Welwyn Hatfield

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For the constituency, see Welwyn Hatfield (UK Parliament constituency)

Borough of Welwyn Hatfield
Shown within Hertfordshire
Geography
Status:	Borough
Region:	East of England
Admin. County:	Hertfordshire
Area: - Total	Ranked 223rd 129.55 km²
Admin. HQ:	Welwyn Garden City
ONS code:	26UL
Demographics
Population: - Total (2006 est.) - Density	Ranked 211th 105,500 814 / km²
Ethnicity^[1]:	89.0% White 4.0% South Asian 2.4% Black British 1.8% Mixed Race 2.9% Chinese or Other Ethnic Group
Politics
Welwyn Hatfield Council http://welhat.gov.uk/
Leadership:	Leader & Cabinet
Executive:	Conservative
MP:	Grant Shapps

The Borough of Welwyn Hatfield is a local government district in southern Hertfordshire, England.

Its covers the two towns of Welwyn Garden City and Hatfield, along with numerous smaller settlements from Woolmer Green in the north to Little Heath in the south. Each of the towns has a railway station on the East Coast Main Line and they are close to the A1 road.

The district was formed on April 1, 1974, as a merger of the Welwyn Garden City urban district, with the Hatfield and Welwyn rural districts. ^[2] It petitioned for borough status in 2005, which was agreed to by the Privy Council on November 15, 2005. ^[3] In April 2006 a charter conferring borough status was granted, and the title of the council officially changed to Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council on May 22, 2006.^[4] The first Mayor of the borough, John Hawkins, was chosen on May 22.

Set within the London green belt, the towns still retain something of their own identities despite the anomalous and often confusing name of Welwyn Hatfield which can make them sound as one ^[5]. Welwyn Garden City has a famous heritage being one of only two Garden Cities in the Country, and is uniquely both Garden City and designated New Town. They function to some extent as dormitory towns for householders who work in London. The Welwyn Viaduct is a locally important landmark.

[edit] References

^ Lead View Table
^ HMSO. S.I. 1972/2039
^ Minutes of the Privy Council meeting on November 15, 2005.
^ Press Release, Welwyn Hatfield Council May 16, 2006.
^ Exemplified in a published letter of 21st July 2006 written to Rt Hon Ruth Kelly by Grant Shapps MP for Welwyn Hatfield concerning the unreasonable requirement for thousands of new homes within the Borough. In his letter Grant Shapps writes in conclusion ; "The lack of consultation is shocking and demonstrated not least by the way the Panel continue to refer to Welwyn Hatfield as a single entity rather than the two separate and very distinctive towns that it actually is."