The Borough of Broxbourne is a

local government district Local may refer to: Geography and transportation * Local (train), a train serving local traffic demand * Local, Missouri, a community in the United States Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Local'' (comics), a limited series comic book by Bria ...

with borough status in

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and one of the home counties. It borders Bedfordshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Essex to the east, Greater London to the ...

, England. Its council is based in

Cheshunt Cheshunt (/ˈtʃɛzənt/ CHEZ-ənt) is a town in the Borough of Broxbourne, Hertfordshire, England, situated within the London commuter belt approximately north of Central London. The town lies on the River Lea and Lee Navigation, bordering th ...

. Other settlements in the borough include

Broxbourne Broxbourne is a town in the Borough of Broxbourne in Hertfordshire, England, with a population of 15,303 at the 2011 Census.Broxbourne Town population 2011 It is located to the south of Hoddesdon and to the north of Cheshunt, north of London. ...

, Hoddesdon and

Waltham Cross Waltham Cross is a town in the Borough of Broxbourne, Hertfordshire, England, located north of central London. In the south-eastern corner of Hertfordshire, it borders Cheshunt to the north, Waltham Abbey to the east, and Enfield to the sout ...

. The eastern boundary of the district is the

River Lea The River Lea ( ) is in the East of England and Greater London. It originates in Bedfordshire, in the Chiltern Hills, and flows southeast through Hertfordshire, along the Essex border and into Greater London, to meet the River Thames at Bow Cr ...

. The borough covers in south east

, and had an estimated population of 99,000 in 2021. Much of the borough lies within the

Metropolitan Green Belt The Metropolitan Green Belt is a statutory green belt around London, England. It comprises parts of Greater London, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Kent and Surrey, parts of two of the three districts of Bedfordshire and a s ...

which surrounds

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. The western side of the borough is largely rural with extensive areas of woodland, whilst the eastern part, particularly between the A10 road and the River Lea, is generally urban. Most of the built-up parts of Broxbourne fall within the Greater London Urban Area. The

Lee Valley Park Lee Valley Regional Park is a long linear park, much of it green spaces, running through the northeast of Greater London, Essex and Hertfordshire. The park follows the course of the River Lea (Lee) along the Lea Valley from Ware in Hertfords ...

lies on the borough's eastern boundary. The borough is twinned with the Sicilian city of

Sutera Sutera is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Caltanissetta in the Italy, Italian region Sicily, located about southeast of Palermo and about west of Caltanissetta. It is one of I Borghi più belli d'Italia ("The most beautiful villa ...

History

The borough of Broxbourne was created on 1 April 1974 under the

Local Government Act 1972 The Local Government Act 1972 (c. 70) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974. It was one of the most significant acts of Parliament to be passed by the Heath Gov ...

, covering the area of two districts, which were both abolished at the same time: *

Urban District * Hoddesdon Urban District The new district was named Broxbourne after the old village of that name at the centre of the area. The village had been administratively part of Hoddesdon Urban District since 1935. The name Broxbourne means "badger's stream", a fact referenced in the council's logo of a badger. The new district was awarded borough status from its creation, allowing the chair of the council to take the title of mayor.

Governance

Hertfordshire has a two-tier structure of local government, with the ten district councils (including Broxbourne Borough Council) providing district-level services, and

Hertfordshire County Council Hertfordshire County Council is the upper-tier local authority for the non-metropolitan county of Hertfordshire, in England. The council was created in 1889. It is responsible for a wide range of public services in the county, including social c ...

providing county-level services.

Political control

The first elections to the council were held in 1973, initially acting as a shadow authority until the new arrangements took effect on 1 April 1974. The

Conservatives Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilizati ...

have held a majority of the seats on the council since 1974: (Put "Broxbourne" in search box to see specific results.)

Leadership

The role of mayor is largely ceremonial in Broxbourne, and is usually held by a different councillor each year. Political leadership is instead provided by the

leader of the council Leadership, is defined as the ability of an individual, group, or organization to "", influence, or guide other individuals, teams, or organizations. "Leadership" is a contested term. Specialist literature debates various viewpoints on the co ...

. The leaders since 2010 have been:

Composition

Following the 2024 election and changes of allegiance up to March 2025, the composition of the council was as follows: The next election is due in 2026.

Premises

The council is based at Bishops' College on Churchgate in

. The building had been a college for training

clergy Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...

and comprised an early eighteenth century house to which substantial extensions had been added in 1810 and 1871. The college closed in 1968 and the vacant building was bought in 1972 by Cheshunt Urban District Council. The building then passed to Broxbourne Borough Council on local government reorganisation in 1974. The council added a large modern extension, which was formally opened on 10 December 1986 by

Prince Edward, Duke of Kent Prince Edward, Duke of Kent (Edward George Nicholas Paul Patrick; born 9 October 1935) is a member of the British royal family. The elder son of Prince George, Duke of Kent, and Princess Marina of Greece and Denmark, he is a grandson of George ...

Elections

Since the last ward boundary changes in 2012 the council has comprised 30

councillor A councillor, alternatively councilman, councilwoman, councilperson, or council member, is someone who sits on, votes in, or is a member of, a council. This is typically an elected representative of an electoral district in a municipal or re ...

s, with the borough being divided into 10 wards each electing three councillors. Elections are held three years out of every four, electing one councillor from each ward each time. Elections to

are held in the fourth year of the cycle when there are no borough council elections.

Wards

The borough's wards are: * Hoddesdon North * Hoddesdon Town & Rye Park * Broxbourne & Hoddesdon South * Wormley & Turnford * Rosedale & Bury Green * Goffs Oak * Cheshunt North * Cheshunt South & Theobalds * Flamstead End * Waltham Cross

Arms

Business

The main industrial areas of the borough are around

and the Essex Road area of Hoddesdon. Park Plaza at

is home to the world's largest printing plant, which produces publications for

News International News Corp UK & Ireland Limited (trading as News UK, formerly News International and NI Group) is a List of newspapers in the United Kingdom, British newspaper publisher, and a wholly owned subsidiary of the American mass media Conglomerate (c ...

including ''

The Sun The Sun is the star at the centre of the Solar System. It is a massive, nearly perfect sphere of hot Plasma (physics), plasma, heated to incandescence by nuclear fusion reactions in its core, radiating the energy from its surface mainly as ...

'', ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'' and The Sun on Sunday (formerly the ''

News of the World The ''News of the World'' was a weekly national "Tabloid journalism#Red tops, red top" Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid newspaper published every Sunday in the United Kingdom from 1843 to 2011. It was at one time the world's highest-selling ...

).'' Employing 200 people on a site to produce 86,000 newspapers per hour on each of its twelve printing presses (a total capacity of over 1,000,000 newspapers per hour), the plant cost £350 million and replaced the News International press in

Wapping Wapping () is an area in the borough of Tower Hamlets in London, England. It is in East London and part of the East End. Wapping is on the north bank of the River Thames between Tower Bridge to the west, and Shadwell to the east. This posit ...

References

External links

Broxbourne CouncilBroxbourne population change through time
{{DEFAULTSORT:Broxbourne, Borough of Districts of Hertfordshire Boroughs in England