St Albans City & District Council

A World War One memorial bench in St Albans, which depicts a group of soldiers advancing over barbed wire towards enemy lines, has been defaced with white paint in what the city's mayor called "a despicable act of vandalism".

St Albans City and District Council

St Albans City and District Council

The metal bench was bought by St Albans City and District Council last year and placed by the historic Verdun Tree near the cathedral. The tree grew from a conker taken from the only tree left standing in the battlefield of Verdun - one of the bloodiest clashes of the 1914-1918 conflict.

The bench has now been restored to its previous condition. The silhouettes of soldiers are known as Tommies.

St Albans Mayor, councillor Rosemary Farmer, said: "This was a truly despicable act of vandalism that I am both upset and outraged by."

"If anyone can shed any light on who is responsible, then I would urge them to contact the police immediately."

Councillors in St Albans have said they will continue to consider plans for housing at the former Radlett Aerodrome site - despite a possible legal challenge.

BBC

The proposals for the new Park Street Garden Village - with 2,300 homes on the site of the disused aerodrome - are contained in the council's new working draft of the Local Plan.

But the site - which is owned by Hertfordshire County Council - has already been earmarked by developers for a controversial Strategic Rail Freight Interchange.

St Albans City & District Council has been warned that if it pushes ahead with the Park Street proposals they could face a legal challenge from the developers behind the rail project.

At a meeting of the council's Planning Policy Committee this week, chair Mary Maynard told councillors that the site would be considered and evaluated just like the others and said that ultimately it would be up to the land owners to decide the future of their own land.

Rail freight developers are threatening to sue St Albans district council (SADC) if it ploughs on with house building plans.

The chairman of trustees of St Albans City Youth is standing down, saying this week's city council decision not to include proposals for St Albans City FC's new stadium in the local plan was "the last straw".

St Albans City FC / CWC Group

Mervyn Morgan has been with the club for 32 years, but in a statement claimed many councillors do not understand the needs of the city.

In October 2017 he said he would review his position within the club but now says "recent events have helped to confirm my intention to stand down".

He said he "firmly believed" the new stadium proposal "would have been of enormous benefit to the long-term future sustainability of St Albans City FC and City Youth".

"The councillors response to the proposal was the last straw," he said.

"It may have been somewhat naive of me to have been surprised by the council’s negative reaction to the project, but I was.

"Therefore, I am sorry to say that I have concluded that many of those who represent us in the council chamber have little or no understanding of the needs of the city, unfortunately they do not deserve a club like St Albans City Youth FC."