28 Apr 2026
Council bosses have washed their hands of any responsibility for a plot of green space at the end of a Cottonmill cul-de-sac which neighbours fear could be turned into housing following its recent sale.
Residents of Ashby Gardens have a very similar story to homeowners living on the Verulam Estate, which has been the subject of various news articles over the past few years.
But they say their current uncertain state could have been avoided if SADC had delivered on its earlier promises to adopt the site.
Back in the 1980s, an area of public open space to the rear of the street was supposed to be adopted from the developer by the district council, but just as happened on the Verulam Estate, for reasons unknown this did not happen.
Although SADC maintained the site for around 40 years, residents were left in the dark about its ownership until the developer Connolly Homes was wound up in 2025 and its assets were liquidated.
An attempt was made to sell the site at auction, but the sale fell through, and although neighbouring residents were urged to acquire the site, it was determined that this would be a legal nightmare to facilitate.
SADC refused to consider purchasing the land for a token fee, despite discussions in July 2024 between Hertfordshire county councillor Sandy Walkington (St Albans South) and SADC officers which referred to earlier correspondence regarding the disputed land.
At the time, Cllr Walkington notes that the land was understood to be public open space [and therefore very difficult to develop], that the council was expected to adopt it, that the developer had been willing to transfer it at no cost – subject to legal expenses – and that there was a clear risk it could otherwise be sold on.
This is exactly what happened, with the land being sold again on February 26, leaving householders uncertain about what the future now holds for the site.
Back in 2024, council assistant director for built environment Tom Hardy told councillors: “We should be mindful that when a developer builds a new estate and that estate includes areas of public realm or open, it is not a given that we’ll adopt it.
“I wouldn’t agree that SADC ‘was supposed to adopt it’ and that it was a ‘dropped ball’. Developers need to agree terms for the adoption and there is a lot of work involved in executing a transfer, which needs to be driven and funded by the developer, and it is up to them to follow through with the transfer.
The council doesn’t have a function where we proactively seek to adopt other people’s land when we have no legal interest in it.”
The St Albans Times has spoken at length to one of the Ashby Gardens homeowners, who explained the situation from the perspective of local residents: “The land forms part of the estate’s designed layout, including verges, accessways and areas with Tree Preservation Orders; it isn’t a discrete or naturally developable parcel, but is integral to the functioning of Ashby Gardens.
“It was intended to be adopted by the council, and in practice has been treated that way, with SADC maintaining it for decades, including mowing, inspection, and general upkeep.
“There’s no record of its status as public open space ever being formally rescinded, despite the land later being treated as a disposable asset.
“In 2019, the developer offered to transfer the land to the council at no cost, which presented a straightforward, cost-neutral route to align long-standing maintenance with formal ownership, but the council did not proceed with the acquisition.
“Residents formally wrote to the council asking for the position to be regularised on this basis, supported by planning records, historic correspondence and evidence of continuous maintenance, but we did not receive any substantive response to that letter.
“What struck us, particularly in light of recent coverage around closing the ‘loophole’ affecting these types of sites, is that a simple, cost-neutral opportunity to resolve this locally appears to have been available, but wasn’t taken.
“The land has since been sold, despite its limited standalone value and its role within the estate.”
In the wake of the recent sale, a SADC spokesperson said: “We have had extensive engagement with residents at Ashby Gardens about two small parcels of land near their properties.
“This has included a meeting at our offices, a detailed letter from the chief executive and responses to emails.
“Our investigations have shown that we have no legal interest in the land and the residents have been informed of that.
“However, until last year, there was some confusion about ownership and we apologise for any role we played in that.
“We also acknowledge that residents are concerned about what may happen with the land in the future and we have tried to put them in touch with the owners so they can discuss that.
“Our enquiries revealed that the land was owned by the original developer Connolly Homes until last year when it was sold.
“In the 1980s, when the houses were built, it appears there was a plan for the council to adopt these two open spaces if certain criteria were met. This transfer did not happen and the reasons for that are now unknown.
“Hertfordshire County Council, as the highways authority, adopted some of the development land and asked us to maintain it on their behalf along with the two parcels of land.
“The county council, once aware that these two parcels are in private hands, instructed us to stop this work last year.
“We agreed with that decision as it would not be appropriate to undertake the maintenance of private land at public expense.”
Cllr Walkington added his own thoughts on the situation: “This is yet another small parcel of land which for some reason was not adopted either as public highway verge or council amenity space.
“Ashby Gardens is a more recent development than some of the other areas in St Albans with similar problems. It may be that Connolly Homes deliberately kept the strip as a potential access route into the Mandeville School grounds in case of any future decision to sell some of that for development.
“It is hard to see what anyone can do with the land on its own, it is just a worry for residents and everyone as to who will now maintain it.
“[MP] Daisy Cooper’s team has rightly identified that the existence of these privately owned green spaces in the middle of housing developments is a nationwide problem which needs to be addressed by Government.”
Daisy recently launched a new Private Members’ Bill to halt attempts to buy up green spaces on both the Verulam Estate and in Ashby Gardens.
She said: “This would allow local authorities to act to purchase land identified as having been intended for adoption at a nominal sum. This would return these spaces to the community. In doing so it would also prevent costly, stressful and vexatious planning applications by misguided or misled purchasers for development on land that was never intended for building on – verges, play parks, village greens would be protected.”
Despite the council’s assurances, Ashby Gardens residents are not convinced enough has been done to resolve the situation, and SADC missed an ideal opportunity to adopt the land at a minimal cost before it could be sold into private hands.
One of the homeowners said: “From a residents’ perspective, the situation isn’t the result of an unforeseen loophole, but of a known issue that had an opportunity to be resolved and wasn’t.
“The risks and likely outcomes were understood, yet the position was never regularised, and that’s what has left residents exposed. We also don’t feel that the council or wider representation has engaged in a particularly helpful or constructive way in trying to resolve what is a live issue.”
