Councillors recommend creating a new parish council for central St Albans
Councillors have recommended the creation next year of a new parish council for St Albans following an extensive review. The matter will be considered for final decision by full Council in July.
The new organisation would cover the unparished area of the City which includes more than 28,000 households.
Under the proposals, it would be named St Albans City Centre Parish Council and have 25 Councillors with elections for the posts to be held in May 2027.
Parish councils give communities a local voice and can be responsible for delivering grassroots services like allotments, green spaces and public toilets. It would be for the new Parish Council, once established, to decide on the level of assets and services it may wish to take on, negotiating any transfer with those councils that currently run the services or look after the assets.
The recommendation follows a Community Governance Review (CGR) by St Albans City and District Council which examined parish and town council arrangements across the District.
During the exercise, an indicative ballot was held to gauge the level of community support for a range of options. Ballot papers were issued to 27,608 households in the unparished area. Local households were asked if they agreed that a new parish council should be established.
In response, 78% (3,857) of those who voted said 'yes' and 22% (1,088) said 'no' on a turnout of 18.1%.
A report on the Community Governance Review findings was considered by councillors at a meeting of the Council's Strategy and Resources Committee on Tuesday 23 June.
The Committee agreed to recommend to full Council that a new parish council be set up. Full Council will meet on Wednesday 15 July to make the final decision.
Councillor Paul de Kort, the Council Leader and Committee Chair, said after the meeting: "Parish councils do important work to strengthen our communities.
"In particular, this Community Governance Review has looked at the potential for a parish council for St Albans and the Community Governance Review has shown there is a case to establish one.
"Other communities in the District including Harpenden, Redbourn, London Colney and Wheathampstead have parish councils in place, and with Local Government Reorganisation looming for the District Council – which will be abolished and replaced with a larger Unitary Council in 2028 – it has been deemed the right time for the residents of central St Albans to have one too.
“If full Council agrees, we will embark on the task of creating a new parish council that can be up and running in May next year.”
The proposed new council would include the nine District Council wards of Batchwood, Bernards Heath, Clarence, Cunningham, Hill End, Marshalswick West, Sopwell, St Peters and Verulam.
To prepare for its establishment, a Shadow Parish Council would be formed, in accordance with guidance from the Society of Local Council Clerks (SLCC) guidance, to carry out preparatory work.
The Shadow Council would be a non-statutory body without decision-making powers. In accordance with SLCC guidance, it would be composed of District Councillors from the nine wards supported by the appointment of an Interim Clerk.
The role of the Shadow Parish Council would include developing a constitution, identifying appropriate office space and raising awareness amongst the community.
The set-up costs of the new parish council would be met by the District Council and re-claimed once the Parish Council is established.
Once established, the new parish council would be able to charge householders a precept on their Council Tax to help pay for its operations.
There are currently nine parish and town councils in the District: Harpenden Town, Harpenden Rural, Redbourn, Wheathampstead, London Colney, Sandridge, Colney Heath, St Michael and St Stephen.
Councillors also accepted a CGR recommendation not to go ahead with a proposal to create a separate parish council for Highfield.
With Highfield consisting of barely 1,000 households, this was not seen as a viable option. Instead, Highfield would be represented in the new parish council covering the whole of the currently unparished central area of St Albans.
The Committee also accepted a CGR recommendation to abolish Harpenden Rural Parish and make it part of Harpenden Town Council.
An increase in the number of London Colney Parish Councillors from nine to 15 with some changes to ward boundaries will also be put forward to Full Council.
Photo credit: Pete Stevens