Scope of this guide
Planning decisions for Elstree Village are made by Hertsmere Borough Council; the village is in Hertfordshire, beyond the Greater London boundary. This guide deals with the village and its conservation area only, and the designations, flood zones and geology described below all relate to that 21.5-hectare boundary.
For neighbouring places, the areas index is the starting point, since no regional guide sits above this page. Geology here is from the British Geological Survey, listings from the National Heritage List, flood zones from the Environment Agency and housing counts from the Valuation Office Agency, with the boundary itself taken from planning.data.gov.uk.
Records for the village and its conservation area
Every statement below links to the public record it comes from; sources were re-checked on .
The conservation area
The Elstree Village conservation area record on planning.data.gov.uk, reference 2447, gives a record start date of 4 August 1976 (the date the dataset uses for a designation or its latest boundary change) and a mapped area of about 21.5 hectares.
Hertsmere publishes an appraisal for the conservation area and keeps a borough-wide conservation areas page, and both are read before external alterations are designed.
With only 21.5 hectares inside it, the mapped line decides a lot: an address close to it is compared with the map before anyone assumes the extra conservation-area controls apply or do not.
Article 4 directions are absent from the planning.data.gov.uk dataset for this boundary, but the dataset is not exhaustive, so Hertsmere's conservation areas information is used to confirm whether one applies.
Listed buildings
Fourteen list entries sit inside the boundary in the NHLE dataset as queried on 1 November 2026, 13 of them Grade II and the remaining one Grade II*.
That Grade II* entry is the Holly Bush Public House, and there is no Grade I entry within the conservation area.
Where an address is a list entry or stands next to one, the NHLE record and any consent history are among the first documents asked for, since listed building consent covers interiors as well as elevations.
The Aldenham House registered park
The Aldenham House registered park and garden, graded II by Historic England, overlaps about 1.25 hectares of the conservation area.
Where a property is within or beside that overlap, the registered park entry forms part of the planning background, since decisions on new building or extensions nearby can take the registered landscape's setting into account.
Clay-rich ground
On the Geology Viewer bedrock layer, four of the five sample points fall on the Claygate Member, described as clay, silt and sand, and the fifth on London Clay Formation.
No superficial deposits are recorded at any of those points on the BGS map, so the map shows the bedrock with no mapped cover above it.
Both units contain clay that can shrink and swell as its moisture content changes, particularly near trees, so where the geology viewer places a house on them an inspection looks at crack patterns, tree positions and the footings of older buildings and later extensions.
The Claygate Member also holds sandier beds that leaking drains can loosen, so the state of drainage near the house is recorded alongside any movement, with the BGS mapping treated as an area guide rather than a site investigation.
Flood mapping
The Environment Agency's Flood Map for Planning maps none of the conservation area in Flood Zone 2 or Flood Zone 3.
Because those zones cover only rivers and the sea, ignore defences and are not worked out for individual buildings, the long-term flood risk search is consulted to see whether surface water affects the address.
Housing in two surrounding LSOAs
The VOA 2025 property counts give about 1,450 dwellings in the two surrounding LSOAs used here, E01023564 and E01023565, each count rounded to the nearest 10.
Those LSOAs reach beyond the village, and the VOA build-period table dates 47.6% of their dwellings to 1945-1972, 23.4% to 1973-1999, 11.0% to 2000 or later, 6.9% to before 1900, 6.2% to 1919-1939, 2.1% to 1900-1918 and 1.4% to unknown dates.
Of the stock in the type figures, 32.4% is flats and maisonettes, with semi-detached houses at 26.2%, terraced and detached houses at 19.3% each and bungalows at 1.4%.
A third of dwellings, 33.8%, fall in bands F to H in the VOA band table, with band G at 16.6% and band H at 7.6%.
The VOA counts therefore describe a mostly post-war neighbourhood around the village rather than any house inside the conservation area, and they are not a conservation-area figure.
Guides for the village
A single local guide exists for the village at present, and the practice-wide page next to it covers the wider service.
Practice-wide services
Neighbouring guides in and beyond Hertsmere
Radlett, Bushey and Potters Bar are also in Hertsmere and have their own guides, while Mill Hill lies across the Greater London boundary; the areas index lists the rest.
Questions about the village records
Which part of Elstree does this page describe?
The village only. The heritage, flood and geology figures describe the village conservation area, about 21.5 hectares in size, while the housing figures come from two LSOAs that extend beyond it.
Is the Holly Bush the only Grade II* building in the village?
Within the conservation area, yes. The NHLE data holds 14 list entries inside the boundary, and the Holly Bush Public House is alone at Grade II*; the remaining 13 are Grade II and no entry is Grade I.
Does the Aldenham House park reach into the conservation area?
Partly. Historic England's Aldenham House registered park and garden, graded II, overlaps about 1.25 hectares of the conservation area. If a property is in or beside that overlap, expect the park's setting to feature in any planning decision about extensions or new building.
What is the Claygate Member?
The British Geological Survey's 1:50,000 map describes it as clay, silt and sand, and places four of the five sample points in the conservation area on it, with London Clay at the fifth. Its clay can shrink and swell, and its sandier beds can be disturbed by leaking drains, so both are considered.
Is any of the village in a flood zone?
Not on the planning map: the Flood Map for Planning shows no part of the conservation area in Flood Zone 2 or 3. Surface water is outside that map's scope, so look the address up on the long-term flood risk search as well.
What should I prepare before asking about a village property?
The full address, whether the building is a list entry, and copies of consents for past alterations. Add drawings for extensions or conversions, notes on tree work near the house and any drainage reports, since clay ground and historic fabric both shape the scope.
How we work on an instruction
Hampstead Chartered Surveyors is a RICS-regulated firm (RICS Regulated Firm No. 923064) working from its registered Hampstead NW3 office. The firm does not claim premises, staff or completed instructions in an individual locality, and it does not treat a neighbourhood name as evidence about a particular building.
An instruction starts with the full address, the decision the client faces and the documents already available, such as leases, drawings, notices or earlier reports. The scope, fee and inspection date are confirmed in writing only after that review, and access to roofs, lofts, basements or common parts is agreed before the visit.
Reports include RICS Level 2 and Level 3 home surveys, building and defect investigations, party wall appointments, reinstatement cost assessments, contract administration and schedules of condition. Each report records what was inspected, what could not be seen and what further investigation the evidence supports.
Public datasets such as the conservation-area register, the National Heritage List for England, British Geological Survey mapping, the Environment Agency flood map and Valuation Office Agency housing statistics describe areas rather than individual properties. They frame questions before an inspection; they never replace it.
Reviewed by Savas Bulduk BSc (Hons) MRICS, Director & Chartered Building Surveyor at Hampstead Chartered Surveyors & Building Consultancy. Last reviewed: . Our people · RICS firm record