• Future Norfolk Consultation

    Communities are being invited to share their priorities to help shape a strong, shared vision for the future of local government in Norfolk.

    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
  • NEW QUEEN ELIZABETH HOSPITAL PUBLIC SHOWCASE

    Residents from across the local area are being invited to see first look designs and hear about plans to bring a new state-of-the-art new hospital to King’s Lynn at a series of public events being held in June and July.
    Hosted by the dedicated New QEH team, these events will include a first look at visuals of what the new building will look like. Designed by architects BDP, who are specialists in healthcare design and development, the new building is being developed using Government guidance Hospital 2.0. This is a standardised blueprint design for all new hospitals, developed in consultation with hundreds of clinicians, healthcare staff and patients across the country.
    Attendees will have the chance to hear more about the new multi-storey car park along with the New QEH which will be built of the existing main hospital car park.
    The team of experts will also explain how they are developing services for the new building. This includes how the Trust is preparing their departments for the move across to a digitally enabled hospital and the healthcare innovations being explored to meet the needs of the local population for generations to come.
    An information sessions will take place at Marshland Hall in Marshland St James on WEDNESDAY 16th JULY, doors open at 5.45pm with presentations starting at 6pm.
  • Cllr Chris Dawson, Norfolk County Council – Divisional Reports

    Councillor Chris Dawson is the County Councillor for Marshland South division, which includes Marshland St James. Cllr Dawson has a number of additional responsibilities within the County Council, and keeps us up-to-date with detailed six-monthly reports (see below).

    The Parish Council have a close working relationship with Cllr Dawson which includes him attending the majority of our monthly meetings.

    Divisional Report – May 2025

    Divisional Report – November 2024

    Divisional Report – April 2024

  • Audit 1st April 2024 to 31st March 2025

    The audit for the period 1st April 2024 to 31st March 2025 is now underway.

    Annual Governance and Accountability Return (AGAR)
    Asset Register
    Bank Reconciliation
    Exercise of Rights *
    Variance Analysis
    Internal Auditor’s Report
    Statement of Account
    Conclusion of Audit
    External Auditor’s Report

    * If the statutory Exercise of Rights period has expired the Clerk is always happy to answer questions from Parishioners.

    Audit details for the years 2016/17, 2017/18, 2018/19, 2019/20, 2020/21, 2021/22, 2022/23 & 2023/24 are available on this website. 

  • Marshland St James Neighbourhood Plan

    The latest consultation for the Marshland St James Neighbourhood Plan is now live on the Borough Council’s website. Please follow the link, look at the documents, and participate in the consultation process.
    https://www.west-norfolk.gov.uk/info/20127/neighbourhood_plans/1016/marshland_st_james_neighbourhood_plan

  • Winter gritting of Parish Roads

    Your Parish Council has tried, without success, to have Walton Road out to the A47 adding to the gritting routes in cold weather.

    Norfolk County Council have now released the following statement:

    NCC cannot grit all of Norfolk’s 6,159 mile (9,911 km) road network because of the time it would take and the cost involved.

     

    Priorities for gritting roads have been established on the basis of the route hierarchy and level of use.  The main roads will be gritted before other routes.

     

    Our three hour gritting runs cover a total of approximately 2,200 miles (3,500 km) on A, B and some C class roads – commuter and major bus routes and as far as is possible one route into all villages.  Some footways in the pedestrian areas of central King’s Lynn, central Great Yarmouth and central Norwich are also treated as priority.

     

    National Highways treats 143 miles of trunk roads including the A11 and A47.

     

    While it is unlikely that any additional roads will be added to our current schedules, if you feel you have an exceptional case for amending them, you should contact your Parish or Town Clerk. If you live in Norwich you should contact your local councillor.

     

    Although the County Council carries out the assessment in line with the Winter Service Policy, the view of a parish or town council is important and is taken into consideration. Due to limited salt capacity on the gritting vehicles and time constraints, it is likely that an existing road may need to be removed from the current schedule to accommodate a new addition.