East Herts has signed off £76,100 for Brompton hire hubs at Hertford East and Ware stations, and up to £57,000 for solar panels on BEAM in Hertford.

Folding bikes are coming to two Hertfordshire station platforms, paid for in part by East Herts Council.

The council’s Director for Communities signed off £76,100 on 4 September as match-funding for two Brompton bike hire hubs, one at Hertford East station and one at Ware station. The same decision commits up to £57,000 for solar panels on the roof of BEAM, the council-owned arts venue in Hertford.

Both projects are paid for out of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund. Neither is in Bishop’s Stortford, Sawbridgeworth or Buntingford.

What the decision actually says

The money comes from a pot that full Council set aside on 14 May 2025: up to £390,075 of UK Shared Prosperity Fund money for sustainability projects, with the individual spending decisions handed to the Director for Communities in consultation with the Executive Member for Environmental Sustainability.

This decision draws two amounts from it:

  • £76,100 as match-funding, added to contributions from partners, to enable Brompton Bike Hire Limited to install bike hire hubs for Greater Anglia at Hertford East and Ware stations, for journeys to and from the stations.
  • Up to £57,000 for solar photovoltaic panels on the roof of BEAM in Hertford. The contractor and the exact figure both depend on a tender exercise the council says will launch in mid-September 2026.
How East Herts Council's £390,075 sustainability pot is being used Stacked bar showing the £390,075 of UK Shared Prosperity Fund money earmarked by East Herts Council for sustainability projects on 14 May 2025. The decision of 4 September 2026 commits £76,100 to Brompton bike hire hubs at Hertford East and Ware stations, and up to £57,000 to solar panels on BEAM in Hertford, a total of £133,100. The remaining £256,975 is not committed by this decision. One third of the pot, committed to two projects, both of them in Hertford and Ware £390,075 of UK Shared Prosperity Fund money earmarked by full Council on 14 May 2025 for sustainability projects. £76,100 £57,000 £256,975 not committed by this decision Bike hire hubs Two Brompton hubs, Hertford East and Ware stations. East Herts money is match-funding, added to partner contributions. Solar panels Rooftop solar at BEAM, Hertford. Up to £57,000, with the contractor and the final figure set by a tender due mid-September. The council's own decision record gives the bike hire figure twice, as £75,100 in the purpose and £76,100 in the decision. The higher figure is used here. Source: East Herts Council decision OD/2620, published 4 September 2026. Graphic by Bishop's Stortford News
The remaining £256,975 is not committed by this decision. The council's published record does not say what else has been drawn from the pot.

The council’s own record gives two different figures

The decision states the bike hire figure twice, and the two do not match. The “purpose” section says “£75,100 is now to be allocated as match-funding”. The formal decision immediately below it says “£76,100 match-funding for two Brompton bike hire hubs”. The difference is £1,000.

Nothing else in the record explains the gap. We have used the higher figure, because it appears in the operative decision rather than in the summary of it (East Herts Council decision OD/2620, published 4 September 2026).

Why it was signed off rather than refused

The record sets out the alternative the officer rejected. Option 1 was to fund neither project, and it was marked “not recommended” on two grounds: partner match-funding for the bike hubs had already been received, and the solar installation is going out to tender, so value for money “can be assured”.

The record also notes that both schemes are the product of work by the council’s legal, finance and procurement officers, which it says gives assurance of the probity of the schemes.

The decision was taken by the Director for Communities, not by councillors in public. It is recorded as not a key decision and not subject to call in, which means there is no window for councillors to challenge it.

What it means for you

  • Nothing is being installed in Bishop’s Stortford. Both bike hubs are at Hertford East and Ware, and the solar panels are in Hertford. If you cycle to Bishop’s Stortford station, this decision does not reach you.
  • The bike hubs are for station journeys. The decision describes them as being for journeys to and from the stations, which is the usual Brompton hire model: collect a folding bike at the hub, ride it, return it. The operator’s own website was not reachable when we checked on 9 September, so we cannot yet give hire prices or a hub opening date.
  • The solar figure is not final. It is capped at £57,000, and the tender that sets the real number was still to be launched when the decision was published.
  • There is money left in the pot. £256,975 of the £390,075 is not committed by this decision. The council’s published decisions list does not go back far enough to show whether earlier allocations have already drawn on it.

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