13 Nov 2025
A veteran district councillor has come out in support of the campaign fighting for a parish council representing the city of St Albans and surrounding areas.
Cllr Robert Donald has spoken out ahead of a meeting of SADC’s strategy and resources committee next week, which will be considering the results of the first phase of the Community Governance Review (CGR) consultation.
This is looking at whether there is an appetite among residents for the creation of a St Albans City Parish Council, covering 28,000 households in Batchwood, Bernards Heath, Clarence, Cunningham, Hill End, Marshalswick West, Sopwell, St Peter’s and Verulam wards.
The CGR comes in the wake of the local government reorganisation initiative, which will replace HCC and SADC with two or more unitary authorities, and the fear is that without a parish council then the city will lose ownership of heritage assets as well as local representation.
A campaign in support of the proposal is being run by St Albans Civic Society with the backing of local residents associations and other bodies.
On Monday, councillors, members of St Albans Civic Society, Arc & Arc and other volunteers gathered outside key city centre locations to show off the campaign banner created to support the case for a parish council for central St Albans once SADC disappears in 2028.
Those attending included Cllr Donald, Cllr Nuala Webb, Cllr Terrie Smith, St Albans Civic Society secretary Robert Osborne and planning group lead Freda Chaloner; and John Morewood, president of St Albans and Herts Architectural and Archaeological Society.
Cllr Donald explained to the St Albans Times why he is actively backed the initiative, in stark contrast to the position taken by the council – on officers’ advice – that SADC should take a neutral position during the consultation period and not favour any particular outcome for legal reasons. I’ve felt for some time that the city of St Albans has been unrepresented, so my commitment to having a parish council for the city is not new.”
Having chaired SADC’s city neighbourhood committee – providing representation for the unparished area – on and off over many years, he said the issue has come up frequently but the timing and cost implications meant it was never the right moment politically: “But now local government reorganisation has really put the cat amongst the pigeons.”
He said he is worried what will happen if a city parish council is not implemented: “I think we will be severely hampered, with 60-odd thousand people without local representation. You only have to look at Harpenden Town Council to see what a force it can be, it’s made a real difference in terms of getting things done.
“I think the consequences will be serious if people wake up too late to discover they haven’t got anything between them and a unitary authority to act as a buffer – to represent them, to lobby for them, to have the ability to run services and facilities, to maintain buildings and to run events and festivals and so on.
“I know the Government is obsessed with financial efficiency, but there’s more to that than just saving pennies.”
Cllr Donald said unfortunately the demands of local government reorganisation have taken their toll on SADC officers, with their time, resources and energy going into that project.
“I’ll bend over backwards to defend the administration, as obviously they’re my party, but they’re facing a lot of pressures from LGR, plus the fact that we’ve still got a financial crisis and there isn’t the spare money laying around that there used to be, and the legal aspects of not being seen to take too strong a lead either way, all of these factors weigh.
“There’s also the feeling among a lot of my colleagues that you don’t have to do very much and this will happen, which personally I think is a slight mistake.
“I’m willing to stick my head above the parapet because I believe it’s really important for the future of our representation in the city. The councillors on a distant unitary authority will not necessarily have the experience or knowledge of our city and what is needed to represent local people properly, so I shall carry on fighting for it.”
His active involvement will mean he will have to declare an interest in this issue when decisions are made about whether to form a parish council and will be unable to vote on it.
Users of the Cottonmill Community and Cycling Centre have also pledged their backing for the campaign, as has Sopwell Residents Association.
They are concerned that new local government reorganisation will lead to the loss of local control for assets such as the Cottonmill Community and Cycling Centre. Sopwell Residents Association have already held a meeting with local councillors – attended by over 50 local residents and are committed to raising awareness locally of the parish council proposal.
Michelle Mackenzie, chair of the Cottonmill and Sopwell Hub campaign group said: “We want to have a city centre parish council, including Sopwell, that takes responsibility for key resources and assets in our neighbourhood such as the Sopwell Nunnery, local allotments, and the Cottonmill Community and Cycling Centre. It is very important that control of the contract to run the community centre remains in the hands of people who are close to this community.”
Gail Jackson, chair of Sopwell Residents Association added: “A St Albans Parish Council would have local councillors who understand the pride and attachment that residents have to the city – including to its heritage buildings like the Clock Tower, our local market, festivals and green spaces. We need our city to be governed by local people who know what it’s like to live here; who understand what our city and local people – including Sopwell residents – need.
“Our Cottonmill Community and Cycling Centre is at the heart of Cottonmill and Sopwell, thriving with regular local groups and events from Leeanna’s Wish, 20th St Albans Scouts, St Albans Community Pantry, Toddler Stay and Play and others.
“All ages depend on the centre for coffee mornings, after-school provision, football, social events, seasonal festivals, St Albans Cycle Hub bike training and repair, as well as private hire facilities.”
As previously revealed in the St Albans Times, all 28,000 households in the unparished area will be sent a questionnaire outlining a number of options on local governance which they can then vote for, with this phase running until February.
The contents of the questionnaire will be decided by SADC’s strategy and resources committee, which has a responsibility to outline the benefits of a parish council, including engaging with residents, responding swiftly to local issues, and delivering services which reflect the unique character of its community.
It must also be open and clear about how this council would be funded.
