Misplaced Pages

East Cambridgeshire District
Non-metropolitan district
Ely Cathedral
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
Incorporated	1 April 1974
Government
• Type	Non-metropolitan district council
• Body	East Cambridgeshire District Council
• Leadership	Alternative – Sec. 31 (Conservative)
• MPs	Steve Barclay Lucy Frazer
Area
• Total	251 sq mi (651 km)
• Rank	53rd (of 296)
Population
• Total	89,394
• Rank	267th (of 296)
• Density	360/sq mi (140/km)
Ethnicity (2021)
• Ethnic groups	List 94.5% White 2.1% Mixed 1.9% Asian 0.8% Black 0.7% other
Religion (2021)
• Religion	List 48.5% Christianity 42.9% no religion 8% other 0.6% Islam
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.

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.

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:

• Ely Rural District
• Ely Urban District
• Newmarket Rural District

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

Governance

East Cambridgeshire District Council
Type
Type	Non-metropolitan district
Leadership
Chair	Mark Goldsack, Conservative since 25 May 2023
Leader	Anna Bailey, Conservative since 30 May 2019
Chief Executive	John Hill since 2000
Structure
Political groups	Administration (14)   Conservative (14) Opposition (14)   Liberal Democrats (13)   Independent (1)
Elections
Last election	4 May 2023
Next election	6 May 2027
Meeting place
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.

Political control

The council has been under no overall control since a change in allegiance in August 2024, which left the Conservatives with exactly half the council's seats. They continue to form the council's administration by virtue of holding the chair's casting vote.

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:

Leadership

The leaders of the council since 2011 have been:

Composition

Following the 2023 election and a by-election in April 2024 and change of allegiance in August 2024, the composition of the council was:

The next election is due in 2027.

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.

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.

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. Bronze razors have also been found and it is well known that Celts shaved their cheeks.

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".

Settlements in East Cambridgeshire

• Aldreth
• Ashley
• Barway
• Bottisham
• Brinkley
• Burwell
• Chettisham
• Cheveley
• Chippenham
• Coveney
• Dullingham
• Ely (City)
• Fordham
• Haddenham
• Isleham
• Little Downham
• Little Thetford
• Littleport
• Lode
• Longmeadow
• Mepal
• Prickwillow
• Pymoor
• Queen Adelaide
• Reach
• Soham (Town)
• Stetchworth
• Stretham
• Stuntney
• Sutton
• Swaffham Bulbeck
• Swaffham Prior
• Upware
• Wicken
• Wilburton
• Witcham
• Witchford
• Woodditton

See also

• East Cambridgeshire local elections
• Ely and East Cambridgeshire (UK Parliament constituency)
• Isleham Hoard
• Mereham

References

1. "Mid-Year Population Estimates, UK, June 2022". Office for National Statistics. 26 March 2024. Retrieved 3 May 2024.
2. "Mid-Year Population Estimates, UK, June 2022". Office for National Statistics. 26 March 2024. Retrieved 3 May 2024.
3. ^ UK Census (2021). "2021 Census Area Profile – East Cambridgeshire Local Authority (E07000009)". Nomis. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 5 January 2024.
4. "The Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority Order 2017", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 2017/251, retrieved 13 June 2023
5. "The English Non-metropolitan Districts (Definition) Order 1972", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 1972/2039, retrieved 31 May 2023
6. "The English Non-metropolitan Districts (Names) Order 1973", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 1973/551, retrieved 31 May 2023
7. "Local Government Act 1972", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, 1972 c. 70, retrieved 31 May 2023
8. Elworthy, John (28 August 2024). "Councillor quits Tories leaving balance of power finely poised at East Cambs Council". Cambs News. Retrieved 5 September 2024.
9. "Compositions calculator". The Elections Centre. Retrieved 1 June 2023.
10. "East Cambridgeshire". BBC News Online. Retrieved 26 January 2017.
11. "Council minutes". East Cambridgeshire District Council. Retrieved 9 June 2022.
12. "Local elections 2023: live council results for England". The Guardian.
13. Boothroyd, David (30 August 2024). "Reeves value added to Wychavon". Local Councils. Thorcliffe. Retrieved 5 September 2024.
14. "The East Cambridgeshire (Electoral Changes) Order 2016", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 2016/1230, retrieved 14 June 2023
15. "Ely". Cambridgeshire Community Archive Network. Retrieved 14 June 2023.
16. 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.
17. 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.
18. "Parish Councils". East Cambridgeshire District Council. Retrieved 14 June 2023.

v t e Settlements in East Cambridgeshire
Cities	Ely
Towns	Soham
Villages	Aldreth Ashley Barway Bottisham Brinkley Burwell Chettisham Cheveley Chippenham Coveney Dullingham Fordham Haddenham Isleham Little Downham Little Thetford Littleport Lode Longmeadow Mepal Prickwillow Pymoor Queen Adelaide Reach Stetchworth Stretham Stuntney Sutton Swaffham Bulbeck Swaffham Prior Upware Wicken Wilburton Witcham Witchford Woodditton

v t e Districts of the East of England
Bedfordshire	Bedford Central Bedfordshire Luton
Cambridgeshire	Cambridge East Cambridgeshire Fenland Huntingdonshire Peterborough South Cambridgeshire
Essex	Basildon Braintree Brentwood Castle Point Chelmsford Colchester Epping Forest Harlow Maldon Rochford Southend-on-Sea Tendring Thurrock Uttlesford
Hertfordshire	Broxbourne Dacorum East Hertfordshire Hertsmere North Hertfordshire St Albans Stevenage Three Rivers Watford Welwyn Hatfield
Norfolk	Breckland Broadland Great Yarmouth King's Lynn and West Norfolk North Norfolk Norwich South Norfolk
Suffolk	Babergh East Suffolk Ipswich Mid Suffolk West Suffolk

52°23′13″N 0°17′38″E / 52.387°N 0.294°E / 52.387; 0.294

• East Cambridgeshire District
• Non-metropolitan districts of Cambridgeshire