Huntingdonshire District Council
Logo
Type
Type
Leadership
Michael Burke,
Independent
since 18 May 2022
Sarah Conboy,
Liberal Democrat
since 18 May 2022
Oliver Morley[a]
since 1 March 2023[1]
Structure
Seats52 councillors
Political groups
Administration (31)
  Liberal Democrats (11)
  Independents (11)
  Labour (4)
  St Neots Independent Group (4)
  Green (1)

Opposition (21)

  Conservatives (21)
Elections
Plurality-at-large and first-past-the-post
Last election
5 May 2022
Next election
2026
Meeting place
Pathfinder House, St Mary's Street, Huntingdon, PE29 3TN
Website
huntingdonshire.gov.uk
Ward map of Huntingdon District Council

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.

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.[2]

The neighbouring districts are Peterborough, Fenland, East Cambridgeshire, South Cambridgeshire, Central Bedfordshire, Bedford, and North Northamptonshire.

History

The district was formed on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972. The new district covered the area of eight former districts, which were all abolished at the same time:[3]

These eight districts had constituted the county of Huntingdonshire until 1965 when it had merged with the neighbouring Soke of Peterborough to form the short-lived county of Huntingdon and Peterborough. As part of the 1974 reforms the area became part of an enlarged Cambridgeshire. The new district was initially named Huntingdon after the former county town.[4] The council changed the district's name from Huntingdon to Huntingdonshire in 1984.[5]

Governance

Huntingdonshire 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 no overall control since the 2022 election, being led by a coalition of the Liberal Democrats, Labour, Greens and independent councillors.

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 control Years
No overall control 1974–1976
Conservative 1976–2022
No overall control 2022–present

Leadership

The leaders of the council since 2001 have been:

Councillor Party From To
Derek Holley[9] Conservative 2001 7 Dec 2005
Ian Bates[10] Conservative 7 Dec 2005 May 2011
Jason Ablewhite[11] Conservative 18 May 2011 May 2016
Robin Howe[12] Conservative 18 May 2016 26 Jul 2017
Graham Bull[13] Conservative 26 Jul 2017 4 Dec 2019
Ryan Fuller[14] Conservative 4 Dec 2019 8 May 2022
Sarah Conboy[15] Liberal Democrats 18 May 2022

Composition

The council consists of 52 councillors, representing 26 electoral wards. There is currently no party with a majority on the council. Since the elections of 2022 the council has been governed by a coalition of the Liberal Democrats, Independents, Labour, and Greens.[16]

Following the 2022 election, the council's composition was:[17]

Party Councillors Change
(from 2018 election)
Conservative 22 −8
Liberal Democrats 10 +3
Independent 11 +6
Labour 4 n/c
St Neots Independent Group 4 −2
Green 1 +1
Total 52

The next election is due in 2026.

Cabinet

Office Party Name
Leader, Place Liberal Democrats Sarah Conboy
Deputy Leader, Planning Independent Tom Sanderson
Regeneration and Growth, Economy and Jobs Labour Sam Wakeford
Climate and Environment Green Lara Davenport-Ray
Corporate and Shared Services Liberal Democrats Martin Hassall
Customer and Transactional Services Independent Stephen Ferguson
Leisure, Waste and Street Scene St Neots Independent Group Simone Taylor
Finance and Resources Liberal Democrats Brett Mickelburgh
Health and Community Independent Ben Pitt

[18]

Premises

The council is based at Pathfinder House on St Mary's Street in the centre of Huntingdon. The current building was completed in 2010, replacing the council's former headquarters of the same name on the site.[19]

Elections

See also: Huntingdonshire District Council elections

Since the last boundary changes in 2018 the council has comprised 52 councillors elected from 26 wards. The whole council is elected together every four years.[20]

Parishes

See also: Civil parishes in Cambridgeshire

The whole district is divided into civil parishes. The parish councils for Godmanchester, Huntingdon, Ramsey, St Ives and St Neots take the style "town council". Some of the smaller parishes have a parish meeting rather than a parish council.[21]

References

  1. ^ Interim Managing Director
  1. ^ "District Council appoints interim Managing Director". Huntingdonshire District Council. Retrieved 23 May 2023.
  2. ^ "The Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority Order 2017", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 2017/251, retrieved 13 June 2023
  3. ^ "The English Non-metropolitan Districts (Definition) Order 1972", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 1972/2039, retrieved 31 May 2023
  4. ^ "The English Non-metropolitan Districts (Names) Order 1973", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 1973/551, retrieved 31 May 2023
  5. ^ "Historical information from 1973 onwards". Boundary-Line support. Ordnance Survey. Retrieved 17 February 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 23 May 2023.
  8. ^ "Huntingdonshire". BBC News Online. Retrieved 29 June 2014.
  9. ^ "Leader to step down". Town Crier. 27 October 2005. Retrieved 31 March 2022.
  10. ^ "Council minutes, 7 December 2005". Huntingdonshire District Council. Retrieved 31 March 2022.
  11. ^ "Council minutes, 18 May 2011". Huntingdonshire District Council. Retrieved 31 March 2022.
  12. ^ "Council minutes, 18 May 2016". Huntingdonshire District Council. Retrieved 31 March 2022.
  13. ^ "Council minutes, 26 July 2017". Huntingdonshire District Council. Retrieved 31 March 2022.
  14. ^ "Council minutes, 4 December 2019". Huntingdonshire District Council. Retrieved 31 March 2022.
  15. ^ Brown, Hannah (19 May 2022). "New Huntingdonshire leader discusses aims after historic power change and is 'under no illusion scale of task ahead'". Cambridge News. Retrieved 24 May 2022.
  16. ^ Davies, Debbie (18 May 2022). "White roses and political history in Huntingdonshire". Hunts Post. Retrieved 20 May 2022.
  17. ^ "Statement on Huntingdonshire District Council Election Results 2022". Huntingdonshire.gov.uk. Retrieved 20 May 2022.
  18. ^ "District Council Confirms New Leader and Cabinet Roles". Huntingdonshire.gov.uk. Retrieved 24 May 2022.
  19. ^ "Final phase of £16 million Pathfinder House scheme almost complete". Hunts Post. 19 July 2009. Retrieved 15 June 2023.
  20. ^ "The Huntingdonshire (Electoral Changes) Order 2017", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 2017/480, retrieved 23 May 2023
  21. ^ "Parish councils contact details". Huntingdonshire District Council. Retrieved 15 June 2023.
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