Good Morning {{first_name | Reader}},

The summer lull is well and truly over. Andy Burnham's settling into his first full term in Downing Street. Closer to home, Broxbourne's council committees are back on the calendar too, with a few decisions on the agenda worth keeping an eye on over the next few weeks.

The story we were going to with was not what we have now. We had plan to run with our own MP landing a shadow front bench role in Westminster, rather he started by reiterating the announcement by former Chancellor Rayners announcement on pausing the LGR plans. More on that below.

One more thing before you scroll on: if applying to the Emerging TEC incubator has been sitting on your to-do list, this is your nudge, applications close 21 September.

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The Government has paused its plan to replace Hertfordshire's county, district and borough councils with four new unitary authorities, launching a review rather than cancelling the change outright. For Broxbourne, that means Broxbourne Borough Council keeps operating as it does now, and the local elections due in May 2027 are still expected to go ahead under the existing council arrangements while the review runs. There's no timeline yet for how long that review will take, or whether the four-council plan comes back unchanged, gets revised, or is dropped. This is one to watch.

Broxbourne's MP Lewis Cocking, recently given a shadow frontbench role under Kemi Badenoch, posted on social media following the announcement, telling constituents that next year's local elections will go ahead as planned. This could be a big change for the county and the district councils. It is definitely a wait-and-see moment.

GOV.UK: Review of local government reorganisation launched →

Hertfordshire County Council is putting almost £2.5 million into local services this year, and this time it has published where the money goes: £600,000 for highways work including drainage and road markings, £750,000 for safer school journeys including new school safety zones and cycle parking, £500,000 for the Sustainable Hertfordshire Fund, £300,000 for SEND provision, £200,000 to tackle social isolation, £50,000 against illegal vapes, and £25,000 to diversify the fire service's workforce. None of the seven pots is broken down by district, so there's still no way to check how much of it, or which specific roads and schools, land in Eastern Hertfordshire rather than elsewhere in the county. The council says the money is targeted at "issues that matter most to residents," which is true of almost any spending announcement and worth remembering next time a pothole outside your house doesn't get fixed.

Read more →

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Lewis Cocking, the Conservative MP for Broxbourne, has been given a shadow ministerial role covering housing, communities and local government, as part of Kemi Badenoch's late August reshuffle of her frontbench team. It's a junior shadow post, sitting under new shadow secretary Katie Lam rather than a Cabinet-level position, and Cocking says he intends to focus on the green belt and unregulated HMOs, both issues he has raised locally before. In opposition the role carries no power to change policy, but it gives Broxbourne's MP a national platform on issues that land directly on this borough.

MP profile →

Thirty-four cyclists riding the Queen Eleanor Cycle Ride passed through Waltham Cross on the August bank holiday, partway through a 220-mile route from Lincolnshire to Westminster Abbey completed in some of the wettest conditions the ride has seen. The annual ride raised close to £30,000 for The Connection at St Martin-in-the-Fields, a charity working to end rough sleeping in London. Local businesses supported the riders on the day, including sandwiches from Cleous Bites, biscuits from Cross Bakery, and water and fruit from Tesco Brookfield.

Ride page → | Cleous Bites → | Cross Bakery →

Hertfordshire County Council has formally added a 3.5km bridleway through Hoddesdon Park Wood and Broxbourne Woods to the county's Definitive Map, after evidence of longstanding public use. It's one of almost 500 legal changes made to the rights of way network since 2015, all now viewable on the council's updated online map alongside the borough's existing paths. Walkers, cyclists and riders can use the route with full legal protection, and can check its exact line before heading out.

Rights of way map →

A new venture launching out of Cheshunt, Townstead AI, is aiming to help small businesses, charities and local services turn repetitive admin work into AI-powered workflows, with a human checking the output rather than letting the system run unsupervised. The company says it is sponsored by Google, the same backer behind the Emerging TEC incubator at Theobalds Enterprise Centre, and its focus is on identifying which tasks are actually worth automating before implementing anything. For a local shop or charity with no in-house tech team, it's pitched as a way into automation without hiring a developer, though the same questions apply here as to any vendor: what data it touches, who reviews what it produces, and what happens when it gets something wrong.

Join the pilot: Townstead AI is opening its pilot clinics to businesses and charities across the region, big and small, starting next week. The weekly sessions run in Cheshunt and are free to attend, giving you a chance to work out where AI could actually help your organisation, and where it shouldn't. Space is limited, so if you want a slot, reply to this email to sign up.

Sign-up

The Old Bourne footpath in Ardeley, which the county's own rights of way officers call one of Hertfordshire's most challenging, has been formally recorded in the updated Definitive Statement published this week. It's part of the same countywide review that has added a net 51km to the rights of way network since 2015, and for the first time every route in the statement carries a recorded legal width. If you're planning a serious countryside walk near Ardeley, it's now protected long-term public access rather than a route that exists only on local knowledge.

Rights of way map →

Basketball Camp (Love Waltham Cross)
📍 Waltham Cross Playing Fields, 3 Central Avenue, Waltham Cross EN8 7JG
🗓️ Saturday 5 & Saturday 12 September
⏰ 12–1pm (ages 17–25), 1–2pm (ages 10–16)
🎟️ Free, no booking required
👉 Details / Book

Sunday Ride – Cheshunt Cycling Club
📍 The Old Mill Retreat, Mill Lane, Broxbourne
🗓️ Sunday 6 & Sunday 13 September
⏰ 9–10:30am
🎟️ Free, social ride, all abilities
👉 Details / Book

ESOL Initial Assessments (Step2Skills)
📍 St Joseph's Parish Centre, Waltham Cross
🗓️ Wednesday 9 September
⏰ 9:30am & 11am
🎟️ Free
👉 Details / Book

Free Calisthenics Sessions (Love Waltham Cross)
📍 Waltham Cross Playing Fields, 3 Central Avenue, Waltham Cross EN8 7JG
🗓️ Wednesday 9 & Wednesday 16 September
⏰ 6–8pm
🎟️ Free, no equipment needed
👉 Details / Book

Jonathan Pie – Work In Progress
📍 Beam, Hertford
🗓️ Wednesday 9 & Thursday 10 September
⏰ See booking (approx. 105 mins)
🎟️ See booking
👉 Details / Book

Hidden Jazz Club
📍 Beam, Hertford
🗓️ Thursday 10 September
⏰ See booking
🎟️ See booking
👉 Details / Book

That'll Be The Day
📍 The Spotlight, Hoddesdon
🗓️ Thursday 10 September
⏰ See booking
🎟️ See booking
👉 Details / Book

The D-Day Darlings – Victorious
📍 Beam, Hertford
🗓️ Friday 11 September
⏰ See booking
🎟️ See booking
👉 Details / Book

Fill a Bag Event (Isabel Hospice)
📍 Isabel Hospice Clearance Outlet, 59 High Street, Hoddesdon EN11 8TQ
🗓️ Friday 11 September
⏰ 9am–4pm
🎟️ Free entry, preloved clearance sale
👉 Details / Book

Let's Do Lunch – Dynamic Dynasties (BArts)
📍 The Spotlight, Hoddesdon
🗓️ Friday 11 September
⏰ Lunchtime, see booking
🎟️ See booking
👉 Details / Book

Silent Disco!
📍 The Spotlight, Hoddesdon
🗓️ Friday 11 September
⏰ See booking
🎟️ See booking
👉 Details / Book

Damo And The Dynamites (live 1950s rock'n'roll)
📍 Cheshunt Royal British Legion, 37 Crossbrook Street, Waltham Cross EN8 8LR
🗓️ Friday 11 September
⏰ 8:30pm
🎟️ £5 on the door (members & non-members)
👉 Details / Book

Smile: The Story of Charlie Chaplin
📍 Beam, Hertford
🗓️ Saturday 12 September
⏰ See booking
🎟️ See booking
👉 Details / Book

Social Media & Digital Marketing Surgery (Ambition Broxbourne)
📍 Waltham Cross area, see listing
🗓️ Tuesday 15 September
⏰ 9:30am
🎟️ Free
👉 Details / Book

BEAM Seniors: Primavera (film screening)
📍 Beam, Hertford
🗓️ Thursday 17 September
⏰ 11:30am
🎟️ See booking
👉 Details / Book

Tom Brace's Magic Roulette
📍 Beam, Hertford
🗓️ From Thursday 17 September
⏰ See booking
🎟️ See booking
👉 Details / Book

Waltham Cross Town Centre Forum (Ambition Broxbourne)
📍 Waltham Cross Community Skills Hub
🗓️ Thursday 17 September
⏰ 1pm
🎟️ Free
👉 Details / Book

The Take That Experience
📍 The Spotlight, Hoddesdon
🗓️ Thursday 17 September
⏰ See booking
🎟️ See booking
👉 Details / Book

Strange, But True Crimes
📍 Beam, Hertford
🗓️ Friday 18 September
⏰ 7:30pm
🎟️ See booking
👉 Details / Book

The Best of Queen
📍 The Spotlight, Hoddesdon
🗓️ Friday 18 September
⏰ See booking
🎟️ See booking
👉 Details / Book

Finance & Bookkeeping Skills Webinar (Wenta)
📍 Online
🗓️ Monday 7 September
⏰ 10am
🎟️ Free
👉 Register

Website Development Skills Webinar (Wenta)
📍 Online
🗓️ Wednesday 9 September
⏰ 2pm
🎟️ Free
👉 Register

A Beginner's Guide to AI Search Results for Your Website (Michael Niles Training & Media)
📍 Online
🗓️ Friday 11 September
⏰ 10am–12pm
🎟️ See booking
👉 Register

Ask Me Anything: Press & PR Clinic (Enterprise Nation)
📍 Online
🗓️ Monday 14 September
⏰ 12pm
🎟️ Free
👉 Register

Content Writing for Blogs, Books and Business (Step2Skills)
📍 Online, live-streamed
🗓️ Monday 14 September
⏰ 9:30am
🎟️ From £35
👉 Register

An Introduction to Facebook Skills Webinar (Wenta)
📍 Online
🗓️ Wednesday 16 September
⏰ 10am
🎟️ Free
👉 Register

Tuesday 8 September 19°C 🌡️ 14°C | 🌦️ Drizzle at times, staying grey | ☀️ Sunrise 06:23 | Sunset 19:31
Wednesday 9 September 18°C 🌡️ 11°C | ☁️ Overcast but dry | ☀️ Sunrise 06:25 | Sunset 19:29
Thursday 10 September 20°C 🌡️ 13°C | ☁️ Cloudy with dry spells | ☀️ Sunrise 06:27 | Sunset 19:27
Friday 11 September 20°C 🌡️ 16°C | 🌦️ Light drizzle, cloudy | ☀️ Sunrise 06:28 | Sunset 19:24
Saturday 12 September 20°C 🌡️ 11°C | ☁️ Overcast, dry and mild | ☀️ Sunrise 06:30 | Sunset 19:22
Sunday 13 September 17°C 🌡️ 12°C | 🌦️ Scattered showers | ☀️ Sunrise 06:31 | Sunset 19:20

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Wishing you a fantastic rest of your day!

Cheers,
Editor-in-chief | Emeka Ogbonnaya

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