harpenden town council byelaws survey

Harpenden Town Council wants everyone to enjoy the Town’s Commons and Green spaces. To ensure that people can do so safely we sometimes have to proactively tackle anti-social and nuisance behaviours that negatively impact users of these spaces. To help us to do this we already have a set of Byelaws in place for Harpenden Common.

Byelaws are essentially local rules that, when made appropriately, have the force of law. It is not often that we enforce our byelaws as our priority is just to let people enjoy these spaces but they have proved vital in recent years when dealing with issues on the Common such as unauthorised encampments, parking and fires.

It is good practice to review our Byelaws against the Model Byelaws published by Government as this helps to ensure that they are still fit for purpose. It also helps us to identify any additional Byelaws that could be implemented to address local issues.

Our existing Byelaws were last reviewed and approved in 2010 and so we are working to have a refreshed set in place before the end of 2023.  We have reviewed the existing byelaws and identified a number of suggested changes. One main change is that the new byelaws will also cover our other green spaces and not just Harpenden Common. In the amended document which can be found here you can see the suggested changes which are marked in yellow. 

We have undertaken the first of two public consultations on these changes. The first consultation was more informal and aimed to raise awareness of the review of Byelaws and give residents a chance to comment on them. This consultation phase ran from 24th October 2022 until to 4th December 2022. The second consultation will provide further opportunities to comment on the revised Byelaws after we have carried out statutory engagement with the relevant government department.

The phase one survey was set up to capture initial views on the revised Byelaws and look forward to receiving your comments. Click here to read the Byelaws Review - Officer Response document which was written following this survey.

If you have any questions please contact Tim Austin-Lomas, Green Space Development Officer, tel: 01582 463667 or email: tim.austin-lomas@harpenden.gov.uk