Have sweeping changes to planning policies vindicated St Albans district council’s decision to steam ahead with its Local Plan? The Plan, which allows for the building of 15,000 new homes in the district up to 2041, was submitted for Government approval just two weeks before far-reaching revisions to the National Planning...
No ‘showstoppers’ or ‘red flags’ were raised in a review of St Albans' draft Local Plan which would prevent it from being submitted for Government approval. SADC's blueprint for planning development in the district for the period up to 2041 has been three years in the making, and today it moved into...
Rumblings from the Government suggest there could be plans to end the two-tier system of local government – abolishing district councils like St Albans and merging them into larger unitary authorities. The proposals would be the biggest overhaul of local government in more than half a century, with areas open to...
The district council’s draft Local Plan is not fit for purpose, claims a local environmental campaigner fighting to protect a rare wildlife meadow. Dr Robert Wareing has been battling for years to prevent the development of the 12-acre Bedmond Lane Wildlife Meadow, which borders the whole of the western edge of...
A bid to impose noise restrictions at fireworks displays on SADC-owned land has been thrown out by councillors. A motion proposed by the Labour group in partnership with the RSPCA, wanted to ensure fireworks louder than 90dB would no longer be permitted on animal welfare grounds. This would have dampened the noise at...
The first signs of the budget-balancing challenge faced by St Albans district council in the coming year have been revealed. Wednesday’s meeting of the housing and inclusion committee highlighted SADC’s financial position for 2024/25 and prospects for budget setting for 2025/26. It is the first opportunity for a council committee to consider...
There remains a great deal of uncertainty surround the new Government’s support of local councils, despite promises in the Autumn Statement. SADC leader Cllr Paul de Kort said he is still waiting for the details of many of the announcements before he can say whether the council will be better off...
There will be changes in the way SADC approaches tough budget decisions in the wake of the Harpenden on-street parking row, leader Paul de Kort has revealed. The new approach will see proposals on raising revenue or cutting costs for the coming year put forward at a much earlier stage. At the...
Like Boris and Brexit, Paul de Kort has got the job done. Both men tackled head-on a controversial issue which had polarised politicians for years and pushed it to a resolute conclusion. And just as it took some time to see the consequences of Johnson’s policies, how the St Albans Local...
New details about the numbers of local children staying in temporary accommodation have been revealed. A staggering 224 children are currently being housed by SADC, on average for 43 weeks. The district’s housing crisis was highlighted by Labour councillor Mike Hobday at the recent Full Council meeting, who argued that something needed...
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