11 Sep 2025
A vast swathe of St Albans city centre could be left without direct representation by a local elected councillor under Labour’s plans for local government reorganisation.
The abolition of SADC and HCC and their replacement with new unitary authorities by 2028 will completely change the way services are provided locally.
The new authorities will be responsible for housing, planning, bin collections, car parks, leisure, schools, libraries, caring for children, supporting adults who need help with daily living and roads.
But although areas like Harpenden, Wheathampstead, Redbourn and London Colney have their own town or parish councils – whose elected members have a say on what happens locally – the same is not true for St Albans city centre.
The unparished area of the city has a population of 28,000 households, roughly twice the size of Harpenden town, and includes parts of the existing wards of Verulam, Batchwood, Bernards Heath, St Peter’s, Clarence, Sopwell, Cunningham, Hill End and Marshalswick West.
In a bid to avoid a lack of local representation St Albans Civic Society is campaigning for the creation of a new parish council for this area, warning that otherwise around 85,000 residents will have no vote on local matters.
Chair Mary Conneely said: “When our city council disappears, so does the local management of our neighbourhoods, parks and distinctive local landmarks such as the Clock Tower.
“That’s why, with residents associations, local parish councillors, district councillors and others, we are launching a campaign proposing a parish council for central St Albans.
“Our aim is to ensure that community resources and local representation are maintained once the new unitary system is in place.
“A parish council is the lowest statutory level of local government and acts as an elected body for a civil parish or town or city government, but they play a vital role in representing communities and managing what makes a place thrive. We believe central St Albans needs one now more than ever.”
A new St Albans City Parish Council could take over responsibility for museums, toilets, Westminster Lodge, Verulamium Park and lake, markets, the Alban Arena, Batchwood and golf course, festivals and licensing.
It would not need the current Civic Centre, and staff numbers would also be substantially reduced.
Meanwhile, the 11 council leaders from across Herts – 10 districts/boroughs plus HCC – have been meeting regularly to develop their own submission on local government reorganisation, which needs to be sent to the Government by November 28.
SADC is represented by council leader Cllr Paul de Kort, who said the deliberations include ensuring any new authorities are financially viable, because, if not, local residents could suffer from a severe dislocation of provision.
He explained: “We haven’t fought so hard and successfully to ensure SADC doesn’t fail financially, like so many other councils, just to risk this in a new configuration.
“We must also ensure that service provision can be delivered to at least the same quality and effectiveness as currently.
“Here, we are thinking especially about the delivery of adult social care, children’s services, special education needs and transport. These are key county responsibilities which will have to be efficiently split up with as little discontinuity as possible. It is important to remember that this district’s share of the total council tax levied on residents is just 10 per cent, so getting this provision right is vital for the local residents who use these services, many of whom are the most vulnerable in our community.
“We must also consider the impact on place. So we must put together a preferred model which reflects communities’ sense of identity, as well as their regular practical interactions with our neighbours in the south and west of the county.”
The importance of place identity is supported by former parish council chair Peter Cook, who has lived in Highfield since it was built.
“I think the city needs its own parish council, but so do the other communities across St Albans like Highfield, Fleetville, Bernards Heath, Marshalswick and Cottonmill, which have identities of their own and are where people say they live.
“At the moment we pay towards ‘Special Expenses’ including city centre services we don’t directly use such as the war memorial, public conveniences and Christmas lights, as well as the Mayor’s expenses and green spaces such as Longacres, which would continue if there was just one council for all the unparished parts of St Albans.
“In contrast, I believe creating a Highfield Parish Council to represent and support our community is the best solution for local governance and promoting our existing identity.”
Peter has launched his own campaign calling on local residents to support a new Highfield Parish Council, with leaflets delivered to every house and flat in the area this week.
Conservative group leader Cllr Matt Cowley offered his own thoughts on reorganisation, which also support the creation of a parish council: “Labour’s plan presents us with challenges and opportunities. It is a particular challenge because this will be the biggest shake up in the way that local public services have been run in Hertfordshire in 50 years and that will have a day-to-day impact on local people across our communities is clear.
“My group and I have been working on this since Labour first proposed it and we’ve been working off of some simple principles: local government should involve decisions being made as close to local people as possible, community assets we value should be in the hands of local residents, and as far as possible, public services should be as cost-effective for taxpayers as they can be.
“Now the Liberal Democrats have taken off the table the option that would have given us the most cost-effective public services – that would have been a council across the whole of Hertfordshire. Of the options that remain, my personal view is that once you get away from cost-effectiveness, we should then be focussing on arrangements for local government that see the most power concentrated as locally as possible. People in Harpenden know all too well what happens when decisions about your future are made in a council chamber somewhere else.
“Alongside all of this, there should be a very serious conversation happening about community assets that our councils are being too sluggish on at the moment. We have perhaps a once-in-a-generation chance to permanently safeguard the future of assets like free car parks, green spaces, community centres and more by putting them into the hands of the people through their local parish councils.
“We have seen how effective that has been with Rothamsted Park and similar assets in Harpenden – we need to take that model and get a move on to get all of the assets people value in the hands of the communities who value them.”
How you can get involved:
Residents are also asked to share their views as part of a public consultation at https://www.hertfordshire-lgr.co.uk/ or https://www.stalbans.gov.uk/CGR before the deadline of October 6.
SADC is holding a local government reorganisation community information evening at the Civic Centre on Thursday September 18, which will feature a presentation followed by a Q&A. Residents are invited to attend in person or watch online. A limited number of tickets are available at https://StAlbansLGRevent.eventbrite.com. The event will be webcast live on the council’s website with the recording made available afterwards: https://stalbans.public-i.tv/core/portal/home.
St Albans Civic Society is holding its own meeting on Tuesday September 16 at Dagnall Street Baptist Church from 7.30pm, with a panel discussion on the proposals.
