Marshland St. James Parish Council

One that puts local people, place and progress right at the heart of how council services are run.

Currently, services are split between the county council and seven borough, city and district councils. The Government wants to replace all eight with a reduced number of ‘unitary councils’, which would deliver all services, and has asked the existing authorities to make proposals for what future services could look like.

Breckland Council, Borough Council of King’s Lynn and West Norfolk, Broadland District Council, Great Yarmouth Borough Council, North Norfolk District Council, and Norwich City Council are working together and agree that having three unitary councils would best serve the people of Norfolk (as opposed to having one or two).

Over the summer, we are speaking with as many people as possible across Norfolk – residents, businesses, community groups and others – to champion our shared vision and invite everyone to complete our Future Norfolk survey to share their priorities and help shape a final submission to the Government this autumn.

Our joint proposal to have three unitary councils for Norfolk is based on the findings of an independent report – The Strength of Three – and our collective knowledge of our communities. The strength of having three unitary councils is they are about you:

• People: Local decisions by local leaders who understand your community. Three councils will strengthen local democracy, increase transparency, and make decision-making close to home
• Place: Services shaped by the strengths and needs of each area. Three councils will celebrate the unique identity, strengths, challenges, and heritage of different areas
• Progress: A future-ready Norfolk that works for everyone. Three councils will build a resilient, sustainable future for Norfolk that can adapt to changing needs.

In a joint statement, the Council Leaders of the six districts (below) said: “Having three unitary councils serving Norfolk is best for local democracy. People would be represented by councillors who live closer to their homes, understand their community and what matters to local people. It will ensure communities have their say and provide more strong, local voices to champion Norfolk at regional and national levels.

“We know Norfolk isn’t the same everywhere, what works well in one place might not work in another, each area has strengths and needs, so three unitary councils can support each other while still enabling services to focus on what matters most to people in each area.

“At the same time, three councils will still be big enough to work well in delivering people’s priorities across all council services, making the most of opportunities for Norfolk to thrive, but agile enough to stay flexible to other national changes while maintaining our local focus.

“Any changes by Government to local councils could affect your services and who helps make decisions for your area – that’s why we want you and everyone in your community to complete our Future Norfolk survey and tell us about your priorities to help inform our submission to the Government.”

You can find out more about the survey and take part until 1 August 2025 at www.futurenorfolk.com. If you don’t have online access, you are welcome to use the public-access computers available at local libraries.

Paper copies of the survey are also available upon request by calling one of the six councils (below). And look out for our Future Norfolk stands out and about in towns across Norfolk over the coming months.

A joint press release by:

• Breckland District Council: Leader: Councillor Sam Chapman-Allen
• Broadland District Council: Leader: Councillor Sue Holland
• Great Yarmouth Borough Council: Leader: Councillor Carl Smith
• King’s Lynn and West Norfolk Borough Council: Leader: Councillor Alistair Beales
• North Norfolk District Council: Leader: Councillor Tim Adams
• Norwich City Council: Leader: Councillor Mike Stonard