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 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 Northamptonshire to the ...

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

Alconbury Weald Alconbury Weald is a new settlement in Cambridgeshire, England, lying to the north-west of the town of Huntingdon. The site was previously part of RAF Alconbury, with planning permission for the first phase of the new settlement being granted in ...

, 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 The East of England Local Government Association (EELGA) is an association of the 52 local authorities in the East of England. It is a regional grouping of the Local Government Association and the regional employers organisation. It was establishe ...

. 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 * Independ ...

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 administrat ...

, as one of two county councils covering Cambridgeshire; the other was the

Isle of Ely County Council Isle of Ely County Council was the county council of Isle of Ely in the east of England. It came into its powers on 1 April 1889 and was abolished on 1 April 1965. The county council was based at County Hall, March. It was amalgamated with Cambrid ...

. 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 Isle of Ely was merged with Huntingdon and Peterborough 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 Peterborough City Council is the local authority for Peterborough in the East of England. It is a unitary authority, having the powers of a non-metropolitan county and district council combined. The City was incorporated as a municipal borough ...

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 governmen ...

, 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

in the parish of

The Stukeleys The Stukeleys is a civil parish in the district of Huntingdonshire, in Cambridgeshire, England, consisting of the villages of Great Stukeley and Little Stukeley, and the new settlement of Alconbury Weald being built on the old RAF Alconbury site. ...

, 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 Cambridge City Council is a district council in the county of Cambridgeshire, which governs the City of Cambridge. History Cambridge was granted a Royal Charter by King John in 1207, which permitted the appointment of a mayor. The first recorde ...

East Cambridgeshire District Council East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the f ...

Fenland District Council Fenland may mean: * Fenland, or the Fens, an area of low-lying land in eastern England ** Fenland District, a local authority district in Isle of Ely, Cambridgeshire, England, forming part of the Fens ** Fenland Airfield, an airfield near Spalding, ...

Huntingdonshire District Council Huntingdonshire District Council is the local authority for the district of Huntingdonshire in Cambridgeshire, England. Based in Huntingdon, it forms the lower part of the two tier system of local government in the district, below Cambridgeshire ...

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 ''*sunþaz ...

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 po ...

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 Lender option borrower option or lender's option borrower's option (LOBO) is a long term borrowing instrument available in the United Kingdom. They involve periodic interest re-fixings, which incorporates two linked options:How Councils Blow Your M ...

loans (LOBOs) totalling £79.5 million with Barclays,

Dexia Dexia N.V./S.A., or the Dexia Group, is a Franco-Belgian financial institution formed in 1996. At its peak in 2010, it had about 35,200 members of staff and a core shareholders' equity of €19.2 billion. In 2008, the bank entered severe ...

and

Siemens Financial Services Siemens Financial Services (SFS) is a Division of Siemens. The company’s global headquarters is in Munich, Germany. SFS offers international financing solutions in the business-to-business area. Financial Services serves Siemens as well as other ...

.24 Jul 2015 '' Cambridge News'
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