CommunityAUTUMN 2013

INCORPORATING Recycling News

For this autumn’s events, including the fabulous St Albans

Food & Drink Festival, Giant Monopoly and the great Christmas

Lights’ Switch-On, see pages 2 and 3.

New guide for older residents

The Council has produced a new

guide for older residents.

It’s a helpful A to Z

guide of information

and services for older

people. You can

pick up a copy at

the usual Council

information outlets,

download it at

www.stalbans.gov.

uk/olderpeople, or

call 01727 819518.

What can I recycle?

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Plus, see details of a new, magical, German-style

Christmas Market coming to the grounds of

St Albans Cathedral and the Vintry Gardens (page 2).

GIANTST ALBANS

Sunday 15 September 11am 5

What’s on this Autumn?

For the latest recycling information, see pages 7 and 8.

By the end of September all streets will have moved over to

the new recycling scheme. You can recycle lots more plastic and

there is a new caddy to help you recycle food waste more easily.

Also see changes to cardboard recycling.

Community News is

published by St Albans

City & District Council

www.stalbans.gov.uk

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2 Autumn 2013 St Albans City & District Council Community News

GIANTST ALBANS

Sunday 15 September, 11am-5pm

The fun starts with the CAMRA

Beer Festival and ends with

the grand Food and Drink Festival

Market in the City centre, with

loads of great events in between.

St Albans Food and Drink

Festival celebrates the warmth and

hospitality of our fantastic local

restaurants, hostelries, markets,

eateries and food producers. Many

local outlets have special offers and

there are some splendid events laid

on including cooking demonstrations,

wine tasting and masterclasses.

See www.enjoystalbans.com/

foodanddrink for details, pick up a

brochure at the Tourist Information

Centre or call 01727 819311.

Christmas market magic comes to St Albans

A new magical German-style

Christmas Market, set in the

grounds of St Albans Cathedral

and the Vintry Gardens, is coming

to the City this November.

The market, similar in style

to well-known Christmas markets

in other English Cathedral cities,

is being organised jointly by the

Cathedral and the Council.

The Market will open on

Thursday 28 November and run

through to Saturday 21 December.

There will be up to 55 chalet style

stalls, twinkling lights, music,

merriment and olde worlde magic

around the Cathedral and the Vintry

Gardens. Full details are available at

www.stalbanschristmasmarket.

co.uk, or on 01727 819469.

St Albans Food and Drink FestivalWednesday 25 September - Sunday 6 October

Come on down to St Albans

City centre for a fabulous

game of life-size monopoly.

Choose from two routes

through the City. Start Point 1 is in

the City centre outside the Town

Hall in Market Place. Start Point 2 is

in Verulamium Park near the beach

volley ball courts. Experience the

unique Monopoly Sculpture Trail,

listen to live music and meet Mr

Monopoly! There is free car parking

in St Albans on Sundays at many

Council City centre car parks.

Details of the event are available at

www.stalbans.gov.uk/monopoly

and www.enjoystalbans.com/

whats-on, or call 01727 819531.

Come on down to St Peter’s

Street, St Albans on Sunday

17 November for the St Albans

Christmas lights’ switch-on.

The annual switch-on is

a big family affair with music,

entertainment, food stalls, and lots

of fun! For the latest information

see www.enjoystalbans.com

from early November, or call

01727 819369. Towns and villages

across the District also have

special Christmas lights events,

so watch out for those too.

Christmas lights’ switch-on

1.

www.stalbans.gov.uk 3 3

At the Museum of St Albans,

we have our Family Welcome

Wardrobe, with lots of activities

for young visitors. We also have

traditional games available to

play in our display of a historical

inn. Sunday Stories for children

under 7 is on the last Sunday of the

month. On Wonder Wednesdays,

special family activities are on offer

at both the Museum of St Albans

and Verulamium Museum. 

What’s on at the

museums SeptemberHeritage Open Days –

Thu 12 – Sat 14. Tours of museum collections

held in storage at Sandridge Gate, St Albans

Social History Collection

Thu 12, 11am, 1pm and 3pm. 

Archaeology Collection

Fri 13, 11am, 1pm and 3pm. 

Social History Collection

Sat 14, 11am, 1pm, 3pm. 

Archaeology Collection

Sat 14, 11.30am, 1.30pm, 3.30pm

Talk with Kitty Moxon, Holocaust

Survivor

Sun 29, 2:30pm. Verulamium Museum. £8.

OctoberThursday Night Lecture - Who was

Caratacus?

Thu 3, 7:30pm. Verulamium Museum. £8. With

Anthony Nixon, Letchworth historian.

Exhibition: St Albans Markets

From Fri 25. Museum of St Albans. FREE.

Sunday Stories

Sun 27, 3pm - 4pm. Museum of St Albans, £1.

Storytelling for children under 7.

Pumpkin Carving

Wed 30, 1pm - 5pm. The Clock Tower, St Albans.

Free (£3 if you wish to take your pumpkin home).

Join us for spooky pumpkin carving. The best will

be displayed at Halloween.

Halloween – Thu 31 October

Ghost Walk

See website for details.

Ghoulish Stories for Adults

8pm. Museum of St Albans. £8.

Carved Pumpkins Exhibition

6 – 11pm. The Clock Tower. £3.6 – 11pm. The Clock Tower. £3.

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Many local attractions will be

open to residents and visitors

free of charge over the weekend.

The District also flings wide

open the doors of many buildings

normally closed to the public. This

is a great chance to discover our

architectural treasures and enjoy a

wide range of special tours, events

and activities on offer across the

District. More information at www.

enjoystalbans.com/heritagedays,

or via the Tourist Information Centre

on 01727 864511.

Heritage Open Days Thursday 12 – Sunday 15 September

We have submitted a further

bid to the Heritage Lottery

Fund to develop a new museum

and gallery in St Albans City centre

in the iconic Town Hall.

We are working with St Albans

Museums and Galleries Trust and

other partners to raise the necessary

funds. We are keen to encourage

and recognise local benefactors who

value and appreciate the importance

of our local heritage. For more

information, please contact: 01727

819558, stalbansmgtrust@hotmail.co.uk.

New museum: update

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NovemberExhibition: St Albans Markets

Museum of St Albans

Until 12 January. FREE.

Thursday Night Lecture - The Inns

and Pubs of St Albans

Thu 7, 7:30pm. Verulamium Museum, £8. 

Sunday Stories

Sun 24, 3 - 4pm. Museum of St Albans. £1.

Storytelling for children under 7.

Christmas tree decorating

Sat 30, 1 - 4pm. Museum of St Albans. FREE.

For information visit www.stalbansmuseums.

org.uk. Here, you can also find out about our

Holiday Clubs for children aged 8-13.

4 Autumn 2013 St Albans City & District Council Community News

Young people in Redbourn now

have a place to listen to music,

chat and make smoothies on Friday

evenings following the opening of a

new youth café.

The idea for a shake and

smoothie bar came from members of

Redbourn Youth Council. The café is

funded by St Albans District Strategic

Partnership with the close involvement

of local councillors.

The youth café is open every

Friday evening at Redbourn Recreation

Centre from 7.30pm to 10pm.

For more information on this

project and our wider youth work

contact Nicky Flynn at nickyflynn@

stalbans.gov.uk, 01727 814602.

Staying in touch by email is

one of the skills acquired by

local people thanks to a number of

community projects supported by

the Council over the last year. 

Help for people to develop their

IT skills, for example, came in the

form of funding for community group,

Computer Friendly to provide basic

computer training for older people from

London Colney, Park Street and Colney

Heath. The training gives people the

skills to communicate by email with

their friends and family and to find

information on the internet.

Batford Community Action

Group’s IT project gives local people

the skills to shop online and use email. 

Funding also went to

Wheathampstead Community Group

to help run an internet café in

the local library. 

These are some of the 18

voluntary and community groups

that together received over £59,000

in funding from the Community

Grants Fund last year. More

information at www.stalbans.gov.uk/

communitygrants, 01727 819518.

Have fun and be safe

with your fireworks this

November. Use only BS 7114

Fireworks. Reputable dealers will

only sell fireworks to this standard

and if you are ever offered any

others leave them alone!

Keep fireworks in a closed box

and follow the instructions carefully.

Light all fireworks at arms length

and stand well back. Never go back

to a lit firework and never throw them

or put them in your pocket.

Remember, sparklers are not

for the under 5s. Always supervise

your children and teach them to hold

the sparkler at arms length, but not

near anyone else. Have a container of

water handy, big enough for the hot

spent sparklers. Always keep pets

indoors and please be respectful to

the needs of your neighbours.

Civic Centre – a hub for info and advice

At the Civic Centre in St Albans,

you’ll find a host of independent,

confidential and impartial advice,

information and guidance on offer

from the local organisations above.

Check it out for yourself. 

See www.stalbans.gov.uk/

civiccentre for details of each

organisation’s opening times or call

01727 866100.

Fireworks - be safe

Computer Friendly to provide basic

computer training for older people from

New youth café in Redbourn

i C t

Computer skills for older people

www.stalbans.gov.uk 5

Preparing for the cost of care

Anyone with assets over

£23,250 is responsible for the

full cost of their social care. Many

people today face huge bills and

sell their homes to fund their care.

This may not always be necessary.

Hertfordshire County Council

is working with a not-for-profit

organisation, PayingForCare, to help

people access independent specialist

information and advice on all aspects

of long-term care.

You can call PayingForCare for

free on 0808 208 9994. There is also

a handy care cost calculator at

www.stalbans.gov.uk/

payingforcare.

New bowls and golf club houses for Batchwood

Brand new bowls and golf

pavilions have been installed

at Batchwood following the

devastating fire in August 2011.

Work continues on the new

Batchwood sports centre. When

it is completed in May 2014, it will

be an East of England regional

centre of excellence of a quality to

attract top athletes. There will be

six indoor tennis courts on site, up

from four in the original building, and

a special judo dojo facility. There

will also be multi-purpose facilities

suitable for a wide range of other

sports activities.

The Grade II listed war

memorial in St Peter’s Street

has been cleaned and stonework

re-pointed. The names of members

of the armed forces who died in

World War II were also re-engraved

on the stone panels around the base.

Some further work may be

needed to restore the names engraved

on the stone cross where they have

become weather worn. Such works

require listed building consent.

Restoration work will also

take place later this year on the war

memorials at 52 Holywell Hill, the

entrance to Ridgemont Plaza car park

in Ridgemont Road, 15 High Street

and 40 Verulam Road.

You can save yourself a

wait by making your Council

payments by direct debit, or online

at www.stalbans.gov.uk.

You can also pay via your bank,

at the post office or at any shop

showing the Pay Zone sign. There

is also an automated telephone

payment line – call 0161 7853880.

Easier ways to pay The annual election canvass

begins on 1 October and

the revised Register of Electors

will be published on 17 February

next year. You will receive a voter

registration form in early October.

If you have no changes to

make to any of the details on the

form, you can register through the

internet, by freephone or text. It is

quick and easy to do. If there are

changes to be made, make sure

you complete and return your form

straight away. An early response

from householders will help reduce

the number of reminders sent out

and help the Council to save money

to spend on other priorities. For

more information call 01727 819294.

Look out for your right to vote

War memorial restoration

HomeSwapper Open Dayen Day

An invitation for local Council and housing association tenants to find out about the HomeSwapper service, including website tips and advice.

Wed 16 October, 10am-3pm, Civic Centre, St Peter’s Street, St Albans AL1 3JE.

For more information call 01727 819293.

6 Autumn 2013 St Albans City & District Council Community News

Verulamium Park: one of the best parks in the country

Verulamium Park has

received a Green Flag Award

for the first time. This top national

award recognises the park as one

of the country’s best.

Bricket Wood Common,

Clarence Park, Rothamsted Park and

Sopwell Nunnery Green Space have

also retained their Green Flag status.

Green Flag awards are handed

out by environmental charity Keep

Britain Tidy annually. The award

recognises and rewards the best

parks and green spaces across the

country. Winners must apply each

year to renew their Green Flag status.

A Green Flag flying overhead

is a sign to visitors that the space

boasts high standards, is beautifully

maintained and provides excellent

facilities.

We work in partnership with

our contractors John O’Conner to

maintain our award-winning parks

and green spaces.

Keep Britain Tidy runs the

Green Flag Award scheme in the

UK on behalf of the Department

for Communities and Local

Government.

GREEN ISSUES

Home energy efficiencyA new plan has been agreed

setting out practical measures

that the Council will take over

the next 15 years to help improve

energy efficiency.

Nearly half of St Albans’

greenhouse gas emissions come from

household energy use, so improving

home energy efficiency is a top priority.

Under the plan, the Council

will continue to provide advice

and information to residents about

reducing energy consumption and

installing renewable technology. We

will also direct people to information

about sources of funding such as

the Government’s Green Deal and

Feed-in Tariff. 

We are already improving the

energy efficiency of council homes

by installing energy efficient boilers,

double glazing and insulation.

We are also working with charities

to ensure that vulnerable people

receive the support they need to keep

their homes warm in winter. Schemes

like ‘Keep Warm, Stay Well’ help people

in need to get this extra support.

There is lots of information on

the Council’s website to help everyone

do their bit to reduce emissions and

save energy www.stalbans.gov.

uk/greenerliving. You can contact

the Council’s Sustainability Officer

at:  sustainability@stalbans.gov.uk,

01727 819466.

www.stalbans.gov.uk 7

We are rolling out new recycling arrangements. By the

end of September they will be in place across the District.

Leaflets are being delivered to households about the scheme

as it comes to each street.

What will I be able to recycle?

Changes to your recycling collection

Put your cardboard in with paper recyclingPlease put your cardboard in your paper recycling box.

Flatten and tear all cardboard so it fits into your recycling box/

boxes with your paper. You can also put cardboard out neatly

weighed down under your recycling box. Please ensure sheets

are no larger than your recycling box to avoid clogging up the

collection vehicle crushing mechanism.

What’s in it for me?The more you recycle the less

waste has to go to landfill. Landfill is

environmentally unfriendly and costs

taxpayers money. If we save money on

landfill, there will be more to spend on

front-line services. Landfill also creates

methane gas which contributes to global

warming. We need your help to reduce

landfill waste. Thanks for doing your bit.

How are caddies funded?We have received a grant of £234,450

from Hertfordshire County Council to

fund the caddies

and other recycling

changes. This is

from a funding

programme to

increase recycling

in the county.

Why the change for

cardboard?National standards for compost have

become tighter to ensure that it is of

the highest quality. This means that

cardboard will no longer be accepted

with garden and food waste. So that

we can continue to recycle cardboard,

we want you to collect it with your

paper waste instead.

Put glass in its own box as usual(No broken glass please.)

Recycle more of your plasticsWe are now able to collect lots

more plastics. You can recycle

clean margarine and ice cream

tubs, yoghurt pots, plastic food trays

and fruit punnets. Please squash cans and plastics to

get as much in your box as possible and to avoid large

containers clogging up the collection vehicle machinery.

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Paper and folded or torn cardboard

Glass

Plastics, cans and foil. No plastic bags

Green waste, food waste and shredded paper

Please put food waste in your green bin.

Use caddy liners or wrap in newspaper

to keep your bin clean.

The more you recycle the less waste goes to landfill. Separate your recycling materials as shown below.

If you need more boxes, contact: wastemanagementservices @stalbans.gov.uk, 01727 819391

To find out more about the new scheme visit www.stalbans.gov.uk/wasteandrecycling

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8 Autumn 2013 St Albans City & District Council Community News

Now on Twitter @StAlbansCouncilMy Council Services App

Have your say... We welcome anything you want to say about our services.

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We hope you enjoy reading Community News.

If you can spare a moment, please email

communications@stalbans.gov.uk or call

01727 819572 and let us know your views

and what else you want us to include.

St Albans City & District Council

Civic Centre, St Peter’s Street, St Albans,

Herts AL1 3JE

Website: www.stalbans.gov.uk

Email: contactus@stalbans.gov.uk

Customer Service Centre opening hours:

Mon-Thurs 8.45am-5pm, Fri 8.45am-4.30pm

Housing Repairs: 01727 819256

Refuse & Recycling: 01727 819285

Council Tax: 01727 819204/819205

Benefits: 01727 819476

Cleaner District Hotline: 0845 125 8000

Textphone: 01727 819570

All Other Enquiries: 01727 866100

Harpenden Town Council Information Point

Town Hall, Leyton Road, Harpenden

Opening hours: Mon-Fri 10am-4pm

Telephone: 01582 768278

Alternative formats: If you want to receive

this newsletter in an alternative format, such

as Braille, or in another language, please call

01727 819572. See www.disabledgo.com for

information about access to local facilities.

Together, for a Cleaner District

Keeping the District Clean and Green

The Cleaner District Hotline: 0845 125 8000

Email: a.cleanerdistrict@stalbans.gov.uk

...please contact

If you spot a problem with...

Abandoned vehiclesIllegal

or litterDog fouling or stray dogsDumped rubbishIllegalOvergrown hedgerowsSpills from refuse collectionAccumulation of leavesPest controlDamaged street furnitureStreet cleaningDrugs paraphernaliaTrees (overgrown/obstructing highway)Empty/derelict property

Air pollution

Now on twitter: @StAlbansCouncil

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Over the last few weeks we have been delivering new

food caddies to homes in the District.

The aim is to make it easier for you to recycle food via your

green bin. Each caddy comes with a starter pack of compostable

paper liners. Full details are included with your caddy. Once the

paper liner is full, just roll over the top of the bag and put it out

with your green waste. Paper liners are available at most large

supermarkets and online.

New food caddy

Market datesSt Albans Market every Wednesday and Saturday

St Albans Farmers’ Market 2nd Sunday of the month

Harpenden Farmers’ Market 4th Sunday of the month

You can sign up for free flood

alerts and get lots of information

about the risk of flooding in your

local area at www.environment-

agency.gov.uk. Alternatively, call the

Environment Agency Flood Line on

0845 988 1188.

Water, electricity and gas

suppliers have special schemes

in place for low income households,

and for others including people with

disabilities or who are chronically ill.

Contact your provider for details of

their vulnerable customer schemes.

READY FOR

ANYTHING?

Flood alerts

Disruption to utility supplies