A review is to be held into whether a Norfolk parish authority can recruit more councillors to serve its more than 200 residents. 

The parish council at Sparham, near Reepham, had requested permission for a ‘community governance review’ to be held by Breckland Council, to see whether it can expand from five members to seven.

In their request, Sparham Parish Council said they now served a population of 246 and that having seven members would bring them into line with similarly-sized parishes. 

At a meeting of Breckland’s general purposes committee on Thursday, November 24, councillors agreed to the review.

Eastern Daily Press: Conservative district councillor Gordon BambridgeConservative district councillor Gordon Bambridge (Image: Breckland Council)

Gordon Bambridge - one of the parish’s two Conservative district councillors - said: “Sparham is a very active parish - there are lots of things going on in it…

“The additional support within the parish [will be beneficial], when they’re organising their fetes, when they’re interested in their fishing clubs, their wildlife clubs - Sparham Pits [pools] is an excellent place for a walk if anyone wants to go on it.

“I would support them in this move.”