# Three Rivers District

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.

## History

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:
* Chorleywood Urban District
* Rickmansworth Urban District
* Watford Rural District, except the parish of Aldenham, which went to Hertsmere, and the part within the designated area of Hemel Hempstead New Town, which went to Dacorum.
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.

## Governance

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.

### Responsibilities

Three Rivers District Council carries out a variety of district council functions including:
* Benefits - Housing and Council Tax
* Car Parking
* Concessionary Travel
* Council Tax - Administration and Collection
* Elections and Electoral Registration
* Environmental Health
* Food Safety and Hygiene Complaints
* Noise Pollution and Pest Control
* Housing Administration
* Licensing
* Caravan Sites
* Town Planning
* Public Conveniences
* Health and Leisure Centres
* Refuse Collection
* Recycling
* Tourism and Visitor Information

### Political control

The council has been under no overall control since a by-election in August 2024, having previously been under Liberal Democrat majority control 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.
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:
| 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 | 2018–2024 |
| No overall control | 2024- |

### Leadership

The leaders of the council since 1986 have been:
| 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 | 21 May 2024 |
| Stephen Giles-Medhurst | Liberal Democrats | 21 May 2024 | |

### Composition

Following the 2024 election and a change of allegiance in May 2024 and by-election in August 2024, the composition of the council was:
| Party | Party | Councillors |
| | Liberal Democrats | 19 |
| | Conservative | 12 |
| | Green | 3 |
| | Labour | 3 |
| | Independent | 2 |
| Total | Total | 39 |
The next election is due in May 2026.

### Premises

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.

## Elections

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.

### Wards

The wards of the district are:
* Abbots Langley and Bedmond
* Carpenders Park
* Chorleywood North and Sarratt
* Chorleywood South and Maple Cross
* Dickinsons
* Durrants
* Gade Valley
* Leavesden
* Moor Park and Eastbury
* Oxhey Hall and Hayling
* Penn and Mill End
* Rickmansworth Town
* South Oxhey

### Wider politics
#### County council

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:
Hertfordshire County Councillors for divisions in Three Rivers :
| 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 |

#### Parliament

For parliamentary elections, the entire district has been part of the South West Hertfordshire constituency since the 2024 general election. The constituency is not quite coterminous with the district, however, as it also contains the ward of Kings Langley from the Dacorum district. The current MP is Gagan Mohindra of the Conservative Party.

## Rail

Train services are provided by Chiltern Railways and the Metropolitan line of the London Underground.
London Underground stations:
* Chorleywood
* Croxley
* Rickmansworth
* Moor Park
Chiltern Railways stations:
* Chorleywood
* Rickmansworth
A special fare structure exists as the stations are outside the Greater London boundary.
London Overground stations:
* Carpenders Park
West Coast Main Line stations:
* Kings Langley

## Settlements

* Abbots Langley
* Chorleywood
* Croxley Green
* Loudwater
* Maple Cross
* Moor Park
* Rickmansworth
* Sarratt
* South Oxhey

## Civil parishes

Three Rivers is partially parished. There are six civil parishes in the district:
* Abbots Langley
* Batchworth
* Chorleywood
* Croxley Green
* Sarratt
* Watford Rural
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.

## Footnotes

* 1 2 UK Census (2021). "2021 Census Area Profile – Three Rivers Local Authority (E07000102)". Nomis. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 5 January 2024.
* ↑ "The English Non-metropolitan Districts (Definition) Order 1972", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 1972/2039, retrieved 12 May 2023
* ↑ "The English Non-metropolitan Districts (Names) Order 1973", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 1973/551, retrieved 12 May 2023
* ↑ "Council minutes, 12 December 2023". Three Rivers District Council. Retrieved 10 March 2024.
* ↑ "Cllr Raj Khiroya re-elected as Chair for Three Rivers District Council". Three Rivers District Council. 24 May 2024. Retrieved 29 May 2024.
* ↑ Wootton, Doug (23 May 2024). "Three Rivers District Council elects new leader". Watford Observer. Retrieved 29 May 2024.
* ↑ "Three Rivers appoints new Chief Executive". Three Rivers District Council. 8 January 2020. Retrieved 15 May 2023.
* ↑ "Local Government Act 1972", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, 1972 c. 70, retrieved 3 March 2023
* ↑ "Compositions calculator". The Elections Centre. Retrieved 14 May 2023.
* ↑ "Three Rivers". BBC News Online. 19 April 2008. Retrieved 25 September 2009.
* ↑ "Council minutes". Three Rivers District Council. Retrieved 7 June 2022.
* ↑ "Three Rivers election result". BBC News. 3 May 2024. Retrieved 19 May 2024.
* ↑ Boothroyd, David (10 May 2024). "Grand post-election roundup". Local Councils. Thorncliffe. Retrieved 29 May 2024.
* ↑ Holmes, Bryn (23 August 2024). "Election Result: Lib Dems lose majority on Three Rivers council after Tories win by-election". My Local News. Retrieved 25 August 2024.
* ↑ "Tour the council". Harefield Gazette. 9 October 1991. p. 3. Retrieved 15 May 2023.
* ↑ "Rickmansworth: Basing House". Buckinghamshire Examiner. 14 November 1930. p. 1. Retrieved 7 November 2023.
* 1 2 "The Three Rivers (Electoral Changes) Order 2014", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 2014/243, retrieved 15 May 2023
* ↑ "Hertfordshire's County Councillors". Hertfordshire County Council. Archived from the original on 12 September 2021. Retrieved 12 September 2021.
* ↑ "Final recommendations local authority ward data". Boundary Commission for England. Retrieved 27 August 2024.
* ↑ "The 2023 Review of Parliamentary Constituency Boundaries in England – Volume two: Constituency names, designations and composition – Eastern". Boundary Commission for England. Retrieved 27 August 2024.
* 1 2 "Election Maps". Ordnance Survey. Retrieved 25 September 2021.