We are delighted to join the Eastern Powerhouse (EPH) whose goals around economic growth, skills investment and infrastructure improvements for the East of England mirror our own visions and ambitions here in Hertsmere.  We recognise that working in unison with EPH and other sectors across the region brings a unified voice and advocacy for unlocking growth, whilst still enabling us to focus on maximising the potential for our borough’s unique assets and creative sector.

The borough of Hertsmere is in an excellent strategic location for business. With its proximity to London, direct access to the M1, M25 and A1 and to the ‘Golden Triangle’ between Oxford, London and Cambridge, and excellent connections to Heathrow, Gatwick, Luton and Stansted airports, it is easily accessible by road and rail, making it an attractive commercial proposition for investors.

The majority of our residents live in one of the four main settlements of Elstree and Borehamwood, Potters Bar, Radlett and Bushey, whilst the rest of the borough offers pretty villages and plenty of open spaces. Our schools, both state and independent, are some of the best in the country and we have high quality homes, well-established employment areas, multiple film studios, a private airfield, and many leisure opportunities, making the area an attractive location to invest, live, work, study in and visit.

The new Hertsmere Vision 2024-27, ‘Delivering Better Futures’, articulates our ambitions for the borough.  It sets out our high level aspirations across three main areas: Our Communities, Our Places and Our Services.

We’ve also reinvigorated our approach to Economic Development and adopted a new strategy in 2022.  This covers a range of developing initiatives including strengthening our links with the creative industries; skills development and employment support.

We have established some wholly-owned and joint venture companies as well as a range of partnerships. We continue our work to maximise the value of our assets, including capitalising on our rich film and television heritage through our ownership of Elstree Film Studios and our relationships with Sky and BBC Elstree. We are home to world-class businesses including Sky Studios, Arsenal and a growing pharmaceutical sector and have worked hard to build these mutually beneficial relationships. We are open to new ways of working, as long as they provide best value and are in the interests of our local community.

As we look to the future, our ambitions remain high and we are looking to deliver our new Local Plan and determine a future strategy for Elstree Studios over the coming months.