01/03/2026
📣 NORTH HERTS LEADER’S BRIEFING: FULL COUNCIL, 26 February 2026
Last night’s Council meeting focused on the approval of the Council Budget and the accompanying Investment Strategy.
🗨️Cllr Val Bryant, Leader of North Herts Council:
“I am pleased that a balanced budget has been passed for North Herts Council. This means that we can continue to improve leisure facilities in local parks and swimming pools; enhance the environment with projects such as the Radburn Way Habitat Bank and planned allotment space in Great Ashby. We will be able to continue supporting residents to maintain their health through the Healthy Hub which is a one stop for access to health services, support and advice. We are proud to be one of the first councils to focus on the Marie Curie Cost of dying campaign.”
With Full Council’s approval, the following projects and many more can now move forward:
1️⃣ £4.75 million for Royston Learner Pool:
Construction of a new learner pool at Royston Leisure Centre to increase capacity for swimming lessons.
2️⃣ New waterplay in Letchworth:
A £200,000 interactive water play area at North Herts Leisure Centre.
3️⃣ Hitchin car parks digital signage:
£200,000 pounds capital investment in new digital and other signage to the car parks in Hitchin. This project will provide residents and visitors with up-to-date information of parking spaces available in the town. It has been welcomed by Hitchin BID and local businesses.
4️⃣ Greener Communities:
£295,000 for biodiversity and park improvements, including sustainable planting at Bancroft (Hitchin) and Priory Memorial Gardens (Royston), scoping allotments or community orchards for Great Ashby, plus footpath repairs at Walsworth Common and Ivel Springs.
5️⃣ Safer Streets:
Doubling the Community Safety budget to £20,000 to tackle anti-social behaviour and fly-tipping.
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🌹 Here’s what Labour councillors had to say ⬇️
💰APPROVAL OF THE 2026/7 BUDGET:
🗨️ Cllr Ian Albert, Exec Member for Resource:
“I am proud of what this Labour administration of North Herts Council put in front of Council and I am delighted that the budget received overwhelming support from Councillors.
The budget is ambitious and affordable and delivers new investments across our towns and villages that will make a real difference to residents. We are already delivering a £20 million pound project to decarbonise and modernise our Leisure Centres and other facilities. The Council has now been able to afford over £5 million pounds of new projects, including the Royston Learner Pool, all the while ensuring we retain strong and sustainable financial reserves. That’s how Labour runs this Council for our community.”
🗨️ Cllr Sean Nolan, Deputy Leader of North Herts Council:
“This administration is pleased to have invested in Careline, our IT teams and within officer teams to ensure they have the support they need as we enter the period where Local Government Reorganisation will present a number of challenges to staff. The Labour and Co-operative Group are proud to ensure the support goes to our staff when they need it."
🗨️ Cllr Alistair Willoughby, Baldock West and Chair of Baldock and District Community Forum:
“It’s great to see our Labour & Co‑operative administration investing across North Herts. There are fantastic projects like the Royston Learner Pool and the continuing decarbonisation works that will make a real difference for our communities. But a budget isn’t only about the big‑ticket projects; the smaller budget lines matter just as much. Whether it’s investing in safer streets, extra support for maintaining our green spaces, continuing the community wellbeing work for young people, older residents and everyone in between, or helping local groups keep going, these are the things that directly benefit people in their day‑to‑day lives, and they matter just as much.”
🗨️ Cllr Nigel Mason, Hitchin Oughton and Chair of Planning Control:
Cllr Mason criticised Conservative Leader, Ralph Muncer for submitting budget amendments late on the day of the meeting, stating that these were not the actions of a serious politician and he was simply chasing a soundbite in the local paper.
🏊 ROYSTON LEARNER POOL:
🗨️ Cllr Amy Allen, Executive Member for Environment:
“It would have been easy to promise a £2 million learner pool and hope for the best. But that wouldn’t have delivered what Royston actually needs. We took the time to do the feasibility work, wait for certainty in our financial settlement, and build a proper business case. The result is a £4.75 million investment that is fully costed and built to last. That’s the Labour way - ambitious, but responsible.”
🌈 SUPPORT FOR TRANS EMPLOYEES
Full Council also passed the motion to support Trans Rights‘ with overwhelming backing:
Through the motion North Herts committed to:
1️⃣ Affirm our support for trans, non-binary, and gender diverse residents and our commitment to defending their rights and dignity.
2️⃣ Write to the Minister for Women and Equalities to express that the position of this Council is to support trans rights and to request guidance on how existing legislation will continue to protect the rights of trans people and whether the Government will bring forward new legislation in this area.
3️⃣ Commit to supporting Officers to take meaningful steps to promote safety and inclusion so that North Herts continues to be a welcoming and inclusive place for the LGBTQ+ community.
4️⃣ Build upon Council policies and practice to ensure that they explicitly affirm support for trans, non-binary, and gender diverse people and that language used is inclusive.
And other measures.
🗨️ Cllr Sadie Billing, Vice Chair of North Hertfordshire Council and Chair of the Letchworth Community Forum brought forward the motion:
"We are all human. Everyone in North Hertfordshire deserves to feel safe, respected, and able to live as themselves. Recent national developments have created confusion and anxiety. Legal protections remain, but the uncertainty has had a real impact on people’s sense of safety and belonging.
This motion is about reassurance and clarity. It makes it clear that discrimination and hostility have no place here and sets out practical steps to keep our policies and services inclusive."
✉️ If you have any questions please feel free to get in touch with me at [email protected].
