Skip to content

  • Home
  • Our services
    • Adult social services
      • Adult social services home
      • Care and carers
      • Day services and activities
      • Disability
      • Transport for older people and disabled people
      • Money advice, benefits and support to get a job
      • Report a concern about an adult
      • Mental health, dementia and autism
      • Adult social care leaflets and factsheets
      • HertsHelp
    • Children's social care
      • Children's social care home
      • Child protection
      • Adoption
      • Fostering
      • Families First portal
      • Care leavers' local offer
      • Young people in care
      • Hertfordshire Safeguarding Children Board
    • Schools and education
      • Schools and education home
      • School directory
      • School admissions and transport
      • Free school meals
      • Travel to school
      • Adult and family learning
      • Childcare and advice for parents
      • Special educational needs
      • YC Hertfordshire
      • Family centres
      • School governors
    • Libraries and archives
      • Libraries and archives home
      • Renew a book
      • Books and online reference
      • Library opening hours and locations
      • Events and things to do
      • Volunteer at your library
      • Hertfordshire Archives and Local Studies
      • Library membership
      • Other library services
    • Highways, roads and pavements
      • Highways, roads and pavements home
      • Report a faulty street light or pothole
      • Roadworks
      • Severe weather (including gritting)
      • Dropped kerb (vehicle crossover)
      • Public transport
      • Speed awareness and driver training
      • Transport and accident data
      • Business and developer information
    • Recycling, waste and environment
      • Recycling, waste and environment home
      • Recycling and waste
      • Flooding
      • Planning
      • Countryside management service
      • Energy and climate change
    • Births, deaths and marriages
      • Births, deaths and marriages home
      • How to register a birth
      • Ceremonies
      • Register a death
      • Register Offices
    • Fire and rescue
      • Fire and rescue home
      • Fire safety checks
    • Business
      • Business home
      • Book a room at Hertfordshire Development Centre
      • Services for businesses, charities and other public bodies
      • What do Trading Standards do?
      • Business advice
      • Consumer advice
      • Doing business with us
      • Licences
    • Health in Herts
      • Health in Herts home
      • Drugs and alcohol
      • Happiness, wellbeing and mental health
      • Healthy places
      • Healthy weight
      • Keep active
      • Sexual health
      • Smoking
      • What is public health?
    • Hertfordshire Directory
      • Hertfordshire Directory home
  • About the council
    • How the council works
    • Councillors and council meetings
    • Contact us
    • Make a complaint, compliment or comment
    • Jobs and careers
    • Volunteering
    • Consultations
    • Elections
    • Petitions
    • News
    • Council tax
    • Freedom of information and council data
Hertfordshire
Search
search button
    
Hertfordshire County Council
Go to home page
< Go back a page
  • About the council
  • Get email updates with Update me
  • Apprenticeship Levy
  • Working for you
  • How the council works
  • Councillors and council meetings
  • Contact a service
  • Complain, compliment or comment about our services
  • Volunteering
  • News
  • Consultations
  • Freedom of information and council data
  • Legal
  • News
  • Archive
  • Weather warnings
  • Horizons – our magazine for Hertfordshire residents
  • Press releases
  • new leader blog
  • Add page to My Herts
  • Further actions
    • Print this page
    • Share Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp SMS

New Leader outlines continuation for the County of Opportunity

Posted: Thursday 23rd November 2017

David Williams has been appointed as the Leader of Hertfordshire County Council

Speaking at his first Full Council meeting, after being unopposed, he thanked Members for their support and said: “It is a huge honour to be your choice to lead this council and a privilege to serve the people of Hertfordshire.

David Williams HCC November 2017

“I will work hard to match the passion and dedication that Robert Gordon exemplified during his ten years as Leader and his untimely death in October. His defining legacy of Hertfordshire as the County of Opportunity is something I intend to continue taking forward; supporting council officers to deliver services to our residents that meet their expectations.

“A key priority is the need to deliver infrastructure to support the growth that’s planned for the county – and in particular those areas where we have direct responsibility, such as schools and roads. We need to plan for some 100,000 new homes and 100,000 new jobs in Hertfordshire over the next fifteen years. We also need to take a positive approach to influencing the delivery of housing that addresses local need and helping to secure and deliver supporting infrastructure.

“None of this can be achieved alone and we need to work even more closely with our local and national partners to advocate on behalf of those who live and work in Hertfordshire. We must ensure that the growth works for everyone and that any new development is co-ordinated and properly thought through. I intend to work with colleagues from across the political spectrum, to take forward a partnership approach with district, borough, town or parish councils, private sector developers and other public sector partners such as the NHS, Fire and Police.

“This is not a fresh start and I am immensely grateful for my predecessor, as well as my existing Cabinet colleagues and senior officers who show their expert calibre on a daily basis. I am also very grateful for the experience of Teresa Heritage as the Deputy Leader and am pleased to have her on board with many complementary skills”.

David will continue to be the Executive Member for Resources, Property and the Economy. He was first elected to the County Council in 2013 as the member for Harpenden North East and previously served as the Cabinet Member for Enterprise, Education and Skills and the Deputy Executive Member for Policy, Resources and Transformation. Born and educated in North Wales, David has an economics degree from Cardiff University and a MBA from Henley Business School. He lives in Harpenden with his wife Claire having first moved there in 1991. He has two grown-up children. Emma is a Buying Manager for Tesco based in Welwyn Garden City and Peter is an army officer in the Queen’s Gurkha Signals.

Other political leaders had congratulations to offer Cllr Williams:

  • Judi Billing, Leader the Labour Group at Hertfordshire County Council, said: “I congratulate David Williams on being elected as Leader of the County Council, and Theresa Heritage as deputy leader. I hope and expect that David will be a fair leader, willing to listen to many views before coming to decisions. I particularly hope that he will uphold his predecessors commitment to democracy which is inherent in the debates we are able to have in Cabinet Panels and the difference we are able to make in our communities through meaningful locality budgets.”
  • Stephen Giles-Medhurst, Leader of the Liberal Democrat Group and official opposition at Hertfordshire County Council, said: “In congratulating David Williams as Leader of the County Council, and Teresa Heritage as deputy leader, the Liberal Democrats will work with them for the betterment of the whole of Hertfordshire whilst of course holding the administration to account. David’s predecessor, Rob, was always willing to listen, even if he did not always agree with the opposition views and would ensure we were given a say. We expect David and Teresa to ensure that  alternative views and ideas are taken into account and like Rob not to enter into personal attacks. Democracy is inherent in listening to alternative views. David has shown he is willing to do just that without personal attacks and that bodes well for the future even if we might disagree on the outcomes.”
  • Cllr Linda Haysey, Leader, East Herts Council, said:  “I would like to congratulate David Williams on his appointment as Leader of Hertfordshire County Council. We welcome his plans to focus on the growth opportunities across the county, including those in East Herts, over the coming months, and his commitment to support future developments with the right infrastructure for our residents. We look forward to working with David and his team at this crucial time for both of our councils.”
  • Cllr Sharon Taylor, Leader of Stevenage Borough Council, said, “My congratulations to David on his appointment. He is a strong advocate for the growth and potential of our county and, here in Stevenage, he has been supporting and influencing our regeneration plans. I look forward to continuing our work together and, with our partners and businesses across Hertfordshire and beyond, helping to shape future growth and opportunities.”
  • Alec Campbell, St Albans City & District Council, said: “I congratulate David on becoming Leader of HCC. I have found that he understand the challenges and opportunities that face Hertfordshire. In particular the opportunities for growth and the right quality houses with supporting schools and transport infrastructure. David has been proactive with me in seeking to understand and address how we can better work together to deliver for our residents and businesses. I know he will stand up for Hertfordshire within the region and nationally and I am confident he will do this effectively. I look forward to working with and supporting him and his team to deliver success in Hertfordshire.”

 

Hertfordshire County Council – The County of Opportunity

  • Services

    • Adult social services
    • Children's social care
    • Schools and education
    • Libraries and archives
    • Highways, roads and pavements
    • Recycling, waste and environment
    • Births, deaths and marriages
    • Fire and rescue
    • Business
    • Health in Herts
    • Hertfordshire Directory
  • About the Council

    • Accessibility
    • Contact us
    • Jobs and careers
    • Councillors and council meetings
    • Consultations
    • Freedom of information requests
    • Cookies and privacy
update-me

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Translate this site

Rate this page

green smiley (good) orange smiley (average) red smiley (poor)

Cookies

Like many other websites, we place small information files called 'cookies' on your computer.

Why do we use cookies?

To remember your settings, for example your language and location. This means you don’t have to keep entering these details when you visit a new page.

To find out how you use the site to help us update and improve it.

How do I change my cookie settings?

You can change the settings of your web browser so that it won’t accept cookies. For more information visit AboutCookies.org.

But, doing this may stop you from using some of the online features and services on this website. 

Cookies we use

Cookies do a lot of different jobs, and we use 2 types of cookies:

Required functionality cookies – these cookies are essential for the website to work.

Performance and feature cookies – these cookies help to improve the performance and feel of this website, for example providing you with personalised services.


Take a look at a list of cookies we use on our website:

NameTypeHow we use itHow long we use the information for

ASP.Net_Sessions

 

Required functionality

An automatic cookie set by our software. 

Just for the time you are on our website.

ServerID

 

Required functionality

An automatic cookie set by our software. 

Just for the time you are on our website.

_ga

Required functionality

To track the effectiveness of our website using Google Analytics. 

2 years

saved-pages

Performance and feature

To save the pages that you visit by clicking the heart at the top of the page. 

1 month

geoPostcode

Performance and feature

This stores your postcode (or partial postcode) when we ask you for your location.

Just for the time you are on our website or 30 days (you choose this).

geoCoordinates

Performance and feature

This stores your location as a pair of latitude / longitude coordinates.

Just for the time you are on our website or 30 days (you choose this).

reckonerName-history

Performance and feature

This keeps a history of all answers submitted to the ready reckoner.

This is set in the control for each ready reckoner. If you haven't interacted with the ready reckoner for the set amount of days, the cookies are deleted.

reckonerName-content

Performance and feature

This keeps a history of what content cards are clicked on when using the ready reckoner.

This is set in the control for each ready reckoner. If you haven't interacted with the ready reckoner for the set amount of days, the cookies are deleted.

SQ_SYSTEM_SESSION

Required functionality

This used to track user sessions on forms hosted on eservices.hertfordshire.gov.uk

Just for the time you are on our website.


Third party cookies

There are links and content from other sites and services on our website. These sites and services set their own cookies.

Below are a list of cookies that the other sites and services use:

Service namePurposeMore information

Google analytics (_utma/b/c/z)

These are used to compile reports for us on how people use this site.

Cookies of the same names are also used for the same purpose by other websites such as Building Futures, Countryside Management Service and Hertfordshire LIS.

Visit the Google Analytics website for more information about the cookies they use.

You can prevent data from being collected and used by Google Analytics by installing Google's Opt-out Browser Add-on.

Google Translation - googtrans

This cookie is used to remember which language to translate each page into if you have chosen to do so.

It expires at the end of your browser session.

Bing

We use a Bing cookie to track the success of our marketing campaigns and make them more efficient.

Visit Bing to find out more about their cookies.

Google

We use a Google cookie to track the success of our marketing campaigns and make them more efficient.

Visit Google to find out more about their cookies.

Facebook

We have a number of presences on Facebook, which we may link to. Facebook may set some of its own cookies if you follow these links.

Visit Facebook to find out more about their cookies.

Twitter

We have a number of presences and feeds on Twitter, which you may wish to follow or read from this website. Twitter may set some of its own cookies.

Visit Twitter to find out more about their cookies.

YouTube

We have a YouTube channel, which we may link to. YouTube may set some of its own cookies if you follow those links.

Visit YouTube to find out more about their cookies.

Netloan

This ASP.NET_Sessionid cookie is essential for the Netloan secure online payments website to work, and is set when you arrive to the site. This cookie is deleted when you close your browser.

 

HotJar

This session cookie is set to let Hotjar know whether that visitor is included in the sample which is used to generate funnels.

Visit HotJar to find out more about their cookies.

Siteimprove

These cookies are set to help us report on how people are using the site so we can improve it.

Visit Siteimprove to learn more about their cookies.