New Council vision and priorities

An ambitious new plan for the next five years has been launched by the Council, outlining our new vision and priorities. Councillors approved the new Council Plan covering the period 2022 to 2027 at a Full Council meeting in September.

The plan focuses on our vision to put people first and deliver sustainable services, to enable a brighter future together.

The three key priorities outlined in the plan will help us deliver our ambitions for North Herts:

People First

People make North Herts work. We value all our residents, businesses, staff, contractors, councillors, and other partners, and place them at the heart of everything we do.

Sustainability

We recognise the challenges our towns and district face and are committed to delivering services which are relevant and sustainable. In doing so we will place our environmental responsibilities, as well as sound financial planning, at the centre of our policy making.

A brighter future together

We are far-sighted and plan for the long term to secure the best outcomes for our people, towns and villages, and the local economy, ensuring North Herts continues to thrive.

The Plan also identifies the following four key themes which we will focus on during the next five years:

• Our Environment

North Herts is home to vital chalk streams and grasslands, ancient hedgerows and woodlands, and parts of the west of our district fall into the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. We all have a duty to protect and care for these environments.

North Herts Council declared a climate emergency in May 2019, which commits us to take urgent action to address the causes of climate change across the district. Since then, we’ve developed and begun implementing our Climate Change Strategy, with the aim of reducing carbon emissions to meet our net zero targets.

• Our Local Economy

Our towns and villages are the lifeblood of North Herts and we are committed to supporting them to grow and thrive. We will work with partners on town centre regeneration and on local projects which will bring jobs and investment to North Herts, as well as help our towns and local businesses to recover from the impacts of the pandemic. 

• Our Places

We have ambitious plans to grow North Herts into a modern and thriving district, where the spaces and infrastructure we create meet the current and future needs of our people.

We want the places we create to be well-designed, reflecting the local landscape and character of the area, and to have the necessary infrastructure to make them sustainable. We want to ensure greater connectivity across and beyond the district through sustainable transport projects and by ensuring that walking and cycling are attractive options for the people of North Herts.

We remain committed to providing affordable housing and social housing and will continue supporting communities with Neighbourhood Plans.

We are also developing a Green Infrastructure Plan and Strategy which will identify where new green spaces should be provided across the district.

• Our Services

We are an open and welcoming council, accessible to all our residents 24/7.  We’ve started a transformation programme which will help residents access council services more easily, when they want to, in the most convenient way to them. 

We value what you have to say about our policies and plans, so we have set up a number of panels on the topics of Environment, Community and Place to gather ideas and feedback. The panels meet several times throughout the year and all residents are welcome to attend and share their views.

Councillor Elizabeth Dennis-Harburg, Leader of North Herts Council, said: "The Council Plan provides us all with a common direction, ensuring we make decisions, provide services and set budgets that allow us to drive North Hertfordshire forward and improve the area.

"We look forward to the next five years implementing this ambitious but realistic plan to benefit all our communities. Now the plan has been approved, officers and councillors will work together to deliver the projects and services that meet our joint vision for the district.”

More information on the Council Plan