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. 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. It came first in this survey in 2020.

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:
 * 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.

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.

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.

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 since the 2023 election, being run by a Green Party 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:

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 a 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. The leaders since 2001 have been:

Composition
Following the 2023 election and changes of allegiance up to December 2023 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 councillors 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 three parliamentary constituencies: Hertford and Stortford, North East Hertfordshire and Stevenage.

Parishes
The district is entirely parished. See List of civil parishes in Hertfordshire.

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.

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.