YOUR LOCAL COUNCILS

Dersingham Parish Council

The Parish Council provides services within the village and liaises with the Borough and County Councils and other organisations about their services. The Parish Council is responsible for most of Dersingham's street lights and for the Recreation Ground and children's playground, as well as for such facilities as bus shelters, litter and dog bins. It provides financial support for local amenities, including the sports ground at the Pastures in Manor Road, and for the grass maintenance of the churchyard.

The Parish Council has a statutory right to be consulted about planning applications affecting the Parish and considers all such applications; the Council is always willing to take account of residents' views when formulating its comments.

The Council has eighteen members elected for a four year term. The last elections were held in May 2003. Any vacancies between the quadrennial elections are filled by a by-election if ten electors request one; if not, the vacancy is filled by co-option.

All meetings of the Council are open to the public and are advertised through agendas displayed at various points in the village, including the notice board outside the Library in Chapel Road, the notice board adjacent to the zebra crossing opposite Budgens, Spar, and outside the Council Office. Fifteen minute open sessions are held at the beginning and end of each meeting during which local residents can raise problems or points for the Council to consider. Meetings are held at Dersingham First School, off Saxon Way, and begin at 7 pm.

In 2006, the Annual Parish Meeting will be held on 15 May  at St Cecilia's Church Hall; it is usually chaired by the Chairman of the Parish Council. The public can speak and vote at this meeting, when the Council also presents its financial accounts and a full report of its activities. Parish Meetings to consider specific matters can be called at any time by the Chairman of the Parish Council; by any two Parish Councillors; or by six local government electors from the Parish.

In the last financial year (ended 31 March 2005), the Parish Council spent £76,425 on services and ended the year with reserves of £76,838. The main areas of expenditure include street lighting; the provision of litter bins; maintenance of the Recreation Ground and other facilities; grants to local organisations; and salaries and administration.

The Council's main sources of income include a share of the Council Tax (known as the precept); other grants; rent from the Jubilee Hall (used by the Social Club); and bank interest. The Council's precept (money raised through the Council Tax) was £64,979 in 2005/6, an average annual charge per household of £35.24.  

The Council has five committees with clearly defined roles to implement agreed policies and to review proposals prior to reporting them to the full Council for decision.  The committees are:
Communications: responsible for Dersingham Data, Village Voice , Village Voice Live, the Web Site and contact with the media.

Finance & General Purposes and Administration: financial planning in general and specifically the Council’s precept; VAT; interest; salaries; chairman's allowance councillors' expenses; elections; administration; office expenses; grants & contingencies.

Recreation & Environment: Recreation Ground including Play Area, War Memorial; Community Car Scheme; public rights of way; bus shelters; cleaning contract, dog bins; grass cutting; litter; general maintenance and street lighting.

Strategic Development: consideration of items of a strategic nature, such as the provision of a new village hall or the preparation of a new Village Plan.

Holiday Activities: organises activities for children during school holidays.

The Clerk of the Council is Sarah Bristow and Anita Moore is the Clerical Assistant. They can be contacted at the Council office in the Dersingham Police Station, Manor Road, Dersingham PE31 6LH (telephone 541465). Anyone wanting to inspect the Council's accounts or minutes of its meetings can arrange to do so by contacting the Clerk; copies of the Council's minutes can also be seen at Dersingham Library and on this web site.

Last year

A proposal to install a skateboard facility at the Recreation Ground had been under discussion for some time following a request from a group of young people in the village.  A public meeting to discuss the idea was held in March and a final decision to go ahead was taken at the July meeting of the Parish Council.  The ramps were installed in August and formally opened by the Mayor of King’s Lynn and West Norfolk in October.

At the same ceremony, George Pratt was presented with a sign to mark the naming of the roundabout at the southern entrance to the village as the ‘Alderman George Pratt Roundabout’.  This was the Parish Council’s way of honouring Mr Pratt for his service as a member of the Council for 43 years, 33 of them as Chairman.  He also served as a District Councillor for 27 years and was a County Councillor for 16 years.

At the request of the Parish Council, the Rural Community Council undertook a survey in the village to establish the need for new affordable housing.  The results will be known at the beginning of 2006.

Another ongoing issue has been the occasional vandalism and anti-social behaviour that occurs in the village.  Although Dersingham has a very low level of crime, these sporadic incidents can cause considerable concern.  The Parish Council set up a working party to make recommendations about how anti-social behaviour can be discouraged and a public meeting was held in October to discuss the results.  The recommendations include setting up a system by which the Council will record all known incidents and track subsequent action, a well as examining whether new measures are needed to ensure that the Recreation Ground is used appropriately.

The council acted to ensure that three new developments in the village were given names with local connections.  The Old Hall site at the junction of Chapel Road and Manor Road is named Jannoch’s Court after a previous occupier of the listed building at the centre of the development.  The flats on the corner of Hunstanton Road and Post Office Road are named Chambers Court after James Chambers, a local builder who died in 1970.  The houses being erected in Station Road near the Recreation Ground are to have the address of Paiges Close, picking up the name of one of Dersingham’s stationmasters.

As a reward for having one of the best recycling rates in West Norfolk, part of Dersingham was chosen by the Borough Council for a trial of large green wheelie bins to collect recycled material in place of the previous green boxes.  This proved so successful that the scheme was extended to the whole village in the autumn and is to be rolled out across West Norfolk.

A sad event was the death of Malcolm Nurse, one of Dersingham’s longest-serving Parish Councillors and a former Chairman of the Council.

Your elected representatives

Dersingham Parish Councillors
Mr Tony Bubb
Mr Keith J Manship (Deputy Chairman)
Mr Roy Johnston (Chairman)
Mrs Ann Chapman
Mr Ronald Brackstone
Mrs Valerie Brundle
Mr Paul Burrall
Mr John Houston
Mrs Andrea Smith
Mr Dick Murrell
King's Lynn & West Norfolk Borough Councillors
Mr Paul Burall
Norfolk County Councillor
Mrs Janice Eells

Member of Parliament

Henry Bellingham MP, House of Commons, London SW1A 0AA (telephone: 0207 219 3000).

King's Lynn & West Norfolk Borough Council

The prime responsibilities of the Borough Council include housing, planning, environmental protection, rubbish and litter collection, and major sports and leisure facilities. Contact the Borough Council at King's Court, Chapel Street, King's Lynn PE30 1EX (telephone: 01553 692722; website: www.west-norfolk.gov.uk).

Norfolk County Council

The main responsibilities of the County Council include education, social services, highways, libraries, and the fire service. The Council's Headquarters are at County Hall, Martineau Lane, Norwich NR1 2DH (telephone: 01603 222222); there is also a local inquiry point for highways matters (telephone: 0845 6021930).

Updated 24 June 2008