More than 1,000 residents have backed a new petition calling for a Hertfordshire-wide referendum on any county council decision to seek county of sanctuary status.

Hertfordshire County Council does not yet have any formal plans to pursue council of sanctuary status, which would signal the council's commitment to refugees and asylum seekers.

However, a future meeting of the council's cabinet is set to determine whether to seek more information on the accreditation scheme and whether to work towards it, following a motion proposed by Cllr Alistair Willoughby (Labour, Baldock and Letchworth East).

Broxbourne's Conservative MP Lewis Cocking has already slammed the proposal as a "grandstanding gesture".

And now an e-petition has been launched on the county council's own website demanding a referendum, "before Hertfordshire County Council try to force County of Sanctuary status on all its residents".

"The decision to designate Hertfordshire as a Sanctuary County is one that could have profound effects on the local community, economy, and culture," says the petition.

"It is a decision that should not be taken lightly or made without consulting the public who will be directly affected.

"Hertfordshire County Council is considering turning our beautiful county into a Sanctuary County, a status that implies providing safe haven and support to immigrants and refugees.

"While this is a noble cause, it is crucial that such a significant change reflects the will of the people who call Hertfordshire home.

"The principles of democracy rest on the foundation of consultation and consent.

"The residents of Hertfordshire should have the opportunity to voice their opinions in a structured and formal manner.

"A referendum will allow this; it is a democratic tool that ensures everyone's voice is heard and respected."

And it adds: "At a time when community cohesion and mutual understanding are more important than ever, we should not shy away from robustly debating the future of our county.

"Let us empower the people of Hertfordshire with the chance to steer their county's future as they see fit."

The petition was launched on the county council's website on Friday (September 25).

And by Monday it had the backing of 1,500 signatures – which is in excess of the 1,000 signatures required for the petition to be presented to a meeting of the full county council.

The county of sanctuary motion was initially proposed to a meeting of the full county council earlier this year, by Cllr Willoughby.

And at that point – without debate – it was referred to a meeting of the council's public health and community safety panel for consideration

Earlier this month (September 14), it was backed by the majority of members on the public health and community safety cabinet panel.

And it is as a result of that vote that it is now due to be considered by a meeting of the council's cabinet next month.

Confirming the process, a spokesperson for the county council told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: "The motion passed by the public health and community safety cabinet panel on September 14 directed officers to provide Cabinet with more information relating to the process of accreditation.

"At their next meeting, cabinet will be asked to consider the proposal in more detail and take a decision on whether to take the process of seeking accreditation for the county council forward."

At the meeting of the public health and community safety cabinet panel, Cllr Willoughby had stressed that the motion only asked to explore whether the move could help the council to "do even better with the resources already in place".

And he told councillors that becoming a county of sanctuary would not encourage irregular migration and would not invite more asylum seekers to Hertfordshire.

Commenting on the latest petition, Cllr Willoughby stressed that there was not yet any proposal for the council to seek county of sanctuary accreditation.

"There isn't actually a proposal from the administration or from the council in general to become a county of sanctuary at this time,". he said.

"My motion seeks to explore whether that's worth it. This is just exploratory work.

"It will be up to council to propose whether consultation is appropriate if this moves forward – and what form that consultation will take."