Top title for Costessey parish clerk

Rachel Jackson.

ANGI KENNEDY
26 August 2009 12:06



A woman who has been at the heart of the Costessey community for 20 years has been named as the best in the county for her role as parish clerk.

Rachel Jackson has won the title of top parish clerk in the Pride in Norfolk Community Awards, which are run by Norfolk county council and our sister paper the Eastern Daily Press.

Now, at 59 and a mother and grandmother, she knows she is coming towards the end of her career as a parish clerk, but it is one that she has found endlessly fulfilling.

Originally working in the Department of Employment, she had given up work when she started her family. But as her children grew older she decided to take part-time work and got the job of parish clerk to Old Catton back in 1984. Four years later she took the full-time post at Costessey and has been there ever since.

“Our main role is to serve the council and the community,” explained Rachel, who lives in Lambert Road, Sprowston.

But that's not just about taking minutes at meetings - every day is different and holds a new challenge for Rachel.

“The position of parish and town clerks has changed beyond recognition over the years from being almost something that people did as a hobby to becoming recognised as a profession,” she said.

Working in the parish rooms at Old Costessey, she is on the frontline when people want to ask for advice, make their thoughts known about community topics or simply have a moan.

Issues facing the council range from the everyday matters of a community to involvement with plans for major housing developments. Costessey also has the only residential Travellers' site in south Norfolk. “It has now become a national example of how such sites should be run,” said Mrs Jackson.

“I get a degree of satisfaction usually from the small things, when we get people come in to see us with a problem and we are able to help them or point them in the right direction.

“You need to have patience and a good sense of humour to do this work, and you have to try to be honest with people. If you can't help them, you have to tell them exactly why - and if you can help them, then all well and good.

“I love going out to the parks and seeing the children enjoying the play equipment that the parish council has provided for them - that's another special part of the job.

“It is almost impossible to describe what it is like to be a parish clerk because no two days are the same. One day I might be writing minutes, the next I might be walking out in the woodlands helping to decide what we are going to do about the wildlife.”

“I genuinely feel that there must be lots of councils out there who didn't nominate their clerks, because there are a lot of people who do the job very well and who are very professional,” she added.

“Most of it is down to the council, led by chairman Bill Dinneen, who accept my mistakes and jokes with good grace. My thanks also go out to my excellent staff and to my family who have put up with all my moaning and groaning through the years.”

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