Our parking services team has moved to all-electric transport to cut back on harmful emissions.
Three new electric vans and a car will replace hybrid and diesel-fuelled vehicles and will be used by Civil Enforcement Officers as well as maintenance crews.
The team has also been supplied with battery-powered e-bikes for patrols.
The switch to all-electric is in keeping with our commitment to tackling climate change by cutting emissions to net zero across the District by 2030.
Councillor Helen Campbell (pictured, centre), Chair of the Public Realm Committee, had a look at the new vehicles and talked to staff.
The cost of the new all-electric vehicles is within Parking Service’s approved budget and the old vehicles have been returned to the leaseholder.
The initiative follows a move to all-electric vehicles and equipment by the Council’s grounds maintenance contractor.
We will be holding our annual service on Sunday 28 January to commemorate Holocaust Memorial Day.
The event will take place from 6.30pm at St Albans United Synagogue and is hosted by the Mayor of St Albans City and District, Councillor Anthony Rowlands
The service will be conducted by local rabbis and candles will be lit in memory of those who perished. There will also be an address by Holocaust survivor Freddy Berdach.
It will be an occasion to remember the six million Jews and others murdered during the Holocaust and later genocides in Cambodia, Rwanda and elsewhere.
Anyone who wishes to attend, should send an email in advance to mayoralty@stalbans.gov.uk.
Holocaust Memorial Day is held every year on 27 January, the anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp in 1945.
This year’s theme is the Fragility of Freedom, a reflection on how freedom cannot be taken for granted and is open to abuse. More details about events including how to attend a UK online ceremony are available here.
 Colney Heath FC is one of the many good causes that is raising much-needed funds from the St Albans District Community Lottery.
The club has three men’s teams, two women’s teams, a disability group offering coaching to young adults with learning difficulties and a thriving youth set up.
It is run by volunteers and receives no funding from the Football Association.
The club also acts as a community hub, with over 100 social members, hosting numerous local events and functions throughout the year.
You can support Colney Heath FC – as well as other good causes – by playing the online lottery. There is a weekly draw with a chance to win the £25,000 jackpot and you can buy tickets here.
Photo: a Colney Heath FC women's team.
Say hello to Paul Chilton whose family-run St Albans Charter Market stall has been going for 66 years.
Paul’s grandparents Walter and Gwen (pictured right in 1971) launched the stall in 1958 with Paul taking it over when he turned 18 in 1982.
He has worked both the Wednesday and Saturday markets since, offering a variety of custom foam cuttings and fittings to give a new lease of life to a sagging sofa or to put some more bounce into a cushion.
Paul said: "I wouldn't change my job for the world, being outside, chatting to people. I love it here. It is like being a showman. It has been bred into me."
In his spare time, Paul has recently taken up dancing: "I'll soon be entertaining shoppers by doing the jive."
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We are supporting Clean Air Night - a new national campaign to raise awareness of the adverse impact of wood burning.
People are being asked to refrain from burning wood to keep the skies clean on Wednesday 24 January and take measures to ensure they remain clean throughout the year.
Lighting fires at home has become the largest source of small particle air pollution in the UK.
As well as harming the environment, smoke from wood burning is also a cause of life-threatening illnesses including heart and lung disease.
Research shows that burning wood is almost always more expensive than other forms of heating.
You can find out more about the campaign here and follow it on social media, @cleanairdayuk.
Cinema has returned to the Alban Arena with tickets for blockbuster movies costing as little as £5.
Our leisure contractor Everyone Active has brought back film nights to the District’s major entertainment venue.
Among the films lined up for this month are Ferrari and Wonka with a full programme of events, together with what’s happening at the Eric Morecambe Centre in Harpenden, available here.
 A fly-tipper who was traced and prosecuted by the Council has been ordered to pay £544.
Anthony Campbell, 37, of Letchworth, dumped the contents of a waste clearance in front of a farm gate on Coleman Green Lane, near Wheathampstead.
Our General Enforcement Officers traced him following an examination of the contents and he admitted the offence.
Magistrates at St Albans Crown Court ordered Campbell to contribute £400 towards the Council’s legal costs and pay a victim surcharge of £144. He was also sentenced to carry out 150 hours of unpaid community work.
Photo: the fly-tip near Wheathampstead.
 Four family-sized homes for social rent have been provided in Harpenden by the Council.
The three-bedroom properties were offered to people on our Housing Register who needed larger accommodation.
Four two-bedroom Council houses, where the new tenants previously lived, are now available to people on the Register who have been waiting for a permanent home of their own.
The new semi-detached houses in Viking Close, off Noke Shot, were built in a little used garage site owned by us.
They have been equipped with several sustainable features to reduce harmful carbon emissions, including air source heat pumps and solar panels.
Photo: Cllr Paul De Kort, Lead for Resources, and Cllr Jacqui Taylor, Lead for Housing, view the properties.
 St Albans District Access Forum supports residents who want to raise accessibility and inclusion concerns, helping to make positive changes in the District.
The Access Forum conducts regular meetings with the next one being held in February. If you would like to attend, please contact equality@stalbans.gov.uk.
The Crooked Billet pub in Colney Heath has been listed as an Asset of Community Value (ACV).
We have added it to our ACV list after an application by the Colney Heath Residents’ Association.
As well as providing a a meeting place for residents, the pub is also a focal point for local events and activities.
ACV status ensures the community will be given time to organise a bid for the pub should the owner decide to sell.
We have obtained a £100,000 Government grant to help clear a backlog of 400 planning applications.
The money will provide extra staff resources to help deal with the number of cases which built up during the Covid public health emergency.
It should reduce the average time for processing applications from its current 18 weeks.
We have one of the busiest planning departments in the country, receiving more than 3,000 applications a year for work ranging from extensions to major housing developments.
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 There is still time to nominate your community heroes for the St Albans Mayor’s Pride Awards 2024.
Among the eight categories open for nominations are Young Person of Distinction - an exceptional child or young person who deserves recognition for their talent, energy or strength of character.
The awards celebrate extraordinary people and outstanding community groups that make a positive contribution to the District.
You can find out more and nominate until Sunday 21 January here.
Exhibition: Ballito Bombshells, Keeper’s Galleries, Museum + Gallery, until Sunday 4 February, Free
The Ballito Hosiery Mill was a major landmark in Fleetville from the 1920s to the 1960s. This exhibition celebrates the Ballito stockings worn across the country, the striking adverts that filled newspapers, the advanced machinery used in the factory and the dances, language classes and sports facilities offered to employees. Also covered is the transformation of the factory during the Second World War from making delicate stockings to artillery shells.
Exhibition: What We Bring – Revisiting the Romans, Verulamium Museum, until Friday 1 March, free with admission
This display explores travel and migration in Roman Britain as well as today’s society. It highlights the rich cultural exchange, including the objects, architecture and ideas that were brought to these shores by the Romans. The exhibition also focuses on local migrant communities that have emerged over the past 70 years with particular emphasis on the food that was brought here.
Follow a trail tracking the movement of people, listen to audio about their experiences and discover the stories behind some of your favourite restaurants and other businesses to see how the District has been shaped by migration for at least 2,000 years.
* You can find out what else is on and buy tickets on the St Albans Museums website.
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 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.
Help and information is available to help you cope with the rising cost of living.
We are highlighting trusted sources of local and national information to help you manage your finances, make savings, and look after your own health and wellbeing.
It is important to protect yourself and others as much as possible from cold weather this winter.
Older people, children, babies and residents with underlying health conditions are among those who are particularly vulnerable to a drop in temperature.
Hertfordshire County Council has issued some cold weather health advice to help residents stay healthy and safe. You can find this information here.
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Women would like their GPs to be better trained so they are more empathetic and listen to their concerns about the menopause.
This was one of the findings of a survey of 560 women by Healthwatch Herts, commissioned by Hertfordshire and West Essex Integrated Care Board.
Recommendations have been sent to local NHS leaders to help primary care services learn how they can better support women during the menopause and perimenopause.
You can find details of the report here.
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One in sixteen people in the UK have been diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes.
If you are from South Asian Heritage, you are four times more likely to develop the condition.
The Adda Club in St Albans runs free diabetes lifestyle coaching workshops. These culturally sensitive workshops support individuals by providing practical tools to effectively manage their Type 2 Diabetes.
Participants learn about food choices and discover the joy of getting active from within a supportive environment where they can connect with other members of the community.
Sessions are led by a Diabetes coach who has undertaken the transformational journey and who understands the challenges faced by the community.
Register here or email info@theaddaclub.co.uk
If you are a patient at Hatfield Road Surgery, Summerfield Health Centre, or London Colney Health Centre, ask your GP for a referral to the programme.
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Among recent projects was a mosaic workshop with ceramicist Audrey Montet, attended by people from HACRO (Hertfordshire Association for the Care and Rehabilitation of Offenders) and the homeless charity Emmaus. See above for an example of the work that was produced.
Another project involved professional photographer Pete Stevens who worked with HACRO members to take quality images of St Albans City Rail Station, including the signal box (pictured).
The project was supported by Govia Thameslink Railway's Your Station Your Community Improvement Fund and a selection of the photos will go on display at the City station's platforms.
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