Harpenden · Southdown · BatfordTuesday, 29 September 2026Free · Independent
The Harpenden Times
An independent local newspaper for Harpenden and the villages around it. · The Morning Briefing, every three days at 08:00
From The Harpenden Times
The Morning Briefing
Tuesday, 29 September 2026

Good morning

Two items on the list this time round, but the big one has been years in the making: Harpenden finally has a bank counter of its own again. Below that, a useful guide for anyone wrangling small children and a library card.

The big story

Harpenden's shared bank counter opens on the High Street

After years with no bank counter at all, Harpenden now has a permanent one: a shared hub at 35 High Street, staffed by a different bank each weekday. It replaces an interim setup at the Town Hall that had racked up more than 12,500 visits since December 2024, and was opened by long-time campaigner Derek French alongside the Mayor and banking industry officials. It is a modest fix rather than a branch reopening, but for a town that had gone without, it matters. READ →

In brief

A guide to Harpenden's children's books scene

Free rhyme time and storytime run weekly at Harpenden Library on the High Street, term-time and holidays alike. Harpenden Books on the High Street is a Waterstones that keeps its own local name, and Oxfam Books & Music on Harding Parade has a well-regarded children's section, though it doesn't list opening hours online. READ →

The Harpenden Times