08 Jan 2026
It’s not a General Election or a national Referendum, but your vote still counts towards the future of local democracy in central St Albans.
The Civic Society is continuing its Keep a Local Voice campaign in support of a new parish council to fill the gap when SADC is absorbed into a new unitary authority, leaving 28,000 households in the city without local representation.
The first stage of the Community Governance Review (CGR), which generated nearly 2,000 responses, saw the vast majority in support of the move.
This campaign, which is backed by the St Albans Times, has a clear and critical objective: ensuring that the maximum number of households in the “unparished” area who received a council ballot paper last month are in a position to understand the issues and respond positively to the consultation by the deadline of February 23.
St Albans Civic Society chair Mary Conneely said: “We have feedback from residents associations, our own members and others around the city, that there’s still much confusion with the whole CGR; what’s it all about, why does it matter, haven’t we responded before? So, our focus now is to share information about why we think the future of the city is at stake.
“We’ll be distributing 10,000 leaflets to households in the unparished area, displaying banners prominently at key sites around the city, and we’re staging three public meetings in January at which expert speakers will discuss the issues and bring their knowledge and experience to bear.
“It’s critical that as many people vote as possible: the mechanism being used by SADC is a “non-binding referendum” – which means, in simple language, that unless a significant proportion of the affected residents express their views, the issue could get sidelined.
“We have a clear recommendation for our fellow residents: vote YES via the ballot paper! This is what counts and is the only way to ensure that when SADC disappears, we will have elected councillors to represent local interests. Your democratic voice matters – so vote yes and Keep a Local Voice for our city.”
Supporting the campaign and guiding strategy are senior local players including Cameron Lavin of Whitecroft and Meadowcroft Residents Association, chair of Sopwell
Residents Association Gail Jackson, David Yates, chair of St Stephen Parish Council and the St Albans District Association of Local Councils, and Cllr Nuala Webb, also a member of St Stephen PC and one of the leaders of the Fight the Freight campaign against HCC’s sale of Radlett Airfield to SEGRO.
David explained why he is getting involved: “St Stephen Parish, particularly Park Street Ward that I represented on the district council for 17 years, has arguably suffered more than anywhere else in Hertfordshire because of remote decision making. The former Radlett aerodrome, which was acquired by Hertfordshire County Council to prevent it ever being developed, was sold – entirely unnecessarily – for the construction of a logistics park. The decision to sell the land was made by HCC councillors from other parts of Hertfordshire and none of the proceeds were earmarked for projects in the local area.
“I would hate to see that happen to other public sector assets in the area. The residents of the unparished area deserve elected representatives who can make decisions at the level closest to the impact.
“Locally elected representatives are demonstrably better stewards of local assets than HCC has proved itself to be. St Stephen Parish Council, for example, has successfully carried out significant improvements to its local parks and facilities through direct consultation with residents. Answerable to their residents, parish councillors are visible, accessible, and often directly affected by the consequence of their decisions.
“There is unlikely to ever be another opportunity such as this to keep a local voice for St Albans. The Westminster vision is that unitary councillors, answerable to their political grouping within the unitary authority, will somehow also provide a local voice.
“The councillors from north and east Hertfordshire whose vote enabled the freight terminal development may well have done that. Just not a local voice for our area.
“I would urge everyone who has received a voting paper to support setting up a parish council to protect the heritage and interests of our city.”
Nuala agreed: “I too have had real and painful experience from the rail freight terminal fight of what happens when major decisions which affect local people are taken remotely by councillors with no skin in the game.
“Parish councils play an active role in local life, from maintaining and developing parks and leisure facilities, running popular local events, and speaking up for local people on major issues which affect their areas.
“Up to now these functions have been done for the city by SADC, but once it goes in April 2028 these will be done from a remote unitary authority, which will be struggling with reorganisation, lack of funds and major statutory responsibilities for a much larger area.
“As one of the wealthier areas in Hertfordshire, St Albans city may find itself being asset stripped of previously SADC-owned land and buildings, as is happening in towns such as High Wycombe. There will be no local voice to protest. Unitary councillors from St Albans will be in a minority, and face competing demands.
“A parish council is a legal body – not just a talking shop. It can raise money in a local tax called a ‘precept’ for things which local people support. But it can do so much more.
“It can get loans at good rates for improvements. It can apply for grants. It can run its assets and use profits from them for the local community – whether in restoring parks and buildings or running events for local people. It is controlled by local parish councillors who are elected and who have to live locally.
“My experience of parish councils is that they work closely as a team. They are open and responsive to the local community.
“Decisions are pragmatic. Like all democratic bodies – they are only as good as the people who come forward to stand as councillors, and are supported by local people who turn out to elect them. That means you and your neighbours. It’s in your hands.
“The more support for this – the stronger the arguments for establishing a strong parish, with responsibility for the assets we cherish, controlled by local people.”
The first public meeting is on Sunday January 18 from 2-4pm at the Parish Hall, St Alban and St Stephen Catholic Church, Beaconsfield Road.
It features a range of speakers who have been through the process and understand the issues including Terry Philpott MBE, Town Clerk of Ware, who can talk about the positives of what a parish council can do, having taken Ware from near bankruptcy to a thriving and innovative hub of the local community, and Trevor Snaith, unitary councillor for Buckinghamshire and campaigner for High Wycombe, who can share details of what can happen to a thriving historic charter town in the absence of a local council.
The other public meetings are at Cottonmill Community and Cycling Centre on Tuesday January 20 at 7pm, and St Luke’s Church Hall in Cell Barnes Lane on Saturday January 24 at 11am. Find out more at https://www.stalbanscivicsociety.com/events/
