 Our historic Charter Market is to be made even more attractive by an exciting new events programme.
Live music, theatre and a fashion show are among the free activities that will be held to boost visitor numbers and add to the already vibrant atmosphere.
The entertainment will include a roving dinosaur puppet that will appear at the market on Saturday 25 March to promote Dinosaur World Live at the Alban Arena.
We are taking a number of other initiatives to enhance the twice-weekly market and broaden its appeal.
These include efforts to attract new traders and a loan offer to established traders of a new gazebo in uniform St Albans colours of blue and yellow.
The number of traders working at the market has been rising steadily on Saturdays with the average last month being 77 compared to 68 in February last year, a 13% increase.
 The £2.7 million Cottonmill Community and Cycling Centre in the Sopwell area of St Albans has been officially opened.
We worked with several local groups to replace the ageing Marlborough Pavilion with the new building.
The centre boasts first class sports facilities including a cycling hub and pump track as well as a large central hall, café, kitchen, wudu wash facilities and a quiet room.
More than 20,000 people have visited the centre since it opened last summer and it is being used by a host of local groups including the scouts, St Albans Food Bank and an Islamic school.
Most of the funding has been provided by the Council, but a number of other organisations made important contributions. Campaigners from CaSH, the Cottonmill and Sopwell Hub, raised more than £79,000, and Sport England contributed £340,000.
All taxis operating in St Albans District will have to accept contactless payments and can no longer choose to be cash only.
The new rule will improve public safety by ensuring people are not left stranded because they do not have cash.
It follows complaints from people who were unable to get a taxi late at night because they only had a card.
We license taxis operating in the District and took the decision after consulting with taxi drivers and their representatives.
Taxi drivers will have until Wednesday 3 May to comply with the new regulation by equipping their vehicles with card machines or they risk losing their licence.
Photo by Matheus Bardemaker on Unsplash
|
 A reminder that you will need to show photographic ID to vote at your polling station in this year’s local elections on Thursday 4 May.
The new rule, intended to prevent voting fraud, will come into force for the first time for this year's District, Town and Parish Council elections. It will also apply to General Elections from October.
You should make sure in the run up to the elections that you have one of the accepted forms of ID which includes a passport or a driver’s licence. A full list of these is available on the Electoral Commission’s website.
Anyone who does not have one of the accepted forms of ID will be able to apply for free ID online.
If you require help with this, you can contact elections@stalbans.gov.uk or 01727 819294.
 A £300,000 grant has been awarded to our planning team to provide a new website service that will make it easier for residents to deal with planning issues.
The software will reveal automatically whether planning permission is required for proposed works.
It will also spot errors in an application before it is submitted to avoid potential delays.
This will reduce the hours the Council’s planning staff spend on validating applications, allowing them to dedicate more time to dealing with complex planning enquiries.
The grant is from the Planning Software Improvement Fund, run by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities.
 Spaces for Hertfordshire County Council’s Easter HAPpy camps are filling up fast!
Ask your school for your HAPpy booking code and secure your place today here.
Camps are running across Hertfordshire. They are free for children receiving benefits related free school meals.
 An exciting new exhibition opens this month at the Museum + Gallery - The Forgotten Battle of St Albans
It opens on Friday 24 March and runs until 25 June at the Keeper’s Galleries and is free.
The exhibition is brought to you by our Museums team in partnership with SAHAAS, St Albans and Hertfordshire Architectural and Archaeological Society.
It brings to life the largely forgotten Second Battle of St Albans fought on 17 February 1461 during the War of the Roses.
The exhibition delves into the site, motives, tactics and aftermath of the battle, including the looting of the City.
Image: The Second Battle by Graham Turner.
 |
|
St Albans Museum + Gallery, Saturday 8 April at 11.30am, 1pm, 2.30pm, 4pm, £5.
Come and watch a live sword fighting demonstration using weapons and techniques that would have been used during the Second Battle of St Albans.
Witness hand to hand combat whilst cheering on your favourite fighter.
|
Coat of Arms Craft, St Albans Museum + Gallery, Wednesday 5 April at: 11.30am, 1pm, 2.30pm, 4pm, £5.
Learn about how coats of arms were used as a sort of code, to reveal things about yourself and your family.
You can then design your own coat of arms and medieval shield to take home with you.
|
 An influential organisation representing many of England’s local authorities has held its annual conference in St Albans.
The District Councils’ Network chose the City as the venue for the two-day event which attracted over 200 delegates and speakers from around the country.
The Network is a group of 183 district councils – including us - that seeks to improve public services through better collaboration.
The conference was held at the Sopwell House Hotel where VisitHerts had a stall to brief delegates about how St Albans is growing as a visitor destination as well as an ideal place to host an event or base a business.
Oaklands College was also present to promote the 300-plus courses, outstanding sports facilities and sports academies.
Applications are open for traders who want to book a stall for one of our major City Centre events this year.
In excess of 10,000 residents and visitors are likely to attend each of the three street parties that we are organising.
The traditional Alban Festival is on Sunday 25 June, followed by the St Albans Feastival, the climax to the District’s Food and Drink Festival on Sunday 24 September. The hugely popular Christmas Cracker returns on Sunday 19 November.
Details about how to apply for a stall are here.
|
 St Albans Healthy Hub is your free one-stop-shop for health and wellbeing information, advice and support.
You can get advice on a wide range of issues including how to manage your money, quit smoking or lose weight.
The organisations involved include Citizens Advice, Communities 1st, Mind in Mid Herts and many more. You can find more information here.
The popular Get Around For £2 campaign has been extended to Friday 30 June.
It means a single bus journey on most routes across Hertfordshire will continue to cost no more than £2.
The campaign is backed by the Government and aims to provide some relief from the cost of living crisis, providing families with affordable bus travel.
It is also intended to encourage people to choose public transport over private vehicles, cutting harmful emissions by saving as many as two million car journeys nationwide.
You can find out more information including which bus operators are taking part in the scheme here.
|
 Want to get stuck into a new hobby, change your career or develop a new skill? Take a look at the Step2Skills timetable and book now.
Courses are open to ALL Hertfordshire residents aged 19+, whether you’re employed or unemployed. There is either no fee or a very low one.
Are you passionate about helping your local community and good at motivating those around you?
Hertfordshire County Council’s free healthy workplace programme has trained and is already supporting 50 Health Champions to lead the way in their workplace. If you work for a small or medium sized business from the private or voluntary sector in Hertfordshire and want your workplace to make healthier changes, you can volunteer and become your workplace Health Champion.
You’ll get all the support and training you need – for free! Just let your employer know about this free scheme and to find out more here.
|
Residents are asked to help our waste contractor Veolia by not contaminating their recycling.
Veolia crews may not empty recycling bins which have been filled with the wrong material.
If contaminated bins are emptied then the contents will end up in landfill because non-recyclable items cannot be separated from recyclable ones.
One common mistake is for people to put soft plastics such as shopping bags and wrapping into the black mixed recycling bin.
The District has one of the highest recycling rates in the country and you help is needed to maintain its position. A full run down of what should go where is available on our website.
|
You can support local charities and good causes by taking part in the St Albans City and District and Community Lottery.
Tickets cost just £1 with 50p going to a good cause of your choosing. There is a weekly draw with a top prize of £25,000.
Among the people being helped are children and older people while good causes which are supported include mental health, sports, heritage, arts and disability charities and community groups.
You can play the community lottery or sign up to it as a local group to raise funds here.
|
 Mosaic Lettings is a Council-run service for landlords looking to rent out properties.
It will complete tenant background checks, property inventories, inspections and an end-of-tenancy clean for free.
We will also provide a bond deposit of up to two months’ rent and a similar sum if the property is empty and re-let through us. There is also a £200 cash bonus when we let your property.
Interested landlords should contact mosaic.lettings@stalbans.gov.uk or 01727 814674.
 The Commonwealth’s Flag for Peace was raised in St Albans at a special ceremony to mark Commonwealth Day on Monday 23 March.
Councillor Geoff Harrison, Mayor of St Albans City and District, led the ceremony from the balcony of the Museum + Gallery
The Flag for Peace features a white dove in the bottom right-hand corner of the Commonwealth flag which symbolises the shared values and principles of the Commonwealth.
These include diversity, respect, friendship and the promotion of peace around the world.
Photo: Robert Voss, Lord Lieutenant of Herts, Luther Blissett, Deputy Lieutenant, Sally Burton, High Sheriff, and Cllr Geoff Harrison , Mayor of St Albans, at the Flag for Peace ceremony.
|
