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:[2]
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.[3] 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.[4] 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.[5][6]
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.[10]
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:[11][12]
Following the 2023 election and subsequent by-elections and changes of allegiance up to July 2024, the composition of the council was:[20][21]
The next election is due in 2027.
Elections
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.[22]
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.[23]
Geography
North Walsham, the largest settlement in the district
At the time of the 2001 census, the district had an area of 994 square kilometres (384 sq mi), with a population of 98,382 in 43,502 households.[24]
Demography
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%.[25]
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".[26]
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.[27][28]
The World of Darkness parody web series, Hunter: The Parenting, is set in the area.
References
^ a bUK Census (2021). "2021 Census Area Profile – North Norfolk Local Authority (E07000147)". Nomis. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 5 January 2024.
^"Council seeks name change". Lynn News and Advertiser. 26 June 1973. p. 13. Retrieved 10 December 2023.
^"Historical information from 1973 onwards". Boundary-Line support. Ordnance Survey. Retrieved 17 February 2023.
^Anderson, Stuart (16 April 2020). "Leadership shake-up sees familiar face take top job after report found 'serious concerns'". North Norfolk News. Retrieved 10 December 2023.
^"Election Maps". Ordnance Survey. Retrieved 21 September 2023.
^"Who we are". Broads Authority. Retrieved 6 December 2023.
^"Compositions calculator". The Elections Centre. 4 March 2016. Retrieved 1 June 2023.
^"North Norfolk". BBC News Online. Retrieved 3 October 2009.
^"Council minutes". North Norfolk District Council. Retrieved 24 June 2022.
^Batson, Richard (25 February 2011). "North Norfolk council defends £1m consultancy bills". Eastern Daily Press. Retrieved 24 June 2022.
^"Keith Johnson elected as the new leader of North Norfolk District Council after Helen Eales steps down". Eastern Daily Press. 31 May 2012. Retrieved 24 June 2022.
^"Norfolk council leader abused wife and planned her murder, inquest hears". The Guardian. 24 September 2013. Retrieved 24 June 2022.
^Batson, Richard (20 December 2012). "New leader chosen at North Norfolk District Council after shotgun death of predecessor". Eastern Daily Press. Retrieved 24 June 2022.
^Anderson, Stuart (21 February 2018). "'Grow up and get on with it' - new leader's message as he takes over council reins". North Norfolk News. Retrieved 24 June 2022.
^Hannant, David (21 November 2018). "Political tide turns in North Norfolk as vote of no confidence is carried against leadership". North Norfolk News. Retrieved 24 June 2022.
^"Local elections 2023: live council results for England". The Guardian.
^"North Norfolk". Local Councils. Thorncliffe. Retrieved 14 July 2024.
^The Buildings of England, Norfolk 1, Norwich and North-east, By Nikolaus Pevsner and Bill Wilson ISBN 0-300-09607-0
^Office for National Statistics & Norfolk County Council (2001). Census population and household counts for unparished urban areas and all parishes Archived 11 February 2017 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2 December 2005.
^"Age - Census Maps, ONS". www.ons.gov.uk. Retrieved 6 January 2023.
^"Parish council contact details". North Norfolk District Council. Retrieved 10 December 2023.
^Private Eye, Issue 1532, p.21
^"Eastern Daily Press".
External links
Wikivoyage has a travel guide for North Norfolk.
Visit North Norfolk
North Norfolk District Council
North Norfolk Railway
Gallery of North Norfolk - Photographs of North Norfolk