Broadland

I am incredibly proud to represent the residents of Taverham North as their Broadland District Councillor during the past two years, and as a Taverham Parish Councillor for approx. five years. My family have enjoyed being part of this beautiful parish for 14 years, and I am proud of the community and the involvement I have in it.

My husband and I have three grown up children, and three wonderful grandchildren, two of which have, or are attending Taverham schools.

My qualifications are in Architecture, hence my membership on the Planning Committee at Broadland, as well as being a member of the Overview & Scrutiny Committee, which holds the council to account. I am also a member of the Licensing & Regulatory Committee which include licensing functions including private hire vehicles, lotteries, and charitable collections.

During my working life I have had experience in retail and the NHS, from which I took early retirement from my position as Directorate PA, so I could concentrate on helping to look after my disabled grandson, who has Cerebral Palsy. This opened up a whole new world to me regarding the inadequacies and lack of funding for disabled people in our communities and spurred me on to campaign for Changing Place Facilities in Norwich city centre, and the opening of such a facility in the INTU shopping centre, which my grandson was honoured to open. Since then, other Changing Places have opened in the Castle Quarter, and soon to be in the Castle Museum, allowing disabled people the dignity and privacy needed for their personal care whilst out and about in Norwich.

I have also been a representative for Family Voice Norfolk, a parent/carer forum in Norfolk, who work with the local authority, health, and social services to improve services for children and young people with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) and their families. My particular interest is with Wheelchair Services and I attended meetings regularly up until the pandemic.

I have many frustrations about the lack of support for families like mine that covers young and old, as well as the disabled community. I want to meet residents and hear their frustrations. As a prospective county councillor, I cannot change the world, but I can listen and help, and more importantly I want to engage with our community for a better future.

I am also proud to be a member of the local SNAP (Safer Neighbourhood Action Plan) Committee; we liaise with partners such as the police which is important in helping to tackle local issues such as anti-social behaviour and drugs, and a great way for residents to engage with their local policing teams and help decide local priorities.

With YOUR help, together we can continue to improve our wonderful community here in Taverham. I believe in listening to people ensuring that resident's concerns are put first before bureaucracy or politics and acting in their best interests.