Councillors back a second round of consultation seeking residents’ views on Parish Boundaries and Governance
St Albans City and District Council will shortly be inviting all residents to have their say on proposed changes to parish and town council arrangements as part of a current Community Governance Review (CGR). In addition, local polls will be conducted on proposals in some areas.
The Strategy and Resources Committee agreed a number of recommendations at its meeting on Thursday 20 November, following an initial consultation that attracted 1,957 responses. These proposals aim to ensure local governance reflects community identities and provides effective, convenient services.
Among the recommendations agreed by councillors at the meeting are that:
Residents in the Harpenden Rural Parish Council area should be polled to seek their views on whether their parish council should be abolished, with its area joining Harpenden Town Council under a new Harpenden North & Rural ward.
Residents in the central unparished part of St Albans should be polled to seek their views on whether their area should become parished, with a new parish council introduced, represented by 25 councillors.
At the meeting, councillors also voted for a poll to be conducted amongst residents living in the Highfield area of St Albans to seek their views on setting up a new parish council there.
It was also recommended that London Colney Parish Council should increase councillor numbers from nine to fifteen, with residents’ opinions sought on suggested changes to the parish warding arrangements. People will be asked their views on this as part of the further consultation process.
All residents will have the opportunity to comment during a second consultation which will be launched on 8 December 2025 and will run until 23 February 2026.
Details of all the recommendations are available in the papers considered by the Strategy and Resources Committee.
Councillor Paul de Kort, the Council’s Lead Councillor for Strategy, said:
This review is about making sure local governance arrangements work for everyone. We want to hear from residents about these proposals before any final decisions are made.
Further details of the forthcoming second consultation will be published on the Council’s website in December.
Media contact: Claire Wainwright, Strategy and Policy Manager, St Albans City and DIstrict Council, claire.wainwright@stalbans.gov.uk.