News

From 4 May 2023, voters will need to show photo ID to vote at polling stations in the district. A wide range of photo ID will be accepted, including passports, driving licences and cards with a PASS Mark.

For more information on which forms of photo ID will be accepted, visit www.electoralcommission.org.uk/voterID or call the Electoral Commission helpline on 0800 328 0280.

If you don’t already have an accepted form of photo ID, or you’re not sure whether your photo ID still looks like you, you can apply for a free voter ID document, known as a Voter Authority Certificate. You can apply at www.gov.uk/apply-for-photo-id-voter-authority-certificate. The deadline to apply for a Voter Authority Certificate in time for the 4 May elections is 5pm Tuesday 25 April 2023.

The following elections are taking place on Thursday 4 May:

• Around a third of District Council seats will be contested, with elections taking place in all wards except Colney Heath and Marshalswick West.
• All seats are up for election at the following Parish and Town Councils: Colney Heath, Harpenden Rural, Harpenden Town, London Colney, Redbourn, Sandridge, St Michael, St. Stephen, and Wheathampstead. A Community Governance Review has resulted in changes to some parish ward names, areas, and councillor numbers.
• Neighbourhood Plan Referendums are taking place in Wheathampstead and Redbourn. Learn more here:https://wheathampstead-pc.gov.uk/neighbourhoodplan

To have your say in May, make sure that you are registered to vote, especially if you have recently changed address. A registration form is available at www.gov.uk/register-to-vote or request a paper form by calling Electoral Services on 01727 819294. The deadline to register to vote is Monday 17 April 2023.

Information about Voter ID requirements, the elections, and how to apply for a postal or proxy vote can be found at: www.stalbans.gov.uk/voting-and-elections.

https://www.stalbansdistrictlottery.co.uk/support/wheathampsteads-marford-memorial-hall

Support the Marford Memorial Hall Fund by buying your tickets using this link

We would like to bring to your attention today’s launch of our consultation with our customers and our stakeholders on our Affinity Water draft Water Resources Management Plan (WRMP). Our WRMP aims to address a significant future shortfall in water resources in our supply area. Population growth, climate change and the demand for water are putting significant pressure on the local environment and water resources in Affinity Water’s supply area. Without action, the area Affinity Water supplies faces a possible shortfall of 449 million litres a day by 2050. We want to hear what customers and stakeholders think about our draft plan to help us shape our final plan which we will publish in Autumn 2023.

Please take part and have your say.

The consultation runs for 14 weeks until 20 February 2023 and we really want to hear your views. Our Engagement website (https://affinitywater.uk.engagementhq.com/wrmp )  provides a breadth of materials from videos and summary documents to detailed appendices and most importantly the consultation questions.  All your views will be considered and we will produce a Statement of Response to our customers and our stakeholders in May 2023 to update you on how your responses will shape our final plan.

We are holding a number of events both regionally and locally to explain more about our plan. If you would like to join any of these sessions please let us know by email.

Events:

14 November: WRSE and SE water companies to launch dWRMP24 public consultations

16 November: WRSE Parliamentary launch event (including SE companies)

17 November: National Water Resources webinar

22 November: WRSE webinar

23 November: WRE webinar

28 November: Affinity Water and Thames Water – Water Resources Forum (hybrid event)

13 December: Local Authority and Canal community event with focus on the Grand Union Canal Strategic Resource Option

Other local events to be confirmed and will be updated on our engagement site.