St Albans City and District Council leader Chris White has opened up on his decision to step down ahead of May's local elections.

Cllr White, the Liberal Democrat councillor for Clarence, has been involved in local politics for almost 31 years and has led the council since 2019.

The 64-year-old admitted that he had doubts over whether he could do another four-year stint in charge, especially after suffering from a serious illness earlier this year.

"By May, I will have been a councillor for 31 years, and there comes a point when you grow older," he told the Herts Ad. 

"I’m 64 now, and it comes to the point where you have to ask yourself, can I do another four-year stint? By then I would be almost 70.

"I have been ill this year, and although I’m much better now, it comes as a bit of a warning. You suddenly realise you’re not a youngster anymore."

Reflecting on his time as leader, Cllr White continued: "Not everything has gone as well as we would have liked, but keeping this district council solvent, despite government cuts every year, is remarkable.

"Not all councils can do that, and it’s not without its pain to those who have to pay more, myself included.

"Getting close to a workable Local Plan, as opposed to something that was never going to go through, is great.

"I am also proud of helping to modernise the council. When I started, St Albans was famous for its isolationism, whereas now we are another Hertfordshire council. We get on well with our neighbours, they respect us and we respect them, and together we’re doing much better things as a result."

Cllr White admitted that his proudest achievement was declaring a climate emergency not long after took over in 2019, something which he described as "really important thing for me and for everyone".

"I think the biggest and proudest moment for me is declaring a climate emergency," he said.

"A lot of councils have done it, but we did it right back at the beginning, and we meant it.

"We’ve got more than 100 actions that stem from that, so that feels like a really important thing for me and for everyone."

He did admitted that not being part of the council would feel "strange", but wished them continued success, adding: "I obviously want them to be successful.

"It does feel strange saying 'them' rather than 'we', but I’m not going to sit there and tell them 'well you did this wrong'.

"The most important thing to do is delivering the Local Plan, and to keep the place solvent."