Welwyn Hatfield

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}}Template:Main other 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

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:<ref>Template:Cite legislation UK</ref>

• Hatfield Rural District
• Welwyn Garden City Urban District
• Welwyn Rural District

The new district was named Welwyn Hatfield.<ref>Template:Cite legislation UK</ref> 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.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Governance

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.<ref>Template:Cite legislation UK</ref>

Political control

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.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> 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.<ref name=Mountney/>

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:<ref name=compositions>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }} (Put "Welwyn Hatfield" in search box to see specific results.)</ref><ref name=change>Template:Cite news</ref>

Party in control		Years
Template:Party name with colour	1974–1976
Template:Party name with colour	1976–1979
Template:Party name with colour	1979–1992
Template:Party name with colour	1992–1994
Template:Party name with colour	1994–1999
Template:Party name with colour	1999–2000
Template:Party name with colour	2000–2002
Template:Party name with colour	2002–2019
Template:Party name with colour	2019–2021
Template:Party name with colour	2021–2023
Template:Party name with colour	2023–present

Leadership

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:

Composition

Following the 2024 local elections and subsequent changes up to May 2025, the composition of the council was:<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Party		Councillors
Template:Party name with colour	19
Template:Party name with colour	16
Template:Party name with colour	12
Template:Party name with colour	1
Total		48

The next elections are due to be held in 2026, where a third of the council's seats will be up for election.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Premises

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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Towns and Parishes

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

• Ayot St Lawrence
• Ayot St Peter
• Essendon
• HatfieldTemplate:Efn
• North Mymms
• Northaw and Cuffley
• Welwyn
• Woolmer Green

Elections

Template:Also 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.<ref name=2016order>Template:Cite legislation UK</ref>

Wards

The wards of the borough are:<ref name=2016order/> Template:Div col

• Brookmans Park & Little Heath
• Haldens
• Handside
• Hatfield Central
• Hatfield East
• Hatfield South West
• Hatfield Villages
• Hollybush
• Howlands
• Northaw and Cuffley
• Panshanger
• Peartree
• Sherrards
• Welham Green and Hatfield South
• Welwyn East
• Welwyn West

Wider politics

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.

References

Template:Sister project Template:Hertfordshire {{#invoke:Navbox|navbox}} Template:Civil parishes of Hertfordshire Template:Authority control Template:Coord