East Hertfordshire

East Hertfordshire is one of ten local government districts in Hertfordshire, England. Its council is based in Hertford, 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. At the 2011 Census, the population of the district was 137,687.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> By area it is the largest of the ten local government districts in Hertfordshire. The district borders North Hertfordshire, Stevenage, Welwyn Hatfield and Broxbourne in Hertfordshire, and Epping Forest, Harlow and Uttlesford in Essex.

In the 2006 edition of Channel 4'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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> It came first in this survey in 2020.<ref>Template:Cite press release</ref>

History

East Hertfordshire was created on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972, covering the whole area of six former districts and most of a seventh, which were all abolished at the same time:<ref>Template:Cite legislation UK</ref>

• Bishop's Stortford Urban District
• Braughing Rural District
• Hertford Municipal Borough
• Hertford Rural District (except part within designated area of Stevenage New Town)
• Sawbridgeworth Urban District
• Ware Rural District
• Ware Urban District

The new district was named East Hertfordshire, reflecting its position within the wider county.<ref>Template:Cite legislation UK</ref>

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 to reflect the changing course of the river, and along the border with Stevenage to respond to new developments.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

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 providing county-level services.<ref>Template:Cite legislation UK</ref> The whole district is also covered by civil parishes, which form a third tier of local government.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

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.<ref name=":7">Template:Cite web</ref> The council is officially called 'East Hertfordshire District Council', but its corporate branding is 'East Herts Council'.<ref name=":7" /><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Political control

The council has been under no overall control since the 2023 election, being run by a Green Party and Liberal Democrats coalition, led by Green councillor Ben Crystall.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

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:<ref name=compositions>Template:Cite web (Put "East Hertfordshire" in search box to see specific results.)</ref>

Party in control		Years
Template:Party name with colour	1974–1976
Template:Party name with colour	1976–1995
Template:Party name with colour	1995–1999
Template:Party name with colour	1999–2023
Template:Party name with colour	2023–present

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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Political leadership is provided by the leader of the council. The leaders since 2001 have been:

Councillor	Party		From	To
Mike Carver<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	Template:Party name with colour	2001	Jan 2006
Tony Jackson<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	Template:Party name with colour	22 Feb 2006	May 2015
Linda Haysey<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>	Template:Party name with colour	20 May 2015	May 2023
Ben Crystall<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	Template:Party name with colour	17 May 2023

Composition

Following the 2023 election and by-elections and changes of allegiance up to May 2025, the composition of the council was:<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=Thorncliffe>Template:Cite web</ref>

Party		Councillors
Template:Party name with colour	17
Template:Party name with colour	14
Template:Party name with colour	10
Template:Party name with colour	5
Template:Party name with colour	2
Template:Party name with colour	2
Total		50

The next elections are due to be held in 2027.<ref name=Thorncliffe/>

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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Elections

Template:Main Since the last boundary changes in 2023, there have been 50 councillors elected from 26 wards. Elections for the whole council are held every four years.<ref name=2023order>Template:Cite legislation UK</ref>

Wards

The 26 wards of East Hertfordshire are:<ref name=2023order/> Template:Div col

• 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: Broxbourne, Hertford and Stortford, North East Hertfordshire and Stevenage.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Seat	Wards (as they existed in December 2020)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	MP	Party
Broxbourne	Great Amwell, Hertford Heath, Stanstead Abbots	Lewis Cocking	Template:Party name with colour
Hertford and Stortford	Bishop's Stortford, All Saints, Bishop's Stortford Central, Bishop's Stortford Meads, Bishop's Stortford Silverleys, Bishop's Stortford South, Hertford Bengeo, Hertford Castle, Hertford Kingsmead, Hertford Sele, Hunsdon, Much Hadham, Sawbridgeworth, Ware Chadwell, Ware Christchurch, Ware St. Mary's, Ware Trinity	Josh Dean	Template:Party name with colour
North East Hertfordshire	Braughing, Buntingford, Hertford Rural North, Hertford Rural South, Little Hadham, Mundens and Cottered, Puckeridge, Thundridge & Standon, Walkern, Watton-at-Stone	Chris Hinchliff	Template:Party name with colour
Stevenage	Datchworth & Aston	Kevin Bonavia	Template:Party name with colour

Parishes

Template:Further The district is entirely divided into civil parishes. The five parish councils of Bishop's Stortford, Buntingford, Hertford, Sawbridgeworth, and Ware have declared their parishes to be towns, allowing them to take the style 'town council'.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

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 National Highways.

Stansted Airport 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, and Liverpool Street.

Media

In terms of television, the area is served by BBC London and ITV London with television signals received from the Crystal Palace transmitter <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> BBC East and ITV Anglia can also be received from the Sandy Heath TV transmitter.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Radio stations for the area are:

• BBC Three Counties Radio
• Heart Hertfordshire

The area is served by local newspaper, Hertfordshire Mercury.

Employment

The district's biggest employer is the pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline, which has a research and manufacturing centre in Ware. The company also has a large research centre and office in neighbouring Stevenage.Template:Fact

See also

• The Hundred Parishes