The Overview & Scrutiny Committee met to consider a call-in request regarding the Cabinet's decision to market County Hall for alternative uses and relocate democratic meetings. The committee was scheduled to hear statements from Councillor Alexander Curtis, a main signatory of the call-in, and Scott Crudgington, the Deputy Chief Executive & Executive Director of Resources, before opening up the discussion to its members. The committee was then expected to debate the issue and make a decision.

County Hall Marketing and Relocation of Meetings

The main item for discussion was the call-in of a Cabinet decision made on 23 June 2025, concerning the marketing of County Hall for alternative uses and the relocation of democratic meetings.

The Cabinet had agreed to:

• Market the County Hall site for alternative uses.
• Delegate the approval of the detailed marketing strategy, materials, and communication activities to the Deputy Chief Executive & Executive Director of Resources, in consultation with the Executive Member for Resources and Performance.
• Approve the creation of a Council Chamber and a committee room at the Hertfordshire Development Centre within the Stevenage Campus, with the associated budget funded by borrowing in advance of capital received from the disposal of County Hall.

Seventeen members of the Conservative Group submitted a call-in notice, citing the following reasons:

1.) Hertford has been the civic centre of Hertfordshire for a thousand years – The Grade 2*-listed council chamber at County Hall is the place with the gravitas needed to serve as the location for civic, ceremonial and administrative meetings. The potential for better use of the facility, including for private functions and significant public-facing events, has not yet been fully considered. 2.) The future of local government is still uncertain given Whitehall's plans for local government reorganisation and reform. Why spend upwards of £1 million to refurbish a substandard setting elsewhere for temporary use when we already have an adequate council chamber in Hertford? 3.) The proposal to keep the front of County Hall, as was previously agreed by Cabinet, appears to be ruled out by an extraordinary £9.5 million separation cost. However, no consideration has been given to the council chamber and committee rooms at County Hall being retained and refurbished as part of a developer agreement on behalf of the residents of Hertfordshire to remain the centre of civic life in our county.

The Overview & Scrutiny Committee was scheduled to consider the call-in and then decide to:

• Raise no objection to the Cabinet's decision, or
• Refer the decision back to the Cabinet for reconsideration, providing reasons for doing so, or
• Refer the decision to the full Council if the committee believed the decision breached the Council's Policy Framework or Budget Framework.

The meeting was scheduled to include statements from Councillor Alexander Curtis, the main signatory of the call-in, and Scott Crudgington, the Deputy Chief Executive & Executive Director of Resources.

Other Business

The minutes of the committee meeting held on 25 June 2025 were scheduled to be considered at the next meeting on 15 October 2025.