An opportunity for real change in Huntingdonshire

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Huntingdonshire District Council has been run by the Conservative Party since 1976. In 2011, 41 of the 52 councillors were Conservative. By 2021 this had fallen to 29.

On 5 May, if that number drops below 27, the Conservatives lose overall control of the council. This will force councillors from different parties to work together. Decisions will be based on persuasion and consensus rather than one party holding all the power.

The Conservatives like to call this “Coalition of Chaos” because they don’t understand that welcoming other people’s views is actually a good thing. They like to paint themselves as a safe pair of hands, managing services and your tax bill efficiently. The truth is, while the staff at HDC get on with delivering great services, the Conservatives’ management of strategic projects has been catastrophic for St Neots.

£800,000 for some Pictures of a Bridge

In 2018, St Neots residents were promised a new footbridge across the Great Ouse. Sadly, the £4.6 million allocated to it wasn’t nearly enough. When the costs spiralled to £7.4 million in 2020, the project was cancelled. But the Conservative administration at the County Council had already spent £800,000 on professional fees. Looks nice though, doesn’t it?

World’s Most Expensive Bike Racks

£5.8 million was promised for the St Neots Masterplan for Growth project (most of the money was allocated to the ill-fated bridge project)

  • January 2018: HDC Conservatives set up a Steering Group to oversee how the funds are spent, and invite Town Councillors, local business and community leaders.
  • May 2021: After three years of inaction, monthly Steering Group meetings are shut down with no explanation given to the committee members.
  • April 2022: With hundreds of thousands wasted on reports and consultations that were never published or developed further, the only results we have to date are some new bicycle racks and seating on the Market Square.

The Town Centre Regeneration that No-one’s in Charge Of

£16.3 million for regeneration of the High Street (including £3.1m left over from the bridge project)

  • May 2020: HDC Conservatives choose six projects to spend the money on without any consultation with local residents.
  • July 2020: HDC submits a funding bid to central government, but won’t share details with residents or the Town Council.
  • February 2021: St Neots Mayor Stephen Ferguson asks residents what their priorities are for the Future High Streets Fund. In response, Conservative leader Ryan Fuller cancels all scheduled meetings with Stephen for the rest of the year.
  • August 2021: HDC’s official public consultation begins, but fails to ask the difficult questions, such as how residents feel about losing car parks and green spaces for riverside luxury flats.
  • April 2022: Key staff have left the project. Monthly Steering Group meetings to work with the Town Council, local businesses and community leaders are cancelled.

The clock is ticking, as the central government funding must be spent by March 2023. But the Conservatives have decided to wait until AFTER the election to tell us what their plans are.

Let’s Do Things Differently

As community activists and town councillors, we have been trying to engage and collaborate with Conservative councillors at HDC for four years to help these projects succeed, and to insist that local residents’ voices are heard. But the truth is now painfully obvious… they can’t manage big projects, they don’t want our input, and they don’t want yours either.

Other towns in Huntingdonshire would love to have the level of investment that’s been promised for St Neots, but success must be measured on results, not vague promises and re-announcing the same money over and over again.

Please help us overturn the Conservative majority at HDC and we will ensure that the remaining funds in these projects (and more) are managed transparently and with the support of local residents.

Local election turnout is often just 30%. Don’t let people who unquestioningly put an X in the Conservative box decide the future of St Neots.

We’ve got better plans… find out more about who we are and what we stand for.