As part of Planning Policy, East Hertfordshire District Council's District Plan sets out the planning framework for the District for the period of 2011-2033 to deliver sustainable development.

Neighbourhood Planning is a tier of Planning Policy that empowers communities to shape the development and growth of a local area. It is important to highlight that Neighbourhood Plans must be in conformity with the East Herts District Plan and the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF).

The District Plan identified the settlement of Stanstead Abbotts for future housing provision.  The settlement area comprises parts of the parishes of Great Amwell and Stanstead St Margarets as well as the entire parish of Stanstead Abbotts.  Working in partnership, the three parish councils have developed and recently approved a proposed Joint Neighbourhood Plan (JNP) for the Stanstead Abbotts settlement.

Great Amwell Council wishes to acknowledge and thank those individuals who served on the JNP team.  It further wishes to acknowledge the difficulties faced by the team in identifying sites for housing development given flood-plain and Green Belt constraints and the objective of avoiding settlement coalescence.

The JNP process will give the opportunity to local residents to approve (or not) the proposals through a local referendum.

A new police office has been opened in Ware to help provide an even stronger policing presence in the town.

'echo' is a community voice and feedback platform which allows you to voice your thoughts and opinions regarding policing in your local area, in your own words and in your own time.

From time to time, vacancies occur on the parish council and we’re always interested to hear from people who want to make a difference to the lives of people in the village.

As Great Amwell is only about 20 miles from Stansted Airport, we know that many residents are keen to know about the plans for delivering quicker, cleaner, and more quiet journeys.