Great Paxton

Coordinates: 52°15′00″N 0°13′01″W / 52.25°N 0.217°W / 52.25; -0.217

Great Paxton is a village and civil parish in Cambridgeshire, England lying 2.6 miles (4.2 km) north of St Neots in the Great Ouse river valley.

The population was 1,007 in the 2011 census. Despite its name, Great Paxton is much smaller than the neighbouring village of Little Paxton.

History

Paxton is listed in the Domesday Book of 1086 when it had 69 households which is considered to be a very large settlement for that period. In 1086, the village contained 3 mills and a church. The manor of Great Paxton was held by Countess Judith who was a niece of William the Conqueror. The manor lands were held by the Earls of Huntingdon until c.1192 and shortly afterwards the manor was split into two halves, de la Haye's manor and Great Paxton manor. There were fisheries on the Great Ouse at Great Paxton belonging to both manors from before 1279.

Government

As a civil parish, Great Paxton has a parish council. The parish council is elected by the residents of the parish who have registered on the electoral roll; the parish council is the lowest tier of government in England. A parish council is responsible for providing and maintaining a variety of local services including allotments and a cemetery; grass cutting and tree planting within public open spaces such as a village green or playing fields. The parish council reviews all planning applications that might affect the parish and makes recommendations to Huntingdonshire District Council, which is the local planning authority for the parish. The parish council also represents the views of the parish on issues such as local transport, policing and the environment. The parish council raises its own tax to pay for these services, known as the parish precept, which is collected as part of the Council Tax. The parish council has eight councillors and normally meets six times a year.