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 and numerous villages and surrounding rural areas. Part of the district lies within the Chiltern Hills, a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
The neighbouring districts are East Hertfordshire, Stevenage, Welwyn Hatfield, St Albans, Luton, Central Bedfordshire, South Cambridgeshire and Uttlesford.
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:[1]
The new district was named North Hertfordshire, reflecting its position within the wider county.[2]
| North Hertfordshire District Council | |
| Logo Pic: | North Hertfordshire Council logo.svg |
| Logo Res: | 250px |
| House Type: | Non-metropolitan district council |
| Leader1 Type: | Chair |
| Leader1: | Clare Billing |
| Party1: | Labour |
| Election1: | 23 May 2024[3] |
| Leader2 Type: | Leader |
| Leader2: | Daniel Allen |
| Party2: | Labour |
| Election2: | 23 May 2024 |
| Leader3 Type: | Managing director |
| Leader3: | Anthony Roche |
| Election3: | 18 July 2020[4] |
| Members: | 51 councillors |
| Structure1 Res: | 250px |
| Political Groups1: |
|
| Last Election1: | 2 May 2024 |
| Next Election1: | 4 May 2028 |
| Meeting Place: | Council Offices, Gernon Road, Letchworth Garden City, SG63JF |
North Hertfordshire District Council provides district-level services. County-level services are provided by Hertfordshire County Council. Much of the district is covered by civil parishes, which form a third tier of local government for their areas.[5] [6]
The council has been under no overall control since the 2019 election. Following the 2024 election the council is being run by a Labour minority administration.
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:[7]
| Party in control | Years | |
|---|---|---|
| 1974–1976 | ||
| 1976–1994 | ||
| 1994–1996 | ||
| 1996–1999 | ||
| 1999–2019 | ||
| 2019–present | ||
The leaders of the council since 1974 have been:[8] [9]
| Councillor | Party | From | To | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bob Flatman[10] | 1 Apr 1974 | 19 May 1992 | ||
| Geoff Woods[11] | 19 May 1992 | 1995 | ||
| David Kearns | 1995 | 1999 | ||
| F. John Smith[12] | 1999 | 9 May 2010 | ||
| Lynda Needham | 20 May 2010 | 5 May 2019 | ||
| Martin Stears-Handscomb | 21 May 2019 | 9 May 2021 | ||
| Elizabeth Dennis | 26 May 2021 | 23 May 2024 | ||
| Daniel Allen | 23 May 2024 | |||
Following the 2024 election the composition of the council was:[13]
| Party | Councillors | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 25 | |||
| 19 | |||
| 7 | |||
| Total | 51 | ||
The next election is due in May 2028.
Since the last boundary changes in 2024, the council has comprised 51 councillors representing 25 wards, with each ward elected one, two or three councillors. Elections are held every four years.[14] [15]
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]
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. Knebworth is a post town, but its parish council has not formally declared it a town.
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]
| Escutcheon: | Chevronny of six Or and Gules a pale Ermine on a chief Vert a fleece between two garbs of barley Or. |
| 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. |
| 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[21] |
| Notes: | Granted 16 January 1975 |
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.[22]
In terms of television, North Hertfordshire is served by BBC East and ITV Anglia with television signals received from the Sandy Heath TV transmitter.[23]
Radio stations that broadcast to the area are:
Local newspapers for the area are: