Three Rivers Three Rivers District | |
|---|---|
 Church Street,Rickmansworth | |
 Three Rivers shown within Hertfordshire | |
| 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 | Gagan Mohindra |
| Area | |
• Total | 88.8 km2 (34.3 sq mi) |
| • Rank | 206th(of 296) |
| Population (2024) | |
• Total | 95,807 |
| • Rank | 258th(of 296) |
| • Density | 1,080/km2 (2,790/sq mi) |
| 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 alocal government district in south-westHertfordshire, England. Its council is based inRickmansworth. The district bordersHertsmere,Watford,St Albans,Dacorum,Buckinghamshire, and theLondon boroughs ofHillingdon andHarrow.
Three Rivers District was created on 1 April 1974 under theLocal 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 riversChess,Colne, andGade which flow through the district and have theirconfluence in Rickmansworth, the largest town in the district.[3]
Three Rivers District Council | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Type | |
| Type | |
| Leadership | |
Joanne Wagstaffe since 3 February 2020[6] | |
| Structure | |
| Seats | 39 councillors |
 | |
Political groups |
|
| Elections | |
| First past the post | |
Last election | 2 May 2024 |
Next election | 7 May 2026 |
| 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, andHertfordshire County Council providing county-level services. In some areas there is an additional third tier ofcivil parishes.[7]
Three Rivers District Council carries out a variety of district council functions including:
The council has been underno overall control since a by-election in August 2024, having previously been underLiberal Democrat majority control since 2018. The leaders of the council have been Liberal Democrats (or their predecessors, theSDP–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:[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 | 2018–2024 | |
| No overall control | 2024- | |
Theleaders of the council since 1986 have been:
| Councillor | Party | From | To | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ann Shaw[10] | Liberal Democrats | 1986 | 17 May 2016 | |
| Sara Bedford[11][12] | Liberal Democrats | 17 May 2016 | 14 Jul 2020 | |
| Sarah Nelmes[12][13] | Liberal Democrats | 14 Jul 2020 | 21 May 2024 | |
| Stephen Giles-Medhurst[14] | Liberal Democrats | 21 May 2024 | ||
Following the2024 election and by-elections and changes of allegiance up to March 2025, the composition of the council was:[15][16][17]
| Party | Councillors | |
|---|---|---|
| Liberal Democrats | 19 | |
| Conservative | 12 | |
| Green | 3 | |
| Labour | 3 | |
| Independent | 2 | |
| Total | 39 | |
The next election is due in May 2026.[18]
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.[19][20]
Since the last boundary changes in 2014 the council has comprised 39councillors representing 13wards, 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.[21]
The wards of the district are:[21]
For elections toHertfordshire 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 | |
Forparliamentary elections, the entire district has been part of theSouth West Hertfordshire constituency since the2024 general election.[23] The constituency is not quite coterminous with the district, however, as it also contains the ward ofKings Langley from theDacorum district.[24] The current MP isGagan Mohindra of theConservative Party.
Train services are provided byChiltern Railways and theMetropolitan line of theLondon Underground.
London Underground stations:
Chiltern Railways stations:
Aspecial fare structure exists as the stations are outside theGreater London boundary.
London Overground stations:
West Coast Main Line stations:
Three Rivers is partially parished. There are sixcivil parishes in the district:[25]
There are also twounparished 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 andMill End, Rickmansworth; and a smaller area including part ofLoudwater.[25]
51°38′19.28″N0°28′9.46″W / 51.6386889°N 0.4692944°W /51.6386889; -0.4692944
| International | |
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| National | |
