 Don’t miss out on one of the most exciting City Centre events of the year – the St Albans Feastival.
Thousands of people are expected to attend the six-hour-long street party on Sunday 24 September.
St Peters Street will be closed to traffic for the fun, family event which runs from noon until 6pm.
Among the attractions will be around 100 market stalls offering a vast variety of food and drink products, live music, a cookery theatre and a children’s create and play zone.
More information about the Feastival, including a timetable, can be found on the Enjoy St Albans website.
 Meet Ertugrvl Istanbullu - one of the growing number of innovative traders now operating at our Charter Market.
Ertugrvl has been selling gold-plated brass and glass jewellery at his Sade Hane stall since last December after moving to St Albans from his native Turkey with wife Merve.
Merve designs and makes the colourful bracelets, necklaces, earrings and other items while Ertugrvl takes care of the sales.
He said: "Jewellery making was my wife's hobby and her dream was to turn it into a business which we have now done.
"I am here twice a week, every Wednesday and Saturday, and it is going very well. It is lovely working here; it's an old historic market and that helps to make it special."
Anyone wishing to enquire about joining the growing number of traders at the market should email markets@stalbans.gov.uk.
Fleetville Community Centre is one of the good causes supported by the St Albans District Community Lottery.
The centre provides a safe space for a wide variety of users, people of all ages, and reflects Fleetville's cultural diversity.
Among the activities are a playgroup and nursery, weekly clubs for both children and adults, quiz nights and a community café.
The prefabricated building, constructed in 1942, is coming to the end of its life and there are plans to replace it with a modern one.
You can support the centre, providing it with extra income, as well as other good causes by taking part in the lottery here. Tickets for the weekly draw, with a top prize of £25,000, cost only £1 with 60p going to the good cause of your choosing.
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 There is still time to give your views about an important draft Local Plan for the District.
A public consultation on the proposals is open until 5pm on Monday 25 September. You can view the documents, complete a survey and provide feedback through a questionnaire here.
The Local Plan is a blueprint for the area’s built environment, identifying land for future commercial, infrastructure and housing developments.
A commitment to tackle the climate emergency is at its heart with new developments required to be sustainable and improve biodiversity.
Other priorities are the delivery of more social housing, jobs, schools, GP surgeries, public transport, cycle paths, play areas and parks.
To coincide with October's Black History Month, we are setting up the Black History Research Group.
We are now looking for people interested in examining the history of St Albans’ Black communities.
This is a long term project intended to improve our knowledge and understanding of Black history in the local area.
Our volunteer research team will be provided with three training sessions a year, including one on researching family history, and become part of a supportive group.
No previous experience is required with the first session to be held on Monday 23 October. Anyone interested should email laura.lennard@stalbans.gov.uk.
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We have issued 41 fines for fly-tipping so far this year – a sharp increase on the seven issued during the same period in 2022.
Fly-tippers try to prevent us from tracking them down by removing any evidence of their identity from their illegal rubbish dumps.
But of the 154 fly-tips our enforcement team have investigated in 2023, we have still managed to trace and fine 27% of offenders.
The measure we have taken to detect fly-tippers include the installation of mobile CCTV cameras in hot spot areas and patrols with police to catch offenders in the act.
Fly-tipping is a serious criminal offence and the worst cases can result in an unlimited fine and up to five years in prison. More information is available here.
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Major improvements are being made to the standard, energy efficiency and tenants’ experience of our social housing.
Among the many initiatives undertaken to enhance our 4,900 social rent properties is the adoption of an energy strategy.
This is intended to cut harmful emissions and help the Council achieve its goal of turning the District carbon neutral by 2030. You can find out more here.
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The quickest and easiest way to contact us about local services like Council Tax, waste and recycling, and registering to vote is through your online MyStAlbans District Account.
More than 80,000 local residents have signed up for MyStAlbans so far, and more are subscribing every day. The services are accessible anywhere, at any time.
Lots of new services have been added to help you do your Council business anywhere, at a time to suit you. The latest services added to MyStAlbans are for Council Housing Tenants and for Council Tax payers.
So, make sure you subscribe too. A full list of services is available here.
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 Our residents have another chance to join a scheme to cut carbon emissions and save on energy bills.
Solar Together is a a group-buying initiative that helps people purchase high-quality panels, installed by approved fitters at a competitive price.
More than 600 households in the District benefitted last year when the scheme was launched.
Now those who missed out can register an interest in joining Solar Together this year until the deadline of Friday 27 October.
You can register here without making any obligation to go ahead with an installation.
We’ve been working on the scheme, provided by iChoosr, with other Councils from across Hertfordshire.
 A long-term plan to create better cycling and walking routes in St Albans District and encourage active travel has been approved
We’ve been working with Hertfordshire County Council, the highways authority, on the project.
Our Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plan prioritises high-demand routes that could be enhanced.
The aim is to develop cycling and walking networks over a 10-year period to increase active travel and reduce the number of trips people take by car.
As well as reducing congestion and air pollution, cycling and walking can also boost physical health and mental wellbeing. More information is available here.
Community groups and residents are asked to give their views to a review of polling stations in St Albans District.
We’re consulting on the location and suitability of the polling stations where people will go to vote.
In particular, we want to ensure the stations are accessible to all including people with a disability. We are also reviewing polling districts.
The consultation runs until Monday 30 October with details of the proposals as well as information about how to give your views available here.
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 We are holding free events around the District to celebrate the 'International Day of Older Persons' next month.
Our staff will be on hand to offer information on a variety of services while representatives from the police, fire service and trading standards will be present to discuss community safety.
Citizens Advice and Age UK are among the groups which will be in attendance. The events are open to people of all ages and free refreshments will be available:
- London Colney Caledon Centre on Monday 9 October 9.30am-12pm.
- Redbourn Village Hall on Thursday 12 October 9.30am-12pm.
- Harpenden Library on Monday 16 October 10am-1pm.
- St Albans Library on Wednesday 18 October 11am-2pm.
A project to help survivors of domestic abuse gain sustainable employment has been launched in St Albans District.
We’ve joined forces with out housing repairs contractor Morgan Sindall Property Services to provide the Phoenix Programme.
It will offer support for women victims to rebuild confidence and develop skills to enter or re-enter the workplace.
Among the help offered is training in digital skills, CV preparation, interview techniques and personal finances.
Morgan Sindall will also guarantee interviews for roles within its business and with some of its suppliers.
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 The Big Draw, Monday 23 to Saturday 28 October, Museum + Gallery and Verulamium Museum, Free
We’re taking part in the Big Draw, the world’s biggest celebration of drawing, during the October half-term. Collect a pack at the front desk and try some of our suggestions as you explore and draw! Suitable for all ages. Children must be accompanied by an adult.
Poet Quinton Mílise Jumps Parallels, Sunday 1 and Sunday 22 October, 3pm, Museum + Gallery Courtroom, Free
Join spoken-word poet Quinton Mílise for a performance full of quirky, compelling and outlandish characters who live their lives on the margins of society. He will be appearing as part of the Black History Month programme.
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 St Albans BID and the George Street business community are holding another Gin & Jazz evening on Friday 6 October.
This free outdoor event will feature pop-up gin bars, live jazz music, late night shopping and food. You can find out more here.
 St Albans Healthy Hub is your free one-stop-shop for health and wellbeing information, advice and support.
You can get advice on how to lose weight, quit smoking, cut down on alcohol, become more active, manage money and much else.
The organisations involved include Citizens Advice, Communities 1st, Mind in Mid Herts and many more. You can find more information here.
Our partners at Hertfordshire County Council have teamed up with HCLcatering to provide thrifty and delicious recipe ideas for your family.
Creating meals together is a great way to get children learning about cutting and chopping, food waste and nutrition.
You can find out more here.
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 How informed are you about Type 2 Diabetes? The disease is increasing at an alarming rate and has around four million victims in the UK with another 2.6 million at high risk.
Our partners at Healthwatch Hertfordshire want our residents to complete a short survey on the issue. The feedback will help the NHS understand how they can spread awareness of the illness and support those with a diagnosis.
The survey runs until Monday 2 October and is available here.
 September is Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder Month - an umbrella term to describe the range of lifelong disabilities that can result from drinking alcohol during pregnancy.
There are many mixed messages about drinking during pregnancy which can be confusing.
Expert advice is the only safe option and that is – do not drink alcohol at all while pregnant.
It’s known that parents-to-be are more likely to stay alcohol free during pregnancy if their partners, family members or friends support them in doing so.
More information and support is available here.
 We want to hear your views on how our cemetery service could be improved in line with the community's needs.
Our public consultation has started and runs until Monday 23 October and you can have your say here.
Picture: the London Road Cemetery in St Albans.
Our waste contractor Veolia is asking residents not to contaminate garden waste bins or bags with food waste.
There have been a number of instances of this happening recently.
Food waste should be bagged and placed in the food caddies which are collected every week.
You can find more information about recycling including what bins to use for different types of waste here.
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 Professional photographer Lynne Wilde shot a stunning picture of the Blue Super-Moon last month from the balcony of her St Albans flat.
By chance, she managed to capture the shadow of a passenger jet as it flew across her line of vision.
Lynne specialises in animal photography and displays her work on her website. She can often be seen taking snaps of the swans, ducks and other wildlife at Verulamium Park.
A Blue Supermoon, which makes the moon look much brighter than usual, is a rare event with the next one not due to occur until 2037.
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