 We have been awarded four Green Flags for our outstanding parks and open spaces.
The Green Flag, an international quality mark, was given to Verulamium Park, Clarence Park and Hatfield Road Cemetery.
Verulamium Park was also awarded Green Heritage Site Accreditation for the outstanding management of its ancient Roman features.
The Green Flag scheme is run by environmental charity Keep Britain Tidy and sets the benchmark for green spaces across the United Kingdom and the world.
We have given away 11,000 trees this year during the annual Your Tree Our Future scheme - taking the total over the past three years to 27,000.
This year the initiative, run in partnership with Hertfordshire County Council, offered residents the chance to claim up to five free trees or hedgerow packs for planting in gardens and privately-owned open spaces.
All the trees were snapped up within days of last month’s launch of the 2024 scheme.
Trees keep the atmosphere rich in oxygen, filter pollutants from the air and provide shade during hot spells.
Planting more trees is one of the actions we are taking to tackle the climate emergency.
We are looking to strengthen our network of volunteer tree wardens as part of a new strategy to improve the District’s trees.
The wardens play a vital role in protecting trees by watering, planting and carrying out other tasks.
We want to recruit more volunteers and enlist the help of a community group to organise their efforts.
 The Council was responsible for the constituencies of St Albans as well as Harpenden and Berkhamstead at the General Election earlier this month.
The count (pictured) took place overnight at Batchwood Sports Centre with more than 70,000 votes cast in each constituency.
Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrats) retained the St Albans seat and Victoria Collins (Liberal Democrats) won the new seat of Harpenden and Berkhamsted.
You can view the full results here and find out about opportunities to work at future local and national elections here.
Thousands of people enjoyed one of the most popular City Centre events of the year – Alban Day.
For the first time, the Alban Pilgrimage, organised by the Cathedral, and the Alban Street Festival, run by the Council, were held on the same day.
The annual Pilgrimage involved a procession of giant puppets to tell the story of Alban, Britain’s first Christian martyr. Roman centurions, chariots and lions created the atmosphere of ancient times.
The Alban Festival, centred on the Charter Market, included exciting attractions such as live music at the Clock Tower, craft activities and henna tattoos.
Windrush Day, which fell on the same day, was celebrated with events by the Vintry Garden.
This included Caribbean music (pictured right) and food as well as the chance for people to play dominoes, an integral part of Caribbean culture.
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Artist Rydal Hanbury has found inspiration for her work in our dozens of Charter Market traders.
She sketched almost every trader in the course of a year and gave each a copy of her work.
Now Rydal, from Fleetville, is painting each one and she is a familiar sight at the Market as she works at her project.
The former nurse took up her lifelong passion for art when her children became teenagers and studied at the University of Hertfordshire.
She said: "When I eventually finish the Market project, I am hoping to have an exhibition and put up some of the paintings for sale.
"I love painting the Market as there is so much colour and so many different subjects to choose from."
You can see examples of Rydal's work on her Instagram page or website. Above is her painting of the Peddling Pizza van - one of the Market's landmarks.
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 The Alban Arena has recently been awarded an “excellent” rating by Sport England’s prestigious Quest scheme.
The entertainment venue was subjected to a tough, two-day examination of its facilities and operations by Quest inspectors.
Quest has been established for over 20 years and measures how effective organisations are at providing outstanding customer experiences.
The Arena is run on the Council’s behalf by leisure contractor Everyone Active and you can find a full programme of forthcoming events here.
Five of our facilities have now achieved Quest's excellent rating. The others to have the distinction are Harpenden, Westminster Lodge and Cotlandswick Leisure Centres and the Eric Morecambe Centre.
 Fencing around Jubilee Square – our £64 million regeneration project in the City Centre – is to be removed next week so people can view it close up.
They will also be able to use a new walkway (pictured) linking Victoria Street and Civic Close and take in the landscaped gardens.
We redeveloped the site of a former police station and NHS clinic to create two landmark buildings.
The sale of the Square’s 93 flats to Watford Community Housing has been completed with 33 being allocated to people on our housing register. The first tenants are due to move in later this summer.
To help people struggling to afford a home in the District, the remaining properties will be sold on a shared ownership basis.
The regeneration project was completed despite unexpected challenges including the Covid pandemic and exceptionally high inflation rates for building materials.
 Swimming teacher Barbara Vincent is still going strong at the age of 84 and has no plans to retire.
She has been teaching youngsters how to swim at our Westminster Lodge Leisure Centre for almost 40 years.
Barbara, pictured left with the centre’s swim manager Hollie Burke, has taught an average of 130 children a week.
She said: “For me, the best part of the job is watching the young children progress from nervous toddlers, experiencing the water for the first time, to talented, confident swimmers."
We have been taking action against Blue Badge fraud to ensure disabled parking spaces are only used by people who truly need them.
Our parking team recently carried out roadside inspections of Blue Badges in an initiative supported by Hertfordshire’s Shared Anti-Fraud Services.
Over a fortnight, 168 badges were checked against a national database to see if they were genuine.
In addition, efforts were made to ensure badges were being used by the registered holder and not someone else.
As a result, 16 badges were identified as being misused and the incidents are now being investigated by Hertfordshire County Council.
Blue Badges are a major help for 2.5 million disabled people across the UK while fraud is estimated to cost the UK an estimated £46 million a year. You can report any concerns here.
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 You can now access a new interactive guide to help make your home more energy-efficient.
Retrofitting Your House contains advice about low-cost measures that can help you cut energy bills such as smart meters.
It also has information about more significant upgrades including insulation, heat pumps, and solar panels.
The free booklet has been produced by the Hertfordshire Climate Change and Sustainability Partnership which includes the Council.
It is tailored to various home types, from Victorian terraces to modern structures. You can view it here.
The first woman Mayor of St Albans is to be honoured with a blue plaque installed at her former home.
Margaret Wix was elected Mayor in 1924 and went on to become the first woman Alderman in 1936, being given the Freedom of the City in 1943.
Everyone is welcome to attend the plaque installation ceremony at 40 Holywell Hill at 6.30pm on Wednesday 24 July.
It will be the 13th plaque provided by Blue Plaques St Albans, a voluntary organisation that commemorates famous people who have lived or worked in the City by placing blue plaques on buildings associated with them.
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 If your home is not heated by mains gas you may be entitled to a Home Upgrade Grant.
This will pay for energy-saving improvements such as insulation that will cut bills and reduce carbon emissions.
The grant criteria has recently changed so that people earning up to £36,000 a year may be entitled to the financial support.
To find out if you are eligible call 0808 196 8255 or visit their website.
 South Asian Heritage Month, Museum + Gallery, Thursday 18 July to Saturday 17 August: Take part in South Asian Heritage month with free poetry workshops for young people and adults. The workshops celebrate the poetry of South Asia. Places are limited so book in advance here.
There is also a drop-in and free Mini Mela, a South Asian Festival on Saturday 10 August, at the Assembly Room, Museum + Gallery 11am-4pm. This includes craft activities, cultural clothing demonstrations, mehndi designs and a mandala installation you can add to during the day.
Summer School Holidays: celebrate summer, whatever the weather, by exploring our museums - dress up in clothes from Roman times, handle historic artefacts and enjoy a treasure hunt.
Check our website for the family-friendly exhibitions, workshops and activities at Verulamium Museum and the Museum + Gallery that are happening throughout the summer.
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Hertfordshire Histories : Global Impact, a free exhibition at the Timeline Gallery, Museum + Gallery, until Monday 30 September.
Explore how businesses in our local area have been connected to other countries through global trade.
For example, St Albans in the 1800s was known for its straw hat-making industries. Its famous Brazilian hats were made from palm leaves imported mainly from Cuba.
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 St Albans Healthy Hub is your free one-stop-shop for health and wellbeing information, advice and support.
You can get advice on many issues including how to lose weight, quit smoking, cut down on alcohol, become more active and manage money.
The organisations involved include Citizens Advice, Communities 1st, Mind in Mid Herts and many more. You can find more information here.
 HAPpy Camps are back once again for the summer school holidays.
Children and teens from Reception to Year 11 who live in Hertfordshire and get benefits-related school meals can attend for free.
There are over 200 camps with a total of 45,000 places, offering a wide variety of activities including sports, dance, drama and science. They run from Monday 29 July to Friday 30 August and a hot lunch is included.
Every camp is inclusive and able to meet the needs of most children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities.
You can find out more information and book here.
The HAPpy programme is funded by Hertfordshire County Council and coordinated by Herts Sport and Activity Partnership and Hertfordshire Community Foundation.
Around 540 people attended a stem cell donor event at Verulamiums Rugby Club to support blood cancer victim Ben Collins.
They were swabbed to see if they were a match for Ben, 24, a former Verulam School pupil.
More than 1,000 other people responded to the appeal for help by applying for a swab kit online.
You can register to become a donor to potentially save someone’s life on the charity DKMS’s website and receive the home swab kit.
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 Herts County Council are looking for specialist foster carers who can look after children or young people with complex and exceptional needs.
Foster carers in their Intensive Fostering scheme will be trained and paid a £65,000 skills and payments allowance to provide safe and nurturing homes for children who would otherwise be cared for in residential children's homes.
The children will continue to receive support by a dedicated team of outreach workers.
To find out more please call 0800 917 0925, visit this website or email fostering.recruitment@hertfordshire.gov.uk.
 Hertfordshire County Council want to hear the views of residents about some of the many services they provide.
The Council is responsible for schools, social care, roads, libraries and other vital services.
To find out what is important to you, they want people to take part in their Annual Residents Survey 2024.
Your responses will help shape how they do things in the future. You can take part here up until the deadline of Sunday 15 September.
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