St Neots Mayor's monthly column in The Hunts Post July 2025

I attended 35 meetings and events across St Neots and beyond, as my dual roles of mayor and vice-chair of the district council often overlapped.

This year seems to be full of anniversaries.

At the start of July, I was invited to celebrate the Friends of Paxton Pits’ 30th anniversary.

Mayor with Shona Martin and volunteers from Huntingdonshire Volunteer Centre’s Community Car Scheme (Image: Supplied) Alongside parish and district councillors and our local MP, Ian Sollom, we were treated to a guided tour of the reserve by Michael Anderson-Brown and the team.

The rain poured down, but we didn’t mind—it was lovely to meet the volunteers and hear about the huge positive impact Paxton Pits has had in supporting wildlife in the area.

Next month, I’ve been invited to celebrate the library’s 40th anniversary, and later in the year, the museum will mark its 30th anniversary.

One particularly special event this month was meeting students from the ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) class.

They had been learning about local authorities, and their homework was to research the Mayor and Mayoress.

The mayor with councillors, Ian Solom MP and volunteers from Paxton Pits Nature Reserve (Image: Supplied) I spent a lovely morning with 12 students from Hong Kong, Ukraine, Turkey and Russia and managed to answer all their questions—and how to navigate the complexity of the five tiers of government we have in St Neots.

I volunteered at Paxfest on the hottest weekend of the year.

Alas, the annual dog show had to be cancelled for obvious reasons, but the crowds still turned out and enjoyed the wonderful stalls and entertainment.

In contrast, I opened the Abbotsley annual fete on the wettest weekend of the year!

The volunteers quickly moved the entire event indoors, and it felt like all 500 villagers came out to support it.

I met lots of new residents and was presented with a beautiful basket of locally grown produce—plus, the Mayoress received her first-ever henna tattoo!

Mayor and mayoress at Abbotsley Fete (Image: Supplied) The following weekend, former Mayor Stephen Ferguson and I walked a section of the Ouse Valley Way.

This was part of a new event organised by the Great Ouse Valley Trust—the first of its kind—to raise money and promote the beautiful walk.

Stephen and I thoroughly enjoyed the familiar route from St Neots to St Ives and treated ourselves to a well-earned cream tea at the Norris Museum.

St Neots Town Council has been developing our neighbourhood plan, an important community-led framework that will guide the future development, regeneration and conservation of St Neots up to 2040.

It’s quite a legacy, and I’ve attended parish meetings in Abbotsley, Hail Weston, Wyboston and Little Paxton to seek their support.

I also joined the AGM of the Huntingdonshire Volunteer Centre in Hemingford Abbots, where I met the team of volunteer drivers who support residents with essential journeys.

Mayor and ex-mayor Stephen Ferguson at Houghton (Image: Supplied) I was amazed to hear they collectively covered over 100,000 miles last year—an incredible effort that supports so many people in our region.

Finally, before taking a much-needed break in August, my last official duty was to open the new Citizens Advice office and community hub.

These hubs are a vital lifeline for those who cannot access essential services via phone or online.

It’s fantastic to see that, through a collaborative effort between like-minded organisations, St Neots once again has a Citizens Advice Bureau in the town centre.