Welwyn Hatfield’s new leader has warned there “will be challenges to overcome” as he takes up office. Liberal Democrat councillor Paul Zukowskyj, who represents Welham Green and Hatfield South, has been elected leader of Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council after a vote on Monday, May 22.
He takes over from Welwyn West Conservative councillor Tony Kingsbury, who has led the Hertfordshire authority since 2018. Cllr Zukowskyj is at helm of a Liberal Democrat and Labour joint administration, which was agreed after no one party managed to secure the 25 seats required for a majority.
Hollybush councillor and leader of the Labour Group Cllr Lynn Chesterman is deputy leader of the council. Both councillors said political negotiations “have gone well”. Cllr Zukowskyj told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS): “They went extremely well. Both groups came here with the idea that we need to get things done. We both have a motivation to make this work and I feel really positive about the future.”
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On the cabinet…
The Liberal Democrat Group has 14 out of 48 seats on the authority after voting on Thursday, May 4. Twelve Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council members belong to the Labour Party, while the Conservatives have 22 seats. No party has secured half of the seats, which means the authority is under “No Overall Control”.
On the cabinet are:
- Cllr Paul Zukowskyj (LD, Welham Green and Hatfield South) – Leader and climate change portfolio holder
- Cllr Lynn Chesterman (Lab, Hollybush) – Deputy leader and housing portfolio holder
- Cllr Sandreni Bonfante (LD, Welham Green and Hatfield South) – Environment
- Cllr James Broach (Lab, Hatfield Villages) – Governance
- Cllr Max Holloway (Lab, Howlands) – Leisure and community
- Cllr Duncan Jones (LD, Peartree) – Resources
- Cllr Jane Quinton (LD, Panshanger) – Planning
Cllr Pankit Shah, a Labour councillor representing Hatfield Central, has been elected Mayor for the 2023/24 municipal year, taking over from Barbara Fitzsimon.
When asked if there were any sticking points between the parties, Cllr Chesterman said the Labour Group wants to “seriously consider” moving to a new election cycle – with all councillors elected every four years, instead of a “by thirds” election in three out of every four years. Cllr Zukowskyj said: “We had some detailed discussions about moving to four-year elections.
“One of the things we are very keen to do is to make sure it does not have an impact on the residents’ engagement with local politics. It will be a fairly big change to how often people get councillors knocking on their doors, and how often they get to choose their councillors. We will do a root-and-branch review of the idea, taking into account not just the economics of it, but also what residents think. Yes, there has been a bit of compromise on both sides, but we will make this work.”
One priority for the new administration is to approve a new set of planning rules. The last Welwyn Hatfield District Plan was adopted more than 18 years ago, in April 2005. The previous administration had hoped to sign off the new policy, which sets out where new housing should go and what type of housing should be built, this summer.
“I think we have to wait and see what the planning inspector says about our current situation,” said Cllr Zukowskyj. “I am a bit bemused as to why some of the steps in this process are taking as long as they are. If the inspector comes back and says the plan isn’t sound, we’re back to square one anyway. Abandoning it comes with risks.” Cllr Zukowskyj will hold the “climate change” portfolio in the new borough cabinet.
He said: “When we say ‘environment’, we are talking about the air which people literally breathe outside their front door. It is something which crosses a lot of different briefs – parks, leisure centres, waste, planning, grass verges – so it makes sense for it to sit with the leader.
“We need to be a ‘can do’ council. For example, at our council owned developments, we should not just have 10 per cent of car parking spaces with electric vehicle charging points, we could make that anywhere up to 100 per cent to help people make that transition. There will be challenges to overcome, and changes won’t be made overnight, but we are very much in a position to step up to meet those challenges.”
‘We have worked really well together’ – Labour leader
Cllr Chesterman said both parties have found common ground. “I have to say, in all of our conversations, we have worked really well – with little bit of give and take, but we have worked really well,” she said. “We have really worked at this, taking a good look at who we should have in the new cabinet, and exactly what we need to do for the residents. This is a ‘residents-first’ council.”
Cllr Chesterman added: “We have said we want to start running all-out elections, rather than the ‘by-thirds’ cycle at the moment. We have agreed to have officers prepare a report to make sure the money we think we could save would be saved.” On the local plan, the Labour Group leader said: “The current local plan is not something the Labour Party has supported. We will seriously think that one through.
“I do not think this plan is the right one for Welwyn Hatfield and we want to make it quite clear we are not in favour of it, but it’s what we have got at the moment. What I really want to see changed is the amount of social housing in our borough – not just ‘affordable’ housing but social housing. We also need to secure the right mix of housing with our policies, so when developers proposed just one or two-bed flats we can secure family homes in the mix as well.”
What are all-out elections?
Under the current arrangements, Welwyn Hatfield elects one third of its councillors each year for three years. In the fourth year, a Hertfordshire County Council election takes place. If changes are agreed, the plan would be to elect all of the borough’s councillors in one go, every four years – a model which is currently used in Dacorum, East Herts and Hertsmere.
Neighbouring North Herts Council will also move to whole council elections from 2024. When the Letchworth-based council made their decision in 2021, council officers said the move would save approximately £40,000 each year.
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