Briston Parish Council – Governance

Briston Parish Council is who you should contact about local issues. If we don’t deal with it directly we know who does such as North Norfolk District Council  or Norfolk County Council.

The Parish Council is responsible for:

• Managing the open spaces in the village – grass and hedge cutting
• Managing the Church Street Car Park
• Making observations on Planning Applications
  (North Norfolk District Council are responsible for Planning)
• Managing some of the Street Lighting
  (Norfolk County Council Highways, North Norfolk District Council
  and Victory Housing Association do the rest)
• Managing the village allotments
• Providing and managing Play Equipment  for the Plantation Hill Play Area
  (behind Jewel Close)
• Organising and providing community events
  • The summer Gala
  • The Bonfire and Fireworks evening
  • The Warm Space drop in Café
  • Lighting the Beacon for national occasions
• Providing and maintaining the Bus Shelter
• Providing and maintaining public seating
• Providing and maintaining litter bins and dog waste bins

Our Values

There are a lot of regulations that govern how a Parish Council is run and how Councillors are expected to behave. These are summed up by what are called the 7 Nolan principles which are applied to everyone in public life:

• Selflessness – a councillor should act in the public interest.
• Integrity – a councillor should not put themselves under any obligations to others, allow them improperly to influence a councillor to seek benefit for the councillor’s family, friends or close associates.
• Objectivity – a councillor should act impartially, fairly and on merit.
• Accountability – a councillor should be prepared to submit to public scrutiny necessary to ensure accountability.
• Openness – a councillor should be open and transparent in their actions and decisions unless there are clear and lawful reasons for non-disclosure.
• Honesty  – a councillor should always be truthful.
• Leadership – as a councillor,  you should promote, support and exhibit high standards of conduct and be willing to challenge poor behaviour.

The Parish Council Policies and Standing orders are listed below.  Please contact the clerk if a copy is not on the website.

North Norfolk District Council

North Norfolk District Council is the next tier of local government above the Parish Council.

The District Council is responsible for

• Housing
• Leisure and Recreation
• Waste Collection
• Planning Applications
• Collection of Council Tax
• Development of the Local Plan

Briston has one District Councillor, currently Councillor Andrew Fletcher (email andrew.fletcher@north-norfolk.gov.uk). Andrew attends our Parish Council meeting and gives a report on what is happening at District Council level.

Norfolk County Council

Norfolk County Council is the next tier of local government above the District Council. The County Council is responsible for:

• Education (Astley Primary School in Briston)
• Highways (all adopted roads in Briston)
• Transport Planning
• Passenger Transport
• Social Care
• Libraries
• Waste Disposal
• Strategic Planning
• Footpaths and Bridleways access and signage

The County Councillor for Briston is Andrew Brown (email andrew.brown.cllr@norfolk.gov.uk). Andrew attends our Parish Council meeting and gives a report on what is happening at County Council level.

HM Government, Westminster

HM Government in Westminster is the next tier of government above the County Council. The newly elected Member of Parliament for Briston is Steffan Aquarone.