Fenland is a
local government districtNon-metropolitan districts, or colloquially shire districts, are a type of local government district in England. As created, they are sub-divisions of non-metropolitan counties in a so-called "two-tier" arrangement...
in
CambridgeshireCambridgeshire is a county in England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the northeast, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire to the west...
,
EnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. Its council is based in
MarchMarch is a Fenland market town and civil parish in the Isle of Ely area of Cambridgeshire, England. March was the county town of the Isle of Ely, a separate administrative county between 1889 and 1965, and is now the administrative centre of Fenland District Council.The town was an important...
, and covers the neighbouring market towns of
ChatterisChatteris is a civil parish and one of four market towns in the Fenland district of Cambridgeshire, England, situated in The Fens between Huntingdon, March and Ely...
,
WhittleseyWhittlesey, historically known as Whittlesea as the name of the railway station is still spelt, or Witesie, is an ancient Fenland market town around six miles east of Peterborough in the county of Cambridgeshire in England...
, and
WisbechWisbech is a market town, inland port and civil parish with a population of 20,200 in the Fens of Cambridgeshire. The tidal River Nene runs through the centre of the town and is spanned by two bridges...
, often called the "capital of the fens". The district covers around 500 square kilometres of mostly agricultural land in the extremely flat
FensThe Fens, also known as the , are a naturally marshy region in eastern England. Most of the fens were drained several centuries ago, resulting in a flat, damp, low-lying agricultural region....
.
It was formed on 1 April 1974, with the merger of the Borough of
WisbechWisbech is a market town, inland port and civil parish with a population of 20,200 in the Fens of Cambridgeshire. The tidal River Nene runs through the centre of the town and is spanned by two bridges...
,
ChatterisChatteris is a civil parish and one of four market towns in the Fenland district of Cambridgeshire, England, situated in The Fens between Huntingdon, March and Ely...
Urban District,
MarchMarch is a Fenland market town and civil parish in the Isle of Ely area of Cambridgeshire, England. March was the county town of the Isle of Ely, a separate administrative county between 1889 and 1965, and is now the administrative centre of Fenland District Council.The town was an important...
Urban District,
WhittleseyWhittlesey, historically known as Whittlesea as the name of the railway station is still spelt, or Witesie, is an ancient Fenland market town around six miles east of Peterborough in the county of Cambridgeshire in England...
Urban District,
North Witchford Rural DistrictNorth Witchford was a rural district in England from 1894 to 1974. It was named after the ancient hundred of North Witchford.It was formed in 1894 under the Local Government Act 1894 based on the North Witchford rural sanitary district. It covered the parishes of Benwick, Doddington, Manea,...
and
Wisbech Rural DistrictWisbech was a rural district in Cambridgeshire in England from 1894 to 1974.It was formed from that part of the Wisbech rural sanitary district which was in Cambridgeshire, by the Local Government Act 1894. It covered the parishes of Elm, Leverington, Outwell, Parson Drove, Tydd St Giles, Upwell...
.
Politics
Fenland District Council is elected every four years, with currently 40
councillorA councillor or councilor is a member of a local government council, such as a city council.Often in the United States, the title is councilman or councilwoman.-United Kingdom:...
s being elected at each election. Since 1976 the
Conservative partyThe Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
has held control of the party, apart from a period after 1995 when
LabourThe Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
had control, but the Conservatives regained a majority at the
1999 electionThe 1999 Fenland Council election took place on 6 May 1999 to elect members of Fenland District Council in Cambridgeshire, England. The whole council was up for election and the Conservative party gained overall control of the council from no overall control....
. As of the
2011 electionThe 2011 Fenland Council election took place on 5 May 2011 to elect members of Fenland District Council in Cambridgeshire, England. The whole council was up for election and the Conservative party stayed in overall control of the council.-Background:...
the council is composed of the following councillors:-
| Party |
Councillors
|
| |
Conservative PartyThe Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
|
34 |
| |
Independent In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do...
|
4 |
| |
Liberal Democrats |
2 |
Economy
The Fenland economy has for years been built upon farming and food related industry. The food industry is now well established, and related processing, storage, packaging and distribution has become more sophisticated and diverse. The predominantly rural economy of the area has also included a strong industrial tradition, including brick making, printing and engineering, but many Fenland residents already travel outside the area to work.
As growth of the local economy from
CambridgeThe city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...
continues, the pressure for outsourcing of industry, housing and jobs is expected to move northwards. Chatteris will be given priority for economic regeneration in the Cambridge sub-region and further housing allocations will be dependent on improving job prospects.
Twinning
Fenland is twinned with:
- Nettetal
Nettetal is a municipality in the district of Viersen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.-Geography:Nettetal is not a town itself, but a federation of villages that have developed around the river Nette, and the worked-out gravel pits that now form five lakes. It is situated on the border with the...
in Kreis Viersen in GermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
- Cook County
- Counties :*Cook County, Georgia, US*Cook County, Illinois*Cook County, Minnesota, US*Cook County, New South Wales, Australia*Cook County, New Zealand, one of the former counties of New Zealand on the North Island...
, New ZealandNew Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
External links
Fenland District Council