It is important to make efficient use of any landallocated for development. Doing so enables more homes to be delivered overall or with the use of less Green Belt land – or a combination of both. We would like your views on any alternative approaches for increasing housing densities in and around town centres, suburban locations and on other sites. Our proposals for each site set out the potential number of homes which could be built within a developable area. Almost all of the sites, except for those in small rural villages, have an average density of more than 30 dwellings per hectare. One hectare is the equivalent of around 1.4 football pitches. There may be scope in some locations to significantly increase densities, potentially beyond those envisaged for the sites included in this document. Dwellings per hectare is the established, most common measure of housing density and calculates the number of dwellings which could be built within a one hectare area. The number of proposed homes is divided by the developable area of each site which excludes, for example, large areas of public open space. Increasing densities can mean that less land is required for new development, but this needs to be balanced against respecting local character and amenity. To provide additional context, we have identified a range of housing densities across Hertsmere’s existing residential areas. These range from less than 20 dwellings per hectare in some rural areas to well over 100 dwellings per hectare in more urban locations. Have a look at proposed sites and housing densities across Hertsmere's different settlements and rural village locations: Elstree and Borehamwood Elstree Village Bushey Potters Bar Radlett Shenley South Mimms Aldenham Villages Or read the Local Plan Consultation Document as a pdf.