Lonely Norfolk councillor calls for people to join him

John Crowfoot became the only member left on Geldeston Parish Council, a picturesque village on the River Waveney in south Norfolk, when all the other councillors quit in an open letter pinned to the village noticeboard. 

He was unable to remove the letter for almost a month because his former colleagues refused to tell him who had the key.

Now that the ruckus has died down, he is calling for people to join him on the authority and to finally get things moving again.

And, crucially, he has finally been given the key, allowing him to take down the letter attacking him.

John Crowfoot, the last remaining councillor in Geldeston (Image: Denise Bradley/Newsquest)

He said: “I have not had anyone reach out yet, it has been fairly quiet. 

“Some people have said they are ready to help in different ways, we have had people offer to volunteer, but joining the parish council is another matter. 

“I’m feeling positive, I just want to get on and get things done.” 

The commotion began when the chairman and clerk of the council quit at the end of May, just weeks after the local elections. 

Then five other councillors left with a fierce attack on Mr Crowfoot in a letter pinned to the inside of the parish notice board on June 5, in which they accused him of being “abusive” towards the former clerk. 

Mr Crowfoot has always denied the claims and branded the letter “libellous and unlawful”, without any evidence to support the assertion.  

Geldeston (Image: Sonya Brown)

The dispute even saw police called in to investigate. Officers visited Mr Crowfoot and offered him “words of advice”.

Because he was not given access to the notice board the letter stayed in place for 22 days. 

It was not until last week that Mr Crowfoot was given the key, which had been handed over to the monitoring officer at South Norfolk Council. 

In the place of the letter, Mr Crowfoot has posted six notices of vacancy, asking people to join the council.

“It is one hurdle cleared and gradually we can get back to doing things the parish council should be doing,” he said. 

“The parish council should be operative and getting on with addressing the pressing issues in the area.” 

Geldeston notice board (Image: Denise Bradley/Newsquest)

While the letter has now been removed it is not the end of the saga, with Mr Crowfoot still seeking access to the council’s Facebook page and website which have not been updated since the issues began. 

While new councillors are sought, South Norfolk Council has drafted in its own members to allow the Geldeston authority to continue running.

The Crowfoots 

John Crowfoot is a Geldeston native who worked as a translator in Russia for about 15 years. 

He also helped set up a literature prize and worked with a human rights organisation which has since been closed by Vladimir Putin's regime. 

But he is not the only notable member of his family. 

His aunt, Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin, who also came from the village, was a Nobel prize winner for chemistry. She was the third woman to win the prize. 

Dr Dorothy Hodgkin at Sir John Leman High School Prizegiving 1981. Photo: Archant. (Image: Archant)

Mrs Crowfoot Hodgkin is also well known for teaching a then-future prime minister - Margaret Thatcher – while tutoring in chemistry at Oxford.  

While Ms Thatcher was PM, a portrait of Mrs Crowfoot Hodgkin was hung in her Downing Street office. 

Plans are in place for a blue plaque dedicated to her to go up on the Old House in Geldeston, where she, and later Mr Crowfoot, grew up. 

A small garden in her honour is also due to be opened above the Kells Estate on Geldeston Hill.