North Hertfordshire

North Hertfordshire is one of ten local government districts in the county of Hertfordshire, England. Its council is based in Letchworth. The district borders East Hertfordshire, Stevenage, Welwyn Hatfield, St Albans, Central Bedfordshire, Luton, and South Cambridgeshire.

North Hertfordshire District
Non-metropolitan district
North Hertfordshire shown within Hertfordshire
North Hertfordshire shown within Hertfordshire
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Constituent countryEngland
RegionEast of England
Non-metropolitan countyHertfordshire
StatusNon-metropolitan district
Admin HQLetchworth
Established1 April 1974
Government
 • TypeNon-metropolitan district council
 • BodyNorth Hertfordshire District Council
 • LeadershipLeader and Cabinet (Labour-Liberal Democrat (council NOC))
 • MPsBim Afolami
Oliver Heald
Stephen McPartland
Area
 • Total144.9 sq mi (375.4 km2)
 • Rank91st (of 296)
Population
 (2021)
 • Total133,571
 • Rank174th (of 296)
 • Density920/sq mi (360/km2)
 • Ethnicity[1]
91.4% White
4.0% S.Asian
1.9% Black
1.8% Mixed Race
0.9% Chinese or other
Time zoneUTC0 (GMT)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+1 (BST)
ONS code26UF (ONS)
E07000099 (GSS)
OS grid referenceTL2355435083

History

North Hertfordshire was created on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972, covering the area of five former districts, which were all abolished at the same time:[2]

The new district was named North Hertfordshire, reflecting its position within the wider county.[3]

Governance
North Hertfordshire District Council
Logo
Type
Type
Leadership
Daniel Allen,
Labour
since 25 May 2023[4]
Elizabeth Dennis,
Labour
since 26 May 2021[5]
Anthony Roche
since 18 July 2020[6]
Structure
Seats49
Political groups
Administration (34)
  Labour (19)
  Liberal Democrats (15)

Opposition (15)

  Conservatives (15)
Elections
Last election
4 May 2023
Next election
2024
Meeting place

Council Offices, Gernon Road, Letchworth Garden City, SG6 3JF
Website
www.north-herts.gov.uk

Hertfordshire has a two-tier structure of local government, with the ten district councils (including North Hertfordshire District Council) providing district-level services, and Hertfordshire County Council providing county-level services.[7]

Political control

The council has been under no overall control since the 2019 election, being led by a Labour and Liberal Democrat coalition.

The first election to North 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:[8]

Party in controlYears
No overall control1974–1976
Conservative1976–1994
No overall control1994–1996
Labour1996–1999
Conservative1999–2019
No overall control2019–present

Leadership

The leaders of the council since 1974 have been:[9][10]

CouncillorPartyFromTo
Bob Flatman[11] Conservative1 Apr 197419 May 1992
Geoff Woods[12] Conservative19 May 19921995
David Kearns Labour19951999
F. John Smith[13] Conservative19999 May 2010
Lynda Needham Conservative20 May 20105 May 2019
Martin Stears-Handscomb Labour21 May 20199 May 2021
Elizabeth Dennis Labour26 May 2021

Composition

Following the 2023 election the composition of the council was as follows:[14][15]

PartyCouncillors
Labour19
Liberal Democrats15
Conservative15
Total49

The next election is due in 2024.

Premises

When the council was created in 1974, it inherited five sets of offices from the five former authorities, spread across the four towns of Hitchin, Letchworth, Baldock and Royston. Initially the new council used the former Hitchin Rural District Council's offices (later called Centenary House) on Grammar School Walk in Hitchin as its headquarters, with the other offices providing additional accommodation. In 1975, the year after the new council's creation, it consolidated most of its functions into a new six-storey building called Council Offices on Gernon Road in Letchworth, designed by Tony Walker of architects Damond Lock, Grabowski and Partners. The building was formally opened on 22 July 1975 by Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester.[16][17] The council rented the building until 2013, when it purchased it for £3.6 million.[18]

Towns and Parishes

North Hertfordshire contains four towns, being Baldock, Hitchin, Letchworth, and Royston. The district also borders the northern, western and southern edges of Stevenage, and some parts of the latter's urban area lie within North Hertfordshire rather than the borough of Stevenage, notably including much of the Great Ashby area.

North Hertfordshire contains 35 civil parishes. Six of the smaller parishes do not have parish councils, having instead a parish meeting, being those marked with asterisks(*) below.[19] In addition, the three towns of Baldock, Hitchin, and Letchworth are unparished areas, as no successor parishes were created for those three former urban districts on their abolition in 1974. A Letchworth Garden City Parish was subsequently created in 2005, but was abolished in 2013.[20]

  1. Shares grouped parish council with Newnham
  2. Council styled "Community Council"
  3. Shares grouped parish council with Caldecote
  4. Council styled "Town Council"
  5. Shares grouped parish council with Wallington
  6. Shares grouped parish council with Rushden

Elections
See also: North Hertfordshire District Council elections

Since the last boundary changes in 2007, the council has comprised 49 councillors representing 24 wards, electing one, two or three councillors. Elections are held three years out of every four, electing approximately a third of the council each time. Elections to Hertfordshire County Council are held in the fourth year of the cycle when there are no borough council elections.[21] Proposals and new ward boundaries are being drawn up to change the electoral cycle to whole-council elections every four years from 2024.[22]

Wards

The wards of the district are:[21]

  • Arbury (1)
  • Baldock East (1)
  • Baldock Town (3)
  • Cadwell (1)
  • Chesfield (2)
  • Codicote (1)
  • Ermine (1)
  • Hitchin Bearton (3)
  • Hitchin Highbury (3)
  • Hitchin Oughton (2)
  • Hitchin Priory (2)
  • Hitchin Walsworth (3)
  • Hitchwood, Offa and Hoo (3)
  • Kimpton (1)
  • Knebworth (2)
  • Letchworth East (2)
  • Letchworth Grange (3)
  • Letchworth South East (3)
  • Letchworth South West (3)
  • Letchworth Wilbury (2)
  • Royston Heath (2)
  • Royston Meridian (2)
  • Royston Palace (2)
  • Weston and Sandon (1)

Arms
Coat of arms of North Hertfordshire
Notes
Granted 16 January 1975
Crest
On a wreath of the colours two sprigs of oak in saltire fructed Proper enfiling a mural crown Or perched thereon a hooded crow (Corvus cornix cornix) close Proper.
Escutcheon
Chevronny of six Or and Gules a pale Ermine on a chief Vert a fleece between two garbs of barley Or.
Supporters
On either side a hart attired of ten tynes Proper gorged with a coronet pendent therefrom a pentagon Or charged with a cogwheel Sable
Motto
Memores Acte Prudentes Futuri[23]
Former logo used c. 1990–2021.

In 2021 the council adopted a new logo of four hearts (shown in the infobox above) and the style "North Herts Council" instead of its full formal name of "North Hertfordshire District Council". Prior to this, the council had used a logo of the initials "NHDC" in a green and purple square for approximately thirty years.[24]

References
  1. Office for National Statistics: Neighbourhood Statistics: North Hertfordshire
  2. "The English Non-metropolitan Districts (Definition) Order 1972", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 1972/2039, retrieved 3 March 2023
  3. "The English Non-metropolitan Districts (Names) Order 1973", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 1973/551, retrieved 3 March 2023
  4. "Council meeting, 25 May 2023". North Herts Council. Retrieved 26 May 2023.
  5. "Minutes, Council 26 May 2021". North Herts Council. Retrieved 6 December 2021.
  6. "Council departments". North Hertfordshire District Council. Retrieved 3 March 2023.
  7. "Local Government Act 1972", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, 1972 c. 70, retrieved 3 March 2023
  8. "Compositions calculator". The Elections Centre. Retrieved 3 March 2023.
  9. "Council minutes". North Herts Council. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
  10. Pre-2005 leaders taken from the council minute books available for inspection at the council offices in Letchworth.
  11. "Bob's top job". Royston and Buntingford Mercury. 28 May 1993. p. 111. Retrieved 13 March 2023.
  12. "Council elects new chairman". Letchworth and Baldock Gazette. 22 May 1992.
  13. Suslak, Anne (7 January 2022). "Town pays tribute to 'Mr Royston' who made huge contribution to community". Royston Crow. Retrieved 4 March 2023.
  14. "Local elections 2023: full council results for England". The Guardian. 9 May 2023. Retrieved 26 May 2023.
  15. "North Hertfordshire election result". BBC News. Retrieved 26 May 2023.
  16. "A royal welcome". Letchworth and Baldock Citizen Gazette. 24 July 1975. p. 1.
  17. "History". DLG Architects. Retrieved 17 April 2023.
  18. Scott, James (12 December 2013). "NHDC buys own Letchworth GC offices for £3.6M". The Comet. Archant. Retrieved 14 October 2021.
  19. "Parish Councils and Meetings". North Hertfordshire District Council. Retrieved 3 March 2023.
  20. "Council minutes, 22 November 2012". North Hertfordshire District Council. 22 November 2012. Retrieved 28 December 2021.
  21. "The District of North Hertfordshire (Electoral Changes) Order 2006", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 2006/3112, retrieved 4 March 2023
  22. "North Hertfordshire". Local Government Boundary Commission for England. Retrieved 12 May 2023.
  23. "East of England Region". Civic Heraldry of England. Retrieved 9 March 2021.
  24. "Council Plan 2022–2027" (PDF). North Herts Council. Retrieved 22 November 2021.

52.0°N 0.2°W / 52.0; -0.2

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