Social Value Ideas for East Hertfordshire District Council

Local Plan timetable published

Council approved publication of the East Herts Local Plan timetable and notice of intention to commence local plan preparation. This is a statutory planning policy step that starts the formal preparat…

“The report seeks approval to publish the East Harts local plan timetable, which is at Appendix A, which sets out the proposed stages, milestones and k…”

Green belt assessment adopted

The panel agreed the commissioned green belt assessment and parcel maps as evidence for the new local plan and as a material consideration in planning decisions. The report also set out how national p…

“This deep paper seeks the approval of the green belt assessment report appendix A and the accompanying parcel map assessments in appendix B as part of…”

SA/SEA scoping approved

Council approved the sustainability appraisal and strategic environmental assessment scoping document, and agreed it should be consulted on with statutory bodies and wider stakeholders alongside the l…

“An essay is required through section 19 of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004. Its role is to provide sustainable development by assessing …”

FAQ for grey belt

Members asked for a public-facing FAQ explaining grey belt, with an emphasis on reassuring residents that assessment parcels do not mean automatic development. This was agreed in-principle as a commun…

“Would it help if we had uh a very explanatory FAQ on it? >> Yes. >> On our website about what is gray belt and what that actually means because I'm su…”

Scoping consultation launched

Council agreed to run the local plan scoping consultation for four weeks from 2026-06-11 to 2026-07-10, with delegated authority for minor amendments and a later report on feedback. The consultation i…

“This report seeks to agree the scoping consultation document, how we will engage upon it and its distribution to the community to seek comments. The …”

Grey belt misunderstanding risk

Members repeatedly raised concern that grey belt terminology and parcel naming could confuse residents and imply land is being earmarked for development. Officers explained that grey belt remains gree…

“I just think it would be helpful just you have touched it just to clarify in a bit more detail like if we if we didn't do this what would the risk hav…”

Indoor sports plan adopted

The indoor sports need assessment and strategy was approved as part of the local plan evidence base. It identified unmet swimming-pool demand in the north of the district, reliance on education facili…

“The indoor sport assessment and strategy provides updated robust evidence to support the new local plan and development management decisions, replacin…”

Pool reopen funding

The report seeks executive approval to allocate 105,000 from the executive priority reserve established as part of the 2627 budget to support the reopening of Ward Freeman swimming pool in Buningford.…

“the report seeks executive approval to allocate 105,000 from the executive priority reserve established as part of the 2627 budget to support the reop…”

Ethical procurement policy

A full-motion proposal to audit supply chains, increase transparency for future projects, and encourage ethical sourcing via recognized standards; calls for national action and balanced net zero with …

“audit our own supply chains. We increase transparency for future projects. We encourage ethical sourcing through recognized standards. And we use our …”

SME access in procurement

Amendment to procurement rules to apply requirements proportionately with respect to SMEs, and support participation via independent assurance schemes and proportionate evidence requirements aligned w…

“any procurement requirements arising from this policy shall be applied proportionately with due regard to accessibility for small and medium-sized ent…”