena Ranger | ||
| Rickmansworth West | Paula Hiscocks | ||
| South Oxhey and Eastbury | Christopher Alley | ||
| Three Rivers Rural | Phil Williams |
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.
| width=175px | Seat | Wards | width=100px | MP | Party | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St Albans | Abbots Langley and Bedmond (part), Gade Valley (part) | Daisy Cooper | ||||
| 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 | ||||
| Watford | Abbots Langley and Bedmond (part), Carpenders Park (part), Gade Valley (part), Leavesden, Oxhey Hall and Hayling (part) | Dean Russell | ||||
| 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:[16]
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.