We organised a spectacular start to the District’s festive season with the St Albans Christmas Cracker.
Thousands of people attended the event last month with the entertainment including live music, a Santa’s grotto, funfair rides, face painting and street performers.
There were also dozens of market stalls selling takeaway food and drink as well as novelty gifts and other produce.
The Christmas lights were turned on while pyrotechnics on the main stage ensured a dramatic finish to the day. The Cracker was sponsored by St Albans BID.
In the run up to Christmas Day, the Charter Market is being held every day except for Monday 19 and Tuesday 20 December. Normally, it only takes place on Wednesdays and Saturdays.
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A bed will be available for all rough sleepers in St Albans District during the cold winter months.
We have worked with partner organisations on the Winter Beds Project to ensure there is emergency accommodation for every rough sleeper who wants it.
The project is providing three self-contained cabins with a total of four beds on land owned by the charity Emmaus Hertfordshire. A further two emergency beds are available elsewhere.
In addition, Open Door’s homeless shelter in Bricket Road, St Albans, accommodates 12 people throughout the year.
Outreach workers, employed by Hightown Housing Association, are making rough sleepers aware of the support.
To volunteer to help with the project, please contact Open Door’s Lucy Gaygusuz.
(Pictures by Juliet Morton: top, the cabins; left, Open Door volunteers, Mary and Jackie).
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Parts of the artificial lakes in Verulamium Park have frozen during the current cold snap.
We are asking people not to step onto the ice as there is a serious danger that it will crack, plunging them into the cold water below. This could put them at risk of a serious injury.
Our park rangers have been instructed to advise people of the danger and warning signs are in place. Police on patrol in the park will also take action.
A byelaw prohibits people from going onto the lakes when they are frozen, without permission.
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Your waste and recycling collections may be later than scheduled because of the snow and ice.
Our contractor Veolia's crews are working flat out to complete all bin collections in the difficult conditions.
Any roads that can't be accessed will have collections later on, so please leave your bins out if you are affected. You can help the crews by loosening your bin lids if they are iced up. Please do the same with garden waste.
Updates about missed collections will appear on our website.
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 More than 750 people from the District have been given free trees for planting in their gardens and other open spaces to improve the environment.
Around 7,000 trees were distributed with around half provided by us and the rest by Hertfordshire County Council’s Your Tree Our Future campaign.
Trees have an important role in tackling the climate emergency as they reduce the amount of carbon in the atmosphere.
Another batch of trees will be given away next year to residents across the county through the Your Tree Our Future scheme. Details of how to apply will appear here.
We have recently been allocated a further £55,000 from the Government’s Household Support Fund.
This money will be distributed in the form of vouchers to residents who are vulnerable or in need of help. It will enable them to pay for food, energy and other essentials over the winter months.
If you are experiencing a crisis you can apply directly for help from the Household Support fund by visiting www.hertshelp.net or by ringing 0300 123 4044.
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 We are one of the first Councils in the UK to partner with Energy Saving Trust to provide an app to help residents make energy savings.
The Hertfordshire Energy Advice Tool (HEAT) app is free to download and gives users a virtual tour around a typical home, asking questions about different habits and appliances.
Based on the answers, the app offers easy low or no-cost actions to help save you money on energy bills and reduce your carbon footprint.
Once the virtual tour has finished, a tailored report can be provided by email. The average saving from using the HEAT app is estimated to be £70 a year.
The app was developed by Energy Saving Trust, the UK’s leading home energy advice group, and is available to download on Android and Apple devices.
 Sustainable Warmth Grants can help pay for energy-efficient improvements to your home which will reduce your energy bills.
This may include insulation, a low carbon heating system, better heating controls or LED lighting.
To qualify for the grant, your combined household income after tax needs to be less than £30,000. Your home will also need to have an energy rating of no more than E, F or G.
You can enquire about applying online or by calling Warmworks free of charge on 0808 196 8255.
 Our partner, St Albans Citizens Advice, offers residents a wide range of help to cope with the cost of living crisis.
They advise on issues such as managing debt, claiming benefits and legal issues.
Citizens Advice urgently need volunteers to provide this valuable support. You can find out more about that here.
Hertfordshire Public Health is seeing a higher than normal incidence of Strep A and Scarlet Fever as are other parts of the country.
There is no evidence of a new strain, but the illnesses are being closely monitored.
The vast majority of Strep A infections are relatively mild with symptoms including a sore throat and rash.
Scarlet fever is an illness that mainly affects children and is caused by the same bacterium. It’s important to be aware of the signs and symptoms of scarlet fever so that early treatment can be given.
Symptoms include a sore throat, headache, a high temperature, flushed cheeks, a swollen tongue and a pinkish rash that usually occurs on the chest and stomach before spreading to other areas.
As a parent, if you feel that your child seems seriously unwell you should phone the NHS helpline 111 or contact your GP for advice. If they have difficulty breathing, call 999 or go to Accident and Emergency.
More information about the illnesses is available here.
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 St Albans Museums contributed almost £3 million to the local economy last year.
The Museum + Gallery attracted 122,056 visitors to the City Centre in 2021/22. They are estimated to have spent a total of £1.85 million in shops, pubs, hotels, restaurants, cafes and other businesses.
Verulamium Museum and the Hypocaust attracted a further 74,048 visitors during the same period, spending an estimated £1.12 million.
The figures are contained in the Annual Museum Survey carried out by South West Museum Development. Both Museums are owned and run by the Council.
 A major exhibition is opening tomorrow (Friday 16 December) at St Albans Museum + Gallery of the coalmining drawings by celebrated artist Henry Moore.
As an official World War Two artist, Moore produced a series of drawings from sketches he made at Wheldale Colliery in Castleford, Yorkshire.
The drawings demonstrate the back-breaking labour that miners endured as part of Britain's war effort and also reveal new insights into Moore’s life and work. The exhibition is in the Weston Gallery until Sunday 16 April next year and is free.
Further information about what's on at St Albans Museums is available on their website.
(Image & Image Credit: At the Coal Face (1942) © the Whitworth, The University of Manchester.)
Community and voluntary groups can apply for grants of up to £5,000 from our Community Project Fund.
The fund offers financial help to projects that can help people through the cost of living crisis.
This could be services to support vulnerable families and activities to reduce isolation and increase social and emotional well-being.
Groups can apply until the deadline of Tuesday 31 January with information about how to apply being available here.
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We will be taking away and recycling residents’ Christmas trees on the first two recycling collection days in January.
All you need to do is leave the tree beside your bins on one of those dates, cutting it in half if it is over 5ft tall.
Garden waste subscribers can do this as well or put their trees in their green bin for collection on any recycling collection day.
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A family of Kingfishers have become a star attraction at Verulamium Park.
A male, female and juvenile male have been spotted frequently by the River Ver near Ye Olde Fighting Cocks pub, causing great excitement among park visitors.
Photographer Lynne Wilde has spent hours by the riverbank in order to snap these and other dramatic shots of the birds.
South African Lynne, who has been a wildlife photographer for more than 30 years, said: “I’ve been in the UK for 18 months and Verulamium Park has been my go-to place from day one.
“I always find something interesting to photograph. I watched a swan family grow from when seven eggs were laid next to the lake and capturing the Common Kingfishers in recent weeks has been a wonderful introduction to British birdlife and a journey I am excited to continue.”
You can see more of Lynne’s photographs here.
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Have you donated a memorial bench in Verulamium Park?
We are trying to contact all those who donated over ten years ago to see if they want to renew or allow the bench site to be offered to a new donor.
Some donors are proving difficult to trace, so if you've donated and haven't heard from us, please contact our Parks and Green Spaces Team on 01727 819366 or greenspaces@stalbans.gov.uk.
 We want your views on the District's open spaces - including parks, woodlands and allotments.
Open spaces provide communities with places for sport, exercise, socialising and wildlife. They are important for health and wellbeing.
The survey will help shape future decisions on how to make best use of open spaces. You can take part here.
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