The leaders of parties in Welwyn Hatfield
- Credit: Supplied
The May 6 local elections saw the Conservatives gain seats across county and borough elections, while the other parties had significantly less success - with Labour losing out the most.
We spoke to each party to get their reaction.
A spokesperson for Welwyn Hatfield Conservatives said: In this election, the people of Welwyn Hatfield have chosen to reward our approach of campaigning positively combined with making a clear effort to knock on doors and meet people face to face to discuss what matters to them.
Cllr Tony Kingsbury, leader of Welwyn Hatfield Conservatives
BBC News
Published
image captionVoting took place across Hertfordshire on Thursday, including for the county council at Tyttenhanger Green in St Albans
Labour has maintained control of Stevenage Borough Council, but the Conservatives gained power at Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council.
Labour held on in Stevenage despite losing six seats, five of them to the Conservatives.
At Welwyn Hatfield, the Tories won four seats from Labour and one from the Lib Dems to capture the authority.
St Albans Council is no longer in no overall control after a win by the Liberal Democrats.
The Tories kept control of Herts County Council, but their leader lost his seat to the Lib Dems.
There were three county council seats within the Welwyn Hatfield area in 2017, each won by a different party, with a margin of fewer than 100 votes.
The Lib Dems won the Haldens seat with 1,595, just 98 more votes than polled by the Conservatives.
In Hatfield East the Conservatives won with 1,078 votes - which was 98 more than Labour, and in Welwyn Garden City South Labour won the seat with 1,403 votes - just 71 more than the Conservatives.
Meanwhile all seven county council seats in Hertsmere are being contested by Conservative, Green, Labour and Liberal Democrat parties.
In addition there are candidates from Trade Unionists and Socialists Against Cuts (Borehamwood North), UKIP (Borehamwood South) and independent candidate Rosemary Gilligan (Potters Bar West and Shenley).
A Welwyn Hatfield taxi driver has been found guilty of driving offences
- Credit: Picture: DANNY LOO
A taxi driver has been found guilty of a number of driving offences, following a court case brought forward by Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council.
Private hire driver Dorin Mircea Maghiar was convicted of using a private hire vehicle without a vehicle license, no vehicle insurance and acting as a private hire operator without an operator s license. This followed the revocation of his vehicle and license in 2019.
The prosecution took place at St Albans Magistrate s Court in the driver s absence, as he had refused to attend.
Hatfield Business Park. Picture: Kevin Lines.
- Credit: Archant
Protection for key employment space in the borough, that could be turned into homes easily under planning rules, are being proposed by Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council.
The council s second Article 4 Direction would cover important sites in the borough like Welwyn Garden City employment area and Hatfield Business Park, including Bishop Square, Beaconsfield Road and Great North Road in Hatfield, and Sopers Road Industrial Estate in Cuffley.
An Article 4 Direction on these sites came into effect in 2020 which removed the rights to convert office space to residential accommodation without planning permission permitted development rights.