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…”

Approve green belt evidence base

The executive approved an updated green belt assessment, including amendments made after late representations and DEP discussion, for use as evidence in the new local plan and as a material considerat…

“So I therefore propose to the executive that the green belt assessment attached as the main report at appendix A and a series of individual parcel map…”

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 …”

Retail and town centres evidence

The council agreed an updated retail and town centre study as evidence for the new local plan. The study found no quantitative need for new convenience, comparison, or leisure floorspace allocations, …

“The council's latest retail and town center study was completed in 2013. An updated study found at appendix A and B. Um and that is between uh pages 1…”

Employment studies approved

The executive approved four employment studies for the local plan evidence base, covering Hartford and Ware, and Sbridgeworth in this transcript. The Hartford and Ware study recommends protecting exis…

“The Hartford and Wear Employment Study is the third in a series of reports covering the employment position in our main towns. As you may be aware, ex…”

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 …”

Monthly Beam Reporting

The committee agreed to require monthly updates on Beam's economic performance, tracked against the revised business case projections, until the end of Q3 2026/27, with a review then on whether to con…

“Thank you very much Martin. Um, we're going to be getting monthly reports so I'm happy to forward that on to to members of this committee and um you k…”

Beam outturn overspend

The provisional outturn for 2025/26 showed a council revenue overspend of £678,000, with Beam contributing the largest variance at £1.167 million overspend. The report says the venue was in its first …

“In the revenue account final outturn is an overspend of £678,000 against the budget. This is compared to the estimate of £55,000 over spend at the end…”

Beam 2025/26 Loss and Financial Deterioration

Members discussed the unexpectedly large loss in Beam's 2025/26 position, with the committee noting a loss of around £970,000 and concern that the venue's finances had deteriorated well beyond earlier…

“Thank you very much Martin. Um, we're going to be getting monthly reports so I'm happy to forward that on to to members of this committee and um you k…”

Dynamic Ticket Pricing Review

Beam is actively exploring dynamic or flexible ticket pricing systems that sit on top of its ticketing platform, with the aim of increasing yield on high-demand performances while also allowing prices…

“Absolutely. Uh again not commercially sensitive so very very happy to answer. Um, so yes dynamic ticket pricing is something we are exploring. Um we h…”

Beam loss and pressure

Beam reported a net loss of £970,000 for 2025/26, with officers also flagging a potential £480,000 pressure in the current year based on the updated business plan. This is a major financial pressure o…

“Tonight's paper provides information on performance and the sorry, performance and the financial position of Beam for the financial year 2025 to 2026.…”

Beam business plan reset

Members were told the original Beam business plan was overly optimistic and that a revised, more realistic plan targets break-even in 2028/29. The plan will be built into budget setting and is intende…

“However, I want to be clear that this position in no way reflects the work of the staff and volunteers at Beam, all of whom have worked exceptionally …”

Beam to return in July

The committee resolved to hold a further meeting in July to discuss Beam’s revised business plan and performance. Members also wanted the business plan and supporting slides shared and the matter to r…

“So the recommendation, I will insert a new recommendation then. Yeah. So the recommendation is to review Beam's position and make recommendations to t…”