Cambridgeshire County Council is the

county council A county council is the elected administrative body governing an area known as a county. This term has slightly different meanings in different countries. Ireland The county councils created under British rule in 1899 continue to exist in Irel ...

Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs.) is a Counties of England, county in the East of England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and North ...

, England. The council consists of 61 councillors, representing 59 electoral divisions. The council is based at New Shire Hall at Alconbury Weald, near

Huntingdon Huntingdon is a market town in the Huntingdonshire district in Cambridgeshire, England. The town was given its town charter by King John in 1205. It was the county town of the historic county of Huntingdonshire. Oliver Cromwell was born there ...

. It is a member of the East of England Local Government Association. Since May 2021, it has been run by a joint administration of the Liberal Democrats, Labour Party, and

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independe ...

groups.

History

Cambridgeshire County Council was first formed in 1889 as a result of the

Local Government Act 1888 Local may refer to: Geography and transportation * Local (train), a train serving local traffic demand * Local, Missouri, a community in the United States * Local government, a form of public administration, usually the lowest tier of administra ...

, 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 The Local Government Act 1972 (c. 70) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974. It was one of the most significant Acts of Parliament to be passed by the Heath Gov ...

Cambridgeshire and Isle of Ely Cambridgeshire and Isle of Ely was, from 1965 to 1974, an administrative and geographical county in East Anglia in the United Kingdom. In 1974 it became part of an enlarged Cambridgeshire. Formation The Local Government Act 1888 created four ...

was merged with

Huntingdon and Peterborough Huntingdon and Peterborough was a short-lived administrative and geographical county in East Anglia in the United Kingdom. It existed from 1965 to 1974, when it became part of Cambridgeshire. Formation The Local Government Act 1888 created f ...

to form a new

non-metropolitan county A non-metropolitan county, or colloquially, shire county, is a county-level entity in England that is not a metropolitan county. The counties typically have populations of 300,000 to 1.8 million. The term ''shire county'' is, however, an unoffi ...

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 A unitary authority is a local authority responsible for all local government functions within its area or performing additional functions that elsewhere are usually performed by a higher level of sub-national government or the national governme ...

, thus outside the area of the county council. For ceremonial, geographic and certain administrative purposes however, Peterborough continues to be associated and work in collaboration with Cambridgeshire County Council. Until 2021, the county council had its offices and meeting place in Cambridge, being based at different times at the

Guildhall A guildhall, also known as a "guild hall" or "guild house", is a historical building originally used for tax collecting by municipalities or merchants in Great Britain and the Low Countries. These buildings commonly become town halls and in som ...

, 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

. The first committee meeting to be held at New Shire Hall was in September 2021.

Responsibilities

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 Council Tax is a local taxation system used in England, Scotland and Wales. It is a tax on domestic property, which was introduced in 1993 by the Local Government Finance Act 1992, replacing the short-lived Community Charge, which in turn re ...

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 South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþa ...

Composition

Councillors and electoral divisions

Coat of Arms

Granted on 1 November 1976. Blazon: "Or three Palets wavy alternating with two Palets Azure a Bordure Gules flory on the inner edge Or; the Shield ensigned by a Mural Crown Or." Supporters: On either side a

Great Bustard The great bustard (''Otis tarda'') is a bird in the bustard family, the only member of the genus ''Otis''. It breeds in open grasslands and farmland from northern Morocco, South and Central Europe, to temperate Central and East Asia. European ...

proper the exterior leg resting on a closed Book Gules garnished Or pendent from the neck of the dexter by a Cord Argent two keys in saltire wards uppermost uppermost and outwards Gules and from the neck of the sinister by a like Cord a Hunting Horn mouth to the dexter Or. Badge: Within an Annulet ensigned by a Coronet a Bar Or between two Bars wavy Azure. Motto: 'CORDE UNO SAPIENTES SIMUS' which translates as "With one heart let us be men and women of understanding".

Lender option borrower option loans

The council has long term lender option borrower option loans (LOBOs) totalling £79.5 million with

Barclays Barclays () is a British multinational universal bank, headquartered in London, England. Barclays operates as two divisions, Barclays UK and Barclays International, supported by a service company, Barclays Execution Services. Barclays traces ...

, Dexia and Siemens Financial Services.24 Jul 2015 ''

Cambridge News The ''Cambridge News'' (formerly the ''Cambridge Evening News'') is a British daily newspaper. Published each weekday and on Saturdays, it is distributed from its Waterbeach base. In the period December 2010 – June 2011 it had an average dai ...

'
Cambridgeshire County Council’s £45m annual interest bill

References

External links

Cambridgeshire County Council
{{Authority control Local government in Cambridgeshire

County Council A county council is the elected administrative body governing an area known as a county. This term has slightly different meanings in different countries. Ireland The county councils created under British rule in 1899 continue to exist in Irel ...

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