Forest Heath was a

local government district Local may refer to: Geography and transportation * Local (train), a train serving local traffic demand * Local, Missouri, a community in the United States Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Local'' (comics), a limited series comic book by Bria ...

Suffolk Suffolk ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Norfolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Essex to the south, and Cambridgeshire to the west. Ipswich is the largest settlement and the county ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. Its council was based in Mildenhall. Other towns in the district included Newmarket. The population of the district at the 2011 Census was 59,748. The district's name reflected the fact that it contains parts of both Thetford Forest and the heathlands of

Breckland Breckland in Norfolk and Suffolk is a 39,433 hectare Special Protection Area (SPA) under the European Union Directive on the Conservation of Wild Birds. The SPA partly overlaps the 7,544 hectare Breckland Special Area of Conservation. As a la ...

. The district was formed on 1 April 1974, under the

Local Government Act 1972 The Local Government Act 1972 (c. 70) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974. It was one of the most significant acts of Parliament to be passed by the Heath Gov ...

, by a merger of Newmarket Urban District and Mildenhall Rural District. Forest Heath district was merged with the borough of St Edmundsbury on 1 April 2019 to form a new

West Suffolk West Suffolk may refer to the following places in Suffolk, England: * West Suffolk (county), a county until 1974 * West Suffolk District, a local government district established in 2019 * West Suffolk (UK Parliament constituency), an electoral di ...

district. Forest Heath was the home to two of the largest

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

(USAF) airbases in the UK:

RAF Lakenheath Royal Air Force Lakenheath or RAF Lakenheath is a Royal Air Force List of Royal Air Force stations, station near the village of Lakenheath in Suffolk, England, UK, north-east of Mildenhall, Suffolk, Mildenhall and west of Thetford. The insta ...

and

RAF Mildenhall Royal Air Force Mildenhall, or more simply RAF Mildenhall , is a Royal Air Force List of Royal Air Force stations, station located near Mildenhall, Suffolk, Mildenhall in Suffolk, England. Despite its status as a List of Royal Air Force stations, ...

, as well as the headquarters of British horse racing,

Newmarket Racecourse Newmarket Racecourse is a British Thoroughbred horse racing venue in Newmarket, Suffolk, Newmarket, Suffolk, comprising two individual racecourses: the Rowley Mile and the July Course. Newmarket is often referred to as the headquarters of ...

. In the English indices of deprivation 2010 report published by the

Department for Communities and Local Government The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) is a ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It is responsible for housing, communities, and local government in England. It was established in May 200 ...

, two parts of Forest Heath have the highest employment out of 32483 areas in England.

Communities

The district contained three market towns and twenty

civil parishes In England, a civil parish is a type of Parish (administrative division), administrative parish used for Local government in England, local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishe ...

Towns

Civil parishes

Governance

Forest Heath District Council provided district-level functions. County-level functions were provided by

Suffolk County Council Suffolk County Council is the upper-tier Local government in England, local authority for the county of Suffolk, England. It is run by 75 elected county councillors representing 63 divisions. It is a member of the East of England Local Governme ...

. The whole district was also divided into

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

es, which provided a third tier of local government. The district council was based at offices on College Heath Road in Mildenhall. The building was purpose-built for the council and opened in 1980. After the council's abolition in 2019, the building was deemed surplus to requirements, and it was subsequently demolished.

Education

The Shi-Tennoji School in UK in Herringswell, Forest Heath was in operation beginning in 1985, and ending on 17 July 2000.Establishment: Shi-Tennoji School
"
Archive

Department for Education The Department for Education (DfE) is a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It is responsible for child protection, child services, education in England, educati ...

. Retrieved on 8 January 2014. "Shi-Tennoji School Herringswell Bury St Edmund's Suffolk IP28 6SW"

References

External links

Forest Heath District Council
{{coord, 52.3461, 0.5190, type:adm3rd_dim:35000_region:GB-SFK, display=title Former non-metropolitan districts of Suffolk West Suffolk District