North Norfolk

From Vero - Wikipedia
Jump to navigation Jump to search

Template:Short description Template:About Template:Use dmy dates Template:Use British English

Template:Infobox settlement

North Norfolk is a local government district in Norfolk, England. Its council is based in Cromer, and the largest town is North Walsham. The district also includes the towns of Fakenham, Holt, Sheringham, Stalham and Wells-next-the-Sea, along with numerous villages and surrounding rural areas.

The district lies on the north coast of Norfolk, facing the North Sea, with much of its coastline lying within the Norfolk Coast Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Some south-eastern parts of the district lie within The Broads. The neighbouring districts are Great Yarmouth, Breckland, Broadland and King's Lynn and West Norfolk.

History

The district was created on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972, covering seven former districts which were all abolished at the same time:<ref>Template:Cite legislation UK</ref>

A committee of the outgoing councils drew up a list of possible names for the new district to be considered by the Local Government Boundary Commission. Suggested names included North Norfolk, Seafields, Pastonacres, Norfolk Coastal and Cromer.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The commission chose the name Pastonacres, which had been coined by a member of Smallburgh Rural District Council in recognition of the extensive landholdings in the area of the Paston family in medieval times.<ref>Template:Cite legislation UK</ref> The name was not a popular choice locally, and at the very first meeting of the shadow Pastonacres District Council elected in 1973 it was resolved to change the name to North Norfolk, which was agreed by the government in September 1973, before the new district formally came into being in 1974.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web (See downloadable boundary-legislation-changes-from-1973.xls spreadsheet.)</ref>

Governance

Template:Infobox legislature

File:Market Place, Fakenham - geograph.org.uk - 2682721.jpg
Fakenham, best known for Fakenham Racecourse and is the third-largest settlement

North Norfolk District Council provides district-level services. County-level services are provided by Norfolk County Council. The whole district is also covered by civil parishes, which form a third tier of local government.<ref>Template:Cite legislation UK</ref><ref name=electionmaps>Template:Cite web</ref>

In the parts of the district within The Broads, town planning is the responsibility of the Broads Authority. The district council appoints one of its councillors to sit on that authority.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

File:War Memorial, Holt - geograph.org.uk - 3330824.jpg
Holt, the fourth-largest town in the district

Political control

The council has been under Liberal Democrat majority control since 2019.

The first election to the council was held in 1973, initially operating as a shadow authority alongside the outgoing authorities until the new arrangements took effect on 1 April 1974. Political control of the council since 1974 has been as follows:<ref name=compositions>Template:Cite web (Put "North Norfolk" in search box to see specific results.)</ref><ref name=hold>Template:Cite web</ref>

Party in control Years
Template:Party name with colour 1974–1991
Template:Party name with colour 1991–2003
Template:Party name with colour 2003–2011
Template:Party name with colour 2011–2017
Template:Party name with colour 2017–2019
Template:Party name with colour 2019–present

Leadership

The leaders of the council since 2004 have been:

Councillor Party From To
John Sweeney<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Template:Party name with colour 2004
Simon Partridge<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Template:Party name with colour 2004 2008
Virginia Gay<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Template:Party name with colour 2008 May 2011
Helen Eales<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Template:Party name with colour May 2011 30 May 2012
Keith Johnson<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Template:Party name with colour 30 May 2012 2 Dec 2012
Tom FitzPatrick<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Template:Party name with colour 19 Dec 2012 21 Feb 2018
John Lee<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Template:Party name with colour 21 Feb 2018 21 Nov 2018
Sarah Bütikofer<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Template:Party name with colour 21 Nov 2018 9 Feb 2022
Tim Adams<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Template:Party name with colour 9 Feb 2022

Composition

Following the 2023 election,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and subsequent by-elections and changes of allegiance up to May 2025, the composition of the council was:<ref name=Thorncliffe>Template:Cite web</ref>

Party Councillors
Template:Party name with colour 26
Template:Party name with colour 11
Template:Party name with colour 3
Total 40

The next election is due in 2027.<ref name=Thorncliffe/>

Elections

Template:Also Since the last boundary changes in 2019 the council has comprised 40 councillors representing 32 wards, with each ward electing one or two councillors. Elections are held every four years.<ref>Template:Cite legislation UK</ref>

Premises

The council is based at the Council Offices on Holt Road in Cromer. The building was purpose-built for the council and opened in 1990.<ref>The Buildings of England, Norfolk 1, Norwich and North-east, By Nikolaus Pevsner and Bill Wilson Template:ISBN</ref>

The council also operates an office at the Connect Centre in Fakenham, which is open to the public as a call in centre for council business.

Geography

File:Centre of North Walsham - Market Cross - geograph.org.uk - 3286314.jpg
North Walsham, the largest settlement in the district

At the time of the 2001 census, the district had an area of Template:Convert, with a population of 98,382 in 43,502 households.<ref>Office for National Statistics & Norfolk County Council (2001). Census population and household counts for unparished urban areas and all parishes Template:Webarchive. Retrieved 2 December 2005.</ref>

Demography

File:North Norfolk population pyramid.svg
North Norfolk population pyramid

The 2021 census results found that the local authority area had the highest proportions of population over 65 in the England and Wales, at 33.5%.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

File:The Quayside at Wells Next The Sea - geograph.org.uk - 2891597.jpg
Wells-next-the-Sea, one of the many coastal towns in the county

Towns and parishes

Template:Also The district is entirely covered by 121 civil parishes. The parish councils for Cromer, Fakenham, Holt, North Walsham, Sheringham, Stalham and Wells-next-the-Sea have declared their parishes to be towns, allowing them to take the style "town council".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Controversies

Almost £389,000 was given to the council's "joint head of paid services", Nick Baker, in the form of an "exit package", reported Private Eye in October 2020. This was £89,000 more than the council had spent purchasing dwellings to support homeless people in 2019/20, the Eastern Daily Press reported. The council's opposition leader, Christopher Cushing, was quoted describing the payment to Baker as "extraordinary". The Press also reported the total cost of so-called "golden goodbyes" for senior council staff had risen to £1.8 million.<ref>Private Eye, Issue 1532, p.21</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Media

Television

North Norfolk is served by BBC Look East and ITV News Anglia, BBC Look North and ITV News Calendar can also be received.

Radio

Radio stations are served by:

Newspapers

Local newspapers that cover the area are:

Cultural references

The 2013 movie Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa was filmed in the area.

The World of Darkness parody web series, Hunter: The Parenting, is set in the area.

References

Template:Reflist

Template:Wikivoyage

Template:Civil Parishes of North Norfolk Template:Norfolk Template:Navbox

Template:Coord

Retrieved from "https://wiki.sarg.dev/index.php?title=North_Norfolk&oldid=278975"