Local government reorganisation
In December 2024, the government published plans to merge district and county councils into unitary authorities by 2028.
Hertfordshire currently has a two-tier system of local government with:
- Hertfordshire County Council providing countywide services such as social care, highways, and education.
- Ten district and borough councils delivering local services such as planning, licensing, leisure, housing, and waste collection.
Hertfordshire 2026: ten district councils, one county council
On Thursday 16 July the Government announced that Hertfordshire’s existing councils will be reorganised into four unitary authorities. These authorities will officially replace the existing councils on 1 April 2028 but there will be elections in May 2027 for the councillors who will run the new authorities and oversee transition in a ‘shadow’ capacity. In the meantime, the county council and district and borough councils will continue delivering services as normal.
What will happen to St Albans?
St Albans City and District Council (SADC) covers a wide area including St Albans, Harpenden, Wheathampstead and Redbourn. SADC will be merged into the North-West Hertfordshire unitary authority together with Dacorum Borough Council, which includes Hemel Hempstead, Berkhamsted and Tring.
We do not yet know where the new unitary authority will have its headquarters.
The ‘Save our City’ campaign
During 2025 and 2026, aware that the move to unitary authorities and the loss of SADC would leave central St Albans without a local voice, the Civic Society campaigned for a change. It identified the risk of damage when future planning decisions, asset and resources management, and district matters are being dealt with. The lack of a lower level first-tier elected council operating below SADC at local level was a known vulnerability. Surrounding districts all have parish or town councils which are secular bodies (i.e., nothing to do with church parishes). Central St Albans has long been an ‘unparished’ area, directly managed by SADC. It was this gap that was addressed by the Civic Society’s successful 2025-2026 ‘Save our City’ campaign for a parish/town council for central St Albans.
On 15 July 2026, SADC voted in favour of the proposal to create a first-tier elected council (a parish/town council) for the unparished parts of St Albans shown in the map below, to be known as St Albans City Centre Parish Council. This will give us
- A strong local voice on matters such as planning and development schemes.
- Scope to protect the character and heritage of our city.
- Ability to inhibit sell-off of local assets and perhaps take control of them.
- The opportunity for local management of things like the charter market, allotments and our precious green spaces.
- A means of influencing decisions made at North West Hertfordshire unitary level.
The ‘unparished’ area of central St Albans
Next steps
Local government reorganisation will entail much slimming, splitting, knitting and splicing of functions. Currently, Hertfordshire County Council looks after libraries, non-academy schools, fire and rescue services, special educational needs services, social care, transport and other county-wide activities and it funds and partners with charities and agencies in the provision of services.
St Albans City and District Council is one of Hertfordshire’s ten district councils. Its area includes St Albans, Harpenden, Redbourn, London Colney and Wheathampstead. Together with its associated parish councils, SADC covers areas such as rubbish collection and recycling, planning and building regulations, parks, markets, allotments, parking, and social housing.
North West Hertfordshire, the unitary authority for SADC and Dacorum from May 2028, will be created in parallel with the other three Hertfordshire Unitary Authorities. These are:
- South West Hertfordshire - serving the communities of the existing Hertsmere Borough Council, Three Rivers District Council and Watford Borough Council
- Central Hertfordshire - serving the communities of the existing North Herts Council (minus five district council wards), Stevenage Borough Council and Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council (minus the Northaw & Cuffley borough council ward)
- Eastern Hertfordshire - serving the communities of the existing Broxbourne Borough Council and East Herts District Council, plus the Northaw & Cuffley borough council ward from the existing Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council area and Royston Heath, Royston Palace, Royston Meridian, Ermine, Weston and Sandon district council wards from North Herts Council.
Details of what’s changing and how they will affect different areas will be emerging and firming up in the months through to the changeover in May 2028.