East Hertfordshire is a
local government district in
Hertfordshire,
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...
. Its council is based in
Hertford
Hertford ( ) is the county town of Hertfordshire, England, and is also a civil parish in the East Hertfordshire district of the county. The parish had a population of 26,783 at the 2011 census.
The town grew around a ford on the River Lea ...
, the
county town of Hertfordshire. The largest town in the district is
Bishop's Stortford, and the other main towns are
Ware,
Buntingford and
Sawbridgeworth
Sawbridgeworth is a town and civil parish in Hertfordshire, England, close to the border with Essex. It is east of Hertford and north of Epping. It is the northernmost part of the Greater London Built-up Area.
History
Prior to the Norman ...
. At the
2011 Census, the population of the district was 137,687.
The district was formed on 1 April 1974, under the
Local Government Act 1972
The Local Government Act 1972 (c. 70) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974. It was one of the most significant Acts of Parliament to be passed by the Heath Gov ...
, by the merger of the
municipal borough
Municipal boroughs were a type of local government district which existed in England and Wales between 1835 and 1974, in Northern Ireland from 1840 to 1973 and in the Republic of Ireland from 1840 to 2002. Broadly similar structures existed in ...
of Hertford with Bishop's Stortford, Sawbridgeworth and Ware
urban districts, and
Braughing Rural District,
Ware Rural District
Ware Rural District was a rural district in Hertfordshire, England from 1894 to 1974, covering an area in the east of the county.
Evolution
The district had its origins in the Ware Rural Sanitary District. This had been created under the ...
and part of
Hertford Rural District. By area it is the largest of the ten local government districts in Hertfordshire. It borders the
North Hertfordshire district and the boroughs of
Stevenage
Stevenage ( ) is a large town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, about north of London. Stevenage is east of junctions 7 and 8 of the A1(M), between Letchworth Garden City to the north and Welwyn Garden City to the south. In 1946, Ste ...
,
Welwyn Hatfield and
Broxbourne
Broxbourne is a town and former civil parish, now in the unparished area of Hoddesdon, in the Broxbourne district, in Hertfordshire, England, north of London, with a population of 15,303 at the 2011 Census.Broxbourne Town population 2011 It ...
in Hertfordshire, and the districts of
Epping Forest
Epping Forest is a area of ancient woodland, and other established habitats, which straddles the border between Greater London and Essex. The main body of the forest stretches from Epping in the north, to Chingford on the edge of the Londo ...
,
Harlow and
Uttlesford
Uttlesford is a local government district in Essex, England. Its council is based in the market town of Saffron Walden. At the 2011 Census, the population of the district was 79,443. Other notable settlements include Great Dunmow, Elmdon, Stebbi ...
in
Essex
Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...
.
In the 2006 edition of
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...
's "Best and Worst Places to Live in the UK", East Hertfordshire was rated the seventh-best district to live in. In 2012, East Hertfordshire came ninth in
Halifax bank's annual survey of most desirable places to live. It came first in this survey in 2020.
Transport
The district contains only one motorway - a small stretch of the
M11 at Bishop's Stortford. The major roads within the district include:
A10 - (north-south) from London to Cambridge: enters after
Hoddesdon, Hertfordshire, leaves before Royston dualled.
A414 - (WSW-ENE) from Welwyn to Harlow, through Hertford, where it forms the Hertford by-pass.
A602 - (SE-NW), connecting at A10 at Ware with the A1(M) at Stevenage.
A120 - (west-east) connecting the A10 at Standon with the M11 at Bishop's Stortford.
None of the above roads are classified as
trunk roads. Therefore, they are maintained by
Hertfordshire County Council while responsibility for the M11 rests with the
Highways Agency
National Highways, formerly the Highways Agency and later Highways England, is a State-owned enterprise, government-owned company charged with operating, maintaining and improving Roads in England, motorways and major A roads in England. It al ...
.
Stansted Airport
London Stansted Airport is a tertiary international airport serving London, England, United Kingdom. It is located near Stansted Mountfitchet, Essex, England, northeast of Central London.
London Stansted serves over 160 destinations acr ...
is just beyond the edge of the district near Bishop's Stortford, but officially sits within Uttlesford district in neighbouring Essex. Many of the district's towns have rail services into London at
King's Cross,
Moorgate
Moorgate was one of the City of London's northern gates in its defensive wall, the last to be built. The gate took its name from the Moorfields, an area of marshy land that lay immediately north of the wall.
The gate was demolished in 1762, b ...
, and
Liverpool Street.
Employment
The district's biggest employer is the pharmaceutical company
GlaxoSmithKline
GSK plc, formerly GlaxoSmithKline plc, is a British Multinational corporation, multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology company with global headquarters in London, England. Established in 2000 by a Mergers and acquisitions, merger of Gl ...
, which has a research and manufacturing centre in
Ware. The company also has a large research centre and office in neighbouring
Stevenage
Stevenage ( ) is a large town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, about north of London. Stevenage is east of junctions 7 and 8 of the A1(M), between Letchworth Garden City to the north and Welwyn Garden City to the south. In 1946, Ste ...
.
Parishes
The district is entirely parished. See
List of civil parishes in Hertfordshire.
Council
The council is responsible for a range of local services including refuse and recycling collection, planning, building control, licensing, housing, parking and council tax collection.
The council is officially called 'East Hertfordshire District Council', but its corporate branding is 'East Herts Council'.
The council is currently controlled by 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 i ...
, who won 40 of the 50 council seats at the last elections in 2019.
Initially referred to in legislation with only a reference of 'Hertfordshire 3', it gained the name East Hertfordshire through The English Non-Metropolitan Districts (Names) Order 1973.
The initial wards were laid down in The County of Hertfordshire (District Wards) Order 1973, and were subsequently revised in The District of East Hertfordshire (Electoral Arrangements) Order 1976 and The District of East Hertfordshire (Electoral changes) Order 1998.
The first elections to the new Authority were held in 1973, and the new council structures came into force on 1 April 1974.
The boundaries of East Hertfordshire District Council have remained largely unchanged since 1972, although some minor alterations have been made. In 1982, part of the parish of Aston was transferred from Stevenage District Council to East Hertfordshire.
In 1985, East Hertfordshire and
Welwyn Hatfield Borough exchanged parcels of land in the
Tewin and
Datchworth areas.
In 1992 the boundary between Hertfordshire and
Essex
Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...
was realigned to better respect natural boundaries. Changes were made in the
Albury, Bishop's Stortford,
Eastwick,
Gilston,
Hunsdon, Sawbridgeworth,
Stansted Abbots and
Thorley
Thorley may refer to:
Places
* Thorley, Hertfordshire, England
* Thorley, Isle of Wight, England
People with the surname Thorley
* Di Thorley, Australian politician
* Wilfrid Thorley, English poet
* Ollie Thorley, English rugby player
People w ...
parishes. In total the parts of Essex transferred to Hertfordshire had a total area of 170 hectares, and 500 inhabitants, and the parts of Hertfordshire transferred to Essex had a total area of 260 hectares and a population of 60. In 2013, an area of
Walkern parish with 19 properties was transferred to
Stevenage Borough.
Responsibilities
Hertfordshire has three-tier local government, meaning responsibilities for local government are split between
County Councils,
District Councils, and
Parish Councils. The division between the between the responsibilities is laid down in law. The
Local Government Association
The Local Government Association (LGA) is the national membership body for local authorities. Its core membership is made up of 339 English councils and the 22 Welsh councils through the Welsh Local Government Association.
The LGA is p ...
has summarised the divisions between Counties and Districts (the two main levels of councils) as follows:
Governance
The overall policies and budget of the council are determined by full council meetings of East Herts, comprising all 50 members of the authority.
In common with most other English local authorities, East Herts operates the '
leader with executive' governance model. Under these arrangements, full council chooses one of its members to be the leader of the council. In turn, the leader appoints at least two and no more than nine other councillors to be the executive. Most of the day-to-day member-level decision making of the council is undertaken by the executive.
The role of the executive, as defined by Section 6.5.1 of the council's constitution is to:
"(a) make key decisions as defined in Part 2, Chapter 11 and published in the Forward Plan;
(b) formulate the annual budget and Policy Framework for submission to Council in accordance with the budget and Policy Framework procedure rules in Part 4 of the Constitution;
(c) implement the approved budget and Policy Framework;
(d) determine recommendations and other matters referred to it by committees, sub-committees or the Council;
(e) carry out all of the functions which by law the Executive must carry out or it has chosen to carry out and which have not been delegated elsewhere; and
(f) ensure the publication of, and to consider, the plan of items likely to come before it for decision at least 28 days before the decision is due to be made."
Councillors, including those who are not members of the Executive, sit on committees which currently include:
The two Scrutiny committees work to improve the delivery of policies and services by scrutinising the Executive, advising on new policy areas and testing existing policy responses.
In addition, members sit on quasi-judicial committees such as Development Management and Licensing. The Development Management Committee deals with planning applications and planning enforcement matters. The Licensing Committee deals with statutory provisions relating to liquor, taxi, gaming, entertainment, food and miscellaneous licensing and health and safety functions.
Members on these committees are expressly forbidden from having a 'party whip', and have to make decisions based on the legislative framework.
As with all other English councils, East Hertfordshire also operates a scheme of delegation, which means that many operational decisions are taken by paid council officers rather than councillors. Examples of decisions taken by officers rather than councillors would be determination of routine planning and licensing applications, with the more complex or contentious decisions being taken by councillors in committee.
As a consequence of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989, the council follows political proportionality in the appointment of councillors to individual committees. The aim is to ensure the political composition of those committees reflects the political representation of the Council. These rules do not apply to the Executive, which can be composed entirely of members of one political group.
Election Results
East Hertfordshire District Council elects its 50 councillors through whole council elections every four years. The next elections are due to be held in 2023.
By-elections
A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election ( Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election use ...
are held when a casual vacancy arises due to death, resignation or disqualification.
The Conservative Party has won a majority in each election since 1999. However, the district is not unwaveringly Conservative. The party lost control in the 1995-1999 council term, and did not control the authority during the council's first three year term of 1973-1976.
The Council had 48 members at the 1973 and 1976 elections, afterwards the council had 50 members.
Wards
East Hertfordshire consists of thirty wards, and are a mixture of 1, 2 and 3 member wards. These wards are split between three parliamentary constituencies:
Hertford and Stortford,
North East Hertfordshire and
Stevenage
Stevenage ( ) is a large town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, about north of London. Stevenage is east of junctions 7 and 8 of the A1(M), between Letchworth Garden City to the north and Welwyn Garden City to the south. In 1946, Ste ...
.
The
Local Government Boundary Commission for England
The Local Government Boundary Commission for England (LGBCE) is a parliamentary body established by statute to conduct boundary, electoral and structural reviews of local government areas in England. The LGBCE is independent of government and pol ...
has been conducting a boundary review in 2022-23. In March 2022 made initial proposals on new ward boundaries which would take effect from the next all-out council elections in May 2023. Final recommendations are due in August 2022.
Leaders of the Council
Political leadership is provided by the leader of the council. Since 2015 the leader has been Linda Haysey, a Conservative. Former leaders are listed with the council's
historic election results.
Chairman of the Council
The chairman of East Hertfordshire District Council is the ceremonial head of the council, first citizen of district and the chair of full council meetings. At full council meetings, the chairman must ensure the smooth running of meetings, uphold the constitution, interpret the rules of procedure and maintain an 'apolitical stance.' The chairman may, though, exercise a casting vote in the case of a tied vote with 'complete freedom of conscience.' The chairman is forbidden by the constitution from being a member of the Executive. The chairman is elected annually by Council.
See also
*
East Hertfordshire District Council elections
East Hertfordshire District Council is elected every four years.
Elections Summary and Political control
The Council had 48 members at the 1973 and 1976 elections, afterwards the council had 50 members.
Council elections
* 1973 East Hertfordsh ...
*
The Hundred Parishes
The Hundred Parishes is an area of the East of England with no formal recognition or status, albeit that the concept has the blessing of county and district authorities. It encompasses around 450 square miles (1,100 square kilometres) of northwes ...
References
External links
East Hertfordshire District Council official website
{{commons category, East Hertfordshire District, East Hertfordshire
Districts of Hertfordshire