Cambridgeshire County Council

Cambridgeshire County Council is the county council of Cambridgeshire, England. The council consists of 61 councillors, representing 59 electoral divisions. The council is based at New Shire Hall in Alconbury Weald, near Huntingdon. It is part of the East of England Local Government Association and a constituent member of the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority.

Since May 2021, it has been run by a joint administration of the Liberal Democrats, Labour Party, and independent groups.

History
Cambridgeshire County Council was first formed in 1889 as a result of the Local Government Act 1888 as one of two county councils covering Cambridgeshire; the other was the Isle of Ely County Council. In 1965, the two councils were merged to form Cambridgeshire and Isle of Ely County Council.

This arrangement lasted until 1974, when, following the Local Government Act 1972, Cambridgeshire and the Isle of Ely were merged with Huntingdon and Peterborough to form a new non-metropolitan county of Cambridgeshire under the control of a newly constituted Cambridgeshire County Council. The first elections to the new authority were in April 1973, and the council took office on 1 April 1974.

From its re-creation in 1974 until 1998, the county council administered the entire county of Cambridgeshire. In 1998, Peterborough City Council became a unitary authority, thus outside the area of the county council. For ceremonial, geographic, and certain administrative purposes, however, Peterborough continues to be associated with and work in collaboration with Cambridgeshire County Council. Since 2017, the council has been a constituent member of the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority, led by the directly-elected Mayor of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough.

The council is responsible for public services such as education, transport, highways, heritage, social care, libraries, trading standards, and waste management.

District councils
The county council is the upper-tier of local government, below which are five councils with responsibility for local services such as housing, planning applications, licensing, council tax collection and rubbish collection. The districts of Cambridgeshire are:

 Cambridge City Council
 East Cambridgeshire District Council
 Fenland District Council
 Huntingdonshire District Council
 South Cambridgeshire District Council

Political control
Following the 2021 Cambridgeshire County Council election a joint administration formed comprising the Liberal Democrats, Labour, and independent councillors.

Political control of the county council since the reforms of the Local Government Act 1972 took effect on 1 April 1974 has been as follows:

Leadership
The leaders of the council since 1997 have been:

Composition
Following the 2021 election and subsequent changes of allegiance up to April 2023, the composition of the council was:

Two of the independent councillors sit together as a group, the other is described as a non-aligned independent. The next election is due in 2025.

Premises

Until 2021, the county council had its offices and meeting place in Cambridge, being based at different times at the Guildhall, County Hall, and Shire Hall.

In 2021 the council vacated Shire Hall and left Cambridge, moving to New Shire Hall at Alconbury Weald in the parish of The Stukeleys, north-west of Huntingdon. The first committee meeting to be held at New Shire Hall was in September 2021. An official opening ceremony for New Shire Hall was held on 8 July 2022.

Elections

Since the last boundary changes in 2017, the council has comprised 61 councillors representing 59 electoral divisions, with most divisions electing one councillor but two divisions (March North & Waldersley and Sawston & Shelford) elect two councillors each. Elections are held every four years.

Councillors and electoral divisions

Coat of arms

The council was granted a coat of arms on 1 November 1976. The three wavy blue lines represent the county's three main rivers of the Cam, Great Ouse and Nene, and the two straight lines represent the many drainage ditches in the Fens. Other parts of the design represent different parts of the county and the council's predecessors: the supporters are great bustards, birds which were formerly common in the Fens, the crossed keys are a symbol of Saint Peter, representing Peterborough, and the hunting horn is a symbol of the former county of Huntingdonshire. The birds stand on books representing the University of Cambridge.

See also
Cambridgeshire County Council elections

References

External links
Cambridgeshire County Council

 
Local government in Cambridgeshire
County Council
County councils of England
1889 establishments in England
1974 establishments in England
1965 disestablishments in England
Local education authorities in England
Local authorities in Cambridgeshire
Major precepting authorities in England
Leader and cabinet executives