Women lead council for first time in 30 year history

Vivienne Clifford-Jackson is to be the new leader of South Norfolk Council. The former Care, Fairness and Housing Cabinet Member will lead a team where four of the seven Cabinet members are women.

Uniquely, five members of the Cabinet are also working and all are under retirement age. “We think this reflects the diversity of our residents by age, gender and occupation,” said Vivienne Clifford-Jackson.

Councillor Mandy Smith will lead on Housing, Councillor Jacky Sutton will lead on the Economy and Councillor Jane Walker will lead on Culture and Learning.

Councillor Philip Waltham will lead on Better Health and Safer Communities, Councillor John Peterson will lead on the Environment and Councillor Trevor Lewis is Deputy Leader and retains responsibility for Resources.

The new Cabinet is subject to endorsement by the council’s annual meeting on Monday, May 16.

Councillor Clifford-Jackson said:

“I want to pay tribute to former Leader Richard Carden and deputy John Halliday. They led this council with intelligence and determination and with great distinction. They have been the architects of our success and will be a very hard act to follow.

“This new Cabinet is ready for the challenge. Our theme is to be inclusive and outward facing. We will be listening to all in our community and acting on behalf of all in our community. We have always been a very open-door council, and we want to develop this.

“Please call me, or any of the team, if you want to talk to us. We are also keen to meet more parish councillors and other community leaders across the district.

“We have started the dialogue with young people and older people, and we want to strengthen that relationship. We will also be engaging more strongly with our parish councils.

”We are bringing affordable homes to families and individuals in need and positively tackling homelessness.

“Our new neighbourhood safety officer has been effective in tackling crime and anti-social behaviour. We are putting our communities first by working with young people, the police and others to make everyone feel safer.

“The roll-out of wheelie bins across the district has been successful and we will build on this, saving South Norfolk’s beautiful environment for our children and grandchildren.

“We have supported our world-famous local businesses like Lotus when they have hit rough patches, by working with them to organise job fairs for skilled staff facing redundancy.

“We believe in the quality of life of our residents, as shown by the exciting summer festivals which have been well attended and appreciated by residents and visitors alike. More are planned for this summer.

“We have never overspent as a council, and we believe in value for money in our services. We are committed to making every penny count.

“We are a ‘good’ council, as recognised by our inspectors, but we want to be an ‘excellent’ council and would ask everyone, including our opposition, to help us achieve this for the residents of South Norfolk.”

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