Ever fancied being able to ask questions or raise a local matter close to your heart at a public meeting facilitated by Wymondham Town Council? Well, now is the yearly opportunity for residents of Wymondham to do just that. It’s Annual Parish Meeting time.

At 7PM on Tuesday 26th April 2022, anyone registered to vote within Wymondham Town Council wards can attend the gathering, which is held at the Town Council’s building (Ketts Park, Harts Farm Road, Wymondham, Norfolk, NR18 0UT).

But despite being facilitated by the Town Council, this is no regular council meeting. In fact, it’s not technically a council meeting at all. It’s a meeting of the “electors” in Wymondham (that means anyone registered to vote here) to discuss matters affecting the town.

And that’s why a whole section of the meeting’s agenda is dedicated to “residents’ questions”. In this segment, any elector is entitled to ask questions and raise issues to the public forum, which will include the mayor, Kevin Hurn and other representatives of Wymondham Town Council.

It’s a unique opportunity to speak face-to-face publicly with your elected representatives.

But if it’s not an official Town Council meeting what is it? The tradition of the Annual Parish Meeting actually dates back to medieval times, prior to the modern-day organised tiers of local government. Parishioners would meet up to discuss the matters of the day and make decisions on what the local area wanted to do about them.

Nowadays, the meetings don’t hold any official binding power over the Town Council. The points raised don’t become law but the meeting still plays a valuable role in local democracy:

It gives councilors and council staff a chance to hear the unfiltered views of the public they serve. And it gives electors a valuable opportunity to air those opinions. Many councils incorporate what they’ve learnt from the meeting into future decision making and policy.

For anyone that cares about local government and decision-making, the Annual Parish Meeting is an annual highlight not to miss. 7PM, 26th April 2022 at the Town Council building in Kett’s Park.