Borough of King's Lynn and West Norfolk | |
|---|---|
.jpg) King's Lynn, known for bothKing's Lynn Minster and a statue toGeorge Vancouver. The town is the administrative centre and largest settlement in the borough. | |
 Shown withinNorfolk | |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Constituent country | England |
| Region | East of England |
| Administrative county | Norfolk |
| Admin. HQ | King's Lynn |
| Government | |
| • Type | Borough Council |
| Area | |
• Total | 560 sq mi (1,440 km2) |
| • Rank | 15th |
| Population (2024) | |
• Total | 156,206 |
| • Rank | Ranked 145th |
| • Density | 281/sq mi (108/km2) |
| Ethnicity(2021) | |
| • Ethnic groups | |
| Religion(2021) | |
| • Religion | List
|
| Time zone | UTC+0 (Greenwich Mean Time) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+1 (British Summer Time) |
| ONS code | 33UE (ONS) E07000146 (GSS) |
King's Lynn and West Norfolk is alocal government district withborough status inNorfolk, England. Its council is based in the town ofKing's Lynn. The district also includes the towns ofDownham Market andHunstanton, along with numerous villages and surrounding rural areas. The population of the district at the 2021 census was 154,325.[2]
Part of the borough lies within theNorfolk Coast Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The borough lies on the coast, facing bothThe Wash to the west and theNorth Sea to the north. The neighbouring districts areNorth Norfolk,Breckland,West Suffolk,East Cambridgeshire,Fenland andSouth Holland.
The district was created on 1 April 1974 under theLocal Government Act 1972, covering seven former districts which were all abolished at the same time:[3]
The new district was initially named "West Norfolk" reflecting its position in the wider county.[4] The district was awarded borough status on 30 January 1981, allowing the chair of the council to take the title of mayor. The name of the borough was changed later that year, becoming "King's Lynn and West Norfolk" with effect from 14 May 1981.[5]
Borough Council of King's Lynn and West Norfolk | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Type | |
| Type | |
| Leadership | |
Kate Blakemore since 17 June 2024[7] | |
| Structure | |
| Seats | 55 councillors |
Political groups |
|
| Elections | |
Last election | 4 May 2023 |
Next election | 6 May 2027 |
| Meeting place | |
.jpg) | |
| Town Hall, Saturday Market Place, King's Lynn, PE30 5DQ | |
| Website | |
| www | |
The Borough Council of King's Lynn and West Norfolk providesdistrict-level services.County-level services are provided byNorfolk County Council. Much of the borough is also covered bycivil parishes, which form a third tier of local government.[8][9]
The council has been underno overall control since the2023 election, being run by a coalition of most of the independent councillors, the Liberal Democrats and the Greens with informal support from Labour.[10]
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]
| Party in control | Years | |
|---|---|---|
| No overall control | 1974–1976 | |
| Conservative | 1976–1991 | |
| No overall control | 1991–1995 | |
| Labour | 1995–1999 | |
| No overall control | 1999–2003 | |
| Conservative | 2003–2023 | |
| No overall control | 2023–present | |
The role of mayor is largely ceremonial in King's Lynn and West Norfolk, with political leadership instead provided by theleader of the council. The leaders since 2007 have been:
| Councillor | Party | From | To | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nick Daubney[13] | Conservative | 2007 | 12 May 2016 | |
| Brian Long[14][15] | Conservative | 12 May 2016 | 20 May 2021 | |
| Stuart Dark[16][17] | Conservative | 20 May 2021 | May 2023 | |
| Terry Parish[18][19] | Independent | 18 May 2023 | May 2024 | |
| Alistair Beale[20] | Independent | 16 May 2024 | ||
Following the2023 election,[21] and subsequent by-elections and changes of allegiance up to May 2025, the composition of the council was:[22]
| Party | Councillors | |
|---|---|---|
| Conservative | 19 | |
| Labour | 8 | |
| Liberal Democrats | 3 | |
| Reform | 2 | |
| Green | 1 | |
| Independent | 22 | |
| Total | 55 | |
Of the 22 independent councillors, 16 sit together as the 'Independent Partnership', which forms the council's administration with the Liberal Democrats and Green Party. Another two form the 'Progressive Group', and the other four do not belong to a group.[23] The next election is due in 2027.[22]
Since the last boundary changes in 2019 the council has comprised 55councillors representing 35wards, with each ward electing one, two or three councillors. Elections are held every four years.[24]
Although theUK Youth Parliament is an apolitical organisation, the elections are run in a way similar to that of the Local Elections. The votes come from 11 to 18 year olds and are combined to make the decision of the next, 2 yearMember of Youth Parliament. The elections are run at different times across the country with King's Lynn and West Norfolk's typically being in early Spring and bi-annually.
The council generally meets at theTown Hall on the Saturday Market Place in King's Lynn, parts of which date back to the 1420s, having replaced an earlier guildhall on the site which burnt down in 1421.[25][26] The council's main offices are at King's Court, on Chapel Street in King's Lynn, which had been built as speculative offices in 1975, initially being called Aspen House.[27] The council bought the building in 1981.[28]
The district comprises the urban area of King's Lynn itself, together with 102 surrounding parishes. At the time of the2001 census, the district had an area of1,473 km2, of which 28 km2 was in the urban area and 1,445 km2 in the surrounding parishes. The district had a population of 135,345 in 58,338 households, with 34,564 in 15,285 households living in the urban area, whilst 100,781 people in 43,053 households lived in the surrounding parishes.[29]
The main part of the urban area of King's Lynn (roughly corresponding to the pre-1974 borough of King's Lynn) is anunparished area.[9] The remainder of the district is covered bycivil parishes. The parish councils for Downham Market and Hunstanton have declared their parishes to be towns, allowing them to take the style "town council". The parishes are:[30]
|
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
52°45′18″N0°23′46″E / 52.7549°N 0.3962°E /52.7549; 0.3962
