East Herts is paying for 40 mature lime trees in Pishiobury Park and new pool controls at Grange Paddocks. Here is where the rest of £380,000 is going.
Forty mature lime trees are to be planted in Pishiobury Park, Sawbridgeworth, paid for from East Herts Council’s share of the Government’s UK Shared Prosperity Fund. The council has also set aside £102,223 for a system that cuts the energy used to run the main pool at Grange Paddocks in Bishop’s Stortford.
Both are in four decisions the council published on 9 November. Together they share out about £380,000. All four were signed off by the council’s Director for Communities between 24 August and 28 September, using powers delegated by full Council in May 2025.
The council gives one reason for doing it now. Money not spent by the end of this financial year cannot be carried into 2027/28, and would go back to the Government (community facilities decision, 28 September 2026).
What is coming to the Bishop’s Stortford area
- Pishiobury Park, Sawbridgeworth: £13,623.45 for 40 mature lime trees and 40 cattle guards to protect them. The council says the planting is for biodiversity, carbon capture and “community wellbeing”. Pishiobury Park is about four miles south of Bishop’s Stortford.
- Grange Paddocks Leisure Centre: part of £102,223 for a Sentry Innovations Intelligent Management System on the main pool. The same sum also covers the main and teaching pools at Hartham Leisure Centre in Hertford. The system adjusts the pool plant to how much the pool is actually being used. The council says that cuts energy use, carbon and running costs “while maintaining water quality”. The decision does not split the cost between the two centres (sustainability grants decision, 28 September 2026).
- Bishop’s Stortford BID: £5,000 towards the cost of street wardens in the town centre.
- Herts Futures: £4,465 for coaches to take people to the Generation Event careers fairs in Hertford and Bishop’s Stortford (economic development grants decision, 24 September 2026).
The biggest single grant: Buntingford’s pool
The largest award is £130,000 to the Ward Freman Community Pool Group in Buntingford, about 12 miles north west of Bishop’s Stortford. It goes towards “refurbishing and reopening the pool facilities”. The council says the project meets the rural criteria for the fund (community facilities decision).
The pool closed in December 2023. The charity took over the freehold from Hertfordshire County Council on 21 May 2026. Its own timeline records £120,000 of Shared Prosperity money “secured” through East Herts on 16 January 2026 (Ward Freman pool, history of the pool). The council’s decision does not say whether the £130,000 includes that sum or comes on top of it.
The charity’s blog of 1 November said the refurbishment was finished and the pool would open the following week. It credits more than 100 volunteers with over 1,150 hours of work (Ward Freman pool, Refurb (Final) Week 22). Its website lists a pay-as-you-go swim at £8, or £6 concession, and a swim membership at £32 a month (Ward Freman pool).
Where the rest goes
The environmental sustainability decision carries the most money. It says it awards £203,163.16. The nine items it lists add up to £203,783.29, which is £620.13 more. Besides the lime trees and the pool system, they are:
| Project | Amount |
|---|---|
| BetterPoints, an app that rewards walking and cycling with points | £40,000 |
| Energy efficiency works at three community buildings (not named) | £19,485.28 |
| Reflective film on the glass roof and walls at Hartham Leisure Centre | £7,500 |
| Thermal doors at Hartham Leisure Centre | £5,700 |
| Big Tree Giveaway, with Glendale, to plant 7,000 trees across the district | £5,251.56 |
| Five Dinners Meal Planner, to cut household food waste | £5,000 |
| Green energy tariffs and efficiency works at leisure centres | £5,000 |
The economic development decision totals £36,848 (decision). Besides the Bishop’s Stortford items, it gives:
- £20,000 to Herts Futures for its Herts Opportunities Portal for businesses
- £2,920 to Visit Herts to promote the district to visitors
- £2,463 to Hertfordshire County Council to correct five electronic signs in Hertford that show street names and car parks
- £1,000 each to two artists to paint a bench on the River Lea between Ware and Hertford
A step towards an arts charity
The fourth decision is the Arts in East Herts round. It gives £4,559 in small grants to eight artists and groups, mostly about £617 each. Southern Maltings in Ware and The Company of Players in Hertford are among them.
It also spends £6,390 on legal advice from the law firm Browne Jacobson “to review the legalities of establishing an arts charity” (Arts in East Herts decision, 24 August 2026). In August the council said the Arts in East Herts programme could be “handed over to an arts charity from 2027 onwards”. It has not named one. Our report on this year’s first Arts in East Herts grants has the background.
What it means for you
- Walk in Pishiobury Park? Expect new planting and cattle guards. The decision gives no planting date.
- Swim at Grange Paddocks? The new system is meant to change how the plant runs, not the water you swim in. The council says water quality is maintained. No installation date is given.
- Live near Buntingford? The Ward Freman pool’s booking system and timetable are on the charity’s website.
- In the town centre? The BID’s street wardens get £5,000 towards their costs.
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