East Cambridgeshire

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East Cambridgeshire District
Ely Cathedral - geograph.org.uk - 3572388.jpg
Ely, known for both its Cathedral and its historic Isle of Ely region. It is the largest settlement in the district and its administrative centre.
East Cambridgeshire UK locator map.svg
East Cambridgeshire shown within Cambridgeshire
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Constituent country England
Region East of England
Non-metropolitan county Cambridgeshire
Status Non-metropolitan district
Admin HQ Ely
Incorporated1 April 1974
Government
  TypeNon-metropolitan district council
  BodyEast Cambridgeshire District Council
  LeadershipAlternative - Sec. 31 (Conservative)
   MPs Steve Barclay
Lucy Frazer
Area
[1]
  Total251.5 sq mi (651.3 km2)
  Rank53rd (of 296)
Population
 (2021) [2]
  Total88,145
  Rank267th (of 296)
  Density350/sq mi (140/km2)
  Ethnicity
95.9% White
1.0% S.Asian
1.1% Mixed
1.8% Chinese or Other
Time zone UTC0 (GMT)
  Summer (DST) UTC+1 (BST)
ONS code 12UC (ONS)
E07000009 (GSS)
OS grid reference TL535799

East Cambridgeshire (locally known as East Cambs) is a local government district in Cambridgeshire, England. Its council is based in the city of Ely. The district also contains the towns of Littleport and Soham and surrounding rural areas, including parts of the Fens.

Contents

Since 2017 the district has been a constituent member of the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority, led by the directly elected Mayor of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough. [3]

The neighbouring districts are South Cambridgeshire, Huntingdonshire, Fenland, King's Lynn and West Norfolk and West Suffolk.

History

The district was formed on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972. The new district covered the area of three former districts, which were all abolished at the same time: [4]

The new district was named East Cambridgeshire, reflecting its position within the wider county. [5]

Governance

East Cambridgeshire District Council
East Cambridgeshire District Council logo.svg
Type
Type
Leadership
Mark Goldsack,
Conservative
since 25 May 2023
Anna Bailey,
Conservative
since 30 May 2019
John Hill
since 2000
Structure
East Cambridgeshire District Council.svg
Political groups
Administration
  Conservative (15)
Opposition
  Liberal Democrats (13)
Elections
Last election
4 May 2023
Next election
2027
Meeting place
East Cambridgeshire District Council offices.jpg
The Grange, Nutholt Lane, Ely, CB7 4EE
Website
www.eastcambs.gov.uk

East Cambridgeshire District Council provides district-level services. County-level services are provided by Cambridgeshire County Council. The whole district is also covered by civil parishes, which form a third tier of local government. [6]

Political control

The council has been under Conservative control since 2007.

The first election to the council was held in 1973, initially operating as a shadow authority alongside the outgoing authorities until the new arrangements came into effect on 1 April 1974. Political control of the council since 1974 has been as follows: [7] [8]

Party in controlYears
Independent 1974–1999
Liberal Democrats 1999–2003
No overall control 2003–2007
Conservative 2007–present

Leadership

The leaders of the council since 2011 have been: [9]

CouncillorPartyFromTo
Peter Moakes Conservative 24 May 201114 May 2013
James Palmer Conservative 14 May 2013May 2017
Charles Roberts Conservative 25 May 20175 May 2019
Anna Bailey Conservative 30 May 2019

Composition

Following the 2023 election, the composition of the council was: [10]

PartyCouncillors
Conservative 15
Liberal Democrats 13
Total28

The next election is due in 2027.

Premises

The council is based at The Grange on Nutholt Lane in Ely. The building was originally a large Victorian house. It served as a maternity hospital from the 1940s until the 1970s. The building was acquired around the time East Cambridgeshire was created in 1974 and converted to offices. Several large extensions have since been added. [11]

Elections

Since the last full review of boundaries in 2019 the council has comprised 28 councillors, representing 14 wards. Elections are held every four years. [12]

Parishes

The whole district is divided into civil parishes. The parish of Ely holds city status, and the parish councils for Soham and Littleport take the style "town council". [13]

Archaeology

The Fenland Survey of archaeological finds carried out in the 1980s mentions an enumeration of findings made between 1884 and 1994 in the region to the north of Devil's Dyke and Cambridge, from the Stone Age, the Bronze Age and the Iron Age (the region south of Devil's Dyke is not yet included in the survey). By far the greatest quantities of bronze objects found in England were discovered in East Cambridgeshire.

The most important Bronze Age finds were discovered in Isleham (more than 6500 pieces), Stuntney, Soham, Wicken, Chippenham, Coveney, Mepal and Wilburton. These findings include swords, spear-heads, arrows, axes, palstaves, knives, daggers, rapiers, armour, decorative equipment (in particular for horses) and many fragments of sheet bronze. The greater part of these objects have been entrusted to the Moyse's Hall Museum in Bury St Edmunds while other items are in the University of Cambridge Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology in Cambridge. Other finds include traces of cremations and barrows, golden torques, an extensive ditch system and a wooden track-way between Fordey Farm (Barway) and Little Thetford. [14] Bronze razors have also been found and it is well known that Celts shaved their cheeks. [15]

Settlements in East Cambridgeshire

Soham, one of the district's towns. StAndrewSoham.JPG
Soham, one of the district's towns.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cambridgeshire</span> County of England

Cambridgeshire is a ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire to the west. The largest settlement is the city of Peterborough, and the city of Cambridge is the county town.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Soham</span> Human settlement in England

Soham is a town and civil parish in the district of East Cambridgeshire, in Cambridgeshire, England, just off the A142 between Ely and Newmarket. Its population was 12,336 at the 2021 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fenland District</span> Non-metropolitan district in Cambridgeshire, England

Fenland is a local government district in Cambridgeshire, England. It was historically part of the Isle of Ely. The district covers around 500 square kilometres (190 sq mi) of mostly agricultural land in the extremely flat Fens. The council is based in March. Other towns include Chatteris, Whittlesey and Wisbech.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Soham Village College</span> Academy in Soham, Cambridgeshire, England

Soham Village College is a secondary school with academy status located in Soham, Cambridgeshire, England. It has around 1,400 pupils, aged 11 to 16. Although its wide catchment area does not include Ely, some pupils from there and its neighbouring villages attend the college. It is split between two adjacent sites: Beechurst, formerly a large house, and Lodeside, built more recently.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Isleham</span> Human settlement in England

Isleham is a village and civil parish in the English county of Cambridgeshire. It is part of the Fens. It has three pubs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wicken, Cambridgeshire</span> Village in England

Wicken is a small village on the edge of The Fens near Soham in East Cambridgeshire, ten miles north east of Cambridge and five miles south of Ely. It is the site of Wicken Fen National Nature Reserve.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">North East Cambridgeshire (UK Parliament constituency)</span> Parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom, 1983 onwards

North East Cambridgeshire is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2010 by Steve Barclay, a Conservative.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South East Cambridgeshire (UK Parliament constituency)</span> Parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom, 1983 onwards

South East Cambridgeshire is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2015 by Lucy Frazer, a member of the Conservative Party who has served as the Culture Secretary since 2023. It was established for the 1983 general election. The constituency has always been based on the cathedral city of Ely.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ely Rural District</span>

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Newmarket Rural District</span>

Newmarket was a rural district in Cambridgeshire, England from 1894 to 1974. It surrounded the town of Newmarket, in West Suffolk, on the north, west and south sides.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cambridgeshire County Council</span> The elected administrative body governing Cambridgeshire, England

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stuntney</span> Human settlement in England

Stuntney is a village in East Cambridgeshire, located between Ely and Soham. It is just off the main road going from Newmarket to Ely, the A142.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Huntingdonshire District Council</span>

Huntingdonshire District Council is the local authority for the district of Huntingdonshire in Cambridgeshire, England. The council is based in the town of Huntingdon. The district also includes the towns of Godmanchester, Ramsey, St Ives and St Neots and surrounding rural areas. The district covers almost the same area as the historic county of Huntingdonshire, which had been abolished for administrative purposes in 1965, with some differences to the northern boundary with Peterborough.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2017 Cambridgeshire County Council election</span>

The 2017 Cambridgeshire County Council election was held on 4 May 2017 as part of the 2017 local elections in the United Kingdom. All 61 councillors were elected from 59 electoral divisions, which returned either one or two county councillors each by first-past-the-post voting for a four-year term of office.

References

  1. "Mid-Year Population Estimates, UK, June 2021". Office for National Statistics. 21 December 2022. Retrieved 18 October 2023.
  2. "Mid-Year Population Estimates, UK, June 2021". Office for National Statistics. 21 December 2022. Retrieved 18 October 2023.
  3. "The Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority Order 2017", legislation.gov.uk , The National Archives, SI 2017/251, retrieved 13 June 2023
  4. "The English Non-metropolitan Districts (Definition) Order 1972", legislation.gov.uk , The National Archives, SI 1972/2039, retrieved 31 May 2023
  5. "The English Non-metropolitan Districts (Names) Order 1973", legislation.gov.uk , The National Archives, SI 1973/551, retrieved 31 May 2023
  6. "Local Government Act 1972", legislation.gov.uk , The National Archives, 1972 c. 70, retrieved 31 May 2023
  7. "Compositions calculator". The Elections Centre. Retrieved 1 June 2023.
  8. "East Cambridgeshire". BBC News Online . Retrieved 26 January 2017.
  9. "Council minutes". East Cambridgeshire District Council. Retrieved 9 June 2022.
  10. "Local elections 2023: live council results for England". The Guardian.
  11. "Ely". Cambridgeshire Community Archive Network. Retrieved 14 June 2023.
  12. "The East Cambridgeshire (Electoral Changes) Order 2016", legislation.gov.uk , The National Archives, SI 2016/1230, retrieved 14 June 2023
  13. "Parish Councils". East Cambridgeshire District Council. Retrieved 14 June 2023.
  14. Hall, David (1994). Fenland survey : an essay in landscape and persistence / David Hall and John Coles. London;English Heritage. pp. 81–88. ISBN   1-85074-477-7.
  15. Hall, David (1994). Fenland survey : an essay in landscape and persistence / David Hall and John Coles. London;English Heritage. p. 4. ISBN   1-85074-477-7.

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