| Honorific-Prefix: | Cllr |
| Chris Pond | |
| Honorific-Suffix: | OBE |
| Office: | Essex County Councillor for Loughton Central |
| Term Start: | 9 May 2005 |
| Predecessor: | New seat |
| Birth Date: | 1949 |
| Birth Place: | Walthamstow, Essex |
| Party: | Loughton Residents Association |
| Spouse: | Caroline Copeman |
| Alma Mater: | Queens' College, Cambridge |
Christopher Charles Pond (born 1949) is a British historian, librarian, and local government politician.
Chris Pond was born in 1949 in Walthamstow, Essex (now part of the London Borough of Waltham Forest), and grew up in Chingford, moving to Loughton, Essex in 1981. He attended Sir George Monoux Grammar School and Queens' College, Cambridge. His PhD (faculty of geography and geology) was obtained in 1981 under Sir Clifford Darby.
Latterly an Honorary Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals, he was Head of Reference Services at the House of Commons Library, secretary and then chairman of the FDA House of Commons branch, and then for 15 years President of the Trade Union Side, House of Commons. He was awarded the Order of the British Empire in 2002. Officers of the House of Commons serve with complete political impartiality, and are generally debarred from seeking elected office, but Pond, as an independent, was permitted to stand whilst an officer of the House.
Pond is the author of numerous books and articles on the history of Essex and the Epping Forest area, and on railways and architectural history; and has served in various capacities in the Victorian Society and Loughton & District Historical Society, and as president of the Walthamstow Historical Society.
A member of the Loughton Residents Association, Pond has been an elected independent politician, as town councillor on Loughton Town Council since 1996, district councillor on Epping Forest District Council since 2014, and county councillor on Essex County Council since 2005, where he was (2017) leader of the Non-aligned Group and (in 2021) Leader of the Opposition. He was a member, and latterly Chairman, of the Lopping Hall Trust charity from 2000 to 2014.
He was instrumental in securing refusal of an application to demolish most of the cordite factory at the Waltham Abbey Royal Gunpowder Mills in 2016. At Epping Forest District Council in 2021, he moved the motion and outlined the reasons for rejecting an application to build a large depot on green belt land at Waltham Abbey for Next plc, a decision that was subsequently upheld by the Planning Inspectorate and was reported as a victory for the countryside over big business.[1]
During the years 1997 to 2005, he was often confused with Chris Pond, then MP for Gravesham, because of the unusual coincidence of the shared name and age.
He married Caroline Copeman in 1973.[2]
Essex County Council elections
| Date of election | Constituency | Party | Votes | % | Result | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loughton Central | 2,734 | 35.2 | Elected | ||||
| Loughton Central | 2,764 | 55.2 | Elected | ||||
| Loughton Central | 1,945 | 60.7 | Elected | ||||
| Loughton Central | 2,824 | 69.3 | Elected | ||||
| Loughton Central | 2,994 | 66.3 | Elected | ||||
Epping Forest District Council elections
| Date of election | Constituency | Party | Votes | % | Result | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loughton Fairmead | 245 | 25.3 | Not elected (2nd) | ||||
| Loughton Forest | 592 | 39.6 | Not elected (2nd) | ||||
| Loughton Broadway | 423 | 41.1 | Elected | ||||
| Loughton Broadway | 678 | 39.4 | Elected | ||||
| Loughton Broadway | 488 | 61.9 | Elected | ||||