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Welwyn Hatfield

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Welwyn Hatfield
Non-metropolitan district, Borough
Hatfield House
Hatfield House
Official logo of Welwyn Hatfield
Welwyn Hatfield shown within Hertfordshire
Welwyn Hatfield shown within Hertfordshire
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Constituent countryEngland
RegionEast of England
Non-metropolitan countyHertfordshire
Admin HQWelwyn Garden City
Incorporated1 April 1974
Named forWelwyn (village) and Hatfield (town)
Government
 • TypeNon-metropolitan district council
 • BodyWelwyn Hatfield Borough Council
 • MPAndrew Lewin (L)
Oliver Dowden (C)
Area
 • Total
50.02 sq mi (129.55 km2)
 • Rank176th (of 296)
Population
 (2025)
 • Total
121,748
 • Rank204th (of 296)
 • Density2,434.0/sq mi (939.78/km2)
Ethnicity (2021)
[1]
 • Ethnic groups
List
Religion (2021)
[1]
 • Religion
List
Time zoneUTC0 (GMT)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+1 (BST)
ONS code26UL (ONS)
E07000241 (GSS)
OS grid referenceTL245135

Welwyn Hatfield is a local government district with borough status in the county of Hertfordshire, England. Its council is based in Welwyn Garden City. The borough borders Hertsmere, St Albans, North Hertfordshire, East Hertfordshire, Broxbourne, and the London Borough of Enfield.

The borough includes the two towns of Welwyn Garden City and Hatfield, along with numerous smaller settlements from Woolmer Green in the north to Cuffley in the south. The borough has six railway stations on the Great Northern Railway; five being on the main line and one on the Hertford loop line. The Digswell Viaduct is a local landmark. The A1 road passes through the borough.

Much of the borough lies within the Metropolitan Green Belt which surrounds London. Welwyn Garden City is notable as being one of only two Garden Cities in the country, and is uniquely both a Garden City and a designated New Town. The University of Hertfordshire has its main campus at Hatfield.

History

[edit]

Welwyn Hatfield was created on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972, covering the area of three former districts, which were all abolished at the same time:[2]

The new district was named Welwyn Hatfield.[3] From 1974 to 2006 the council was called Welwyn Hatfield District Council. The council petitioned for borough status in 2005, allowing the chair of the council to take the title of mayor. The petition was agreed to by the Privy Council and a charter conferring borough status was issued which took effect on 22 May 2006, when John Hawkins was appointed the first mayor and the council's name changed to Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council.[4]

Under current local government reorganisation plans, all district councils in Hertfordshire, as well as the county council, will be abolished in 2028, with the district becoming part of a new Central Hertfordshire unitary authority.[5]

Governance

[edit]
Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council
Logo
Type
Type
Leadership
Michal Siewniak,
Liberal Democrat
since 21 May 2026[6]
Rose Grewal,
Labour
since 6 February 2026[7]
Ka Ng
since July 2021[8]
Structure
Seats48
Graph of the party split among 48 seats.
Political groups
Administration (31)
    Labour (16)
    Liberal Democrats (15)
Opposition (15)
    Conservative (12)
    Reform (3)
Other parties (2)
    Independent (2)
Elections
Last election
7 May 2026
Meeting place
Council Offices, The Campus, Welwyn Garden City, AL8 6AE
Website
www.welhat.gov.uk

Hertfordshire has a two-tier structure of local government, with the ten district councils (including Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council) providing district-level services, and Hertfordshire County Council providing county-level services.[9]

Political control

[edit]

The council has been under no overall control since the 2023 election. After that election, the Conservatives were the largest party, but a Liberal Democrat and Labour coalition formed to take control of the council.[10] The Liberal Democrats were the larger party in the coalition from 2023 to 2024. Following the 2024 election, a Labour and Liberal Democrat coalition continued to run the council, with Labour overtaking their coalition partners and also becoming the largest party on the council.[11] In January 2026, following disagreements on whether to postpone local elections to facilitate local government reorganisation, the Liberal Democrats pulled out of the coalition agreement.[12] On 29 January, leader of the council Max Holloway announced his resignation with effect from 6 February 2026.[13] He was replaced as leader by Labour councillor Rose Grewal.[7]

The first election to the 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:[14][15]

Party in controlYears
Labour1974–1976
Conservative1976–1979
Labour1979–1992
Conservative1992–1994
Labour1994–1999
Conservative1999–2000
Labour2000–2002
Conservative2002–2019
No overall control2019–2021
Conservative2021–2023
No overall control2023–present

Leadership

[edit]

The role of mayor is largely ceremonial in Welwyn Hatfield, and is usually held by a different councillor each year. Political leadership is instead provided by the leader of the council. The leaders since 2005 have been:

CouncillorPartyFromTo
John Dean[16]ConservativeMay 2005May 2018
Mandy Perkins[17][18]Conservative21 May 201829 September 2018
Tony Kingsbury[19][20]Conservative19 November 201822 May 2023
Paul Zukowskyj[21][22]Liberal Democrats22 May 202320 May 2024
Max Holloway[23][11][13]Labour20 May 20246 February 2026
Rose Grewal[7]Labour6 February 2026

Composition

[edit]

Following the 2026 local elections, the composition of the council is:[24]

Party Seats
Labour16
Liberal Democrats15
Conservative12
Reform3
Independent2
Total 48

Premises

[edit]

The council is based at the Council Offices on The Campus in the centre of Welwyn Garden City, which it inherited from the old Welwyn Garden City Urban District Council. The building was completed in 1937.[25]

Towns and Parishes

[edit]

Welwyn Hatfield contains eight civil parishes. The town of Welwyn Garden City is an unparished area. The parishes are:

Elections

[edit]

Since the last boundary changes in 2016 the council has comprised 48 councillors representing 16 wards, each of which elects three councillors. Elections are held three years out of every four, electing one councillor from each ward each time. Elections to Hertfordshire County Council are held in the fourth year of the cycle when there are no borough council elections.[26]

Wards

[edit]

The wards of the borough are:[26]

Wider politics

[edit]

Most of Welwyn Hatfield borough is within Welwyn Hatfield parliamentary constituency, whose current MP for Welwyn Hatfield is Andrew Lewin of the Labour Party. The constituency's boundaries differ from the borough only by the single ward of Northaw and Cuffley being within the borough, but in the parliamentary constituency of Hertsmere, whose current MP is Oliver Dowden of the Conservative Party.

Arms

[edit]
Coat of arms of Welwyn Hatfield
Notes
Granted 11 February 1976 [27]
Crest
On a Wreath of the Colours within a Circlet of eight Roses Gules each charged with another Argent barbed and seeded proper a Garb Or between two Wings displayed Azure.
Escutcheon
Or a Fess wavy between in chief a Bar wavy Azure surmounted of two Willow Trees couped and in base an Oak Tree couped fructed proper.
Supporters
On either side a Hart Royal proper that on the dexter charged on the shoulder with two Pairs of Dividers in fess inverted and extended the interior points contiguous Argent and that on the sinister with a representation of a Roman Wine Jar Or within a Cage Sable.
Motto
By Wisdom And Design
Badge
On a Bezant environed of a Torse Or and Azure two Pallets Azure surmounted of a Bar dancetty of two points downward counter-changed.

References

[edit]
  1. ↑ Parish council takes the style of "town council".
  1. 1 2 UK Census (2021). "2021 Census Area Profile – Welwyn Hatfield Local Authority (E07000241)". Nomis. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 5 January 2024.
  2. ↑ "The English Non-metropolitan Districts (Definition) Order 1972", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 1972/2039, retrieved 12 May 2023
  3. ↑ "The English Non-metropolitan Districts (Names) Order 1973", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 1973/551, retrieved 12 May 2023
  4. ↑ "Orders in Council: Meeting 15 November 2005". Privy Council Office. Archived from the original on 11 March 2007. Retrieved 12 May 2023.
  5. ↑ Heath, Martin (16 July 2026). "Hertfordshire to see 11 councils reduced to four". BBC News.
  6. ↑ "Minor changes to Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council Cabinet portfolios announced". One Welwyn Hatfield. 20 May 2026. Retrieved 4 July 2026.
  7. 1 2 3 Day, Christopher (10 February 2026). "New council leader elected after reorganisation row". BBC News. Retrieved 10 February 2026.
  8. ↑ "Council minutes, 14 July 2021" (PDF). Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council. Archived (PDF) from the original on 12 May 2023. Retrieved 12 May 2023.
  9. ↑ "Local Government Act 1972", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, 1972 c. 70, retrieved 3 March 2023
  10. ↑ "Joint Administration and Cabinet line-up announced". Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council. 19 May 2023. Archived from the original on 19 May 2023. Retrieved 23 May 2023.
  11. 1 2 Mountney, Dan (16 May 2024). "New Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council leader announced". Welwyn Hatfield Times. Archived from the original on 24 May 2024. Retrieved 24 May 2024.
  12. ↑ Day, Christopher (20 January 2026). "Welwyn Hatfield Lib Dems trigger process to end coalition". Welwyn Hatfield Times. Retrieved 25 January 2026.
  13. 1 2 Day, Christopher (29 January 2026). "Council leader resigns after election postponement". BBC News. Retrieved 29 January 2026.
  14. ↑ "Compositions Calculator". The Elections Centre. University of Exeter. Archived from the original on 30 July 2025. Retrieved 5 March 2025. (Put "Welwyn Hatfield" in search box to see specific results.)
  15. ↑ "Welwyn Hatfield". BBC News Online. 19 April 2008. Retrieved 3 March 2010.
  16. ↑ Morgan, Nina (16 January 2018). "Welwyn Hatfield Times". Welwyn Hatfield Times. Archived from the original on 30 March 2025. Retrieved 30 March 2025.
  17. ↑ "Council minutes, 21 May 2018". Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council. Retrieved 30 March 2025.
  18. ↑ Morgan, Nina (1 October 2018). "Welwyn Hatfield Council leader Mandy Perkins 'enormously missed'". Welwyn Hatfield Times. Archived from the original on 30 March 2025. Retrieved 30 March 2025.
  19. ↑ "Council minutes, 19 November 2018". Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council. Retrieved 30 March 2025.
  20. ↑ Mountney, Dan (5 May 2023). "Live: Updates from Welwyn Hatfield election results 2023". Welwyn Hatfield Times. Archived from the original on 30 March 2025. Retrieved 30 March 2025.
  21. ↑ "Council minutes, 22 May 2023". Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council. Archived from the original on 3 October 2022. Retrieved 30 March 2025.
  22. ↑ Mountney, Dan (3 May 2024). "Paul Zukowskyj on Welwyn Hatfield local elections 2024". Welwyn Hatfield Times. Archived from the original on 30 March 2025. Retrieved 30 March 2025.
  23. ↑ "Council minutes, 20 May 2024". Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council. Archived from the original on 6 May 2025. Retrieved 30 March 2025.
  24. ↑ "Local Elections 2026: Latest updates in Welwyn Hatfield". Welwyn Hatfield Times. 8 May 2026. Retrieved 10 May 2026.
  25. ↑ "New Council Offices". Hertfordshire Mercury. Hertford. 8 January 1937. p. 7.
  26. 1 2 "The Welwyn Hatfield (Electoral Changes) Order 2016", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 2016/116, retrieved 12 May 2023
  27. ↑ "WELWYN HATFIELD DISTRICT COUNCIL (HERTS)". Robert Young. Archived from the original on 3 May 2021. Retrieved 30 October 2019.

51°46′00″N 0°11′30″W / 51.76667°N 0.19167°W / 51.76667; -0.19167

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