Rachel Carter, County Cllr for Hertford St Andrew’s, is also a Hertford Town and District Cllr representing Hertford Castle. She said: “I’m honoured to have been elected to represent the residents of Hertford St Andrew and I will try to serve this wonderful community to the best of my ability.”

Ben Crystall, County Cllr for Hertford All Saints, is also a Hertford Town and District Cllr representing Bengeo, and is Leader at East Herts District Council. He said: “I’m delighted, and hugely grateful to residents who have continued to show their support for their local Green councillors. I’ll continue to do my very best for the community in Bengeo and Kingsmead.”

Kirsty Taylor-Moran, County Cllr for Ware North, is also is a Ware Town Cllr representing St Mary’s. She said: “I’m so excited and honoured to have won your trust and support to become your new Hertfordshire County Councillor. This is a huge privilege and I promise that I will work tirelessly to ensure that I represent you all effectively to make a difference to our community.

“Thank you so much to everyone who voted for me – your votes share a vision for a fairer, greener future for our town. I’d also like to thank the campaign team for their dedication and hard work, plus their encouragement throughout this campaign. Thank you again for this incredible honour. Together, we can achieve great things and make a difference for the better.”

Steven Watson, County Cllr for Ware South, is also a Hertford Town Cllr representing Kingsmead East and Ware St Mary’s on the District Council. He said: “I’m truly grateful to everyone who put their trust in me to serve as County Councillor for the Ware South division. This diverse area—including Great Amwell, Hertford Heath, and stretching south to Wormley West End—deserves strong and inclusive representation. I will do my utmost to serve all residents faithfully, without fear or favour.”

The East Herts Green Party works hard to make a positive difference and build a fairer, greener community. We listen to your views to ensure our community gets the right services in a time of scarce resources.

The Green Party nationally is going from strength to strength – we now have four MPs, two members of the House of Lords and a record number of Green councillors, with 800 seats in over 170 different councils.

In East Herts, Greens have had phenomenal success, leapfrogging the Conservatives in May 2023 as the largest party on East Herts District Council after 28 years of Tory dominance. We currently have 17 Green District councillors, four County councillors and we lead Hertford and Ware Town councils.

Our local Greens stand up for social, economic and environmental justice, and believe fair is worth fighting for.

The post EAST HERTS GREEN PARTY QUADRUPLES ITS SEATS ON HERTFORDSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL appeared first on East Herts Green Party.

Like us, you may have seen a letter recently from a Conservative town councillor about the District Council’s ‘Call for Sites’ and how that might impact the land to the East of Queen’s Road and another South of Hornsmill Road.

We know that the letter, which contained some inaccuracies, has sparked confusion and worry amongst residents. This letter is to give you accurate information.

what’s happening?

The Labour government has set high house-building targets for the UK, requiring East Herts District Council to build 1,328 new homes a year. It’s a huge number and as Green Councillors we want them to be in the most suitable places possible.

East Herts has a ‘District Plan’ – this sets a vision for our area, including opportunities for housing, community facilities, infrastructure and conserving the natural environment. Without a strong up-to-date District Plan, it’s hard for councils to reject speculative development proposals. Sites not in the plan may still be subject to planning applications but having an up-to-date plan makes it easier to reject unsuitable planning applications.

In preparation for updating our District Plan there has been a ‘Call for Sites,’ where landowners propose areas for housing, biodiversity net gain or uses such as solar farms. All suggested sites are assessed against strict criteria, and many will not be suitable.

When the District Plan was last updated, in 2018, only 18 sites were chosen from the 288 proposed. This year, 283 sites were submitted, including one to the East of Queen’s Road and another South of Hornsmill Road. Both sites were proposed in 2018 and rejected.

speaking up for you

We know this area matters to you as it does to us. As Greens, our party isn’t funded by developers so you can trust us to listen to your concerns, remain independent and speak up at every opportunity.

Best wishes,

Rachel Carter and Sarah Hopewell

Rachel Carter and Sarah Hopewell, your Castle Green Town and District Councillors

please get in touch

Please get in touch to let us know any concerns you have. We will ensure any issues are raised quickly. We’re always happy to meet face to face if you’d prefer.

Email us on: info@eastherts.greenparty.org.uk

We’re currently working with residents on the Castle Plus Neighbourhood Plan which looks in detail at all of our beloved green spaces and defines how they can be protected. Please let us know if you’d like to be involved.

For more information on the ‘Call for Sites’ check out the information on the East Herts District Council website.

The post Hertford Councillors on the District Council’s ‘Call for Sites’ appeared first on East Herts Green Party.

Bengeo field is a much-loved area of land, on which a planning application for 118 dwellings was approved on Wednesday 18th September, taking approximately 10% of the current land. Many have campaigned against this proposal, including the three Green Bengeo Ward Councillors, Cllrs Alex Daar, Ben Crystall, and Vicky Smith, all of whom attended the Development Management Committee meeting (where planning applications are discussed) as ward councillors to speak against the proposal. [Link to meeting speakers against the application].

While many people feel deeply upset, disappointed, and angered about the decision to approve the application, I wanted to take a bit of time to explain more broadly the planning process – all information I have only learnt myself since getting involved in the council!

Housing targets for the UK are set by the government, and despite there being a million empty homes (according to census data in 2021) and a million homes that planners have allowed but developers haven’t built (according to Planning Portal data in July 2024), the new Labour government announced in July that all councils in England are to be given new, mandatory housing targets to pave the way to deliver 1.5 million more homes. In Hertford, one example of a site that has already received planning permission for more than 300 homes but that developers appear to have abandoned is the Gas Works in Marsh Lane.

Once these national targets are set, all local authorities are legally required to follow national planning policy, which is skewed heavily in favour of developers. The government requires councils to provide a minimum number of new homes based on a housing-need calculation and are required to demonstrate an adequate supply of land (5-year land supply). More info from the government on 5-year housing land supply. If a council can’t demonstrate this adequate supply of land for housing development, the government’s rules are clear –  planning applications are decided based on a “tilted balance”, which is slanted even more favourably towards developers. The main tool at a council’s disposal is a district plan, and, for individual wards, to have local neighbourhood plans. The district plan will include a series of strategic development sites, along with areas for biodiversity, infrastructure plans, climate mitigation and any other wider objectives for the area. Refreshing a district plan is a huge process and typically takes seven years to complete. 

In East Herts, the current district plan was created and approved by the then Conservative-led District Council in 2018. It included part of Bengeo field (Hert4) as a strategic development site, along with various others across the district. [Link to East Herts District Plan] As such, you could argue that its fate was already sealed, in that some form of development would happen there sooner or later, and it was just a matter of which one and when. 

All developments and larger scale planning applications are brought forward to the Development Management Committee, a cross-party group of councillors, who are required to be apolitical and as objective as possible when making decisions on applications. Decisions are to be based strictly on planning rules and material considerations. Essentially, the committee is not there to answer the question “is this a good plan?”, but rather “are there sufficient planning reasons to refuse this planning application, and would these reasons be upheld at appeal?”  Politics and personal feelings are to be left at the door.

I remember hearing this before being elected, and thinking “what’s the point in that then? Surely people are elected to be political?!” I still partially think this, but at the same time can appreciate that the alternative is councillors likely to pretty much not approve anything, which arguably creates wider housing issues. The reality, however, is simply that developers would appeal and win, and if there are too many appeals, councils will just lose any say at all. 

The Bengeo Field planning application was discussed at length over three hours at the Development Management Committee meeting on the 18th September and there were points raised about transport, infrastructure, water, and affordable housing. Not being on the committee myself, it really isn’t my place to comment on the particulars of how people voted. However, I do know that these decisions are never easy, are heavily constrained, and are rarely taken lightly. It is easy to blame the planners, or blame the councillors (or more generally “the council”), but the wider system is weighted heavily against local councils – an example being Vistry’s recent successful appeal after the council refused permission to build 350 homes near Buntingford. In this case, despite loss of agricultural land, loss of countryside, and poor accessibility of services, the Planning Inspectorate found these insufficient reasons to refuse the application, and overruled the council’s decision. 

For Bengeo field, those who have campaigned so passionately are now looking at potential next steps, and you can follow their story on the Love Bengeo Field Facebook Page. More broadly, the new Labour government is currently looking at national planning policy and there is a public consultation on their proposed approach, open until Tuesday 24th Sept. While the national policy is still in discussion, now is also an excellent time to contact your MP, share your concerns and views on how to improve planning policy and make any suggestions for what you’d like the future of national planning policy to look like.For more on the Green Party’s manifesto on providing fairer, greener homes for all, check out the Green Party Right Homes, Right Place, Right Price Charter.

More about Councillor Sarah Hopewell:

Councillor Sarah Hopewell is Executive Member for Wellbeing at East Herts District Council. Sarah graduated from Bath University in 2005 and spent the first 9 years of her career in a variety of community support worker roles working in housing, mental health and drugs/alcohol. When working as a drug and alcohol support worker she studied for an MSc in Addiction Psychology and Counselling. Since then, she has spent five years working as a Research Assistant at the University of Cambridge and four years as a Research and Evaluation Officer in Public Health at Hertfordshire County Council. She now works at Campaign for Better Transport and is a Councillor for Castle Ward on Hertford Town Council.

The post Hertford Councillor Sarah Hopewell on the go-ahead given to build on the much-loved Bengeo Field appeared first on East Herts Green Party.

At the DMC meeting, Bengeo North Town, District and County Councillor Ben Crystall raised concerns that the HERT4 development wasn’t truly sustainable in terms of transportation. He argued that while development should be “located to enable sustainable journeys to be made to reach key services and facilities”, many in the community have serious doubts over whether this was the case. He pointed out that the majority of services and facilities for HERT4 residents – shops and supermarkets, doctors and dentist surgeries – are in the town centre, about 1.5 km away, at the bottom of a steep hill with insufficient bus services and safety issues for cyclists. 

Bengeo North Town and District Councillor Alex Daar argued that if the District Plan is the decision document that must be obeyed then the wording about mineral extraction first must be followed to the letter.  The Inspector who approved the District Plan did so in the expectation quarrying would happen first. The Neighbourhood Plan which values the views also carries weight in planning.  In these respects the arguments formed in previous democratic forums have not been followed.  She questioned whether these were the kind of houses needed by local people as proposed by the developer and said the proposed tree planting would not prevent the damage to the wonderful views from either end of the field so praised by the Secretary of State in the quarry decision for the beauty of the whole field, not just part of it.

Bengeo North Town and District Councillor Vicky Smith argued that there was considerable risk of water contamination if the development goes ahead, referencing multiple reports that raised concerns about risks of  infrastructure failure and the potential for groundwater contamination. She urged the committee to refuse the application, saying that our community’s health and environmental safety must remain a priority.

On Thursday 19th September, the three councillors and the Green Town Council candidate responded to the decision to allow the development to go ahead.

Bengeo North Town, District and County Councillor Ben Crystall said:

“Like many residents, I’m deeply frustrated that we’re locked in a planning system that relies completely on organisations like the Environment Agency to protect us but that are so hollowed out they can’t even properly look at the evidence in front of them. It’s similar with infrastructure providers like Thames Water – we are forced to accept the word of for-profit organisations which have failed us all time and again. The only thing that cheers me up is the incredible tenacity and skills of the Bengeo community – the list of their planning objections in the officers report was staggering – it also listed out the 90 or so streets where people had stepped up to complain- pretty much the whole of our area… amazing.”

Bengeo North Town and District Councillor Alex Daar said:

“Bengeo Field is my ‘go to place’ for improving my mood and mental health. I have been involved in the fight to save it since the last quarry campaign and the development of the Neighbourhood Plan for Bengeo. I know how hard everyone has fought because we all love this field and its views so much. Our community spirit is vast and I feel we will continue to work together to make Bengeo the best place it can be for all the people living in it.”

Bengeo North Town and District Councillor Vicky Smith said:

“I am deeply disappointed that we have lost this precious green space to a development that raised so many questions and concerns. The community spirit of Bengeo has shown through over the last few years as residents have worked together to fight this inappropriate application. And I thank everyone who has taken the time to join in the fight for Bengeo Field.”

Bengeo North Town Council Green Candidate Robert Beahan said:

“I’m so sad and disappointed that the Bengeo Field development is going ahead. It’s such a beautiful space that holds a special place in my heart and I know in the hearts of many residents in Bengeo and it’s just so frustrating to see yet another piece of our countryside being built on. I was incredibly impressed with the arguments put forward by the residents at East Herts Council’s Development Management Committee and felt proud to stand alongside the three Green Bengeo councillors as they argued against the development. If I’m elected today as a Bengeo North Hertford Town Councillor I will do everything I can to continue to share residents’ views and hold the local planning authority to account on their behalf.”

The post Green Councillors and Candidate in Bengeo share their disappointment and frustration as the Bengeo HERT4 development gets the go ahead appeared first on East Herts Green Party.