City and District of St Albans | |
|---|---|
| St Albans | |
 | |
 Flag | |
 St Albans shown within Hertfordshire | |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Country | England |
| Region | East of England |
| Non-metropolitan county | Hertfordshire |
| Status | Non-metropolitan district,Borough &City |
| Admin HQ | St Albans |
| Incorporated | 1 April 1974 |
| Government | |
| • Type | Non-metropolitan district council |
| • Body | St Albans City and District Council |
| • Leadership | Leader & Committee Structure |
| • MPs | Daisy Cooper (LD) Victoria Collins (LD) |
| Area | |
• Total | 62.23 sq mi (161.18 km2) |
| • Rank | 177(of 296) |
| Population (2024) | |
• Total | 147,095[1] |
| • Rank | 141(of 296) |
| • Density | 2,363.7/sq mi (912.61/km2) |
| Ethnicity(2021) | |
| • Ethnic groups | |
| Religion(2021) | |
| • Religion | List
|
| Time zone | UTC0 (GMT) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+1 (BST) |
| ONS code | 26UG (ONS) E07000100 (GSS) |
| OS grid reference | TL148073 |
St Albans (/ˈɔːlbənz/), also known as theCity and District of St Albans, is anon-metropolitan district with bothborough andcity status inHertfordshire, England. Its council is based inSt Albans, the largest settlement in the district. The district also includes the town ofHarpenden and several villages. The district bordersNorth Hertfordshire,Welwyn Hatfield,Hertsmere,Watford,Three Rivers,Dacorum, andCentral Bedfordshire.
The town of St Albans had been anancient borough since 1553. It was reformed in 1836 to become amunicipal borough and additionally gainedcity status in 1877.[3][4]
The modern St Albans district was created on 1 April 1974 under theLocal Government Act 1972, covering the area of three former districts, which were all abolished at the same time:[5]
The new district was named St Albans after its largest settlement.[6] It was awardedborough status from its creation, allowing the chair of the council to take the title of mayor, continuing the series of mayors of St Albans which had started in 1553.[7] The city status which had been held by the old municipal borough of St Albans was extended to cover the whole of the new district on 9 July 1974.[8] As such the council could call itself "St Albans City Council", which name is sometimes used for it in official documents,[9] but chooses to style itself "St Albans City and District Council" instead.[10]
The largest settlement is St Albans, followed in size by Harpenden, with the main villages beingRedbourn,Wheathampstead,London Colney,Chiswell Green andBricket Wood.
Nearby towns includeHatfield andWelwyn Garden City to the east,Luton andDunstable to the north,Hemel Hempstead to the west,Watford to the southwest andBorehamwood to the south. The district lies close toGreater London, at the closest point being less than 4 miles (6.4 km) from its outer boundary. From the centre of St Albans to the centre ofLondon is about 19 miles (31 km).
St Albans City and District Council | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Type | |
| Type | |
| Leadership | |
Amanda Foley since 17 July 2017[14] | |
| Structure | |
| Seats | 56 |
Political groups |
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| Elections | |
Last election | 2 May 2024 |
Next election | 7 May 2026 |
| Meeting place | |
 | |
| Civic Centre, St Peter's Street, St Albans, AL1 3JE | |
| Website | |
| www | |
Hertfordshire has a two-tier structure of local government, with the ten district councils (including St Albans City and District Council) providing district-level services, andHertfordshire County Council providing county-level services. In some areas there is an additional third tier ofcivil parishes.[15]
Hertfordshire County Council is responsible for services including education, transport, fire and public safety, social care and libraries. The district council's responsibilities include electoral services, food safety, licensing, car parks, allotments, cemeteries, grounds maintenance, leisure and theatre facilities (in Council's ownership) museums, parks and open spaces,markets, street cleaning, management and maintenance of council owned housing, the administration of housing benefits, town planning, and building control.[10] Parish council responsibilities include allotments, youth projects, leisure facilities, open spaces, traffic calming and community transport schemes.[10]
The council has been underLiberal Democrat majority control since 2021.[16] The first elections to the district council were held in 1973, initially acting as a shadow authority alongside the outgoing authorities until the new arrangements took effect on 1 April 1974. Political control since 1974 has been as follows:[17]
| Party in control | Years | |
|---|---|---|
| Conservative | 1974–1984 | |
| No overall control | 1984–1988 | |
| Conservative | 1988–1991 | |
| No overall control | 1991–1994 | |
| Liberal Democrats | 1994–1999 | |
| No overall control | 1999–2006 | |
| Liberal Democrats | 2006–2007 | |
| No overall control | 2007–2008 | |
| Liberal Democrats | 2008–2011 | |
| No overall control | 2011–2015 | |
| Conservative | 2015–2019 | |
| No overall control | 2019–2021 | |
| Liberal Democrats | 2021–present | |
The role of mayor of St Albans is largely ceremonial. They preside at council meetings and act as first citizen of the district. They are chosen from among the councillors but are expected to maintain a non-political stance, although they do have the right to exercise a casting vote in the case of a tied vote at a meeting. The role of mayor is usually held by a different councillor each year, continuing the series of mayors of St Albans which dates back to the first borough charter of 1553.[18]
Political leadership is provided by theleader of the council. The leaders since 2003 have been:
| Councillor | Party | From | To | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Robert Donald[19][20] | Liberal Democrats | 18 Dec 2003 | May 2011 | |
| Julian Daly[21][22] | Conservative | 18 May 2011 | 24 May 2017 | |
| Alec Campbell[22][23] | Conservative | 24 May 2017 | May 2019 | |
| Chris White[24][25] | Liberal Democrats | 22 May 2019 | May 2024 | |
| Paul De Kort[26] | Liberal Democrats | 22 May 2024 | ||
Following the2024 election and subsequent by-election up to May 2025, the composition of the council was:[27][28]
| Party | Councillors | |
|---|---|---|
| Liberal Democrats | 46 | |
| Conservative | 4 | |
| Green | 3 | |
| Labour | 2 | |
| Independent | 1 | |
| Total | 56 | |
The next election is due in May 2026.[28]
The council is based at the Civic Centre on St Peter's Street in the centre of St Albans. The building was purpose-built for the council in 1989[29] and incorporates an emergency bunker in the basement, now used as committee rooms.[30]
Since the last boundary changes in 2022 the council has comprised 56councillors, with the district being divided into 20wards, each electing one, two or three councillors. Elections are held three years out of every four, electing roughly a third of the council each time. Elections toHertfordshire County Council are held in the fourth year of the cycle when there are no district council elections.[31]
The district's wards are:[31]
There are parish councils inColney Heath, Harpenden,Harpenden Rural, London Colney, Redbourn,St Michael,St Stephen (including the villages of Chiswell Green and Bricket Wood),Sandridge and Wheathampstead. Harpenden's parish council takes the style "town council". The area of the pre-1974 borough of St Albans is anunparished area, where local affairs are discussed by a City Neighbourhoods Committee comprising the district councillors for that area.[32]
| Parish | Council | Population (2011) | Area (2011) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Colney Heath | Colney Heath Parish Council | 5,962 | 1,119 hectares (4.32 sq mi) |
| Harpenden | Harpenden Town Council | 29,448 | 1,278 hectares (4.93 sq mi) |
| Harpenden Rural | Harpenden Rural Parish Council | 405 | 923 hectares (3.56 sq mi) |
| London Colney | London Colney Parish Council | 9,507 | 513 hectares (1.98 sq mi) |
| Redbourn | Redbourn Parish Council | 5,344 | 1,908 hectares (7.37 sq mi) |
| Sandridge | Sandridge Parish Council | 11,451 | 1,518 hectares (5.86 sq mi) |
| St Michael | St Michael Parish Council | 477 | 2,120 hectares (8.2 sq mi) |
| St Stephen | St Stephen Parish Council | 13,865 | 2,329 hectares (8.99 sq mi) |
| Wheathampstead | Wheathampstead Parish Council | 6,410 | 2,599 hectares (10.03 sq mi) |
| Total parishes | 82,869 | 14,307 hectares (55.24 sq mi) | |
| St Albans (unparished) | City Neighbourhood Committee | 57,795 | 1,811 hectares (6.99 sq mi) |
| St Albans City and District | St Albans City and DistrictCouncil | 140,664 | 16,118 hectares (62.23 sq mi) |
St Albans has a highly skilled workforce, with the 4th highest proportion of managers, senior officials and professional occupations in the country. Nearly half of working age residents have a degree or equivalent qualification.Average weekly earnings are £724.40, 44% higher than the national average.[33][when?] The St Albans District has lower than average unemployment and the lowest in Hertfordshire.[33] 2.8% of residents are disabled or permanently sick, compared with 5–6% nationally.[33]
Deloitte,Spreadex,AECOM,PricewaterhouseCoopers andPremier Foods have offices in the district.Sainsbury's Retail Distribution Centre at London Colney employs over 600 staff.[34]
In 2024St Albans Market was awarded the title Best Large Outdoor Market by the National Association of British Market Authorities.[35]
TheM1 motorway, theM25 motorway, theA414 road andA1081 road run through the district. The district has six railway stations. Two (St Albans City andHarpenden) are on the mainThameslink route fromBedford toBrighton viaLondon. The other four are on theAbbey Line branch line fromSt Albans Abbey toWatford Junction.
In 2001 St Albans City and District had a population of 129,005 (50.8% female, 49.2% male). Themid 2012 population estimate was 138,800. By the time 2021 Census the population had risen to 148,167, with 75,167 females and 72,296 males.[36] In 2001 there were 20.5% children, 64.5% people of working age (16–64) and 14.9% older people (65+).[33] 86.9% of St Albans residents are White British, 4.3% Other White, 2% Irish and 1.3% Bangladeshi. 71% identify as Christian, 24.1% as "no religion" or "religion not stated", 2.6% as Muslim and 0.9% as Jewish.[33]
In addition, there arefriendship links with:
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{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)51°47′N00°20′W / 51.783°N 0.333°W /51.783; -0.333
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