Denton Parish Council
The Council
Denton has a parish council of seven members elected all together every four years. Casual vacancies are normally filled by co-option. Parish councillors serve on a voluntary basis but the council employs a part-time clerk to provide administrative support.
The latest election should have taken place on May 2nd 2019, the same day as the district council elections, but there were only five nominations for the seven places.
The two remaining places were filled by co-option, Robert Fearnly at the July meeting and Helen Sida-Page in September. Since then Zoe Brown has stepped down and Steve Barrett co-opted in her place.
The next elections will be in 2023.
Further information about the elections and the role of parish councillors is provided on the Elections Page.
Parish councils have a limited range of powers but they do have a vital role to play in representing the views and interests of the local community.
They have a statutory right to be consulted by other bodies, notably the county and district councils, on issues affecting the village.
In particular they are consulted on all planning applications that affect the parish and have speaking rights at the District Council's planning committee meetings.
The Council encouraged residents to take part in the "Community Governance Review" recently conducted by South Norfolk Council.
Perhaps the most interesting issue included in the Review was a potential change to the parish boundary to transfer eight properties from Earsham to Denton. Rather surprisingly, Earsham PC raised no objections.
The change was eventually approved by the District Council and the Local Government Boundary Commission and it is now in force.
Further details are available in a News Item from 2017.
The Council sponsors this website and in the past published a Village Directory but this has now been discontinued.
Who is on the Parish Council?
- Mr Terry Hanner (Chair) – Tel: 01986 788414
- Mr Ken Ashton (Vice-Chair) – Tel: 01986 788705
- Mr Stephen Barrett – Tel: 01986 788685
- M/s Melissa Bunn – Tel: 01986 789151
- Mr Robert Fearnley – Tel: 01986 788630
- Mrs Christine Kerr – Tel: 01986 788372
- Mrs Helen Sida-Page – Tel: 01986 788549
Councillors are bound by a Code of Conduct which can be viewed on a Separate Page.
All councillors are required to complete a Declaration of Interest laying out their ownership of land in the parish and any other interests which might be relevant. The returns from members of Denton PC can be seen on the South Norfolk Council website.
Details of former members of the Council and other aspects of its history can be found in the History Section.
Parish Clerk
The Council employs a part-time Clerk to provide administrative support.
Jackie Ellis
Address:
2 Cherrywood, Harleston, IP20 9LP.
Tel: 07908 253095.
e-mail: dentonparish@gmail.com
The Council is a member of the Norfolk Association of Local Councils.
When are Meetings held?
Parish council meetings used to beld once a month in Denton Village Hall on the second Tuesday of each month (apart from August and December)
but the Council have since moved to meeting every other month. They will thus be held in January, March, May, July, September and November starting at 7.30 pm.
Additional meetings may be called if significant urgent issues, e.g. a contentious planning application, should arise.
Members of the public are always welcome to attend. There are items on the agenda which gives residents the opportunity to bring any relevant issues to the attention of councillors.
Most recent meeting: Tuesday, 9th March, via video-confrencing.
The draft minutes of that meeting will appear here soon.
The next meeting is now due to take place, via video-conferencing, on Tuesday 11th May.
The Agenda will appear here in due course.
Council Annual Meetings
The Council holds an Annual Meeting, normally in May, when the Chairman and Vice-Chairman are elected etc.
The 2019 Annual Meeting was held on Tuesday 14th May after the Annual Parish Meeting.
The 2020 meeting was cancelled.
Standing Orders
The conduct of all council meetings is controlled by a set of
Standing Orders.
Download the Document PDF
Data Protection and Privacy Policies
The Council has adopted policies to meet national requirements.
Download the Document PDF
Complaints Policy
The Council has adopted a formal procedure to handle complaints.
which can be seen Here
Planning Policy
The Council has adopted a statement on planning procedure.
which can be seen Here
Minutes Archive
The minutes of previous meetings since 2007 can be found in the Minutes Archive.
How the Council Pays its Way
Each year the Council funds its activities by precepting a sum of money, £3,926 for the current 2019/20 financial year, from the district council. This compares with £3,551 last year.
This results in a charge of £24.84 for a typical, Band D, property.
It is collected, with the sums required by the County Council, District Council and Police Authority, as part of all parish households' Council Tax.
Council Finance
Further information on the Council Tax system together with details of the Council's finances, budgets and accounts, are available on the PC Finance Page.
The formal notice of access to the auditors report is now available on a Special Page.
Parish Meetings
The Council also organises an Annual Parish Meeting each year, normally in April or May, where the Parish Council report back on their activities during the year and any items of general interest can be discussed.
The 2019 Meeting was held on Tuesday 14th May.
This was the Agenda for that meeting..
The 2020 Meeting was cancelled due to the Coronavirus situation.
Residents are urged to come along, find out more and put their points of view forward.
Joint Meetings
Occasionally, normally once a year, joint meetings are held for the five parishes that make up the Earsham district council ward – Alburgh, Earsham, Topcroft and Wortwell as well Denton. Guest speakers are invited and issues of common concern discussed. These meetings are open to the public.
The most recent meeting was held at Denton Village Hall on Thursday, 15th November.
Speed Monitoring
The Council have installed a Traffic Speed Monitoring System in the village.
Further information including detailed results are available on a
Separate Page.
Allotments
One power that parish councils do possess is the provision of allotments for local residents. DPC currently provides four plots, available on the old allotment land between the playing field and Rogerson's Wood.
Parishoners interested in renting a plot should contact the Chairman or Clerk.
Access to Information
Under the Public Information Act the Council is required to publish details of what information it holds and how the public can gain access to it. This is provided on the next page.