What’s On
St Albans has a Community Governance Review (CGR) currently under way and this will decide whether the city centre needs a local parish/town council. The second stage CGR consultation runs until February 23 2026.
The Civic Society strongly supports provision of a parish council (ie a town/city council) for central St Albans. We believe it would play a key role in protecting the character and heritage of St Albans by influencing decisions made by a unitary authority headquartered elsewhere and by managing some local assets and functions.
For that reason, our focus for the start of 2026 will be on campaigning for a YES vote for a
parish/town council and working with partners on what we think its future shape and functions should be.
The first events in 2026 were a series of public meetings as follows:
Sunday January 18 2026, 2-4pm at the Parish Hall, St Alban and St Stephen Catholic Church, Beaconsfield Road, St Albans, AL1 3RB. We invited the following speakers:
- Terry Philpott MBE, Town Clerk of Ware, who can talk about the positives of what a
Parish/ Town council can do, having taken Ware from near bankruptcy to a thriving
and innovative hub of the local community. - Trevor Snaith, Unitary councillor for Buckinghamshire, and local campaigner for High Wycombe. He can share details of what can happen to a thriving historic charter town in the absence of a local council.
- Peter Cartwright, also from High Wycombe and with immense experience of the changes in local government and historic towns.
- David Yates, Chair of St Stephen Parish Council, with insights on local parish council roles, interfaces and influence.
- Mary Conneely, Chair of the St Albans Civic Society, who will give the St Albans perspective and update us on the vote and campaign.
Watch a recording of this meeting here
Tuesday 20 January 2026, 7pm at the Cottonmill Community and Cycling Centre, off Cottonmill Lane, St Albans, AL1 2EF.
Saturday 24 January 2026, 11am at St Luke’s Church Hall, 46 Cell Barnes Lane, St Albans, AL1 5QJ.
A fourth meeting has been added on Saturday 7 February 11am at Christ Church Centre, 3 High Oaks, St Albans, AL3 6DJ
Past Events
Jill Singer who for many years was a member of the Civic Society Committee is returning on 24 April to give a talk to members on Samuel Ryder and the mark he made not just on the city but also on wider society. With his name given to The Ryder Cup he is known to […]
We are holding another Pub Quiz, following on from our last successful event. With a start time of 7.30 prompt, please get there early to ensure the best seats in the house and we will aim to finish around 9.30. Please note date has changed to MONDAY 22 April instead of Tuesday 23 as previously […]
Blue Plaques St Albans (BPSA) is in the process of installing plaques on buildings in St Albans to celebrate local ‘worthies’, including some who may not already be fully in the public consciousness. To this end, BPSA will shortly be installing a plaque for cartographer Thomas Kitchin (1719-1784) who came to live in Fishpool Street in […]
What’s On for 2026
Our programme for 2026 started with the Community Governance public meetings programme. These have now concluded other events will be announced shortly.
No events are found.