Each Parish is required to have an annual meeting for electors. This Annual Parish Meeting is distinct from the meetings of the Parish Council, though, if present, the Council Chair must preside. By law it must be held between 1st March and 1st June (inclusively). Matters raised at it should be brought, if appropriate, to Council for consideration. It is customary for there to be reports from local groups.

In 2020 due to the pandemic there was no meeting. In 2021, with lockdown continuing, there was a “slimmed-down” Annual Meeting, simply to comply with legislation. This was held on 5/5/21:
Annual Parish Meeting Draft Minutes- 5/5/21

Minutes of recent Parish Meetings:
2019 – APM approved minutes
2018 – APM approved minutes
2017 – APM approved minutes
2016 – APM approved minutes
2015 – APM approved minutes
2014 – APM approved minutes
2013 – APM approved minutes
2012 – APM approved minutes

All councils are required to consult with members of the public, in a variety of ways. Although we obviously cannot accede to every request, we are required to consider them, and respond promptly and courteously.

We believe we exceed the requirements for consulting and informing the public.

To that end we regularly operate the following:

Open Office time – 10-12 on Monday and Thursdays
Councillor Surgeries – last Wednesday of the month, 2pm -3 or (3.30) at the Old Bank, Market Square
Annual Open Meetings, in the Spring. At these we present a summary of Council activities and projects, as well as offering the opportunity for local groups to present displays and meet the Public. The next one is likely to coincide with the Annual Parish Meeting.
Public are welcome at our Full Council and Support Group meetings.
In the event of a major project by an outside organisation we offer time before our meetings for public presentations (e.g. with the Solar Farm)
Each edition of the TORC contains a summary of Council news from the last four months.
We have a facebook page which provides information and allows comments on Council posts, as well as providing another way to contact Council.
For certain issues (e.g. currently those dealing with the Common, WWI centenary commemoration and others) we encourage members of the Public to join Councillors on Working Groups to develop plans.

In addition we have consulted on other important issues over the last few years, notably the Beach Footpath, the Silica Sand proposals by NCC and, most recently, our Neighbourhood Plan (questionnaires and public meetings). The Office is in contact with many Village Groups, and we encourage them to use Council resources to promote their activities.

Should we fail to meet the standards expected by the Public, they have the right to complain – see elsewhere for details. Employees are bound by their contracts and relevant disciplinary procedures, and councillors by the Code of Conduct.

As well as encouraging parishioners to raise issues with us, Council believes it has a duty to respond to consultation by outside bodies. Over time, we will add the correspondence we have had on matters such as boundary reviews, Wash Flood Defence funding, silica sand proposals, changes to policing and other important matters.

Finance
Each Full Council meeting has a finance report. This presents the current state of Council bank accounts and investments, as well as a section showing how current spending compares to the budgets allocated. Finally there is a listing of all proposed expenditure to be agreed, and recent receipts.

The precept is the money taken from local residents to finance the Parish Council’s operations. It is set each year following discussions over what budgets are required. The precept takes into account reserves built up, so the budget and precept figures are not usually the same. On 15/1/21  we agreed the finance figures for 2021/22. We have set the precept for this year at £85.14 per Band D property for the year, a rise of less than 0.1% or 8p per year (it was only raised at all for rounding purposes). Over the last seven years the annual increase is just under 2% on average, roughly the same as the inflation figure. You can see the approved budget and precept figures on the minutes of the January 2021 meeting.

Councils are supposed to make available all expenditure over £500. We try to be more transparent with our accounts, and list all expenditure, though we do collate salary figures for reasons of confidentiality.

Snettisham PC expenditure – 2020/21 – full year

Audit

Council accounts are audited in two ways. We have an internal auditor (currently Mr Michael Ruston, in his sixth year), who is appointed by Council to look at the accounts with an independent eye, and check that our financial risk-management strategy is sound. At the end of each year we have to submit our accounts, and a document showing that we have abided by relevant legislation, to an external auditor (this is now PKF Littlejohn LLP). We are required to publish these statements at the time, and the public have a right to inspect the accounts and make representation to the auditor if they wish. (This is set by legislation, and has now expired for the 2020/21 audit.)

The 2020-21 audit paperwork, approved by the Internal Auditor and by Council in May 2021, has now been approved by the External Auditor without qualification – meaning they were happy with everything. The Conclusion notice below gives details of how to request copies, though these are available here.

The required publications are here:
Completed AGAR form – SPC, Internal and External Auditors’ sections
Notice of Conclusion of Audit

Previous years’ completed audit forms are available below:
2019/20 Audit form
2018/19 Audit form
2017/18 Audit form
2016/17 Audit form
2015/16 Audit form
2014/15 Audit form
2013/14 Audit form
2012/13 Audit form
2011/12 Audit form
2010/11 Audit form
2009/10 Audit form

We also publish our current asset list. This was approved at the meeting on 3/3/21. Note that these asset figures are not necessarily actual valuations – unlike commercial asset lists we do not use depreciation, and some assets are valued at nominal sums.

Finally, Council receives funds from time to time from the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL). This is charge on the majority of new dwellings and is paid to the Borough Council. We receive 25% of this as we have a Neighbourhood Plan. We are required to publish our CIL report: 2020-21 CIL Report

Snettisham is a Key Rural Service Centre in the Local Plan. We have many services that other rural communities might envy, and a thriving network of organisations and clubs. If you run a group and would like us to include your details, please contact us by email.

To help keep the information on this page up to date, we have generally provided links direct to the providers’ websites, rather than individual documents. We have added a further page with information posters from third parties – see the extra tab in the “useful information” section. Please note this does not imply that we have direct knowledge of these organisations, or that we endorse them.

Who to contact:
Different authorities have different responsibilities, from potholes to street lights and so on – it helps to check so you go straight through to the right people Who does what.

Post Office: updated April 2020
There is a mobile Post Office which visits four times each week, in the Market Square. Times are Mon/Tue/Wed 1250-1350, and Fri 1350-1450.

Buses:
Snettisham is fortunate to have good bus services. These are provided by Lynx Buses website. Please use their site directly to access timetables.

Mobile Library:
There are visits every four weeks: Mobile Library visit times.

The Common:
The Parish Council owns the Common on behalf of the Village. Common Land is a valuable recreational and environmental resource. We manage it under a Plan devised with Norfolk Wildlife Trust, in order to encourage ecological diversity, and make the most of its geological features. A new Plan has just been adopted.
2020 Snettisham Common Management Plan.
County Wildlife Site information – please note the map is of the site, not the Common!
The sand pit is a remarkable feature: Geological Information on sand pit.

The Beach:
Work on the beach takes place every year to ensure the defence of the land behind the foreshore. Funding for this comes from a variety of sources, including a local contribution from businesses to the Community Interest Company. Up to date information (June 2020) on this is available in this Wash East Coast Management Strategy update

Local Walks:
This website has information on walks in the local area. Walking in Norfolk website

The TORC is currently produced three times a year by a small group of volunteers.

COVID
Due to ongoing difficulties in producing an edition while the uncertainty around COVID continues, we have not produced an edition since March 2020. Discussions are ongoing about the resumption of the TORC (May 2021).

If any village organisation wishes to submit articles for this edition, or any village business wishes to place an advert, please contact The Editor.

Where space is limited, the Clerk’s notes are included in a separate document, as below, with an Annual Review of Council finances etc.

The latest editions are below:

2020
Spring newsletter
2019
Autumn newsletter
Summer newsletter
Summer Council insert
Spring newsletter
Spring Council insert
2018
Autumn newsletter
Summer newsletter
Summer Clerk notes and review
Spring newsletter
Spring clerk notes
2017
Autumn newsletter
Summer newsletter
Summer clerk notes and review
Spring newsletter
Spring clerk notes
2016
Autumn newsletter
Autumn clerk notes and review
Summer newsletter
Spring newsletter
Spring clerk notes
2015
Autumn newsletter
Summer newsletter
Spring newsletter
2014
Autumn newsletter
Summer newsletter