Councillors in St Albans district no longer have an automatic right to call-in and decide planning applications at a committee meeting. The change is the result of legislation which will see most applications determined by local authority planning officers without any councillor involvement. Under a new National Scheme of Delegation, councillors are...
The leader of St Albans district council is steering the authority in standing up to Government demands for 9,000 more new homes to be included in the new 2029 Local Plan. Weeks after the adoption of a Local Plan which added a staggering 15,000 homes across the district, SADC boss Cllr...
Does the district’s recently adopted Local Plan provide the protection against speculative development which councillors claimed it would? That’s the question being asked by campaigners fighting against a scheme for 84 homes on Green Belt land in Sandridge village. The Local Plan identifies where more than 15,000 homes should be built across...
A controversial consultation into council housing tenancies is to be carried out again following confusion over the proposals. As part of a complete overhaul of SADC’s secure tenancy agreement, a consultation carried out earlier this summer featured a Table of Proposed Changes. These included the following terms: Eviction Threats for Missed Appointments: Tenants...
The district council faces renewed financial pressures when it comes to setting its budget for 2027-2028. A new report by senior finance officers at SADC has identified the challenges for the next financial year, with all council committees encouraged to make further savings or identify additional income streams. The forecast for the...
An extraordinary meeting of St Albans council has adopted the district's first Local Plan for 34 years. The Plan replaces the District Local Plan Review 1994, and follows four years of work by SADC officers and the Liberal Democrat administration. It allows for the building of 15,000 new homes in the district,...
Plans to scrap Hertfordshire district, borough and county councils and replace them with new unitary authorities have been placed on hold pending a review by the Government - but the creation of a St Albans City Parish Council is ploughing ahead. Local Government Reorganisation would have seen Hertfordshire divided into four...
With just days to go before an emergency meeting of SADC’s Full Council is expected to approve the St Albans Local Plan, further reactions to the Planning Inspectors’ report have come in from campaigners and councillors. After a three-year preparation process and rigorous scrutiny by Inspectors Matthew Birkinshaw and Thomas Bristow,...
Residents from across the district who oppose the council’s proposed Local Plan are being urged to gather peacefully outside the Civic Centre. The gathering is scheduled for 6.15pm on Wednesday September 9, ahead of the Extraordinary Meeting of SADC’s Full Council at 7pm. An ePetition signed by 611 residents has called on...
Herts County Council has formally asked the Government to disclose all the evidence for their decision to create four unitary councils in Hertfordshire as part of Local Government Reorganisation. Earlier this summer the Government announced that Hertfordshire would be divided into four unitary authorities, with St Albans merged with Dacorum under...
Contribute
You can help keep quality local journalism alive by making a one-off donation or set up a regular direct debit. Any contributions will help ensure the long-term future of the St Albans Times.
