Steering group

Aquadrome

Aquadrome: Drop-in 7th March. Consultation deadline 16th March.

Message from Aquadrome Steering Group.

Following a Councillor briefing at the end of last week, I am pleased to confirm that the Public Engagement for the RIBA 2 Concept Masterplan has now gone live. This will run until Monday 16 March 2026 and will include a public drop in event on Saturday 7 March between the hours of 9.30am and 2pm at the Aquadrome.

The following links to the Have Your Say Platform have all the details:

Summary page: 
Rickmansworth Aquadrome – share your thoughts | Have Your Say Three Rivers

Direct survey link:
https://haveyoursay.threerivers.gov.uk/rickmansworth-aquadrome-project/surveys/concept-designs

Further reading

In addition to the engagement, we have also updated “The Story So Far” page on the TRDC website, to include a presentation we shared last week with Councillors, and information on the engagement. Alongside this, we have also received the completed specialist Hydrological Reports. A summary report has been added alongside the engagement information and also included on the specific “Woodland Walk” page of the website. The technical reports can be located on the Aquadrome Data Hub page. I have included all of these links below for you:

Accessibility survey

We are also seeking input from people with a disability, or those caring for people with disabilities to tell us about their experience and how we can improve the Aquadrome for you. There is a separate Accessibility Survey as part of the “Have Your Say” platform, which if you could also share that would be great: Rickmansworth Aquadrome Accessibility Survey | Have Your Say Three Rivers

The RIBA Stage 2 document will be the main focus of the Steering group meeting in March, however you may wish to familiarise yourself with it beforehand and take the opportunity to complete the survey, so your thoughts are captured.

Please do share this with your local communities and anyone you feel would be interested in completing the engagement form or having a look at the hydrological reports, which are fascinating.

By R.D.R.A., ago

Message from the Aquadrome Steering Group

The Pedestrian Bridge:

I am so pleased to let you know that the new pedestrian bridge is complete and is now open. The diversion routes have been removed, and visitors can enjoy walking over the attractive bridge into the Nature Reserve.

This has been a challenging project, and we are happy to have opened the bridge for the public to enjoy, however the opening of Ebury Way Play Area will now take place later than hoped and is now scheduled for this coming autumn owing to the discovery of Japanese Knotweed on site.

Following a public vote through the Councils ‘Have Your Say’ digital platform, the bridge has been named ‘The Aquadrome Bridge’.

The bridges completion and naming will be formally celebrated in late June with the Lord Lieutenant of Hertfordshire attending to cut the ribbon!

Summary of recent work:

This has been a busy period and is marked with the completion of the pedestrian bridge, the upgrade of 21 Fishing Swims, creation of 6 Back to Nature sites, use of the new branding and the construction of a bird viewing platform.

Below are ‘before and after’ photos of some of these projects as the change and the improvements are great to see.

Key milestones of the construction of Aquadrome Bridge

What’s Next:

We await the decision from the National Lottery Heritage fund for a Development bid. If successful, this will provide a grant of £787,315 which will enable us to develop:

  • A Landscape and Environmental Design Master Plan for the entire site
  • Increase our Public and Stake holder engagement
  • Complete all surveys of the site including the Hydrological Study (still awaiting the updated flood modelling from the Environment Agency, who have now given an updated timescale of July)

The work in the Development phase will inform us about the requirements needed when we submit a Delivery phase bid to the National Lottery. This bid is currently estimated at £5.5m and will focus on Nature Recovery and Visitor Experience.

During these phases of work, we will look to utilise the HS2 Colne Valley Additional Mitigation Plan (AMP) funding of £510,463 which we received last year. This money has been used as match funding to help leverage the National Lottery funding bid. The work allocated under this budget includes improved paths, habitat enhancements and a new boardwalk.

I am looking to arrange a meeting for the Steering Group in late September as we will be able to discuss the outcomes of the National Lottery bid at that point and the plan moving forward. Though I will keep you updated by email with any news we receive about our Development bid.

By R.D.R.A., ago

Neighbourhood Plan Referendum Result

Message from The Batchworth Plan Steering Group.

We are really pleased to announce that 81.7% of those who voted in the referendum on 1st May 2025 have voted in favour of the Neighbourhood Plan being used to help determine planning applications in the Batchworth area.

The full results were as follows:
Electorate: 9242
Turnout: 31.1%

“Do you want Three Rivers District Council to use the neighbourhood plan for Batchworth to help it decide planning applications in the neighbourhood area?”

Response Votes
Yes: 2264
No: 505

Now that the Neighbourhood Plan has been adopted, Batchworth Community Council will be looking to take forward the projects outlined in the plan. If you would like to be kept informed of this work and other council news, please sign up to the newsletter at
https://www.batchworth-ecc.gov.uk.

Thank you for your involvement over the last few years – the adoption of the Neighbourhood Plan is a big step forward in bringing about the positive changes we would all like to see in our neighbourhood.
By R.D.R.A., ago