22 Dec 2025
Mary Conneely, Chair of St Albans Civic Society, explains why we need a city parish council…
The Community Governance Review (CGR), the consultation on whether to establish a parish council, is very much a live issue. Ballot papers have been, or are being, delivered to the 28,000 households in central St Albans, the “unparished area”.
The reasons in favour of a parish council (i.e. a town/city council) for central St Albans have been laid out clearly in recent weeks.
Without one we are going to be left at the mercy of the new major power being created across the county, the Unitary Authority (UA).
We would lack a strong local voice on matters such as planning and development schemes, and a parish council would play a key role in protecting the character and heritage of the city by influencing decisions made by a UA which is likely to be based in Watford.
The parish council would manage the Charter Market, allotments, our precious green spaces and so forth.
Its key functions have not yet been determined and in any case would build up over time, so recent mentions of 25 councillors represent an estimate and would be determined by the powers it can take on – an issue on which voters will have direct impact via an elected parish council.
Similarly the budget to run a parish council would need to be agreed (the projection for the first year is £14 per household).
However, getting clarity is proving to be problematic, St Albans City and District Council (SADC) have made a mockery of what a straightforward ballot should look like.
The YES/NO Ballot Paper being posted to all central St Albans residents can be mailed back or completed online. It offers one vote per household. A number of complaints are already brewing for SADC on this, not least because they seem to have underestimated the number of shared households.
In addition, SADC is also running an online “electronic survey” – linked to ‘draft recommendations” pulled together by SADC which covers boxes they need to tick when setting up a parish council, but lacks detail and rationale.
Some residents got an email on this at the start of December – leading them to believe this is how they vote: it’s not and does not count towards the ballot outcome.
It’s vital that residents understand that of these two elements the first is key: if enough people don’t return the Ballot Paper with the individual Security Codes Part 1 & 2 (top right hand corner of the Ballot Paper) attached, it won’t count. Without a substantial YES vote we think the whole matter will possibly stall.
SADC are calling this a ‘non-binding ballot’ – another reason to argue in favour of a YES vote, to ensure large numbers and to prevent the issue being dismissed.
On the Ballot Paper vote YES! This is what counts and will ensure that SADC cannot ignore the democratic voice the
people want to preserve. A key factor to remember is this: what’s good enough for Harpenden, is good enough for St Albans. Our democratic voice matters – so Vote Yes and Keep a Local Voice for our City.
This second stage of the CGR consultation is open until February 23 2026.
Further information on this issue can be found at the St Albans Civic Society website: www.stalbanscivicsociety.com/spotlight/
The Society and local partner organisations will be holding public meetings in January on this topic (including on Sunday January 18 between 2-4pm at the Church of St Alban & St Stephen, Beaconsfield Road, AL1 3RB).
