Mid Suffolk is 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. The district is primarily a rural area, containing just three towns, being

Stowmarket Stowmarket ( ) is a market town and civil parish in the Mid Suffolk district of Suffolk, England,OS Explorer map 211: Bury St.Edmunds and Stowmarket Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher:Ordnance Survey – Southampton A2 edition. Publishing Date:2008. o ...

Needham Market Needham Market is a small town in the Mid Suffolk district of Suffolk, England, set in the Gipping Valley. Nearby villages include Barking, Suffolk, Barking, Darmsden, Badley and Creeting St Mary. The town is located just east of the A14 road ( ...

and

Eye An eye is a sensory organ that allows an organism to perceive visual information. It detects light and converts it into electro-chemical impulses in neurons (neurones). It is part of an organism's visual system. In higher organisms, the ey ...

. Its council was based in Needham Market until 2017 when it moved to shared offices with neighbouring Babergh District Council in

Ipswich Ipswich () is a port town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in Suffolk, England. It is the county town, and largest in Suffolk, followed by Lowestoft and Bury St Edmunds, and the third-largest population centre in East Anglia, ...

, outside either district. In 2021 it had a population of 103,417. The neighbouring districts are East Suffolk,

, Babergh,

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 ...

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 ...

and

South Norfolk South Norfolk is a local government district in Norfolk, England. The largest town is Wymondham, and the district also includes the towns of Costessey, Diss, Harleston, Hingham, Loddon and Long Stratton. The council was based in Long S ...

History

The district was created 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 ...

, covering five former districts which were all abolished at the same time: *

Municipal Borough A municipal borough was a type of local government Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of governance or public administration within a particular sovereign state. Local governments typically constitute a subdivision of ...

* Gipping Rural District * Hartismere Rural District *

Urban District * Thedwastre Rural District Thedwastre Rural District had been in the

administrative county An administrative county was a first-level administrative division in England and Wales from 1888 to 1974, and in Ireland from 1899 until 1973 in Northern Ireland, 2002 in the Republic of Ireland. They are now abolished, although most Northern ...

prior to the reforms; the other districts had all been in East Suffolk. The new district was named Mid Suffolk, reflecting its position within the wider county.

Governance

Mid Suffolk District Council provides district-level services. County-level services are 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 is also covered by

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 form a third tier of local government. In 2011, Mid Suffolk and Babergh District Councils began working together, with one, fully integrated staff structure.

Political control

The council has been under

Green Party A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as environmentalism and social justice. Green party platforms typically embrace Social democracy, social democratic economic policies and fo ...

majority control since the 2023 election, being the first time that the party had taken majority control of any council. The first elections were held in 1973, initially operating as a shadow authority alongside the outgoing authorities until the new arrangements came into effect on 1 April 1974. Political control of the council since 1974 has been as follows: (Put "Mid Suffolk" in search box to see specific results.)

Leadership

The leaders of the council since 2003 have been:

Composition

Following the 2023 election, and subsequent by-elections and changes of allegiance up to May 2025, the composition of the council was: The four independent councillors sit together as the "Mid Suffolk Independents" group. The next election is due in May 2027, where all seats of the council will be up for election.

Elections

Since the last boundary changes in 2019 the council has comprised 34

councillor A councillor, alternatively councilman, councilwoman, councilperson, or council member, is someone who sits on, votes in, or is a member of, a council. This is typically an elected representative of an electoral district in a municipal or re ...

s representing 26 wards, with each ward electing one or two councillors. Elections are held every four years.

Premises

Since 2017 Babergh and Mid Suffolk councils have their combined headquarters at Endeavour House in Ipswich, sharing the building with

. When first created the council inherited offices in Elmswell, Eye, Stowmarket and Needham Market from its predecessors. It initially used the former Hartismere Rural District Council offices on Castleton Way in Eye as its headquarters, retaining the former Gipping Rural District Council offices in Needham Market and Stowmarket Urban District Council offices at Red Gables on Ipswich Road as secondary offices. The council initially decided to consolidate its offices in Stowmarket, being the district's largest town and a central location, but no suitable site could be found there. Instead it decided to extend the former Gipping Rural District Council's headquarters in Needham Market. The original building there was a large eighteenth century house called "Hurstlea" at 131 High Street. A large modern extension was built behind the original building, which was formally opened in January 1982.

Towns and parishes

The whole district is covered by civil parishes. The parish councils for Eye, Needham Market and Stowmarket have declared their parishes to be towns, allowing them to take the style "town council". Some of the smaller parishes have a

parish meeting A parish meeting is a meeting all the electors in a civil parish in England are entitled to attend. In some cases, where a parish or group of parishes has fewer than 200 electors, the parish meeting can take on the role of a parish council, with ...

rather than a parish council.

References

External links

Mid Suffolk District Council
{{Authority control Non-metropolitan districts of Suffolk 1974 establishments in England