St Albans Daily is an independent news and information site for St Albans, Harpenden and the district around them. We read the public record and publish what is in it, and we keep the everyday local information accurate.
The district
The city itself, with the abbey, the market and Verulamium; Harpenden to the north; and Wheathampstead, Redbourn, Sandridge, London Colney, Colney Heath, Bricket Wood and Park Street around them. About 145,000 people live across the district. It is commuter country on the Thameslink line, ringed by green belt, which is the single biggest factor in local planning arguments.
Who is responsible for what
St Albans City and District Council: planning, bins, licensing, car parks, housing. Hertfordshire County Council: roads, schools, social care. We name the right one in every story and link to its own record of the decision, because a complaint sent to the wrong authority goes nowhere.
What we work from
The district council’s planning register and committee papers, licensing notices, police.uk crime data, HM Land Registry sold prices, Food Standards Agency hygiene ratings, Environment Agency flood warnings for the Ver and the Colne, and company filings in The Gazette. Where a record is unclear we say it is unclear rather than choosing the reading that makes a better story.
Reorganisation in 2028
Hertfordshire’s district and borough councils are due to be abolished in April 2028 and replaced by a smaller number of unitary authorities. That will change who answers for planning, bins and council tax here. We will report each stage from the published documents and keep the reference pages pointing at whoever is actually responsible on the day you read them.
Tips and corrections
Email hello@stalbansdaily.co.uk with a tip, an event worth listing, or a correction. Tips are treated in confidence, and corrections are made quickly and noted on the page.
St Albans Daily is part of Future Business Media.