Agenda, decisions and draft minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors David Barnard, Val Bryant, Clare Billing, Rhona Cameron, Ruth Clifton, Elizabeth Dennis, Claire Strong, Tamsin Thomas and Stewart Willoughby.

Audio recording – 1 minute 10 seconds

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Clare Billing, Val Bryant, David Barnard, Rhona Cameron, Ruth Clifton, Elizabeth Dennis, Claire Strong, Stewart Willoughby and Tamsin Thomas.

Members should notify the Chair of other business which they wish to be discussed at the end of either Part I or Part II business set out in the agenda. They must state the circumstances which they consider justify the business being considered as a matter of urgency.

The Chair will decide whether any item(s) raised will be considered.

There was no other business notified.

Audio recording – 1 minute 31 seconds

There was no other business notified.

Climate Emergency

The Council has declared a climate emergency and is committed to achieving a target of zero carbon emissions by 2030 and helping local people and businesses to reduce their own carbon emissions.

A Cabinet Panel on the Environment has been established to engage with local people on matters relating to the climate emergency and advise the council on how to achieve these climate change objectives. A Climate Change Implementation group of councillors and council officers meets regularly to produce plans and monitor progress. Actions taken or currently underway include switching to green energy, incentives for low emission taxis, expanding tree planting and working to cut food waste.

In addition the council is a member of the Hertfordshire Climate Change and Sustainability Partnership, working with other councils across Hertfordshire to reduce the county’s carbon emissions and climate impact.

The Council’s dedicated webpage on Climate Change includes details of the council’s climate change strategy, the work of the Cabinet Panel on the Environment and a monthly briefing on progress.

Ecological Emergency

The Council has declared an ecological emergency and is committed to addressing the ecological emergency and nature recovery by identifying appropriate areas for habitat restoration and biodiversity net gain whilst ensuring that development limits impact on existing habitats in its process.

The Council has set out to do that by a) setting measurable targets and standards for biodiversity increase, in both species and quantities, seeking to increase community engagement, b) to work with our partners to establish a Local Nature Partnership for Hertfordshire and to develop Nature Recovery Networks and Nature Recovery Strategy for Hertfordshire and c) to investigate new approaches to nature recovery such as habitat banking that deliver biodiversity objectives and provide new investment opportunities.

Declarations of Interest

Members are reminded that any declarations of interest in respect of any business set out in the agenda, should be declared as either a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest or Declarable Interest and are required to notify the Chair of the nature of any interest declared at the commencement of the relevant item on the agenda. Members declaring a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest must withdraw from the meeting for the duration of the item. Members declaring a Declarable Interest, wishing to exercise a ‘Councillor Speaking Right’, must declare this at the same time as the interest, move to the public area before speaking to the item and then must leave the room before the debate and vote.

(1)         The Chair advised that, in accordance with Council Policy, the meeting would be recorded.

(2)         The Chair reminded Members that the Council had declared both a Climate Emergency and an Ecological Emergency. These are serious decisions, and mean that, as this was an emergency, all of us, Officers and Members had that in mind as we carried out our various roles and tasks for the benefit of our District.

(3)         The Chair drew attention to the item on the agenda front pages regarding Declarations of Interest and reminded Members that, in line with the Code of Conduct, any Declarations of Interest needed to be declared immediately prior to the item in question.

(4)         The Chair advised that the normal procedure rules in respect of debate and times to speak will apply.

(5)         The Chair advised that 4.8.23(a) of the Constitution did not apply to this meeting. A comfort break would be held at an appropriate time, should proceedings continue at length.

(6)         The Chair advised Members to encourage parish councils within their respective wards to respond to the consultation on Developer Contributions sent out by the Task & Finish Group before the deadline on 20 November 2025.

(7)         The Chair advised Members to submit their comments on the Polling District Review consultation by 30 November 2025 and that Full Council would designate polling places at the meeting in January.

(8)         The Chair encouraged all Members to attend Youth Democracy Day on 20 November 2025 and to direct any questions about the day to Committee Services.

(9)         The Chair advised Members that the Council would be supporting White Ribbon Day 2025 by holding a White Ribbon Pledge Event and Bake Sale on 25 November 2025 at the Council Offices and that all Members were welcome to attend.   

Audio recording – 1 minute 35 seconds

N.B. Councillor Sam Collins entered the Council Chamber at 19.32.

(1)         The Chair advised that, in accordance with Council Policy, the meeting would be recorded.

(2)         The Chair reminded Members that the Council had declared both a Climate Emergency and an Ecological Emergency. These are serious decisions, and mean that, as this was an emergency, all of us, Officers and Members had that in mind as we carried out our various roles and tasks for the benefit of our District.

(3)         The Chair drew attention to the item on the agenda front pages regarding Declarations of Interest and reminded Members that, in line with the Code of Conduct, any Declarations of Interest needed to be declared immediately prior to the item in question.

(4)         The Chair advised that the normal procedure rules in respect of debate and times to speak will apply.

(5)         The Chair advised that 4.8.23(a) of the Constitution did not apply to this meeting. A comfort break would be held at an appropriate time, should proceedings continue at length.

(6)         The Chair advised Members to encourage parish councils within their respective wards to respond to the consultation on Developer Contributions sent out by the Task & Finish Group before the deadline on 20 November 2025.

(7)         The Chair advised Members to submit their comments on the Polling District Review consultation by 30 November 2025 and that Full Council would designate polling places at the meeting in January.

(8)         The Chair encouraged all Members to attend Youth Democracy Day on 20 November 2025 and to direct any questions about the day to Committee Services.

(9)         The Chair advised Members that the Council would be supporting White Ribbon Day 2025 by holding a White Ribbon Pledge Event and Bake Sale on 25 November 2025 at the Council Offices and that all Members were welcome to attend.

To receive petitions, comments and questions from the public.

The Chair invited Mr Ben Smithson to provide Council with a verbal presentation on Item 5 – Local Government Reorganisation in Hertfordshire – Submission of Final Proposals.

Audio recording – 5 minutes 41 seconds

The Chair invited Mr Ben Smithson to provide Council with a verbal presentation on Item 5 – Local Government Reorganisation in Hertfordshire – Submission of Final Proposals. Mr Smithson thanked the Chair for the opportunity and highlighted the following:

·             He wished to thank everyone involved with the development and assessment of the options for Local Government Reorganisation in Hertfordshire.

·             The proposed boundaries in the option for four unitary authorities would move Arbury Ward into the East Unitary Authority and separate it from Baldock.

·             This would remove the benefits of the four unitary option for Arbury Ward residents as both greater local representation and a truer alignment of physical geography would not be felt by them.

·             Baldock formed part of the identity of Arbury Ward as many of its residents used services and undertook leisure activities there. They were also represented on the Baldock & Villages Community Forum.

·             Many families had expressed their intention to leave if the four unitary option was chosen as their children would no longer be given priority places at The Knights Templar School in Baldock and would likely have to attend schools that were further away.

·             This would lead to the loss of thriving communities and failure of local businesses.

·             Arbury Ward residents would also lose their ability to influence how the expansion of Baldock would affect their area.

·             Options that failed to balance populations while preserving communities should be ruled out.

·             The Council should write to the Secretary of State to request boundary changes if the four unitary option was chosen.

In response to points raised in the verbal presentation, Councillor Daniel Allen advised that:

·             The schooling system under the new unitary authorities had not yet been decided and children from one area could currently attend schools in others like those that lived in Great Ashby and attended schools in Stevenage.

·             Should the four unitary option be the preferred option by Cabinet, it would be submitted with the current boundaries of North Hertfordshire with a recommendation for a boundary review which residents would be able to have input on.

The Chair thanked Mr Smithson for his verbal presentation.

REPORT OF THE CHIEF EXECUTIVE

This report sets out the proposed submission to Government, developed by all eleven Hertfordshire local authorities and the Police and Crime Commissioner, for the future organisation of Local Government in Hertfordshire. Given the importance of the issue this report is being presented to Full Council to facilitate a debate on the options, prior to Cabinet’s meeting on 19 November 2025 at which the decision will be taken as to which option is preferred by the Council.

RESOLVED:

(1)         That Council noted the content of this report and the draft Hertfordshire submission document at Appendix A which formed the proposed collective submission to Government on Local Government Reorganisation.

(2)         That Council indicated its support for a preferred option, to be considered by Cabinet as part of its deliberations on 19 November 2025, was to submit the proposal and identify a two unitary option as preferred.

REASON FOR DECISIONS: On 5 February 2025, the Minister of State for Local Government and English Devolution wrote to all leaders of two-tier councils to formally invite them to develop proposals for a single tier of local government in their counties. Cabinet is legally required to make the decision as to this Council’s response to the Minister’s request, but the recommendations allow all councillors to consider and debate this important issue before an indicative nonbinding vote, which will be considered by Cabinet as part of its decision making on 19 November 2025.

Audio recording – 11 minutes 50 seconds

The Chair advised that Council would debate the item and pass an indicative resolution that would express a preferred option and that Cabinet would be required to give due regard to any resolution passed by Council, but could not be legally bound by that resolution. Cabinet Members could participate in the debate and express a lawful preference but not commit in advance to follow the resolution of Full Council.

The Chair additionally advised that dual hatter County and District Council Members could also participate in the debate and express a lawful preference without unlawful predetermination in the debate at the Full Council meeting at Hertfordshire County Council on 19 November 2025.

To ensure that the Council met the required deadline for submissions on 28 November 2025, the Chair advised that the Cabinet decision on this item would be urgent and therefore not subject to call in. Formal notice of this, including the reasons for urgency had been published on the Council website.

The Chief Executive presented the report entitled ‘Local Government Reorganisation in Hertfordshire – Submission of Final Proposals‘ and advised that:

·             The submission document was a culmination of several months of work from local authorities across Hertfordshire and it was recognised that Local Government Reorganisation (LGR) had and would continue to impact workloads in the coming years.

·             Authorities in Hertfordshire had remained united throughout discussions on LGR and the relationships built between them would help in the upcoming stages.

·             A single submission document had been produced that met all the criteria set by the Government with options for two, three, and four unitary authorities contained within.

·             It was acknowledged that each option would work better for some areas of Hertfordshire than others as they each had their advantages and disadvantages.

·             Modernisation, better service delivery, removal of silos and resetting relationships with communities were just some of the potential benefits that could come from LGR.

·             Shared ambitions that underpinned the submission were set out at paragraph 8.5 of the cover report.

·             The six criteria that would be used by the Government to judge submissions were set out at paragraph 7.3 and they would be equally weighted.

·             All options that met the criteria would go to statutory public consultation in 2026.

·             The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) stated that the recent decision on LGR in Surrey would not be an indication of how decisions would be made on LGR elsewhere.

·             The submission document was as accurate and evidence based as possible as the proposals were necessarily based on assumptions with detail to follow as explained in paragraph 8.8 onwards.

·             Work on LGR would continue to evolve with the acknowledgement that the new unitary authorities would be responsible for future decision making once created.

·             Community engagement on LGR options in Hertfordshire took place in September and was referenced within the submission document and summarised at paragraphs 8.14 and 8.15 of the cover report.

·             Devolution was mentioned within the submission, however, MHCLG had  ...  view the full minutes text for item 51.