28 Dec 2024
It’s time to blow the dust off the TARDIS console, set the coordinates for the start of 2024, and take a look back at some of the biggest news stories of the past 12 months…
We began the year with then-district council leader Chris White promising to progress SADC’s draft Local Plan ahead of a new set of rules coming in at the end of 2025, little knowing that it would actually be submitted in December 2024 ahead of major changes to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF).
He also expected to see the demolition of Telford Court and a renewed focus on developing a cultural strategy for the district, neither of which materialised.
Meanwhile, Nigel Gardner, prospective Parliamentary candidate for the Conservatives in the newly created constituency of Harpenden and Berkhamsted, warned voters about a Government under Kier Starmer: “That means all the things we’re talking about in terms of a £28 billion tax bombshell, VAT on private school fees, and all the other things you may not want to see from a Starmer government… So do you want middle-of-the-road, common sense, local Conservatism, or do you want a taxing, super state Starmer government?”
His predictions were not far from the truth of the matter, as we were to see later in the year.
Just over 10 years since Ofsted inspectors placed Nicholas Breakspear School into special measures, the school completed a remarkable turnaround to receive an ‘Outstanding’ rating, and thousands of paper doves – each carrying messages of peace from our community – were hung in St Albans Cathedral as part of a new art installation by Peter Walker Sculptor.
City centre restaurant Dylans celebrated making the Estrella Damm Top 100 gastropubs in the UK list for the second year running, and climbing 22 places to reach 72 in the countdown, and Fleetville Infant and Nursery School received an ‘Outstanding’ rating following its first Ofsted inspection in 16 years.
Residents were also joyful after winning the latest battle to prevent the building of 95 houses on 11 acres of Green Belt land near Park Street, when councillors voted against proposals by developer Scott Properties, little expecting the same authority to let them down later in the year by refusing to defend this decision at appeal.
January also saw a new road opened in Cottonmill named after community stalwart Jenny Huggard-Sena, and a welcome visit to St Albans by the chair of the High Streets Taskforce, Mark Robinson, who praised the city’s mix of independents and chains.
We celebrated after St Albans’ historic Charter Market wsa recognised at the Great British Markets Awards 2024 as Britain’s Best Outdoor Market by judges from the National Association of British Markets (NABMA), and reported on a continuing row over the closure of rights of way between Sandpit Lane and Hatfield Road during construction work at Oaklands College.
February saw a new exhibition commemorating St Albans’ rich and diverse African Caribbean community launch at the Museum + Gallery, and the opening of a new playground at Bernards Heath.
We revealed how the county council was considering the installation of bus gates in Victoria Street, restricting access at the St Peter’s Street junction and preventing cars from travelling in that direction, and how St Albans city centre street traders faced a 1,000 per cent rise in pitch fees following a review of charges by SADC.
A judge ruled that a legal challenge against Herts county council’s sale of land for the Park Street rail freight terminal would be decided in court later in the year, and Phil Corrigan retired as manager of The Maltings Shopping Centre after almost 25 years at the helm.
A parents-driven grassroots campaign calling for tighter controls on children’s mobile phone access reached St Albans in February, but at the time nobody expected the Smartphone Free Childhood initiative to win the backing of the district’s primary school heads, who announced their support of a smartphone ban for under-14s later in the year.
We revealed how St Albans was going to feature in its own version of the popular board game Monopoly, and said goodbye to Dave’s Tasty Bites after trader Dave Lawrence decided to retire after 41 years.
We broke the news about a school places crisis at Beaumont after it reduced its intake from eight forms of entry down to seven. Our coverage prompted a major campaign against the proposals involving county councillors and local MP Daisy Cooper, and ultimately triggered a U-turn by HCC.
In March we exclusively revealed plans to scrap free on-street car parking in Harpenden, a proposal from the district council which has had major ramifications throughout the year.
As part of a parking review, SADC said it was looking at the provision of on-street car parking across the district, and whether it was sustainable to continue to allow free parking in bays given the high level of demand and resulting pressure on places.
Retailers had been unaware of the proposals before our coverage, which resulted in a major campaign in opposition to the scheme.
Even as far back as March, concerns were raised over the much-delayed external audit of SADC’s 20/21 accounts, but did anyone expect the issue to remain unresolved at the end of the year?
After approximately 16 years in district politics, council leader Chris White announced he was stepping down ahead of May’s elections, with the role eventually taken by Cllr Paul de Kort.
Campaigners were left reeling after the Government gave the green light to two controversial developments in Chiswell Green, with developers set to build on Green Belt land at St Stephen’s Farm and south of Chiswell Green Lane. But the fight was far from over…
In April we took a deep dive into how council finances worked, examining the implications of the case of Hemming vs Westminster City Council, which means it is illegal for a council to use revenue from any licensed activity such as markets, pubs, parking and taxis on anything other than that particular service. Questions were asked about how that played out in relation to proposed on-street parking charges and street trader fees in St Albans.
Drone footage discovered Harpenden’s long-lost racecourse, and as the General Election campaign gathered pace, a new poll suggested Labour could take the constituency of Harpenden and Berkhamsted, while St Albans’ Wilko store finally reopened its doors.
We revealed how no action was to be taken following an investigation into the allocation of St Albans district council building contracts and the misuse of public sector funds which saw the arrested of three men in July 2021 as part of a National Investigation Service (NATIS) investigation into fraud, bribery and money laundering totalling £2.5m of public sector funds.
The Lower Red Lion in Fishpool Street hit international headlines after an influencer posted images of the A-board outside on social media. The notice simply reads ‘Dog-friendly, child-free’ a policy which has been in place for years.
Publican David Worcester chose the St Albans Times to set the record straight, snubbing requests for comment from other media, and explained how the policy was a unique quality of the pub which set them apart from other drinking establishments.
Annie Brewster donned a tricorn hat and picked up a sword to become the High Sheriff of Hertfordshire, and we revealed that Bob Golding would be returning for the Alban Arena’s pantomime after five years.
Legwarmers, perms and hairspray made an unprecedented comeback in a charity tribute to the musical movies of the 1970s and ‘80s, with a mash-up video created by The Business Community of St Albans and producers the Yellow Lizard to raise funds for Home-Start Herts and The Pioneer Club.
In May we interviewed St Albans-born folk singer Maddy Prior ahead of an anniversary tour by her band Steeleye Span, looking back on the city music scene of the 1960s, and met Harpenden collector and curator Helen Day, who was bringing an exhibition of Ladybird Books to the Museum + Gallery.
The long-awaited district council elections saw the Liberal Democrats retain control, but two new Labour councillors took London Colney from the Conservatives. Emma Turnbull and Mike Hobday were to prove very vocal opposition to the administration. We joined Will and Sean Hughes to celebrate their 20 years running historic pub The Boot, and an interview over parking charges with new council leader Paul de Kort proved highly controversial after he suggested the proposals were going to go ahead regardless of the results of a public consultation.
He told us: “We don’t know, and that’s why there’s a consultation, exactly how it’s going to look, it isn’t a consultation on whether we’re going to do it or not because it’s in a budget and the only way the senior officers signed off on our budget was by us saying we’re going to raise some money from this activity.”
Retired lawyer Peter Goodman looked back on a career which featured poisoner Graham Young, racing driver Ayrton Senna and drug smuggler Howard Marks, and St Albans Enterprise Agency (STANTA) celebrated its 40th anniversary.
The St Albans Times broke the story of how local primary school headteachers were uniting behind the Smartphone-Free Childhood campaign, which was subsequently picked up by national media, with 20 out of 24 heads calling on parents not to let their children have a smartphone before they are 14.
As a date for the General Election was finally announced, the fight to win Harpenden and Berkhamsted began to heat up, with Conservative candidate Nigel Gardner hosting visits by Tory chairman Richard Holden, Deputy PM Oliver Dowden and Home Secretary James Cleverly in the first few weeks. Former PM David Cameron was to join him shortly before the country went to the polls in July.
Meanwhile, the Lib Dems kicked off their campaign with party leader Sir Ed Davey visiting High Beeches School to join a Baking Buddies holiday camp session, while actor Steve Coogan also paid a visit later in the month.
We marked the reopening of The Peahen following a month-long refurbishment with a look back at its 500-year history, and spoke to Gardenfields teacher Mike Woodhams after he reached the finals of Britain’s Got Talent.
The Foodies Festival was back at Oaklands College in June, and the Roman Theatre Festival also returned for its summer season, as did St Albans High School for Girls’ popular Book Festival, while the Alban Arena hosted the inaugural St Albans Sustainability Festival Expo.
We revealed the devastating news that an application for a judicial review into the way Herts county council sold land for the rail freight terminal had been quashed, marked the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings and reported SADC’s shock decision not to defend its decision to refuse an application to build 95 houses on Green Belt land west of Watling Street, meaning local campaigners would be left to fight the appeal.
The St Albans Times also gave its full backing to a campaign to find a stem cell donor for Ben Collins, a 24-year-old local lad who had been diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia, a story which had a happy ending after Ben not only received the life-saving donation, but went on to make a full recovery.
Join us in looking back on the second half of 2024 in our January 2 issue.
