Overview

Why are we here? The civil parish of St Michael has been part of local government in the City and District of St Albans in Hertfordshire since 1894, when the reforming Local Government Act of that year enabled local oversight of civic duties in rural towns and villages. For 80 years the parish was known as St Michael Rural, until local government changes in 1974 created a split, with part going to the unparished area in Dacorum, and the rest becoming today’s parish of St Michael. 

More recently, the parish has been subdivided and we now (from 2023) have two parish wards nearly equal in size. St Michael North is in the St Albans District ward of Redbourn, and St Michael South comes under Verulam ward. These administrative boundaries affect where residents cast their votes in local elections, and Redbourn and Verulam are represented at District Council level by different Councillors.

As a result of a Community Governance Review during 2022, the overall Parish boundary of St Michael was re-drawn with effect from 1st April 2023 to transfer the even-numbered properties, east of Park Wood in Ragged Hall Lane, to St Stephen Parish Council. This section of Ragged Hall Lane had been our most densely populated area of the Parish, accounting for some 20% of residents and income.

Where are we? Please click on these links to see our parish boundary map*. There is also a more general map of the area.

*Apologies for the one mis-spelling of Michael on this map,
which we have asked St Albans District Council to change.

Bisected by the M1 motorway, St Michael Parish Council covers an almost wholly rural area between eastern Hemel Hempstead and western St Albans, with settlement dispersed across a number of small isolated hamlets, including Appspond, Breakspears, Bushwood, Childwickbury, Gorhambury, Potters Crouch and Pimlico.

We have a small picture gallery here and will aim to add more photos in due course.

Who are we? The Parish has seven Councillors who are elected by local residents every four years. The election in May 2019 was uncontested. Please click here for more information on your Councillors and the Parish Clerk.

What do we do? The Parish Council duties include:

  • Reviewing and commenting on planning matters within the Parish
  • Liaising with the relevant authorities regarding infrastructure /policing/community issues to represent your views and get the best advantage for the local area
  • Engaging with all interested parties regarding the current and future shape of life in the local area

When do we meet? Please click here for more details on the dates, times and venues of Council meetings.