Three Rivers is a

local government district The districts of England (also known as local authority districts or local government districts to distinguish from unofficial city districts) are a level of subnational division of England used for the purposes of local government. As the st ...

in southwest Hertfordshire, England. Its council is based in

Rickmansworth Rickmansworth () is a town in southwest Hertfordshire, England, about northwest of central London and inside the perimeter of the M25 motorway. The town is mainly to the north of the Grand Union Canal (formerly the Grand Junction Canal) and ...

. The district was formed on 1 April 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972, by the merger of Rickmansworth Urban District, Chorleywood Urban District and part of

Watford Rural District Watford Rural District was a rural district in Hertfordshire from 1894 to 1974. It initially surrounded but did not including the town of Watford, which was a separate urban district. It gradually ceded territory to other districts, and by the ...

. The confluence of the

Chess Chess is a board game for two players, called White and Black, each controlling an army of chess pieces in their color, with the objective to checkmate the opponent's king. It is sometimes called international chess or Western chess to dist ...

and the Gade with the

Colne Colne () is a market town and civil parish in the Borough of Pendle in Lancashire, England. Located northeast of Nelson, north-east of Burnley, east of Preston and west of Leeds. The town should not be confused with the unrelated Colne Val ...

in Rickmansworth inspired the district's name. The main offices are located in

in Three Rivers House, opened in 1991.

District council

Three Rivers is a

non-metropolitan district Non-metropolitan districts, or colloquially "shire districts", are a type of Districts of England, local government district in England. As created, they are sub-divisions of non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties (colloquially ''shi ...

that elects one-third of its councillors every four years and with the fourth year for elections to

Hertfordshire County Council Hertfordshire County Council is the upper-tier local authority for the non-metropolitan county of Hertfordshire, in England, the United Kingdom. After the 2021 election, it consists of 78 councillors, and is controlled by the Conservative Party, ...

. In the 2014 elections new ward boundaries came into effect and the council was reduced from 48 to 39 seats. All seats were contested at that election although future elections will continue to be conducted in thirds. The

Liberal Democrat Several political parties from around the world have been called the Liberal Democratic Party or Liberal Democrats. These parties usually follow a liberal democratic ideology. Active parties Former parties See also *Liberal democracy *Lib ...

administration fell to minority status with the resignation of two councillors from the party, in March and April 2018. Following the 2 May 2019 elections, the composition of the council is:

Wards

Three Rivers is composed of thirteen wards, each electing three councillors: * 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

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 (includes Domestic and Commercial Premises) *Food Safety and Hygiene Complaints *Noise Pollution and Pest Control *Housing Administration *Licensing *Caravan Sites *Planning, including Planning Applications, Advice and Appeals *Public Conveniences *Health and Leisure Centres *Refuse Collection *Recycling *Tourism and Visitor Information

Composition

The Council is controlled by the Liberal Democrats, who hold 23 of the 39 seats. The

Conservatives Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

form the second-largest faction, with 12, of the seats followed by Labour with 3 seats and Greens with 1 seat. Three Rivers is a

that elects one-third of its councillors at any one time with councillor elected three times every four years, with the fourth for elections to

). In the

2016 elections The following elections occurred in the year 2016. Africa Benin Republic * 2016 Beninese presidential election 6 March 2016 Cape Verde * 2016 Cape Verdean presidential election 2 October 2016 Chad * 2016 Chadian presidential election 1 ...

, the council remained under a minority Liberal Democrat administration. The Liberal Democrats regained their majority following a by-election in January 2017. Previously, there were 48 seats: half of the wards elected two councillors each. Nine elected three councillors each.

Sarratt Sarratt is both a village and a civil parish in Three Rivers District, Hertfordshire, England. It is situated north of Rickmansworth on high ground near the county boundary with Buckinghamshire. The chalk stream, the River Chess, rising just n ...

ward elected one. Councillors are divided into classes depending on the year of their retirement. Usually, this will be four years after their election. However, if a ward elects two members at a given election (because of a by-election being held at the same time as a normal election), the councillor with the most votes receives the later of the two available retirement dates.

Political Control

County council

For elections to

, the district is divided into six divisions, three of which are held by the Conservatives, and three by the Liberal Democrats:

Parliament

For

parliamentary A parliamentary system, or parliamentarian democracy, is a system of democratic governance of a state (or subordinate entity) where the executive derives its democratic legitimacy from its ability to command the support ("confidence") of the ...

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 Events January * January 1 – The International Police Association (IPA) – the largest police organization in the world – is formed. * January 5 – Sverdlovsk plane crash: ''Aeroflot'' Lisunov Li-2 crashes in a snowstorm. All 19 ...

. The eastern parts of the constituency, to the north and south of

Watford Watford () is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, 15 miles northwest of Central London, on the River Colne. Initially a small market town, the Grand Junction Canal encouraged the construction of paper-making mills, print works, and ...

, are part of that borough's constituency, which is a three-way marginal currently held by

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

Dean Russell Dean Russell (born 8 May 1976) is a British Conservative Party politician. He has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Watford since the 2019 general election. He served as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Enterprise and Markets f ...

, 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 Daisy Cooper (born 29 October 1981) is a British Liberal Democrat politician who has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for St Albans since 2019. She has served as the deputy leader of the Liberal Democrat parliamentary party since 2020 ...

Rail

Train services are provided by Chiltern Railways and the Metropolitan line of the

London Underground The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or by its nickname the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and Hertfordshire in England. The ...

. London Underground stations: * Chorleywood * Croxley *

* Moor Park Chiltern Railways stations: * Chorleywood *

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 Abbots Langley is a large village and civil parish in the English county of Hertfordshire. It is an old settlement and is mentioned (under the name of Langelai) in the Domesday Book. Economically the village is closely linked to Watford and was ...

* Chorleywood *

Croxley Green 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 northeast and Rickmansworth to the southwest, it is approximately northwest of central ...

* Loudwater * Maple Cross * Moor Park *

* South Oxhey

Civil parishes

Three Rivers is partially parished. There are six civil parishes in the district: *

* Batchworth * Chorleywood *

* Watford Rural There are two areas of unparished land: one larger area including Maple Cross and Mill End, Rickmansworth; and a smaller area including part of Loudwater.

Footnotes

External links

Three Rivers District Council

Map of the district
{{Authority control Districts of Hertfordshire 1974 establishments in England