Issue - meetings
QUESTIONS FROM MEMBERS
Meeting: 16/07/2026 - Council (Item 29)
29 QUESTIONS FROM MEMBERS 
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To consider any questions submitted by Members of the Council, in accordance with Standing Order 4.8.11 (b).
Additional documents:
Decision:
In accordance with Standing Order 4.8.11(b), five questions had been submitted by the required deadline set out in the Constitution. However, following publication of the Agenda, question (B) was withdrawn.
(A) Charnwood House, Hitchin Vacancy Period
Councillor Chris Lucas to Councillor Tamsin Thomas, Executive Member for Enterprise.
(B) Thomas Bellamy House, Hitchin Vacancy Period
The Chair advised that this question had been withdrawn.
(C) Charnwood House and Thomas Bellamy House, Hitchin Maintenance and Security Costs
Councillor Chris Lucas to Councillor Tamsin Thomas, Executive Member for Enterprise.
(D) Impact of the Planning and Infrastructure Act on North Hertfordshire
Councillor Ralph Muncer to Councillor Val Bryant, Leader of the Council.
(E) Approach to Active Travel
Councillor Ralph Muncer to Councillor Donna Wright, Executive Member for Place.
In accordance with Standing Order 4.8.11(d)(ii), one urgent question had been submitted and accepted by the Chair.
(A) Widespread Disruption from Iron Maiden concert at Knebworth House
Councillor Paul Ward to Councillor Mick Debenham, Executive Member for Regulatory.
Minutes:
Audio recording – 01 hours 15 minutes 58 seconds
In accordance with Standing Order 4.8.11, five questions had been submitted by the required deadline set out in the Constitution. However, following publication of the Agenda, question (B) had been withdrawn.
(A) Charnwood House, Hitchin Vacancy Period
Councillor Chris Lucas to Councillor Tamsin Thomas, Executive Member for Enterprise:
‘In the Members Information Service (MIS) bulletin released on 3rd July, I read with interest that BTG Eddison’s have been appointed to undertake a new market campaign for Charnwood House, Hitchin this summer.’
Can the Portfolio Holder for Enterprise explain how long the property has been vacant?’
Councillor Tamsin Thomas provided the following response:
‘For the benefit of colleagues who may not know the building's history, Charnwood House was generously donated to the community by a local family in 1937 and it served us incredibly well as the home of the Hitchin Museum until those services were relocated to our modern facility on Brand Street. The doors closed to the public in 2012 for the decade that followed but the building served as an additional storage area for the Museum's collection while we worked on a long-term plan to bring it back into active use. Following the election of the joint administration, the Cabinet formally decided to retain Charnwood House rather than dispose of it in 2020 and set aside £400,000 to help achieve this. To prepare the building for its next chapter, in 2022, Officers successfully relocated the stored museum artifacts and items and carried out essential safety works, which included asbestos removal and weather proofing etc. We then ran two separate efforts under the joint administration to find a community occupier. While we had interested parties, neither round ultimately resulted in a successful tenancy. When our new Estates Lead joined the Council, as the Executive Member, I asked for a clear lessons learned review on those previous rounds so we could understand what held those bids back, and this led to an options paper in 2025 focused entirely on delivering on that 2020 promise of community use. As a direct result, we have appointed BTG Eddison’s as the marketing agent due to their track record in marketing community and heritage assets, something we think was part of the gap on past efforts to help us finally secure the right future for Charnwood House. I think everyone in this Chamber would have liked to have seen this resolved much sooner but heritage buildings are notoriously difficult to bring back into use. Everyone wants projects to be delivered fast, well and cheaply and my experience is that you can often manage just two of those, but never all three. We must demonstrate value for our taxpayers, and we must deliver a high-quality result for our residents. Doing both of those things well means unfortunately that it is taking us time to get it right.’
N.B. Councillor Emma Rowe left the Chamber at 20:49.
Councillor Chris Lucas asked a supplementary question, as follows: ... view the full minutes text for item 29