St Albans Civic Society, a registered charity, fosters greater awareness of the heritage of St Albans. As a membership organisation that’s open to all who care about St Albans, we campaign for the retention and enhancement of everything that gives our city its special character.
- We encourage the highest standard of design in new developments and contest inappropriate development proposals
- We champion sustainability and positive environmental impact
- We stimulate interest and informed debate amongst residents, developers and the Council
Run by volunteers, through an elected committee and advisory groups, we are always keen to hear from people who want to join us, maybe to offer to help, or just to show you support our aims.
We offer, above all, a chance to be involved and have a say in what our city looks like and how it functions.
We are members of the national organisation Civic Voice, ready to welcome everyone who wants to help promote St Albans heritage and shape its future.
Read our latest article in the Herts Advertiser here
Events
What is the point of the CGR? Why does it matter? What impact will it have on our City?
Journalist Andrew Hill will chair a panel discussion about the ongoing CGR – the reasons behind it, the process, and the implications it will have on St.Albans.There will be an opportunity to ask questions and achieve a better understanding of the democratic changes coming our way, and the important role you can play in ensuring we retain a local voice for our city.
By 2028, district and county councils across the country will be replaced by new “unitary authorities.” In St Albans, this means our City & District Council—currently managing the city from its offices on St Peter’s Street—will be dissolved. Other parts of the district like Harpenden and Redbourn already have local parish councils. But central St Albans doesn’t. When our city council disappears, so too does the local management of our neighbourhoods.
What does that mean for us? It means:
• No one local looking after parks, festivals, community spaces, or the market
• No one to speak up for city centre residents on local issues
• No elected body focused solely on the people who live and work in our city.
That’s why the St Albans Civic Society, in partnership with local residents groups, is proposing a new parish council for central St Albans. This would be a locally elected body—just like Harpenden Town Council—focused on preserving and enhancing our unique city life.
This year’s AGM is on a Wednesday and will include a social event following the formal meeting.
Agenda and papers will be circulated to members in late September.
Privacy Policy
St Albans Civic Society (‘the Society’) is committed to protecting the privacy and personal information of our members. This privacy policy is about the information that we hold from which individuals can be identified (‘Personal Data’); how we deal with Personal Data; and who we may share it with. You can download the Privacy Policy Statement here
Awards winners
The results and photos of the winning projects are in the newsletter below. For more details click here
Clock Tower 2025 opening
The Clock Tower is unique in the country and still serves as a popular informal meeting place in the heart of the city of St Albans. Volunteers from the Civic Society and the St Albans & Hertfordshire Architectural & Archaeological Society, open the Tower to visitors on weekends and bank holidays from Easter to the end of September. This year we opened on 18 April when the Mayor joined us to start the new season. For more information about the Clock Tower, click here
We have a valued group of people (known as Clockateers) who help us open the Clock Tower to the public, and anyone who could give a couple of hours at weekends would be very welcome. Visitors come from around the world and it is very rewarding to meet the variety of people who come to climb the 93 spiral steps to the top. More volunteers are always welcome, please contact secretary@stalbanscivicsociety.com
Blue Plaques St Albans
The Blue Plaques St Albans group have been working to establish a scheme to commemorate famous citizens who have lived and worked in St Albans, with the aim of placing ‘blue plaques’ on buildings associated with their lives. The initiative resembles the well-known blue plaque scheme run by English Heritage in London. There is now a blue plaques trail taking you on a walking tour of the first 14 plaques, download the leaflet here.
To find out more about the plaques installed to date and the people they commemorate click here
Local Plan Consultation
St Albans has the dubious distinction of having the oldest Local Plan in the country. The new draft Plan is now going through the examination phase – a process that should be completed by March 2026. Our main concerns relate to the lack of ambition, particularly in relation to the City Centre where, although the draft plan refers to a City Centre Vision, such a vision is absent. Why no reference to urban tree planting or provision of water fountains in the centre? Imprecise and subjective language will not provide clarity on what is expected of developers. Our full response is available here. There is a long way to go before the Plan is finalised, so there will be further opportunities to have our say, but there remains a concern about the period until then when we have to rely on the outdated 1994 Plan.