Election Areas and our Representatives

The governance of Bricket Wood is shared across multiple levels:

• St Stephen Parish Council

• St Albans City & District Council

• Hertfordshire County Council

• UK Parliament (St Albans constituency)

Below is a breakdown of each level: what it does, how it relates to Bricket Wood, and links to key pages or representatives.

1. St Stephen Parish Council

Role & responsibilities

This is the most local tier of government. It handles hyper-local services and amenities for Bricket Wood, Park Street, Chiswell Green, How Wood, and adjacent areas.

They are responsible for:

• Parks and open spaces

• Allotments

• Woodlands

• Children’s play areas

• Community centres

• Sports grounds

• Bus shelters

• Seats and benches

Structure & elections

• The parish is divided into three wards: Bricket Wood, Chiswell Green, and Park Street.

• Elections are held every four years

Links / further information

• St Stephen Parish Council

• Parish Councillors

2. St Albans City & District Council

Role & responsibilities

This is the “middle” tier of local government for Bricket Wood. Its remit is broader than the parish but still local. The councillors representing Bricket Wood are the St Stephen Ward and Park Street Ward councillors.

Their responsibilities cover:

• Planning applications

• Fly tipping

• Waste collection and recycling

• Verge cutting

• Housing

• Council Tax

• Benefits

• Tourism

• Leisure centres

Structure & electoral wards

• Following boundary changes, the council is divided into 56 councillors across 20 wards.

• Elections for the City & District Council are held in a 3-out-of-4 year cycle

Links / further information

• St Albans City & District Council

• Your Councillors (modernGov – St Albans)

3. Hertfordshire County Council

Role & responsibilities

This is the upper-tier local government covering the whole of Hertfordshire, including Bricket Wood. It handles the “big ticket” services that need coordination across a wide area:

• Highways faults

• Maintenance of the roads and footpaths, including winter salt spreading

• Bus passes

• Blue badges

• Schools, including admissions, transport and school meals

• Registration of births and deaths

• Notices of marriage

• Social care

• Benefits advice

In short: services that need scale, consistency, or specialist expertise beyond what districts or parishes can manage.

Structure

• Bricket Wood lies in the St Stephen’s division (county electoral division).

Links / further information

• Hertfordshire County Council

• Hertfordshire's County Councillors

4. UK Parliament — St Albans Constituency

Role & responsibilities

This is the national level. The Member of Parliament (MP) represents Bricket Wood (as part of the St Albans Parliamentary Constituency) in the House of Commons. The MP:

• Debates and votes on national legislation

• Raises issues affecting the constituency (e.g. funding, national services)

• Helps constituents with central government matters (e.g. visas, benefits, national schemes)

• Holds the government to account

Constituency / boundaries

• Bricket Wood is within the St Albans UK Parliamentary constituency.

• The constituency includes wards such as St Stephen (nearly all), Park Street, and others.

Links / further information

• MPs representing St Albans