Wikipedia

City of St Albans

For other places with the same name, see St. Albans (disambiguation).
See also: St Albans

St Albans (/ˈɔːlbənz/), also known as the City and District of St Albans, is a non-metropolitan district with both borough and city status in Hertfordshire, England. Its council is based in St Albans, the largest settlement in the district. The district also includes the town of Harpenden and several villages. The district borders North Hertfordshire, Welwyn Hatfield, Hertsmere, Watford, Three Rivers, Dacorum, and Central Bedfordshire.

City and District of St Albans
Non-metropolitan district, Borough & City
St Albans
St Albans Cathedral in St Albans
St Albans Cathedral in St Albans
Flag of City and District of St Albans
Flag
St Albans shown within Hertfordshire
St Albans shown within Hertfordshire
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
CountryEngland
RegionEast of England
Non-metropolitan countyHertfordshire
StatusNon-metropolitan district, Borough & City
Admin HQSt Albans
Incorporated1 April 1974
Government
 • TypeNon-metropolitan district council
 • BodySt Albans City and District Council
 • LeadershipLeader & Committee Structure
 • MPsDaisy Cooper (LD)
Victoria Collins (LD)
Area
 • Total
62.23 sq mi (161.18 km2)
 • Rank177 (of 296)
Population
 (2022)
 • Total
147,095[1]
 • Rank141 (of 296)
Ethnicity (2021)
[2]
 • Ethnic groups
List
Religion (2021)
[2]
 • Religion
List
Time zoneUTC0 (GMT)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+1 (BST)
ONS code26UG (ONS)
E07000100 (GSS)
OS grid referenceTL148073

History

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Main article: History of St Albans

The town of St Albans had been an ancient borough since 1553. It was reformed in 1836 to become a municipal borough and additionally gained city status in 1877.[3][4]

The modern St Albans district was created on 1 April 1974 under the Local 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 awarded borough 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]

Geography

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The largest settlement is St Albans, followed in size by Harpenden, with the main villages being Redbourn, Wheathampstead, London Colney, Chiswell Green and Bricket Wood.

Nearby towns include Hatfield and Welwyn Garden City to the east, Luton and Dunstable to the north, Hemel Hempstead to the west, Watford to the southwest and Borehamwood to the south. The district lies close to Greater 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 of London is about 19 miles (31 km).

Governance

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St Albans City and District Council
 
Type
Type
Leadership
Jamie Day,
Liberal Democrats
since 22 May 2024[11]
Paul De Kort,
Liberal Democrats
since 22 May 2024[12]
Amanda Foley
since 17 July 2017[13]
Structure
Seats56
Political groups
Administration (47)
  Liberal Democrats (47)
Other parties (9)
  Conservatives (3)
  Green (3)
  Labour (2)
  Independent (1)
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.stalbans.gov.uk

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, and Hertfordshire County Council providing county-level services. In some areas there is an additional third tier of civil parishes.[14]

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]

Political control

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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:[15]

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

Leadership

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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.[16]

Political leadership is instead provided by the leader of the council. The leaders since 2004 have been:[17]

Councillor Party From To
Robert Donald Liberal Democrats 23 Jun 2004 18 May 2011
Julian Daly Conservative 18 May 2011 24 May 2017
Alec Campbell Conservative 24 May 2017 5 May 2019
Chris White Liberal Democrats 22 May 2019 5 May 2024
Paul De Kort Liberal Democrats 22 May 2024

Composition

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Following the 2024 election the composition of the council was:[18]

Party Councillors
Liberal Democrats 47
Conservative 3
Green 3
Labour 2
Independent 1
Total 56

The next election is due in May 2026.

Premises

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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[19] and incorporates an emergency bunker in the basement, now used as committee rooms.[20]

Elections

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Main article: St Albans City and District Council elections

Since the last boundary changes in 2022 the council has comprised 56 councillors, with the district being divided into 20 wards, 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 to Hertfordshire County Council are held in the fourth year of the cycle when there are no district council elections.[21]

Wards

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The district's wards are:[21]

Parishes

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There are parish councils in Colney 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 an unparished area, where local affairs are discussed by a City Neighbourhoods Committee comprising the district councillors for that area.[22]

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 District Council 140,664 16,118 hectares (62.23 sq mi)

Economy

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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.[23][when?] The St Albans District has lower than average unemployment and the lowest in Hertfordshire.[23] 2.8% of residents are disabled or permanently sick, compared with 5–6% nationally.[23]

Deloitte, Spreadex, AECOM, PricewaterhouseCoopers and Premier Foods have offices in the district. Sainsbury's Retail Distribution Centre at London Colney employs over 600 staff.[24]

In 2024 St Albans Market was awarded the title Best Large Outdoor Market by the National Association of British Market Authorities.[25]

Transport

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The M1 motorway, the M25 motorway, the A414 road and A1081 road run through the district. The district has six railway stations. Two (St Albans City and Harpenden) are on the main Thameslink route from Bedford to Brighton via London. The other four are on the Abbey Line branch line from St Albans Abbey to Watford Junction.

Demography

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In 2001 St Albans City and District had a population of 129,005 (50.8% female, 49.2% male). The mid 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.[26] In 2001 there were 20.5% children, 64.5% people of working age (16–64) and 14.9% older people (65+).[23] 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.[23]

Twin towns

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St Albans is twinned with:[27]

In addition, there are friendship links with:

Arms

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Coat of arms of City of St Albans
 
Crest
Issuant from a mural crown Or a demi figure of a knight armed of the period circa 1215 holding in the dexter hand a sword erect and in the sinister hand a roll of parchment Proper.
Escutcheon
Azure a saltire Or.
Supporters
On the dexter side an abbot in Liturgical vestments and plain mitre and supporting with the exterior hand a crozier on the sinister side a figure representing John the Printer and holding in the exterior hand an ink-ball.
Compartment
Per pale of a ploughed field and cobbles all Proper.[28]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Population estimates - Office for National Statistics". Archived from the original on 25 May 2017. Retrieved 29 June 2019.
  2. ^ a b UK Census (2021). "2021 Census Area Profile – St Albans Local Authority (E07000240)". Nomis. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 5 January 2024.
  3. ^ Page, William (1908). A History of the County of Hertford, Volume 2. London: Victoria County History. pp. 477–483. Retrieved 30 January 2022.
  4. ^ "No. 24502". The London Gazette. 11 September 1877. p. 5185.
  5. ^ "The English Non-metropolitan Districts (Definition) Order 1972", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 1972/2039, retrieved 12 May 2023
  6. ^ "The English Non-metropolitan Districts (Names) Order 1973", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 1973/551, retrieved 12 May 2023
  7. ^ "District Councils and Boroughs". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). 28 March 1974. Retrieved 13 May 2023.
  8. ^ "No. 46352". The London Gazette. 24 September 1974. p. 7920.
  9. ^ "The City of St Albans (Electoral Changes) Order 1998", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 1998/2558, retrieved 13 May 2023
  10. ^ a b c "St Albans City and District Council". Retrieved 13 May 2023.
  11. ^ Wootton, Doug (23 May 2024). "Cllr Jamie Day elected as 480th new mayor of St Albans". Herts Advertiser. Retrieved 23 May 2024.
  12. ^ Mountney, Dan (23 May 2024). "St Albans City and District Council elects new leader". Herts Advertiser. Retrieved 23 May 2024.
  13. ^ "New chief executive confirmed". St Albans City and District Council. 14 July 2017. Retrieved 13 May 2023.
  14. ^ "Local Government Act 1972", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, 1972 c. 70, retrieved 3 March 2023
  15. ^ "Compositions calculator". The Elections Centre. 4 March 2016. Retrieved 22 September 2022.
  16. ^ "Mayoral Count" (PDF). stalbans.gov.uk. Archived (PDF) from the original on 9 March 2016. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
  17. ^ "Council minutes". St Albans City and District Council. Retrieved 8 June 2022.
  18. ^ "Local elections 2024: full mayoral and council results for England". The Guardian. 4 May 2024. Retrieved 21 May 2024.
  19. ^ "The Civic Centre" (PDF). St Albans Museums. Retrieved 21 May 2023.
  20. ^ Catford, Nick. "St Albans City and District Council Emergency Centre". Subterranea Britannica. Retrieved 13 May 2023.
  21. ^ a b "The St Albans (Electoral Changes) Order 2021", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 2021/900, retrieved 13 May 2023
  22. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 28 November 2013.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  23. ^ a b c d e "Mapped: St Albans Community Profile". Archived from the original on 29 June 2012. Retrieved 1 September 2012.
  24. ^ Mapped: St Albans Economy Report 2011
  25. ^ "Celebrating the UK's Best Markets as Great British Market Award Winners are Revealed". NABMA—the voice of markets. 24 January 2024. Archived from the original on 27 January 2024. Retrieved 27 January 2024.
  26. ^ Nomisweb Topic summary TS008
  27. ^ "St Albans City & District Council - Town twinning". Archived from the original on 31 October 2013. Retrieved 28 November 2013.
  28. ^ "East of England Region". Civic Heraldry of England. Retrieved 9 March 2021.

51°47′N 00°20′W / 51.783°N 0.333°W / 51.783; -0.333

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