Death of Councillor John Sweeney, Chairman of NNDC

The late John Sweeney, who was made
Chairman of NNDC in April 2005

Councillor John Sweeney, Chairman and former Leader of North Norfolk District Council, has died. He was 74.

Councillor Sweeney was made Chairman of the Council in April this year after 10 years as a District Councillor. He represented Chaucer Ward, which includes Beeston Regis, East and West Beckham, Gresham, Matlaske, Sustead, Metton, Bessingham and Upper Sheringham, and had also been Chairman of East and West Beckham Parish Council since 1990.

A retired coach operator and driver who spent his early years as a Deck Officer on tankers and in oil drilling operations in the Middle East, Councillor Sweeney became Leader of NNDC's Liberal Democrat Group in 1999, steering the Council through its modernisation, reorganisation and adoption of the "Leader and Executive" model of decision-making. He became the first Leader of the Council following elections that year.

Councillor Sweeney stood down as Leader of the Council and Liberal Democrat Group in 2004, a year after the elections in 2003 when the Liberal Democrats were returned with an overall majority (the first time there has been a party in overall control of NNDC since the Council was created in 1974) and the Executive evolved into the Cabinet.

At NNDC's Cabinet meeting this morning, his successor as Council and Group Leader, Councillor Simon Partridge, announced the news of Councillor Sweeney's death at the weekend following a heart attack, and paid tribute: "He has been hugely supportive to me. I owe him a huge debt of gratitude for everything he has done for me.

"He was unflappable, solid, pragmatic, and a very warm man. It is not just a loss to his family and the Council, it is a loss for all the people of North Norfolk."

Councillor Bernard Crowe, Leader of the opposition Conservative and Independent Alliance, said the group was "very sad to hear the news." He said: "We respect him for what he achieved. He was well-liked by everybody, and was resilient and did not take criticism personally."

The Cabinet observed a minute's silence in Councillor Sweeney's honour this morning. The Chairman's duties will be undertaken by NNDC's Vice-Chairman, Councillor Sue Willis, for the time being, pending the appointment of a new Chairman.

ENDS