public health. The council is based at Kesteven Street, Sleaford. Navenby is part of the Cliff Villages ward and is represented by two local councillors on the district council: Mrs Marianne Jane Overton and Mrs Laura Louise Conway, who both belong to the Rural Independent Group. Conservative-led Lincolnshire County Council provides the top tier of local government for Navenby, with responsibility for highways, sites of special interest and schools. It is based at the County Offices in Newland, Lincoln. Navenby has one representative on this council, Marianne Overton, who also represents Branston ward. Following the by-election of December 2016, Navenby is represented at government level by Caroline Johnson, the Conservative MP for Sleaford and North Hykeham constituency, following the resignation of Stephen Phillips. Prior to Phillips, the Right Honorable Douglas Hogg QC, stood down from the post before the 2010 election after having to pay back the cost of cleaning his moat. Navenby was part of the East Midlands constituency for the European Parliament until Brexit in 2020. Former Conservative turned Liberal Democrat Bill Newton Dunn represented the area as an Member of the European Parliament. Newton Dunn lives in Navenby and his European responsibilities included vice-chairman of Foreign Affairs, Human Rights, Common Security and Defence Policy Committee. In the 1980s, Newton Dunn coined the much-used phrase "Democratic deficit". Geography Topography The civil parish of Navenby straddles the old Roman Ermine Street, known locally as High Dyke. The road runs between the neighbouring villages of Boothby Graffoe and Wellingore and covers more than . The Viking Way, a footpath between the Humber Bridge in North Lincolnshire and Oakham in Rutland, also passes through the village. Navenby is known as a Lincolnshire Cliff Village, as it is situated on a ridge of Jurassic limestone called the Lincoln Edge or Lincoln Cliff. The small cliff is one of the most distinctive hills in Lincolnshire. Lying south of Lincoln and north-northwest of Sleaford, Navenby enjoys warm summers and dry frosty winters. During the Ice Age, most of the region surrounding Navenby was covered by ice sheets and this has influenced the topography and nature of the soils. Much of Lincolnshire is low-lying, in some places below sea level, but Navenby's cliff-top position means it is above sea level, giving it commanding views over the River Witham valley. The parish of Navenby is elongated in an east–west direction, extending east to the Lincoln Heath