NORFOLK PTS
A PARTNERSHIP OF NORFOLK CLERKS
Julie, Sara, Laura, Richard and Di are experienced Norfolk Parish Clerks and have provided locum and audit support to many others.
We understand how valuable it is to have peers to call for support, advice, or just to talk to as a sounding board. Sometimes more formal guidance is needed on IT, legal, financial or HR matters. With many years of experience between us, we’ve dealt with most kinds of challenges, or know someone who has! If you call us you'll be answered by Julie, Laura, Richard or Sara - our colleague Di is semi-retired now although her wealth of knowledge, particularly with allotments and internal auditing, comes in handy when our subscribers ask us these types of questions.
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Julie King
Julie first became involved in Parish Councils in 2005 when she took on the role of clerk to Tasburgh Parish Council. She quickly absorbed the training available working her way through ‘Working With Your Council’ and gaining her CiLCA in 2008. During her time at Tasburgh she was instrumental in a £50,000 playground refurbishment project and secured funding for and managed a project to convert a disused, charity owned field into a nature reserve which has since won two awards. She now clerks for Saxlingham Nethergate and clerked for Newton Flotman Parish Council for many years until 2022.
In 2011, Julie began training local councils and has never looked back. She is now Norfolk PTS' CiLCA trainer. Julie also undertakes locum work for councils in urgent need of clerking services, allowing them to continue functioning and assisting them in the recruitment of their new clerk. Julie is a committee member of the Norfolk Branch of the Society of Local Clerks.
Sara Campbell
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Sara has spent most of her career in an IT, Personnel and Training environment, initially in recruitment for an employment agency where she ran a large contract of over 100 employees at British Telecom.
In 2011, Sara became Clerk to Scole Parish Council and during this time has also clerked for both Bunwell and Gissing Parish Councils, but is now back down to clerking for Scole. She completed her CiLCA training in 2015 achieving Distinction. You may have met Sara as from 2011-2016 she wrote and delivered the WordPress training for Norfolk Parishes Training Partnership.
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Sara in a member of the Society of Local Council Clerks. She doesn’t have much 'spare' time as when she is not clerking she will be found in her jodhpurs riding and caring for her horses!
Laura Apps-Green
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Laura has a background in local government having worked as a Community Development Officer with Breckland District Council for over 10 years, before taking on the role as Parish Clerk for Buxton with Lamas Parish Council in 2015. Laura also has experience in the voluntary sector having lead on a project for the Norfolk Rural Community Council, bringing services to residents in remote locations. The first thing Laura did as Clerk was start her CiLCA training, so that she fully understood the details of the role which is so varied. In 2022 Laura secured external funding of £35,000 to help pay for a new play area in the village. She has developed new allotment facilities in the parish and secured external funding for the Buxton with Lamas War Memorial restoration.
In her free time Laura can be found either in her garden workshop making silver jewellery, at her sewing machine making clothes, or by the seaside having a cold water swim.
Richard Bishop
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Richard came into local government in 1984 as Parish Clerk to Blakeney Parish Council, he moved on to become Town Clerk in Swaffham in 2001 until retiring in 2023. He was also Parish Clerk in his home village of Hindringham for two years from 2015. He became one of the first Norfolk Clerks to obtain the University of Gloucestershire Local Policy Degree in 2000 and was voted Norfolk’s first Clerk of the Year back in 2006. He was Chair of Norfolk SLCC for 7 years, serving for over 25 years on the Branch Executive. He was a mentor on the ‘Working for your Council’ course, a pre-cursor for the CiLCA and served on the original assessment panel for the Quality Councils Scheme, the predecessor of the Awards Scheme.
Richard is now a past member of SLCC, but very much rejuvenated, still having the desire to help and support Clerks, passing on his 40 years of experience. Being a Clerk is a lifelong learning experience, and his philosophy is that there is always someone out there who has been there, done it and got the t-shirt, Clerks should never feel isolated or alone. A lifelong Norwich City supporter, and with four granddaughters, he keeps busy in retirement.
Di Dann
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Di has a wealth of experience in local government having worked for small councils through to town councils during her clerking career. She has been teaching local councils since 2005 and teaches the allotments course for Norfolk PTS. She is also an internal auditor for local councils.
Now semi-retired, she still finds local government work challenging and interesting: “one never knows what is going to hit the desk!” Tasks and projects along the way have included managing allotments, cemeteries, public toilets, markets, maintaining gardens, play areas, car parks, common land, and involvement in numerous community projects.
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