The City and District Council welcomes petitions from those who live, work or study in the area. This page provides guidance on how to submit a petition, what matters can be considered by the Council and how your petition will be dealt with.
What matters can be the subject of a petition?
Your petition must relate to matters for which the District Council has powers or duties, or which may affect residents and those working or studying in the District.
The District Council has responsibilities for the following:
Council Housing, Sheltered Housing, Housing Advice and Homelessness
Environmental Health, Food Safety and Pest Control
Culture and Community Development, Sport and Recreation
Refuse Collection and Recycling
Local Planning and Building Control including the Local Development Framework and the conservation of buildings and areas
Council Tax Collection including for Hertfordshire County Council, the Fire and Police Authorities and Parish Councils
Business Rates Collection
Housing Benefits
Licensing
The following functions are the responsibility of Hertfordshire County Council:
If the petition is about something over which the Council has no direct control we will consider making representations on behalf of the community to the relevant body. The Council works with a number of local partners through the St Albans and District Local Strategic Partnership and where possible will work with our partners to respond to your petition.
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In what circumstances will the Council not accept a petition?
The Council will not take action on a petition which we consider to be vexatious, abusive or otherwise inappropriate.
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What must your petition include?
Petitions must include:
A clear and concise statement covering the subject of the petition. It should state what action the petitioners wish the Council to take.
The name, address and signature of any person supporting the petition.
The petition should be accompanied by contact details for the petition organiser. If this is not identified we will contact signatories to agree who should act as petition organiser.
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To whom should the petition be addressed?
Paper petitions should be addressed to:
Democratic Services Manager
St Albans City and District Council
District Council Offices
St Peter's Street
St Albans
Herts AL1 3JE
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What will happen next?
An acknowledgement will be sent to the petition organiser within 10 working days of receipt. We will let the organiser know what we plan to do with the petition. The petition (but not the petition organiser's details) will be published on our website.
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How will the Council respond to petitions?
Petitions must contain a minimum of 30 signatures. If your petition contains 500 or more signatures it will be debated by the full Council, unless it is a petition asking for a senior council officer to give evidence at a public meeting (see Officer Evidence section below). The petition organiser will have five minutes to present the petition at the Council meeting. The petition will then be discussed by Councillors for a maximum of 15 minutes. Petitions containing fewer than 500 signatures but more than 30 will be submitted to the next available full Council meeting but there will be no debate. The petition organiser will be given three minutes to present the petition.
Depending on what the petition asks for, and how many signatories there are, other action may be taken. Further information on other action that might be taken is contained within the Council's Petition Scheme (see link below) within the Section 'How will the Council respond to petitions?' The petition organiser will receive written confirmation of what the Council decides to do with the petition, and this will also be published on our website.
What can you do if you feel your petition has not been dealt with properly?
If you feel we have not dealt with your petition properly the petition organiser can request that one of the Council's Overview and Scrutiny Committees reviews the steps taken in response to your petition. It will be helpful if you can provide a short explanation of the reasons why you do not consider the Council's response to be adequate. The Committee will consider your request and use its powers to investigate the matter. Once your appeal has been considered the petition organiser will be informed of the results within 5 working days. The results of the review will also be published on our website.
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When might these procedures not apply?
Other procedures will apply if your petition relates to a planning or licensing application, is a statutory petition or relates to a matter where there is already an existing right of appeal. Further information is available on request from Jill Durham, Democratic Services Manager at jill.durham@stalbans.gov.uk.
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Petitions received since the introduction of the Council's current Petition Scheme in May 2010
| DATE RECEIVED | SUBJECT OF THE PETITION | NAME OF PETITION ORGANISER | NO OF SIGNATURES |
| 25.05.10 | Installation of two CCTV cameras in Lamb Lane and upgrade of cameras in High Street, Redbourn View this petition Council Response 7 July 2010 Letter to Mr and Mrs Godfrey 15 November 2010 Letter from Mr and Mrs Godfrey 29 November 2010 Letter to Mr and Mrs Godfrey from Cllr Oxley 7 December 2010 | Jean and Tony Godfrey | 279 |
15.10.10 | To plant new trees in Verulamium Park to replace those which have died or are dying and thus safeguard the beauty of Verulamium Park for future generations View the petition letter Council response 15 October 2010 Letter of invitation to 24 November 2010 Council meeting Letter confirming outcome of 24 November 2010 Council meeting Letter of response 21 January 2011 | The Friends of Verulamium Park | 1153 |
| 09.11.10 | We, the undersigned, believe that St Albans District Council has a responsibility to plan for the housing and care of elderly people, and that something needs to be done to provide appropriate accommodation for St Albans residents, therefore we support the identification of land at Chiswell Green for elderly care and extra care facilities. View this petition | John Archbold,
Managing Director, Newlyn Developments | 281 |
| 17.11.10 | Allotment provision in St Albans View this petition Petition response letter 11 January 2011 | June Wetherly | 6 |
| 06.12.10 | Request for the Council to back the Animal Aid Meat-Free Monday initiative View this petition Acknowledgement letter 8 December 2010 Letter of invitation to 19 January 2011 Council meeting Outcome of 19 January 2011 Council meeting Follow up letter 28 January 2011 | Kelly Slade
Campaigns Officer
Animal Aid | 56 |
| 10.01.11 | Proposed Development of Green Belt Land East of Harpenden Road, St Albans 'We, the undersigned, oppose the allocation of land east of Harpenden Road, St Albans, as a strategic housing allocation by St Albans City and District Council.' View this petition Outcome of 19 January 2011 Council meeting | Mark Carrington
Chair of CLASH (Campaign by Locals Against Sewell Housing) | 1,496 |
| 08.02.11 | Proposed Inclusion of the Building Research Establishment into the Council’s Core Strategy as a site for future development “We the undersigned are opposed to The St Albans District Council’s proposed inclusion of the Building Research Establishment into their Core Strategy as a site for future development, involving the building of 150 new houses with the possibility of access to and from this site through the village of Bricket Wood, via the cul-de-sac of Bucknalls Drive.” View the petition Acknowledgement Letter 8 February 2011 Letter of invitation to 23 February 2011 Council meeting Letter confirming result at 23 February 2011 Council meeting | Mr L G Hart, Chair of Bricket Wood Residents Association | 522 |
| 21.02.11 | Noise Nuisance at The Old Station Yard, Redbourn. "We the undersigned who live in the vicinity of The Old Station Yard, Redbourn, have, for the past four or five months, had our environment completely disturbed and disrupted by the noise from the activities carried out at the site by the Kane Group." View the petition Letter of invitation to 23 March 2011 Council meeting | Mr Paul and Mrs Jennifer Dewhirst | 40 |
| 09.06.11 | Introduction of residents-only parking at Culver Road, St Albans AL1 "We support the introduction of residents-only parking on Culver Road" View the petition Letter of invitation to 20 July 2011 Council meeting Invitation to the Car Parking Working Party on 27 July 2011 | Suzanne Steadman and Gwen Morgan | 57 |
| 27.06.11 | Cycle Routes across Verulamium Park, St Albans View the Petition Letter of Invitation to 20 July 2011 Council meeting Confirmation of result Council 20 July 2011 | Mr Stephen Wragg, Chair of the St Albans Cycle Campaign | 1,085 |
| 12.09.11 | Reintroduction of BRE as a possible site for future residential development into the Core Strategy pre-submission document View the Petition Letter of invitation to 14 September 2011 Council | Mr L G Hart, Chair of Bricket Wood Residents Association | 553 |
| 08.11.11 | Re-opening of the railway line from Leasey Bridge Lane to Wheathampstead View the petition Letter of Invitation to 23 November 2011 Council Confirmation of result Council 23 November 2011 | Ella and Jo Ashcroft | 133 |
| 02.03.12 | For Marshalswick to be an Area of Defined Residential Character View the petition Letter of invitation to 21 March 2012 Council Notification of decision at 21 March 2012 Council | Mr Doug Leedham | 621 |
| 02.05.12 | Footpath widening at King Harry Lane from its junction with Abbey Avenue View the petition View acknowledgement letter 21 May2012 | Mr Mike Palmer Chair of Verulam Residents Association | 67 |
| 12.11.12 | Objection to release of land for housing development on Oaklands green belt land adjacent to Sandpit Lane View the petition View acknowledgement letter 12 November 2012 View notification of Council decision at 28 November 2012 | Mrs Gaynor Clarke No Oaklands Housing Action Group | 732 |
| 25.11.12 | 'We ask St Albans Council to paint double yellow lines on the school crossing on Royal Road, both on the school side and the park side of the road, to improve the safety of our children coming and going from Fleetville Infant Sohool every day'. View the petition View acknowledgement letter 5 December 2012 | Catherine Ross, Parent Governor, Fleetville Infant and Nursery School | 292 |
Date of last review: 05 December 2012