Much Hadham Parish Council

06/10/2026

The next Parish Council meeting will take place tonight from 7:30pm on Tuesday 6th October 2026 in the Much Hadham Village Hall.

02/10/2026

The next Parish Council meeting will take place from 7:30pm on Tuesday 6th October 2026 in the Much Hadham Village Hall.

For the latest minutes and agendas please head over to our website at:
https://www.muchhadhamparishcouncil.co.uk/parish-council/meetings-and-minutes/

01/10/2026

RECREATION GROUND
Progress has been made in several areas:
- a new signpost for the recreation ground and defibrillator has been installed on the roadside verge;
- the Sports Association has a refreshed website www.mhsportsassociation.org/;
- subject to August measurements confirming that the Bowls Clubhouse building is stable, insurers will give approval for the repair works necessary to deal with the consequences of subsidence to commence;
- two playground equipment contractors have visited the site to assess the existing equipment and requirements. It is still being considered whether the works should be completed in stages or as a single project.
- work to trim the remaining trees to the right of the road entrance, behind the Bowls Club will be completed at the October half term; and
- EHC planners have provided pre-application advice on permissible long-term uses for the Pavilion building, which we are now exploring with potential hirers.

DOUBLE YELLOW LINES AT KETTLE GREEN LANE JUNCTION
HCC has conducted a public consultation on the long-awaited double yellow lines for the Kettle Green Lane / Malting Lane junctions. The PC welcomed the consultation but urged HCC to extend the lines south from the KGL junction from a proposed 10m to 30m distance. Otherwise, southbound traffic will continue to cross the carriageway as it reaches KGL in readiness for overtaking the parked vehicles.

NEW COUNCILLOR
A councillor vacancy arose following Penny Taylor's resignation. There was no call for an election to be held, so the post was advertised. One application was received and Alan Love was duly co-opted as a parish councillor. This means that the full complement of councillors is restored.

LOCAL GOVERNMENT REORGANISATION (LGR)
No sooner had we been advised that the May 2027 parish council elections would be for a 5-year term to bring the election cycle into sync with that for the new unitary authorities, than the government had second thoughts about its proposals for Hertfordshire and elsewhere and postponed LGR. We are now told that the May 2027 elections will be for the usual 4-year term.

01/10/2026

The proposal to re-route footpath 22 from its current location is an opportunity provided by the recently approved plans for the development scheme located in the land immediately behind Hill House. The new proposed route will follow a line from a point behind the Alms Houses through newly acquired land to where it exits on to Oudle Lane. The area between the new path and an existing walkway by the side of the school will be given over to the school as part of the development project.

What is being proposed?
The proposal is to resolve an issue whereby Much Hadham Footpath 22 crosses through the grounds and buildings of St Andrews Primary School. Hertfordshire County Council (HCC) propose to remedy this by using concurrent Creation and Extinguishment Orders, which will remove the footpath through the school and replace it with a new footpath linking Tower Hill with Oudle Lane running through land south of the school. As shown on the attached plan, the proposal will:
• Extinguish part of Much Hadham Footpath 22
• Extinguish any unrecorded footpath rights on most of the currently used narrow alleyway running south of the school
• Create a new alternative footpath to the south of the school site, running from Footpath 22 behind the Almshouses, to Oudle Lane. The new footpath will be 3 metres wide except for the ramp down to Oudle Lane, which is 2 metres wide and already in place. The new path will be surfaced and will run through green space.

Why is this happening?
This is a long-standing issue that the Countryside & Rights of Way Service has attempted to resolve before. Planning permission granted on the land to the south of the school, which includes the new route, has presented a new opportunity.

How are such changes made?
HCC has a legal power to consider proposals to amend the Definitive Map. Creation and extinguishment orders would be made concurrently and HCC would not confirm one without the other.

If residents wish to comment on this proposal, they should do so between now and 15th October by accessing the following link:

http://www.hertfordshire.gov.uk/row

29/09/2026

Healthwatch Hertfordshire wants to understand how people in Hertfordshire experience Care Act assessments (including both needs assessments and carers' assessments) from the point of asking for help through to receiving support.

A five-minute survey has been created for people with experience of adult social care in Hertfordshire. The survey is available using this link:

www.smartsurvey.co.uk/s/XNIVQU/

The survey is aimed at anyone who has arranged care or support for themselves, unpaid carers, family members supporting someone else, and any residents with views or experiences of the assessment process.

The insights gathered will help them understand what is working well, where people face challenges, and what improvements are needed to ensure residents receive the care and support they need. Findings will be shared with local decision-makers and system leaders to help influence improvements to services across Hertfordshire.

If you have experience of adult social care in Hertfordshire, we would be encourage you to take the survey and share this post across your networks and with the people you support.

29/09/2026

14/09/2026

The Parish Council has recently updated and simplified its Grants Policy to make it easier to apply for funds up to £500.

Any not-for-profit community groups, clubs, societies, and local branches of charities which can demonstrate a degree of community development/public involvement in the parish can apply for a grant.

The Parish Council approved its first donation under the new policy of £500 to our local Citizen’s Advice. Citizen’s Advice provides direct advice and support to people with all sorts of problems in the Much Hadham area, with contact centres in Bishops Stortford, Hertford, Buntingford and Ware. Our donation will help them to increase coverage by setting up drop-in sessions in smaller communities, including Much Hadham.

We look forward to more local groups applying for funding.

The policy and application form can be found on our website at:
https://www.muchhadhamparishcouncil.co.uk/community-grants/

09/09/2026

LAND GRAB IN SAWBRIDGEWORTH:
OUR PARISH AT RISK – WHAT CAN YOU DO?

As most residents will be aware, over the recent Bank Holiday weekend unusual activity was seen in the field containing the red caravan on the south side of Kettle Green Lane, just beyond Moor Place Park. Concerns as to the future of this site had arisen previously when it was marketed for sale in plots. A section of hedgerow dividing the field and KGL had been levelled and the fence flattened, with a section left open to the road. Residents reported that a van and two cars had been seen in the field and that the vegetation in the field had been cut to form a large rectangular strip. A number of blue marker posts were visible, as though marking the site for development of some kind.

A resident contacted a member of the Parish Council who went to the site to take stock. He advised the resident immediately to report the matter to EHC’s Planning Department, which the resident did, and to advise other residents and encourage them also to report their concerns. The police were informed, and some residents made visits to the site over the weekend to check for any further unusual activity. The Planning Department moved quickly and launched an investigation into the possible unauthorised formation of an access to the field and change of use of the land.

No further unusual activity has been observed since then and the reasons why these changes to the site were made has not been established. However, residents’ concern was that the field might be about to be subject to an illegal “land grab” similar to what had happened the same weekend at Sawbridgeworth when a greenfield site was entered illegally by lorries laden with construction materials and the site was cleared in a carefully planned operation. It was only through a combination of the prompt intervention of East Herts Council to obtain two injunctions (the latter to give the police power to arrest those breaching the first injunction) and of local residents to form a human barrier to block off the entrance to the site that further damage to the site was avoided.

A similar event took place in Felsted over the May Bank Holiday, when around 30 lorries delivering hardcore, fencing and septic tanks arrived under cover of darkness on a 4 acres site (a home to deer and other species), created a new access point and concreted the site over. Those involved followed up recently by making an application for retrospective planning approval for 12 mobile houses, touring caravans and “dayroom buildings,” to be laid out in individual plots on the site.

Irrespective of whatever the reasons for the reasons for the developments which were witnessed at the Kettle Green Lane site may have been, it is clear that our Parish, like much of the country needs to be alive to the threat of land grabs. What, then, can residents do to combat this threat should it arise:

1. Be vigilant, especially over holiday periods when the Planning Department at EHC may be closed or understaffed;

2. Report any unusual activity immediately by email and, if possible, by phone (01279 655261) to East Herts Planning, and to the police. Inform the Parish Council but don’t delay in reporting it to Planning and don’t leave it to someone else! Details of how to contact Planning can be found on the EHC website; and;

3. Inform others and invite them to get involved. The intervention of local residents in Sawbridgeworth was critical to protect the site and “buy time” to enable the Council to obtain the necessary injunctions.

The problem is a national one and a petition: “Criminalise unauthorised development & ban retrospective permission” is calling for stronger planning and enforcement powers, including action to increase protection from development going ahead without planning permission, shut down the possibility of retrospective planning permission being granted where there has been a “landgrab”, and generally strengthen the response to unlawful occupation and development.

The petition needs 10,000 positive responses to receive a formal Government response. If a 100,000-signature threshold is reached the matter will considered for debate in Parliament.

If you believe that our planning system requires to be more robust to prevent land grabs and protect property rights and our rural communities, the link is below and you are invited to share it with friends, neighbours and local community groups.

👉 Sign the petition here:
https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/771561

06/09/2026

MUCH HADHAM PARISH COUNCIL – AUGUST 2026 REPORT
As usual, there was no PC meeting in August. However, councillors’ activity remained at a high level despite the heat waves. For example, the playground working party continues its progress; responses to consultations from HCC (Speed Management Strategy) and EHC (Local Plan Scoping) were drafted, approved and submitted; the external auditors gave a clean bill of health to the 2025/26 accounts; the consequences for parishes from Local Government Reorganisation (unitary authorities) are being monitored, etc, etc.

BURIAL AUTHORITY
The PC has responsibility for two burial grounds. One is the land adjacent to Church Lane at St. Andrew’s and the other is opposite St. Thomas’s at Perry Green. It is unusual for a PC to have this responsibility and increasingly difficult to provide the professional level of service rightly expected by funeral directors and bereaved families. Consequently, the PC is open to the possibility of paying for this service to be provided for a few hours each month.

If you have relevant experience such as managing funeral arrangements or cemetery management and would like to learn more about the role, please contact Penny Taylor at [email protected]

HELP US MAKE A DIFFERENCE
Did you know you don’t have to be an elected Parish Councillor to sit on one of our committees? Our rules allow eager volunteers to be appointed as members of our committees and working parties, getting involved in projects where they have a particular interest, passion or expertise.

Our working party for the refurbishment of the playground is largely comprised of volunteers rather than councillors. Previously, our neighbourhood plan project was mostly made up of non-councillors. We’ve also had volunteers make significant contributions to highways projects such as the installation of the speed indicator devices.

Our planning committee and our burial authority would each consider additional expertise from residents prepared to give a little time to their work. Potentially, there are also roles for individuals to take on informal responsibilities on behalf of the PC for particular issues, for example, monitoring the state of the public benches, managing the content of the public noticeboards, pothole reporting and so on.

One new idea is for the PC to take ownership of the open space that will be a feature of the new development behind Hill House. Rather than leave it to the developers and future residents, perhaps you have ideas and expertise about how that could be managed. Wild meadow? Nature trail? Recreation area? New woodland?

If you think you have something to offer in these areas or, indeed, any others that you feel strongly about, please have a chat with one of our councillors.

UPCOMING PARISH COUNCIL MEETINGS FOR 2026, all at 7.30pm
Tues 6th Oct, Much Hadham Village Hall
Tues 3rd Nov, Much Hadham Village Hall (Burial Authority Meeting at 6.45pm)
Tues 1st Dec, Green Tye Mission Hall - 7pm start with drinks

Planning Committee meetings follow after each main council meeting.

All Meeting Agendas and Minutes can be found on our Parish Council Website: www.muchhadhamparishcouncil.co.uk

01/09/2026

A reminder that the next Parish Council meeting will take place tonight, Tuesday 1st September 2026, from 7:30pm in the Much Hadham Village Hall, with The Burial Authority meeting at 6.45pm.
For the latest minutes and agendas please head over to our website at:
https://www.muchhadhamparishcouncil.co.uk/.../meetings.../ See less