East Hertfordshire is one of ten

local government districts The districts of England (officially, local authority districts, abbreviated LADs) are a level of subnational division of England used for the purposes of local government. As the structure of local government in England is not uniform, there ...

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and one of the home counties. It borders Bedfordshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Essex to the east, Greater London to the ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. 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 (crossing), ford on ...

, the

county town In Great Britain and Ireland, a county town is usually the location of administrative or judicial functions within a county, and the place where public representatives are elected to parliament. Following the establishment of county councils in ...

of Hertfordshire. The largest town in the district is

Bishop's Stortford Bishop's Stortford is a historic market town and civil parish in the East Hertfordshire district, in the county of Hertfordshire, England. It is in the London metropolitan area, London commuter belt, near the border with Essex, just west of the ...

, and the other main towns are

Ware WARE (1250 AM) is a commercial radio station broadcasting a classic hits format. Licensed to Ware, Massachusetts, United States, the station serves the Springfield radio market. The station is currently owned by Success Signal Broadcasting ...

Buntingford Buntingford is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the district of East Hertfordshire and county of Hertfordshire in England. It lies next to the River Rib and is located on the historic Roman road, Ermine Street. As a ...

and

Sawbridgeworth Sawbridgeworth (traditionally or , now also ) is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Hertfordshire, England, close to the border with Essex. It is east of Hertford and north of Epping, Essex, Epping. It is the northernmo ...

. At the 2011 Census, the population of the district was 137,687. By area it is the largest of the ten local government districts in Hertfordshire. The district borders

North Hertfordshire North Hertfordshire is one of ten local government districts in the county of Hertfordshire, England. Its council is based in Letchworth Garden City and the largest town is Hitchin. The district also includes the towns of Baldock and Royston ...

Stevenage Stevenage ( ) is a 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, Stevenage w ...

Welwyn Hatfield Welwyn Hatfield is a local government district with borough status in the county of Hertfordshire, England. Its council is based in Welwyn Garden City. The borough borders Hertsmere, St Albans, North Hertfordshire, East Hertfordshire, Broxbour ...

and

Broxbourne Broxbourne is a town in the Borough of Broxbourne in Hertfordshire, England, with a population of 15,303 at the 2011 Census.Broxbourne Town population 2011 It is located to the south of Hoddesdon and to the north of Cheshunt, north of London. ...

in Hertfordshire, and

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 Lond ...

Harlow Harlow is a town and local government district located in the west of Essex, England. Founded as a Planned community, new town in 1947, it is situated on the border with Hertfordshire, and occupies a large area of land on the south bank of the ...

and

Uttlesford Uttlesford is a Non-metropolitan district, local government district in Essex, England. Its council is based in the town of Saffron Walden. The district also includes the town of Great Dunmow and numerous villages, including Stansted Mountfitchet ...

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

. In the 2006 edition of

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...

'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.

History

East Hertfordshire was created 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 ...

, covering the whole area of six former districts and most of a seventh, which were all abolished at the same time: *

Urban District An urban district is a division generally managed by a local government. It may also refer to a city district, district, urban area or quarter Specific urban districts in some countries include: * Urban districts of Denmark * Districts of Germa ...

Braughing Rural District Braughing was a rural district in Hertfordshire, England from 1935 to 1974. Creation Braughing Rural District was created on 1 April 1935 under a Local Government Act 1929, County Review Order by the merger of most of the Hadham Rural Distric ...

Municipal Borough A municipal borough was a type of local government Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of governance or public administration within a particular sovereign state. Local governments typically constitute a subdivision of ...

Hertford Rural District Hertford Rural District was a rural district in Hertfordshire, England from 1894 to 1974. It covered the rural area around the county town of Hertford, but did not include the town itself. Evolution The district had its origins in the Hertford ...

(except part within designated area of

New Town New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz (South Korean band), The Boyz * New (album), ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 ** New (Paul McCartney song), "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013 * New (EP), ''New'' (EP), ...

) *

Urban District * Ware Rural District *

Urban District The new district was named East Hertfordshire, reflecting its position within the wider county. The boundaries of East Hertfordshire have remained largely consistent since 1974, although minor alterations have been made on occasion, particularly along the eastern boundary which largely follows the

River Stort The River Stort is a river in Essex and Hertfordshire, England. It is long and flows from near the village of Langley to the River Lea at Hoddesdon. The river's name is a back-formation from the name of the town of Bishop's Stortford. The 1 ...

to reflect the changing course of the river, and along the border with Stevenage to respond to new developments.

Governance

Hertfordshire has a two-tier structure of local government, with the ten district councils (including East Herts Council) providing district-level services, and

Hertfordshire County Council Hertfordshire County Council is the upper-tier local authority for the non-metropolitan county of Hertfordshire, in England. The council was created in 1889. It is responsible for a wide range of public services in the county, including social c ...

providing county-level services. The whole district is also covered by

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

es, which form a third tier of local government. East Herts 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'.

Political control

The council has been under

no overall control In the context of local authorities in the United Kingdom no overall control (NOC; ) is a situation in which no single political group achieves a majority of seats, comparable to a hung parliament. Of the 248 councils who had members up for elec ...

since the 2023 election, being run by a

Green Party A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as environmentalism and social justice. Green party platforms typically embrace Social democracy, social democratic economic policies and fo ...

and Liberal Democrats coalition, led by Green councillor Ben Crystall. The first election to East Hertfordshire District Council was held in 1973, initially operating as a shadow authority alongside the outgoing authorities until the new system came into force on 1 April 1974. Political control since 1974 has been as follows: (Put "East Hertfordshire" in search box to see specific results.)

Leadership

The role of Chairman of East Hertfordshire District Council is largely ceremonial. They preside at council meetings and act as first citizen of the district. They are chosen from the councillors but have to maintain a non-political stance, although they do have the right to exercise an additional casting vote in the case of a tied vote at a meeting. The role of chairman is usually held by a different councillor each year. Political leadership is provided by the

leader of the council Leadership, is defined as the ability of an individual, group, or organization to "", influence, or guide other individuals, teams, or organizations. "Leadership" is a contested term. Specialist literature debates various viewpoints on the co ...

. The leaders since 2001 have been:

Composition

Following the 2023 election and by-elections and changes of allegiance up to May 2025, the composition of the council was: The next elections are due to be held in 2027.

Premises

The council is based at Wallfields on Pegs Lane in Hertford. The original building there was a large nineteenth century house, which had been bought in 1950 by Hertford Rural District Council and converted to become its offices. It subsequently became the headquarters of East Hertfordshire District Council following local government reorganisation in 1974, and large modern extensions have subsequently been added to the original house.

Elections

Since the last boundary changes in 2023, there have been 50

councillor A councillor, alternatively councilman, councilwoman, councilperson, or council member, is someone who sits on, votes in, or is a member of, a council. This is typically an elected representative of an electoral district in a municipal or re ...

s elected from 26 wards. Elections for the whole council are held every four years.

Wards

The 26 wards of East Hertfordshire are: *Aston, Datchworth and Walkern *Bishop's Stortford All Saints *Bishop's Stortford Central *Bishop's Stortford North *Bishop's Stortford Parsonage *Bishop's Stortford South *Bishop's Stortford Thorley Manor *Braughing and Standon *Buntingford *Great Amwell and Stansteads *Hertford Bengeo *Hertford Castle *Hertford Heath and Brickendon *Hertford Kingsmead *Hertford Rural *Hertford Sele *Hunsdon *Little Hadham and The Pelhams *Much Hadham *Sawbridgeworth *The Mundens *Ware Priory *Ware Rural *Ware St Mary's *Ware Trinity *Watton-at-Stone

Wider politics

East Hertfordshire straddles four parliamentary constituencies:

, Hertford and Stortford, North East Hertfordshire and

Parishes

The district is entirely divided into

es. The five parish councils of

, and

have declared their parishes to be towns, allowing them to take the style 'town council'.

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 Hoddesdon () is a town in the Borough of Broxbourne, Hertfordshire, lying entirely within the London Metropolitan Area and Greater London Urban Area. The area is on the River Lea and the Lee Navigation along with the New River. 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

while responsibility for the M11 rests with

National Highways National Highways (NH), formerly Highways England and before that the Highways Agency, is a State-owned enterprise, government-owned company charged with operating, maintaining and improving Roads in England, motorways and major A roads in Eng ...

Stansted Airport Stansted Airport is an international airport serving London, the capital of England and the United Kingdom. It is located near Stansted Mountfitchet, Uttlesford, Essex, northeast of Central London. As London's third-busiest airport, Stan ...

lies just outside East Hertfordshire, being in the neighbouring district of Uttlesford in 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, but ...

, and Liverpool Street.

Media

In terms of television, the area is served by

BBC London BBC London is the BBC English Region producing local radio, television, teletext and online services in London, Surrey and parts of the surrounding areas of the Home Counties. Its output includes the daily '' BBC London'' news bulletin and w ...

and

ITV London ITV London is the on-air brand name used by ''ITV Broadcasting Limited'' for two broadcast franchises of ITV, Carlton Television (weekdays) and London Weekend Television (weekends) in the London ITV region. Its terrestrial digital signal is ...

with television signals received from the

Crystal Palace Crystal Palace may refer to: Places Canada * Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick * Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario * Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition buildin ...

transmitter

BBC East BBC East is one of BBC's English Regions covering Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex, Cambridgeshire, Northamptonshire, Bedfordshire and parts of Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire (including the City of Milton Keynes). It is headquartered in The Forum ...

and

ITV Anglia ITV Anglia, previously known as Anglia Television, is the ITV franchise holder for the East of England. The station is based at Anglia House in Norwich, with regional news bureaux in Cambridge and Northampton. ITV Anglia is owned and operated b ...

can also be received from the Sandy Heath TV transmitter. Radio stations for the area are: * BBC Three Counties Radio *

Heart Hertfordshire Heart Hertfordshire (previously known as ''Hertfordshire's Mercury 96.6'') is an Independent Local Radio station owned by Communicorp UK and operated by Global as part of the Heart network. It broadcasts across Hertfordshire. In 2005, it was ...

The area is served by local newspaper, ''

Hertfordshire Mercury The ''Hertfordshire Mercury'' is a weekly newspaper covering east and north Hertfordshire and parts of west Essex. It used to be published every Friday but from December 3, 2009, its publication day switched to Thursdays. The ''Mercury'' has fou ...

''.

Employment

The district's biggest employer is the pharmaceutical company

GlaxoSmithKline GSK plc (an acronym from its former name GlaxoSmithKline plc) is a British Multinational corporation, multinational Pharmaceutics, pharmaceutical and biotechnology company with headquarters in London. It was established in 2000 by a Mergers an ...

, which has a research and manufacturing centre in

. The company also has a large research centre and office in neighbouring

References

{{commons category, East Hertfordshire District, East Hertfordshire Districts of Hertfordshire