Harpenden news
Harpenden news, newest first, from St Albans Daily: planning, roads, schools, business and what's on in Harpenden, with every story linked to its source.
Top story
City Thameslink to shut for 7 months from 17 May 2027
Trains from St Albans and Harpenden will run straight through City Thameslink from 17 May to late December 2027 while all ten escalators are replaced. Blackfriars is the stop to use.
More stories
Christmas
Christmas Shopping in St Albans: 20 Shops From George Street to Harpenden
We checked 20 St Albans and Harpenden shops, from Raindrops on Roses to Books on the Hill, for opening hours and what each sells. Updated November 2026.
Food & Drink
Christmas Dinner in St Albans: 12 Tables Worth Booking Before December
12 Christmas Day menus around St Albans, from £63 to £230 at pubs, hotels and steakhouses, with children's prices and deposits. Checked November 2026.
Harpenden
Harpenden Roadworks: Road Closures and Traffic Orders Near Harpenden
Harpenden roadworks: St Michaels Street (now, until 8 Nov) and every other traffic order within 3 km, checked each morning with the council's notice linked.
Harpenden
Harpenden Weather: 7-Day Forecast and Today's Hourly Outlook
Harpenden weather today: fog, 8°C by day and 0°C overnight, with a 0% chance of rain and winds up to 6 mph. Seven-day forecast, updated every morning.
House prices
St Albans House Prices Hit a Record £655,974 in August
The district average rose 0.7% in August to a record £655,974, up £20,539 on a year. July's reported fall has been revised away: it was a rise.
Christmas
St Albans Christmas markets 2026: Cracker 22 Nov and 7 more
Redbourn Christmas Market is Sunday 29 November, 11am to 5pm, and the St Albans Christmas Cracker is Sunday 22 November, noon to 6pm. Checked October 2026.
Food hygiene
St Albans food hygiene ratings: 40 fives and a new zero
40 of the 48 newest food hygiene ratings in St Albans district are fives. An AL5 retailer was rated zero and Lussmanns Harpenden two. Full list inside.
Police
St Albans Police Priorities: City Centre Drugs Added
Drug crime in the city centre, Oaklands College and e-bikes in Harpenden are police priorities to January. Speeding and Sopwell have been dropped.
Remembrance
St Albans Remembrance Sunday 2026: parade 10.30am, 8 Nov
Confirmed for 8 Nov: the Mayor sees off the St Albans parade on St Peter's Street at 10.30am, service 10.50am, silence 11am. Harpenden 10.35am; cathedral on 11 Nov.
Jobs
St Albans Claimant Count August 2026: 2,235, a 22-Month High
The district count rose to 2,235 in August, the most since October 2024. Everyone added over the year is under 25 or over 50, and the 25 to 49 group fell.
House prices
St Albans House Prices Fall £343 in July to £646,781
The district average fell 0.1% to £646,781 in July, its first monthly fall since March. June's record has been revised down by £4,324, to £647,124.
Harpenden
Harpenden Christmas Carnival 22 Nov: grotto £3, lights 5pm
Harpenden Christmas Carnival, Sun 22 Nov, noon to 6pm: Santa's grotto £3 from 12.30pm, parade 3pm, lights 5pm. Lydekker car park shuts; station parking is free.
Bins
St Albans Bin Collection Days: Bins Out by 5am, Round 1 or 2
How to find your St Albans or Harpenden bin day, what time bins go out, how far Christmas pushes collections back, garden waste, bulky items and missed bins.
Parking
Parking in St Albans: the bays that only charge for 2 hours
Every St Albans and Harpenden car park tariff, Sunday charges, which bays are free and when, the weekday car park free for three hours and blue badge rules.
Council tax
St Albans council tax bands 2026/27: all 10 parish rates
Band A to H charges for all ten St Albans parish areas in 2026/27, from St Michael at £2,360.52 to Colney Heath at £2,498.45 on Band D. Updated November 2026.
Jobs
St Albans claimant count: under-25s at a five-year high
Under-25 claims rose 23% in a year to 395, the most since September 2021 and the steepest rise in Hertfordshire, while the district total edged up by just 70.
Schools
St Albans GCSE results 2026: 46% of STAHS grades were 9s
St Albans School reports 59% of GCSE entries at grades 9-8, STAHS 46% at grade 9. Beaumont calls it a record year and publishes no figure. Remarks close 24 September.
House prices
St Albans house prices hit a record £651,448 in June
The district average has passed its December 2024 peak for the first time, up 4.3% in a year. Terraced homes rose fastest at 5.4%, and May was revised upwards.
Council
St Albans City Centre Parish Council: 25 Seats, May 2027
Full Council approved a new parish council for central St Albans on 15 July: 25 councillors across nine wards, elected 6 May 2027. Harpenden Rural is abolished.
Schools
St Albans A-level results 2026: only two put figures out
STAHS put 75% of A-level grades at A or A*, St Albans School 62.9%, against 48.6% at independent schools nationally, and which schools published nothing.
Business
Perrin Myddelton in administration: what clients should do
Quantuma administrators took over the Harpenden law firm on 10 August. It is still SRA-licensed, and client-account money is not the firm's to spend.
Bins
St Albans Christmas bin collections 2026: up to 4 days late
St Albans collections run up to four days behind over Christmas 2026 and do not return to normal until Monday 18 January 2027. Last year's revised dates, day by day.
Recycling
St Albans tip opening times: shut Tue and Wed, 10 to 5.30
Opening times for St Albans tip on Ronsons Way and Harpenden's Dark Lane site, the two days each shuts, the free ePass, what they take and Christmas closures.
Schools
St Albans school term dates 2026/27: half term 26 to 30 Oct
Hertfordshire schools break for Christmas on Friday 18 December and return 4 January. Every 2026/27 and 2027/28 holiday, plus each big school's INSET days.
Schools
St Albans October half term 2026: dates and what's on
Herts schools break 26 to 30 October 2026. Museum workshops from £6.50, a Roman emperor at Verulamium, Willows Pumpkin Festival from £20.95, Odyssey films.
Trains
St Albans Christmas trains 2026: no line closure listed yet
National Rail's Christmas 2026 works list names no closure on the St Albans line. No trains on 25 December, few on Boxing Day, and trains run on Monday 28 December.