Local news, what's on and the information you need for Welwyn Garden City, Hatfield and Hertford.
Welwyn Online

Welwyn Garden City · Local news you can trust

Hatfield news

Hatfield news, newest first, from Welwyn Online: planning, roads, schools, business and what's on in Hatfield, with every story linked to its source.

Top story Carol Services in Welwyn and Hatfield: First 2026 Dates St Peter's at Ayot has carols on 6 December and Codicote by candlelight on the 13th. Most Welwyn and Hatfield churches have not yet listed their 2026 services. · 4 min read

More stories

New Year's Eve What's On for New Year's Eve in Welwyn Garden City 2026 No public fireworks are listed for New Year's Eve in Welwyn Hatfield. The Red Lion in Hatfield has dinner and a DJ, The Plough live music, and panto runs twice. · 4 min read Christmas Christmas Shopping in Welwyn Garden City 2026 We checked 13 Welwyn Garden City shops, from John Lewis to Fiona Rae's jewellery at Hatfield Park, for opening hours and late nights. Updated November 2026. · 12 min read Hatfield Hatfield Nursing Home Resident Violet Turns 110 Violet, who checked wartime letters for the censor, turned 110 at Hatfield Nursing Home on 17 October. Her cards included one from the King and Queen. · 2 min read Christmas Where to Buy a Christmas Tree Near Welwyn Garden City 2026 We checked 8 places to buy a real Christmas tree near Welwyn Garden City, from a Watton-at-Stone tree farm to doorstep delivery, for dates and prices. Updated November 2026. · 11 min read Food & Drink Christmas Dinner in Welwyn Garden City 2026: Pubs With Prices Nine places around Welwyn Garden City and Hatfield serve Christmas Day lunch, from £59.99 to £115 a head, with deposits and pay-by dates. Checked November 2026. · 13 min read Planning South Way Hatfield: 120 Homes Approved, 30 Affordable The layout for 120 homes on fields off South Way, Hatfield, is approved: 90 for sale, 30 affordable, with land kept for a new primary school. · 4 min read Christmas Pier Pressure Welwyn: Santa and The Sleighers From 11 Dec Pier Pressure Welwyn takes Christmas to Mill Green Watermill from 11 Dec: Santa storytime at £10 a child, The Sleighers at £35 and a festive escape room. · 7 min read Hatfield Platypus Swimming Club Hatfield Wins £4,143 at 60 Hatfield's swimming club for disabled people has £4,143 from Sport England for pool hire and training, in its 60th year. How to join, and how clubs can bid. · 3 min read Hatfield Hatfield Roadworks: Road Closures and Traffic Orders Near Hatfield Hatfield roadworks: High Dells (now, until 21 Apr) and every other traffic order within 3 km, checked each morning with the council's notice linked. Hatfield Hatfield Weather: 7-Day Forecast and Today's Hourly Outlook Hatfield weather today: drizzle, 10°C by day and 6°C overnight, with a 33% chance of rain and winds up to 5 mph. Seven-day forecast, updated every morning. Welwyn Garden City Welwyn Hatfield claimant count: 2,570, highest since 2021 2,570 people claimed jobless benefits in September, up 145 in a year, the fastest rise in Hertfordshire. Peartree and Hatfield Central have the highest rates. · 5 min read Welwyn Garden City Welwyn Hatfield Council Savings Gap Halves to £953,000 Welwyn Hatfield council now needs £953,000 of savings by 2030, half February's £1.9m. Fees rise at least with inflation; council tax is modelled at £5 a year. · 4 min read Crime Welwyn Hatfield Police Priorities: Peartree Drugs, Woodhall Peartree drug use, Woodhall shops ASB and Howlands are police priorities for four months. Our police.uk count: summer ASB up in two of three areas. · 5 min read Community Welwyn Hatfield Community Awards 2027: Nominate by 18 Dec Nominations for the 2027 One Welwyn Hatfield Community Awards close on 18 December. Nine categories, down from 14, and a 200-word case is needed. · 2 min read Transport Hatfield and Welwyn Garden City 20mph Survey Closes 11 Oct Hertfordshire County Council is asking which Hatfield and Welwyn Garden City streets should drop to 20mph. Main roads such as Comet Way and Bessemer Road are left out. The survey closes on 11 October. · 4 min read Hatfield Anglia in Bloom 2026: Hatfield Silver Gilt, WGC Parkway Gold Hatfield took Silver Gilt and the Small City title at Anglia in Bloom, Parkway and Howardsgate won Gold, and a Hatfield children's garden won a national RHS award. · 3 min read Hatfield House Hatfield House This Winter: Santa From 28 Nov, £25 Santa at Hatfield Park runs 28 November to 23 December and the candlelit concert is on 5 December. Every Christmas event, prices, and the winter market status. · 5 min read Christmas Santa in Welwyn and Hatfield 2026: Hatfield Park From 28 Nov Hatfield Park's Palace Visit with Santa runs 28 Nov to 23 Dec at £25 a child. Hatfield Library's free grotto opens at 3pm on 27 November; queue shuts 5.20pm. · 8 min read Hatfield Southfield School's Adventure Golf Course Turns One Brocket Hall built an adventure golf course inside Southfield School in Hatfield. A year on, pupils count strokes on scorecards and visit the club itself. · 6 min read Hatfield Hatfield Hostel at Beales Hotel Approved to March 2028 The former Beales Hotel on Comet Way can stay a 53-room homeless hostel until 31 March 2028, with no objections. 142 flats are approved to replace it. · 5 min read Welwyn Garden City Welwyn Hatfield House Prices Fall for a Third Month The average Welwyn Hatfield home was £448,681 in July, down £6,075 since April. Annual growth has halved to 3.0%, still twice the UK rate. · 5 min read Council Welwyn Hatfield Council Merger Paused: 2028 Date in Doubt The borough helped write the four-council plan that would have abolished it in 2028. Its leaders now want to know if ministers will refund what was spent. · 9 min read Hatfield Mill Green Watermill Exhibition: 22 Days, £6.25 Entry A Milling Milestone opens on 18 September and runs to 29 November. It costs £6.25 for adults, £2.10 for children, and there are only 22 opening days. · 5 min read Planning Welwyn Hatfield Planning Committee Off Again: 135 Homes Wait Green Belt plans for 100 homes at Stanborough and 35 at Cuffley wait until 22 October. The committee has not met since July, and call-in rules change. · 9 min read Fireworks Fireworks Near Hatfield: Essendon on Friday, Walk-Ins Only Essendon Country Club's fireworks are on Friday 6 November, display about 6.45pm. Online tickets have sold out, with walk-ins on the night. Checked 5 November. · 8 min read Christmas Welwyn Garden City Christmas Lights: 6pm 21 Nov, Rak-Su WGC's lights go on at 6pm on Saturday 21 November, with Rak-Su live and a funfair from Friday 20 November. Hatfield switches on at 6pm on 27 November. · 8 min read Remembrance Remembrance Sunday Welwyn Hatfield: 8 Nov Road Closures Howardsgate, Parkway and Great North Road shut 10am to noon on 8 November. Hatfield parades at 10.30am; WGC assembles on The Campus, service 10.50am. · 6 min read Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council Welwyn Hatfield Street Trading: 5 Pitches to Every Street Every street in the borough would become a consent street, replacing a 1993 rule that allows just five. The consultation closes 11.59pm on 28 September. · 7 min read Hatfield Welwyn Hatfield Council Tax Bands: Band D £2,385-£2,558 Every 2026/27 council tax band, A to H, for all nine Welwyn Hatfield areas: the Band D spread, what the borough keeps, and how to check or challenge a band. · 11 min read Local Plan Welwyn Hatfield Local Plan: Comment by 5 November Comments on the final Local Plan close at 6pm on 5 November. It sets out 4,428 homes for Welwyn Garden City and 2,978 for Hatfield by 2043. · 5 min read Hatfield Hatfield Rural Show, 12-13 Sept 2026: Now Past Two days at George's Field, Hatfield Park, 10am to 5pm. Adults £15, children £5, family £35, parking free, and the ticket also covers the Park and Gardens. · 4 min read Welwyn Garden City Welwyn Hatfield house prices fall £4,261 in a month Welwyn Hatfield's average fell to £450,696 in June, the only drop in Hertfordshire. Annual growth is still 5.8%, but prices sit below the August 2022 peak. · 5 min read Welwyn Garden City Welwyn Hatfield benefit claims hit 2,560, highest since 2021 The claimant count rose to 2,560 in July, up 165 on the year and the biggest rise in Hertfordshire. Under-25s and over-50s account for most of the increase. · 5 min read Hatfield Hatfield Market Place wins regional award, final 6 Nov Hatfield's rebuilt Market Place has won the East of England Constructing Excellence award for regeneration and conservation, its second win of the summer, and goes to the national final on 6 November. · 4 min read Hatfield Hatfield PSPO from 24 August: £100 fines at Parkhouse Court A new Public Spaces Protection Order covers Parkhouse Court in Hatfield from 24 August. Street drinking, begging and littering carry a £100 penalty for three years. · 7 min read Hatfield Welwyn Hatfield planning: 2.5 years of land, not five Comments on the Welwyn Hatfield Local Plan close at 6pm on 5 November. How to have your say, the 2.5 years of housing land and the schemes changing it. · 10 min read Schools Welwyn Hatfield term dates 2026/27: half term 26 to 30 Oct Herts half term is 26 to 30 October; Monk's Walk, Stanborough and two more shut on 27 November. Every Welwyn and Hatfield school's INSET days, 2026/27. 5 min read Half term Welwyn and Hatfield October half term 2026: 14 things on Half term is 26 to 30 October 2026. Hatfield Park's Witches and Wizards Week, Mill Green's Monster Mash and 12 more local events, with times and prices. 5 min read