The Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council meeting scheduled for 17 September 2025 included a review of political proportionality on committees following the resignation of Councillor Jill Weston from the Labour Party, as well as questions from both members of the public and councillors. There were also scheduled discussions on petitions, announcements, and notices of motions.

Review of Political Proportionality and Appointment to Committees

Following Councillor Jill Weston's resignation from the Labour Party to become an independent councillor, a review of political proportionality was scheduled to be discussed. According to the Report Political Proportionality Sept 25 Annual Council, the council has a legal duty to secure the balance of the different political groups on the authority .

The report pack included a recommendation to note the review of political proportionality of member appointments to committees, agree to the allocation of seats as set out in Schedule 1 of the report, and agree with the appointments as set out in Appendix A.

The scheduled changes in committee appointments were:

• Councillor James Broach to replace Councillor Pankit Shah on the Audit Committee.
• Councillor Pankit Shah to replace Councillor Jill Weston as Chair of the Licensing Committee.
• Councillor Jane Otumunye to replace Councillor Jill Weston on the Overview Scrutiny Committee.
• Councillor Ian Walsh to become the new Vice Chair of the Development Management Committee.
• The representative on Hertfordshire Groundwork Trust to be announced at the meeting.

The report noted that the council's email distribution lists and website had been updated to reflect that Councillor Jill Weston is now an independent councillor.

Questions

Members of the public and councillors submitted questions to be addressed during the meeting.

Alan Reimer, a resident, submitted a question to the Executive Member for Environment regarding the percentage of parking fines that go to the car parking company within the borough council area.

Councillor Fauzia Haider asked the Executive Member for Housing for an update on the council's Affordable Housing Programme, referencing a statistic from Shelter¹ estimating that 126,000 households in the UK are homeless and in temporary accommodation. Councillor Tim Rowse asked the Leader of the Council to formally respond to a letter from town and parish councils within Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council regarding Local Government Reorganisation (LGR) in Hertfordshire.

Councillor Cathy Watson asked the Leader and Deputy Leader to outline the process by which the future management of local amenities and assets is being decided, in the context of concerns that a distant unitary authority might not give enough attention to local interests.

Councillor Alex Bardett asked the Executive Member for Governance why work had not begun on a Community Governance Review, as called for in a motion passed by the Full Council in March. Councillor Alex Bardett stated that the work is vital to ensuring greater democratic control over local assets and help keep governance over those assets truly local.

Councillor Sunny Thusu asked the Executive Member for Planning to explain why the community's request to list The North Star in Oaklands as an Asset of Community Value was turned down, and who specifically made that decision. The North Star was described as a valuable community asset that is now subject to a planning application for a nursery and has also been submitted as an option for new housing in the Local Plan call-for-sites process.

Councillor Tony Kingsbury asked the Executive Member for Planning why paid-for pre-application meetings are taking significantly longer to arrange than the agreed timescales, causing substantial delays to the delivery of new homes and employment opportunities on new sites.

Councillor Fiona Thomson asked the Leader of the Council why Welwyn Hatfield Council was only offering two engagement events for residents on Local Government Reorganisation in Hertfordshire, both in the towns, and why the council had not arranged events in the villages to ensure those communities are properly included.

Councillor Matthew Hobbs asked the Leader of the Council whether the council received a response to a letter asking Hertfordshire County Council to begin the process of the divestment of council pension funds from arms manufacturers and companies known to profit from human rights violations. Councillor Matthew Hobbs stated that the council invests in RTD Corporation, a US firm that supplies Israel with weapons used in Gaza.