Published: Wednesday, 12th November 2025
Results from Let’s Talk West Norfolk, the Borough Council’s budget survey, show that people in the borough want financial decisions about their services to be made locally.
More than half of respondents wanted the Borough Council to be able to set council tax to meet local needs instead of being capped nationally. Just under a third disagreed, leaving around 15% being unsure or not having a strong opinion.
Cllr Chris Morley, the Borough Council’s Cabinet Member for Finance, said:
“First and foremost, I want to say thank you to everyone who took part. 546 people shared their opinions, and they have given us some really useful insights into their priorities.
It’s clear that people want these decisions to be made locally and we can now use their feedback to help us lobby the Government for fairer funding for West Norfolk.
People also said it was important to protect their local services if we can but supported the idea of saving money by making more use of digital and self-service, and sharing buildings.
We are now in the process of developing next year’s budget. In a continuing tough financial climate for councils, it is difficult to maintain quality services and meet residents’ needs while also balancing our financial position.
This feedback helps us because it will inform our thinking when making these important decisions.”
Nearly all residents supported, at least to some extent, the suggestions that people could make more use of self-service for simple requests, such as address changes, and that the Council should save money by making more use of digital communications. They also supported the Council exploring the possibility of sharing its buildings with other organisations to save money.
There was much less support for reducing the level of services – just over half of respondents disagreed with this suggestion, at least to some extent.
If services were reduced, people would most want the Council to protect waste and recycling, tackling anti-social behaviour and crime, and managing coastal change and flood risk.
They would be more open to the idea of making savings on action on climate change, options for walking and cycling, support for community groups and charities, and maintaining local culture, heritage and free events.