 Thousands of people are expected at one of the most popular City Centre events of the year – our St Albans Feastival.
The six-hour-long street party takes place this year on Sunday 22 September from noon with St Peters Street closed to traffic.
Among the attractions are 100-plus market stalls offering a vast variety of food and drink, live music, a cookery theatre and arts and crafts. There will also be an inflatable football table for an exciting activity and a skate ramp.
Organisations supporting the event include St Albans BID, SA Law and the Pioneer Club.
You will be able to find out more, including a schedule, nearer the time on the St Albans Food and Drink Festival's Facebook page.
 A further 200 social housing properties have been made more energy efficient in the second wave of an ambitious St Albans City and District Council project.
Among the homes to have benefited recently are so-called Airey houses in Nicholas Close, Batchwood, St Albans.
They were built during a post-war housing boom with prefabricated concrete and have a particularly low energy rating.
Upgrade works include external wall insulation, solar panels, loft insulation, enhancements to ventilation and LED lighting systems.
This has not only boosted the properties’ energy efficiency, reducing harmful carbon emissions and cutting tenants’ bills, but it has also improved their appearance as the before and after photographs show.
We have joined forces with 100 other local authorities to call on the Government to work with us and save Council housing.
As part of this initiative, a new report, Securing the Future of Council Housing, was commissioned and sets out our five priorities.
These include establishing a sustainable financial policy, removing restrictions on existing funding streams and, of course, delivering new Council homes.
Councillor Jacqui Taylor, pictured left, Chair of our Housing and Inclusion Committee, attended the launch of the report at the Commons. You can find out more and download the full report here.
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Congratulations to two young traders who have been recognised for their contribution to St Albans Charter Market.
Jessica Tucker and George Burridge were presented with certificates by the Council's Markets Team in appreciation of their efforts.
They represented St Albans in the London and South East England finals of the Young Trader of the Year competition, run by the National Market Traders Federation.
Artist Jessica, pictured above on the right, designs and makes her own scented candles with life-like sculptures of dogs being among her most popular creations. She was selected to go forward to the national finals where she was highly commended in the General Retail category.
Florist George, pictured left, sells an amazing range of stunning bouquets at his stall and has attracted many regular customers.
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Are you intending to carry out major works to your home?
If so, please make use of our new free online service to check if you need planning permission.
The service will provide guidance on whether the works need planning permission and will advise you on what to do next.
We have designed this service as part of Open Digital Planning, a programme that aims to enhance planning services in England.
Fly tips are cleared, home repairs are booked and tenants are surveyed during the Community Days run by our housing department.
A team of Councillors, staff and contractors visit Council estates across the District several times a year to offer first-hand advice.
They have face-to-face talks with tenants to listen to any concerns they may have and carry out a range of activities.
These include inspecting the area, arranging for any fly-tips or graffiti to be removed, and noting exterior or interior repairs that are required.
Councillor Jacqui Taylor, Chair of the Housing and Inclusion Committee, attended the most recent Community Day at Lybury Lane and Down Edge, Redbourn.
Representatives of Morgan Sindall Property Services, the Council’s housing repairs contractor, were also in attendance.
The next Community Day will take place around Hill Dyke Road, Wheathampstead, on Thursday 26 September.
St Albans District Community Lottery has raised almost £50,000 for good causes since its launch with more than 93,000 tickets sold.
So far, 42 local community groups, sports clubs and charities have signed up to become good causes and potentially benefit from the scheme.
They can encourage their supporters to buy the £1 tickets as a different way of donating to them.
From each ticket, 50p goes to a good cause of the buyer’s choosing and 10p into a central fund to support community groups. The remainder goes towards the prize fund, VAT and the administrative costs of operator Gatherwell.
Among the groups registered as good causes are Colney Heath FC, Youth Talk, Harpenden Colts FC, The Friends of St Leonard's in Sandridge, and Sustainable St Albans.
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 Redbourn Community Group is one of the many good causes that is raising funds from the Community Lottery.
A volunteer-led charity, it has been serving the village of Redbourn for over 40 years.
It provides a range of services such as organising car and minibus transport for essential trips, leisure activities and companionship networks.
If you are 18 or over, you can support Redbourn Community Group – and other local good causes – by playing the online lottery.
There is a weekly draw with a £25,000 jackpot and at least 60p from each £1 ticket goes to good causes. Tickets are available here.
 The Great St Albans Challenge takes place on Sunday 29 September – and you can form a team and take part.
Contestants will enjoy a fun-packed afternoon as they participate in a GPS-linked treasure hunt around the City.
More than 250 peope are already registered for the event, but you can still apply up until Monday 16 September.
You can do so here where you can also find out more about this thrilling challenge which will raise funds for the counselling charity Youth Talk. Olympic games 800 metre runner Phoebe Gill will present the trophies.
You can find a full programme of what’s on at St Albans Museum + Gallery and Verulamium Museum here.
 New exhibition: Catching the Chain, Museum + Gallery, from Friday 11 October, free.
Inspired by the Museum + Gallery's historic cells and courtroom, this exhibition explores the history of criminal justice and the different ways in which local communities have dealt with crime, from the Iron Age to the present day.
The phrase, Catching the Chain, is prison slang for leaving jail and re-entering society. Our exhibition partners include a wide range of organisations and individuals.
 Herts Open Studios, Museum + Gallery, Saturday 14 and Sunday 15 September, free.
Local artist Donna Borg will be painting and taking questions at this drop-in event where some of her work will also be exhibited and available to buy.
Donna's subjects range from portraits to landscapes and she can often be seen in the City painting local scenes including the Museum + Gallery.
You can find out more about Donna and view her work here.
 Gallery talks, Verulamium Museum, weekly on Saturdays at 11.30am, free after admission charge,
St Albans Tour Guides give a weekly Gallery talk every Saturday. Topics are based on life at the ancient Roman town of Verulamium.
These include talks on mosaics, death and burial, leisure and Gods and Goddesses. Check here for details.
 Our partners at Oaklands College are offering a range of adult community courses for people who want to learn new skills.
Among the courses are: staying safe online for the over 60s, essential digital skills and an introduction to counselling.
You can find a full list, along with information about how to apply, on the College's website. People on Universal Credit or low income may be entitled to a fee reduction.
 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.
 We are supporting Stoptober – the Department of Health and Social Care’s annual stop smoking campaign.
We’re urging smokers to quit next month with evidence showing that if you complete 28 days smoke free, there is a good chance that you will quit for good.
Since its launch in 2012, Stoptober has helped more than 2.5 million people attempt to kick the habit.
You can find a range of free support tools, information and advice about quitting here.
 Dentists have issued some top tips on looking after small children’s teeth.
These include advice to start brushing your baby's teeth as soon as the first milk tooth breaks through, usually at around six months.
Brush their teeth twice daily for about two minutes with fluoride toothpaste, last thing at night before bed and on one other occasion, using only a smear of toothpaste.
If you need any help or advice around your child’s oral health, please call your local family centre on 0300 123 7572.
The Breastfeeding Friendly scheme covers the whole of Hertfordshire and helps mums find places where they will feel comfortable breastfeeding.
Pubs, cafes, shops and other businesses are urged to get on board and make sure they can cater for women who are breastfeeding.
Look out for the Breastfeeding Friendly logo in venue windows or check out these webpages to find out more. A space for breastfeeding will be available at the St Albans Feastival in the Community Safety Zone.
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We are consulting on our reviews of our Gambling Policy, Pavement Licensing Policy and Taxi Licensing Fees.
You can give your views and see the consultation documents here.
The consultations close on October the 2nd (Gambling) or 3rd (Pavement Licensing/Taxi Fees).
All feedback will be considered before any final decisions are made.
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