Fenland is a local government district in Cambridgeshire, England. It was historically part of the Isle of Ely and borders the city of Peterborough to the northwest, Huntingdonshire to the west, and East Cambridgeshire to the southeast. It also borders the Lincolnshire district of South Holland to the north and the Norfolk district of King's Lynn and West Norfolk to the northeast. The administrative centre is March.

Fenland District
Non-metropolitan district
March, the second largest settlement in the district and its administrative centre
Fenland shown within Cambridgeshire
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Constituent country	England
Region	East of England
Non-metropolitan county	Cambridgeshire
Status	Non-metropolitan district
Incorporated	1 April 1974
Government
• Type	Non-metropolitan district council
• Body	Fenland District Council
Area
• Total	210.99 sq mi (546.45 km2)
• Rank	84th (of 309)
Population  (mid-2019 est.)
• Total	101,850
• Rank	234th (of 309)
• Density	480/sq mi (190/km2)
• Ethnicity	98.6% White
Time zone	UTC0 (GMT)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+1 (BST)
ONS code	12UD (ONS) E07000010 (GSS)
OS grid reference	TL417969

Fenland District Council
Type
Type	District
Leadership
Leader	Chris Boden, Conservative since 23 May 2019
Structure
Seats	39 councillors[1]
Political groups	Conservative (27)   Independent (9)   Liberal Democrats (2)   Green (1)
Elections
Voting system	First-past-the-post
Last election	2 May 2019
Meeting place
Fenland Hall, County Road, March, PE15 8NQ
Website
www.fenland.gov.uk

The district covers around 500 square kilometres (190 sq mi) of mostly agricultural land in the extremely flat Fens. The population of the district was 98,262 at the 2011 Census.[2]

It was formed on 1 April 1974, with the merger of the Borough of Wisbech, Chatteris Urban District, March Urban District, Whittlesey Urban District, North Witchford Rural District and Wisbech Rural District.[3] In 2022 the council was reported to be the second most complained about in the county.[4]

Settlements in Fenland District

Its council covers the market towns of Chatteris, March, Whittlesey and Wisbech (which is often called the "Capital of the Fens").[5] Other villages and hamlets in the district include:

• Benwick
• Christchurch
• Doddington
• Elm
• Coldham
• Friday Bridge
• Ring's End
• Gorefield
• Leverington
• Manea
• Newton-in-the-Isle
• Tydd St Giles
• Wimblington
• Wisbech St Mary.

The latter includes Guyhirn and Parson Drove.[6]

Governance

Fenland District Council is elected every four years, with currently (2020) thirty nine councillors. Since 1976 the Conservative Party has held control of the council, apart from a period after 1995 when Labour had control, the Conservatives regained a majority at the 1999 election. As of June 2022, the council composition is:[7]

In the May 2019 elections, twelve councillors were returned without a vote to Fenland District Council, which topped the Electoral Reform Society's list of 'rotten boroughs'.[8]

Economy

The local economy has traditionally 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 also includes a strong industrial tradition, including brewing, brick making, can making, pet food production, printing and engineering, and many local residents commute outside the district to work or study. The River Nene provides access to the sea via the Port of Wisbech. Other waterways provide opportunities for angling and other water based activities. Marinas are located in Wisbech and March.

The council run markets in three of the towns (the market in Wisbech is run by Wisbech Town Council) and a number of festivals and other events.[9]

A proposal for a new Fenland rail link was agreed in June 2020.[10]

Fenland council gave £370,400 to its chief executive Tim Pilsbury when he took early retirement in 2010–11.[11]

Twin towns & sister cities

Fenland is twinned with:

• Nettetal in Kreis Viersen in Germany
• Cook County, New Zealand

Further reading

Merrison, Karen (2022). Secret Fens. Amberley.

See also

• Fenland Survey
• The Fens

References

External links

• Fenland District Council

На других языках

[de] Fenland

[ru] Фенленд