What is the Estate Management Scheme?

The Estate Management Scheme booklet that was published in 1973 states in the language of the time that the Management Scheme is ‘to be administered for the purpose of maintaining and enhancing amenities and values in Welwyn Garden City with due regard to the convenience and welfare of persons residing, working and carrying on business there’.

The booklet goes on to explain the conditions (referred to as “stipulations, conditions and provisions”) applied to everyone owning a freehold property.

• To keep and maintain walls, roofs, doors, windows, walls, fences, hedges and drains in good repair and condition
• To keep gardens and grounds in proper and neat order
• To not lop or top any trees exceeding 15 feet
• To paint the exterior of buildings in harmony with the style and colour of other buildings in the neighbourhood
• Not to excavate any sand or gravel
• To contribute to the maintenance and repair of party walls, fences, hedges, guttering, sewers, etc
• To permit access to authorised persons to examine the state and condition of the above
• To permit access to authorised persons to maintain and repair the above
• To not cause a nuisance, damage, annoyance or inconvenience to neighbouring premises
• To not erect any walls, fences, hedges, etc, alter the external elevations or appearance of existing buildings, construct any further buildings or lay any paving, concrete or hardstanding on an open frontage
• To insure all buildings against loss and damage

It is the responsibility of Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council to grant or refuse consent for changes to properties in the Estate Management area. Anyone wishing to make changes to their home or curtilage must submit an application and obtain consent before proceeding. This process is entirely separate from the planning system, although in some cases both types of consent are needed.

In 2008, the council sought to simplify the Scheme by creating a set of policies to guide decision-making. These accounted for a number of modern influences, including the increase in car ownership, double-glazed windows and satellite dishes.