No more than eight major events can take place Verulamium Park park, after decision-makers were told that noisy events disturb nearby herons.

Neighbours of Verulamium Park also said some event-goers who already visit the park use private gardens to go to the toilet.

St Albans City and District Council has secured planning permission to use Verulamium Park as an event space for a total of 56 days in 2025.

The planning permission covers events of any size but it puts a legal cap on the number of “major” events attended by 20,000 people or more.

At a meeting on Monday, March 18, resident Jonathan Rodwell told councillors: “Four aspects are adversely impacted by noise – residents’ human rights, residents’ amenity, the setting of the extensive scheduled monument land, and finally wildlife such as heronry.”

He urged the authority to set up an event hotline, with calls answered by a call-receiving contractor.

Mr Rodwell also called for noise monitoring which event managers and resident-appointed experts can access.

Verulam ward councillor Julian Degg, who said he lives near the park, also spoke at the meeting.

“Current toilet facilities within the park are inadequate and it is unacceptable that local hospitality venues are expected to deal with the overflow,” the Liberal Democrat councillor said.

“There are also complaints from residents of people using their gardens as toilets.”

St Albans City and District Council’s planning committee debated the proposal, which the authority put forward itself.

The committee must make its decisions using local and national planning rules.

According to planning staff, “it is not possible to impose planning controls onto the existing ‘permitted development’ events”.

In a report, they added the planning application enables controls to be imposed on all of the event days, including events which would not otherwise need special permission under the existing arrangements.

Councillor Lorraine Kirby, a Liberal Democrat councillor who sits on the committee and represents Marshalswick East and Jersey Farm, suggested objectors’ experiences could be “skewed by the fact that these things are not well controlled at the moment”.

She added: “I would like to see anything that means that the city grows and that we get more visitors.

“It strikes me that at the moment we have got this unregulated situation where you’re already getting the problems you describe, and perhaps if we knew this was going to be happenin

g more regularly throughout the summer, maybe we could get a team together that could swing into action and have a blueprint to make these things happen in a slick and efficient way.

“At the moment, they seem to be ad hoc and we don’t seem to have control over various aspects.”

Cllr Sharon Hollingsworth, committee member and Liberal Democrat councillor for Sandridge and Wheathampstead, said securing up to 56 days of events will “bring pleasure for thousands.”

Planning permission will only last for 12 months, covering the 2025 calendar year.

The committee agreed St Albans City and District Council must comply with a series of conditions, including that activity, including setup and dismantling, must take place only between 10am and 10pm.

Planning staff must also have sight of a “sensitive lighting strategy” and an ecology management and monitoring plan.

Suggested reading

Verulamium Park is home to Pub in the Park, which is hosted by celebrity chef Tom Kerridge and starred Sam Ryder, Craig David and UB40 in 2023.

Sara Pascoe, Ed Gamble, Black Books’ Dylan Moran and Rosie Jones featured on last year’s St Albans Comedy Garden lineup, also in Verulamium Park.

The city’s Roman wall in the park was built between the years 265 and 270, according to English Heritage.