St Albans & district · Local news you can trust
Willows Activity Farm's Santa Spectacular runs November to December. Child tickets with a toy are £54.95 to £69.95, adults £29.95 to £39.95, booking only.
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Remembrance
St Albans Remembrance Sunday 2026: parade 10.30am, 8 Nov
Remembrance Sunday is 8 November 2026. St Albans parades from St Peter's Street at 10.30am for the 10.50am service; Harpenden moves off at 10.35am.
St Albans Cathedral
St Albans Cathedral Christmas 2026: carols, Midnight Mass times
St Albans Cathedral Christmas 2026: Advent Procession 29 Nov, Carols on the Hour 12 Dec, Lessons and Carols 21 and 22 Dec, Crib Services and Midnight Mass.
Cathedral
Bishop of St Albans Installed After 374-Day Vacancy
Andrew Rumsey was installed at the Cathedral on Saturday before 1,500 people, ending a vacancy that ran 374 days from Bishop Alan Smith's last day in office.
Council
St Albans Council Budget: £1.4m Surplus Down to £78k
The council's forecast surplus for 2027/28 has fallen from £1.4m to £78,000, and one scenario in its own budget report turns that into a £909,000 gap.
Council
St Albans Mayor Since 1553 Could Pass to Parish Council
Officers want the mayoralty handed to the new City Centre Parish Council, not the unitary, when the district council goes. The transfer would cost £6,000.
House prices
St Albans House Prices Fall £343 in July to £646,781
The district average fell 0.1% to £646,781 in July, its first monthly fall since March. June's record has been revised down by £4,324, to £647,124.
Local Info
St Albans Roadworks This Week: A414 Shut to 9 Oct and M1 J8
A414 eastbound to Park Street shut 8pm to 6am nightly to Friday 9 October, diverted through St Albans. M1 northbound J6 to J8 closes nights to 20 October.
Jobs
St Albans Claimant Count August 2026: 2,235, a 22-Month High
The district count rose to 2,235 in August, the most since October 2024. Everyone added over the year is under 25 or over 50, and the 25 to 49 group fell.
Fly-tipping
St Albans Fly-Tipping Fines Treble to £3,000, Not £5,000
Fly-tipping fines in St Albans district treble from £1,000 to £3,000. National rules allow £5,000, and the council report says why it stopped short.
Planning
St Albans Local Plan adopted: 15,045 homes, 1994 plan gone
Councillors adopted the St Albans Local Plan on 9 September, replacing the 1994 plan the same day. It plans 15,045 homes and £750m of infrastructure.
Council
St Albans council abolition paused: May 2027 poll goes ahead
The plan to abolish St Albans council in 2028 and merge it with Dacorum is on hold under a government review. The district election on 6 May 2027 goes ahead.
Local Info
St Albans planning: Local Plan adopted, 15,045 homes
St Albans adopted its new Local Plan on 9 September, replacing the 1994 plan: 15,045 homes by 2041 on twelve strategic sites. Plus live applications.
St Albans is built next to the Roman city it replaced. Verulamium is the park at the bottom of the hill and the abbey is at the top, and the medieval clock tower is still standing in the middle of the market. Harpenden is four miles north with its own common and its own high street, and around them are Wheathampstead, Redbourn, London Colney, Sandridge and Bricket Wood.
St Albans Daily reports what the record shows. St Albans City and District Council decides planning, bins, car parks and licensing; Hertfordshire County Council runs the roads and the schools. In a district with this much conservation area and this much green belt, the planning register is where nearly every significant local argument begins, and we go through it with the source linked on every fact.
Every fact is linked to the official document it came from.