The Council is the first tier of local government. It has few powers but a reasonable amount of influence with other local authorities and government organisations. Its main role is to exert influence over the decisions of the Borough and County Councils. We are consulted on local planning applications, highway/road safety issues, long term planning and wider community involvement strategies.

A Parish Council is a local authority whose councillors are voted for by the electors in the Parish area and serve for four years. Fincham Parish Council has 8 councillors and all councillors live or work in Fincham. They are elected to serve and administer the residents of the parish. The Parish Councillors determine and set policies to cater for the social, cultural, welfare, and environmental needs of Fincham. Powers are mostly discretionary, i.e. they can be used to as great or little extent as their community wishes.

All councillors adhere to the Parish Council Code of Conduct and complete a register of interests, you can find these forms under ‘Documents’.

Planning decisions are made by The Borough Council of Kings Lynn & West Norfolk. They give details of every planning application to Fincham Parish Council for the Council to review and provide comments on, which the Borough Council take into account when making their decision.

The Parish Clerk is the Proper Officer of the Council. It is the Clerk’s job to manage the administration of the Council, advise it on its powers and duties, and keep councillors informed about legislation and local initiatives.