I’ve just received an email from the Local Government Boundary Commission for England, delaying the announcement of the new county council boundaries for Cambridgeshire.

Unusually the Commission wants to reopen consultation – but only on a very small part of the proposal, relating to some of the boundaries in the city of Cambridge.  This would suggest that it is not proposing to make any substantial changes to its original proposal for the rest of the county.

If the Commission has not changed its mind about its draft recommendations for the rest of Cambridgeshire, that means that Sutton will be included in a very large county council ward with two county councillors covering not only Sutton but also Coveney, Little Downham, Haddenham, Mepal, Stretham, Little Thetford, Wentworth, Wilburton, Witcham, Witchford, and parts of Littleport and Ely.  It’s a proposal that has few friends outside the Commission.

No doubt all will become clear in February.

The email from the Commission says:

A copy of a letter to the Chief Executive of Cambridgeshire County Council and the map can be found on our website at: http://www.lgbce.org.uk/current-reviews/eastern/cambridgeshire/cambridgeshire-county-council.  The letter outlines the Commission’s intention to undertake further limited consultation in Cambridge. Given this, our final recommendations will now be published on 9 February 2016 rather than 17 November 2015 as originally planned.