Fransham Parish Council
The seven parish councillors are listed below. Any issues should be directed to the Clerk in the first instance.
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Fransham Parish Councillors
​Mr Richard Watts
Chairman
Tel: 01362 681917
Richard has been resident in Great Fransham with his wife since 2017
and have recently celebrated the arrival of a daughter.
He is an Operations Manager at a manufacturing firm based in Kings Lynn and also a part time flying instructor at a school in Norwich.
Richard joined the council with a wish to maintain the character of the area and ensure the voices of the local residents are heard.
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Mr Russell James
Vice-Chairman
Tel: 01362 687148
Russell is married with three children and after graduating in applied physics, he spent his career in the electronics industry where, for the last part of the time he ran a technical consultancy business. After retiring he took on the role of Clerk to a large parish council in West Norfolk where he gained his certificate in Local Council Administration, helping that council to obtain quality status. He also took on the chairmanship of a Norfolk classic car club and became a volunteer driver on the North Norfolk Railway. He moved to Norfolk from Cambridgeshire 20 years ago and has been a member of Fransham Parish council since 2013 years, six as chairman and now vice chair. His council interests include planning and furthering community engagement.
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Mr James Sheringham
Tel: 01760 722159
James is a local farmer who has lived in Fransham for many years. He has served on the Parish Council for a long time and is a previous Chairman. He is also involved in the local Church and the Fransham in Relief Charity.
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Mrs Emma Spratt
Tel: 01362 687791
Emma has lived in Fransham for over 30 years. She is married to a pig, sheep and arable farmer and has two adult children. Her son works on their farm and their daughter is setting up her own business, a gym on the farm.
Emma helps with riding for the disabled and is very interested in sport, following Norwich City football Club, and the countryside.
Emma hopes she can listen to our community and invest time to improve Fransham.
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Mr Gerry Taylor
Tel: 07711 082373
Gerry has lived in Great Fransham for over 20 years and is married with 3 adult children, all of whom attended Great Dunham Primary and Litcham High Schools. He owns and runs a security company with his wife and has been in this industry over 40 years. He was previously a time served apprentice for Hawker Siddley Aviation in Surrey before he moved to Norfolk
Gerry was previously a Councillor at Guildford Borough Council serving on the works committee and also the planning committee, these previous appointments give him a strong interest in local planning and the infrastructure of Fransham Parish.
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Mr Andrew Lake
Internal Control Officer
Tel: 01362 687537
Andrew was born in Norfolk and has been resident in Little Fransham for over forty years. Now semi-retired, he has spent his working life in agriculture, horticulture and engineering. He is married with one son.
He has been a member of the Parish Council for over thirty years and is a past Chairman.
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Mrs Katharine Robinson
Tel: 07760 669169
Katharine has lived in Gt.Fransham for 10 years. She has a degree in Psychology and English and works as a Family Group Conference and Family Network Advisor for Norfolk County Council. She is married with two adult children, has two dogs and a cat and has a keen interest in the countryside, animals, photography, art and crafts.
She has joined the parish council, having been a Parish Clerk previously, and would like to be able to help, support and assist. She is our Mental Health Champion and can be contacted if help is required.
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Councillor's register of interests can be found on the Breckland Council website.
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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.
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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 Fransham we are able to have seven 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’.
The Role of the Clerk
The Clerk is the ‘Proper Officer’ of the Council who is responsible for the smooth running of the Council’s business. They are 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. They sign 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.