Parish Councillors
Councillor Details
West Winch Parish Council currently has 7 out of 11 parish councillors for the West Winch Ward and 1 parish councillor for the Setchey Ward.
We are also assisted by one county councillor and two borough councillors:
Parish Councillors
Cllr Alan Johnson (Chair) – Email: ajohnson.westwinchpc@gmail.com
Cllr Frank Dutton ( Vice Chair) – Email: fdutton.westwinchpc@gmail.com
Cllr Gavin Ball – Email: gball.westwinchpc@gmail.com
Cllr John Collier – Email: jcollier.westwinchpc@gmail.com
Cllr Adam Gipp – Email: agipp.westwinchpc@gmail.com
Cllr John Lamb – Email: jslamb.westwinchpc@outlook.com
Cllr Paul Moss – Email: pmoss.westwinchpc@gmail.com
Cllr Barry Thrower (Setchey Ward) –Email - bthrowerwestwinchpc@hotmail.com
Link to Register of Interest Forms
County Councillor
County Councillor Miss Alexandra Kemp
49 East Winch Road, Ashwicken, King’s Lynn PE32 1NA
Telephone: 07920 286636. Email: Alexandra.kemp@Norfolk.gov.uk
Borough Councillors
Borough Councillor Mr Thomas Barclay
Email: cllr.Thomas.barclay@west-Norfolk.gov.uk
Borough Councillor Mr Simon Nash
Email: cllr.simon.nash@west-Norfolk.gov.uk
What the Parish Council does?
What do the Parish Council do?
The Council is the lowest tier of local government. The Council has little power but a reasonable amount of influence. One of their leading roles is to exert influence on the decisions of District and County Councils. They are consulted on local Planning Applications, Highway/Road Safety issues, long term planning and wider community involvement strategies. A Parish Council is a local authority whose councillors are voted on by the electors in the Parish area and serve for four years. West Winch Parish Council is made up by councillors that live or work in West Winch. They are elected to serve and administer the residents of West Winch. The Parish Councillors determine and set policy to cater for the social, cultural, welfare and environmental needs of West Winch. Powers are mostly discretionary, i.e. they can be used to as great or little extent as their community wishes.
All councillors adhere to the Parish Council Code of Conduct and complete a register of interests.
King’s Lynn & West Norfolk Borough Council take planning decisions. They give details of every planning application to West Winch Parish Council for the Council to review. They consider the Parish Council’s views and comments on planning applications.
What can Parish Councils do?
Parliament has given various powers to Parish Councils. These powers relate to planning, provision of recreational facilities, community centres and public buildings, crime prevention, community transport, public toilets, tourism, allotments, footpaths, street lighting, certain aspects of highway maintenance, litter, open spaces, traffic calming etc. Powers were recently increased. They also act to represent residents of the parish on issues such as the Local Plan, problems with highways and waste, and with local businesses.
West Winch Parish Council is directly responsible for a number of things in the village:
Maintaining the Village Green and playing fields
Street lighting
Looking after the village bus shelters
Commenting on all planning applications
Supporting village organisations
Providing a focus within the village for action/representations on key issues
Monitoring Public Rights of Way
Where do Parish Councils get their money?
The Parish Council sets a budget every year known as the Precept. The money is collected for them by King’s Lynn & West Norfolk Borough Council through the Council Tax bills. This is paid by the electors in the Parish. The Parish Council may also receive grants and income in other ways. They use this to help improve life for their local community .
Parish Council Meeting Protocol (pdf)
DownloadMeetings
Our Next Meeting :
The next Parish Council meeting will be held on-
- Tuesday 21st of January 2025
at the West Winch Village Hall
Our meetings
The Parish Council meets on the 3rd Tuesday of each month (excluding August & December) in the West Winch Village Hall at 7.30pm.
Meetings are open to the public and a period of 10 minutes is set aside at the beginning of each meeting to allow members of the public to speak on any matter that appears on the agenda. Whilst the meeting is officially "closed" for public question time and the names of members of the public not reported, there is a requirement for the council to minute the proceedings. If a member of the public wishes to speak on a matter that is not tabled in the agenda it will proceed on the approval of the Chairman or referred to the clerk for inclusion on the agenda for the next meeting.
Minutes and agendas prior to the current year can be found in the Meeting Minutes and Agendas Archive.
West Winch Parish Council Meeting Dates – For 2025
January 21st
February 18th
March 18th
April 15th
May 20th Annual meeting of the Council – 7.30pm to 8.30pm
May 20th
June 17th
July 15th
August – No Meeting
September 16th
October 21st
November 18th
December – No Meeting
All meetings will be held at the West Winch Village Hall at 7.30pm
Unless otherwise stated.
Annual meetings
In addition to normal council meetings which are called by the Clerk, there is also an Annual Parish Meeting which is called by the Chairman and takes place in April or May. This meeting allows the Chairman to present to the parish residents his/her report on council business for the year and invites representatives from other bodies to address the residents on their own activities.
The Annual Parish Council Meeting takes place in May and in an election year is the first meeting of the new council. All members sign the declaration of acceptance which is followed by the election of the chair, vice-chair, responsible financial officer, internal auditor, committee members and representatives who will sit on outside bodies.
The Role of a Councillor
A councillor is a member of the council and is normally elected for a term of four years.
People of any political or religious persuasion are eligible to become a councillor, although their personal views should not extend into their parish council work. A councillor is an unpaid voluntary role.
They are elected to represent the interests of the local community as a whole and promote a harmonious local environment. The number of elected councillors depends on the size of the area. In West Winch we are able to have 11 councillors.
Local councils are the first tier of governance and are the first point of contact for anyone concerned with a community issue. They are democratically elected local authorities and exist in England, Wales and Scotland. The term ‘local council’ is synonymous with ‘parish council’, ‘town council’ and ‘community council’.
Becoming a Councillor
Are you interested in joining the Parish Council?
Becoming a parish councillor is a rewarding and valued form of public service.
All councillors contribute to the work of the Parish Council by: -
Having a say about the things they care about
Putting forward ideas for better services
Responding to the needs and views of parishioners
Seeking the best outcome to local issues
Getting involved in decision making
Helping to make West Winch a better place to live!
We normally meet on the third Tuesday of every month except for August & December
Meetings commence at 7.30pm lasting around 2 hours at the West Winch Village Hall,
Councillors are expected to attend meetings on a regular basis.
The Role of a Parish Clerk / RFO
The Clerk is the ‘Proper Officer’ of the Council who is responsible for the smooth running of the Council’s business.
He/she is the first point of contact for the Council and all correspondence comes to the Clerk. Responsibility for implementing the decisions of the Council rests with the Clerk along with giving professional guidance where necessary whilst remaining neutral and discrete.
The Clerk is also responsible for financial management.
The Clerk prepares, circulates and displays agendas in public places.
He/she signs notices and summonses with a list of business to be transacted but does not have the power to fix the meetings of the Council.
The Clerk is required to attend meetings, take minutes, keep Council minutes in a book and hold other documents.
A member of the Council may be appointed as Clerk without remuneration but nowadays it is more usual to appoint someone who is not a councillor to be paid for the work they undertake.
