West Suffolk District

West Suffolk District is a local government district in Suffolk, England. It was established in 2019 as a merger of the previous Forest Heath District with the Borough of St Edmundsbury. The council is based in Bury St Edmunds, the district's largest town. The district also contains the towns of Brandon, Clare, Haverhill, Mildenhall and Newmarket, along with numerous villages and surrounding rural areas.

For the former administrative county abolished in 1974, see West Suffolk (county).
West Suffolk
Non-metropolitan district
Coat of arms of West Suffolk
Coat of arms
West Suffolk district within Suffolk
West Suffolk district within Suffolk
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Constituent countryEngland
RegionEast of England
Non-metropolitan countySuffolk
StatusNon-metropolitan district
Admin HQBury St Edmunds
Incorporated1 April 2019
Government
 • TypeNon-metropolitan district council
 • BodyWest Suffolk Council
Area
 • Total400 sq mi (1,035 km2)
 • Rank24th of 296
Population
 (2021)
 • Total180,820
 • Rank114th of 296
 • Density450/sq mi (170/km2)
  • Rank253rd of 296
Time zoneUTC0 (GMT)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+1 (BST)

The neighbouring districts are Mid Suffolk, Babergh, Braintree, South Cambridgeshire, East Cambridgeshire, King's Lynn and West Norfolk and Breckland.

History

Prior to West Suffolk's creation, its predecessors Forest Heath District Council and St Edmundsbury Borough Council had been working together for a number of years, having had shared a joint chief executive since 2011. The two districts were formally merged into a new district of West Suffolk with effect from 1 April 2019.[1][2]

The new district has the same name as the former administrative county of West Suffolk, which was abolished in 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972, but the new district covers a slightly smaller area than the pre-1974 county, which had also included areas now in the Babergh and Mid Suffolk districts.[3]

Governance
West Suffolk Council
Type
Type
History
Founded1 April 2019 (2019-04-01)
Preceded bySt Edmundsbury
Forest Heath
Leadership
Roger Dicker,
West Suffolk Independents
since 23 May 2023
Cliff Waterman,
Labour
since 23 May 2023
Ian Gallin
since 1 April 2019
Structure
Seats64 councillors
Political groups
Administration (38)
  Labour (17)
  Independent (10)
  West Suffolk Ind. (9)
  Green (1)
  Liberal Democrats (1)
Opposition (26)
  Conservative (26)
Elections
Plurality block voting
Last election
4 May 2023
Next election
2027
Meeting place
West Suffolk House, Western Way, Bury St Edmunds, IP33 3YU
Website
www.westsuffolk.gov.uk

West Suffolk Council provides district-level services.[4] County-level services are provided by Suffolk County Council. The whole district is also covered by civil parishes, which form a third tier of local government.[5]

Political control

The council has been under no overall control since the 2023 election. A coalition of Labour, the West Suffolk Independents, Liberal Democrats, Greens and independent councillors formed after the election, led by Labour councillor Cliff Waterman.[6]

A shadow authority comprising the councillors of both outgoing councils was established to oversee the transition to the new authority. The first elections to the new council were held on 2 May 2019, a few weeks after the new district had been created. Political control of the council since 2019 has been as follows:

Party in controlYears
Conservative2019–2023
No overall control2023–present

Leadership

During the shadow period leading up to the council's creation in 2019, the shadow authority was led by James Waters, leader of the outgoing Forest Heath District Council. He was unsuccessful in securing a seat on the new council at its first elections in May 2019. The first leader of the council appointed after the 2019 election was John Griffiths, who was the last leader of St Edmundsbury Borough Council. The leaders since 2019 have been:[7]

CouncillorPartyFromTo
John Griffiths Conservative22 May 201923 May 2023
Cliff Waterman Labour23 May 2023

Composition

Following the 2023 election, the composition of the council was:[8]

Party Councillors
Conservative26
Labour17
Independent10
West Suffolk Independents9
Green1
Liberal Democrats1
Total 64

The Labour, Liberal Democrat and Green councillors sit together as the "Progressive Alliance" group, and the West Suffolk Independents and independent councillors sit together as the "Independents Group". These two groups together form the council's administration.[9] The next election is due in 2027.

Premises

The council is based at West Suffolk House on Western Road in Bury St Edmunds. The building had been completed in 2009 for the former St Edmundsbury Borough Council, also incorporating offices for Suffolk County Council.[10]

Elections
See also: West Suffolk District Council elections

The council comprises 64 councillors representing 43 wards, with each ward electing one, two or three councillors. Elections are held every four years.[11][12]

Towns and parishes

The whole district is covered by civil parishes. The parish councils of Brandon, Bury St Edmunds, Clare, Haverhill, Mildenhall and Newmarket all take the style "town council".

  1. Ampton
  2. Bardwell
  3. Barnardiston
  4. Barnham
  5. Barningham
  6. Barrow
  7. Barton Mills
  8. Beck Row, Holywell Row and Kenny Hill
  9. Brandon (town)
  10. Bradfield Combust with Stanningfield
  11. Bradfield St Clare
  12. Bradfield St George
  13. Brockley
  14. Bury St Edmunds (town)
  15. Cavendish
  16. Cavenham
  17. Chedburgh
  18. Chevington
  19. Clare (town)
  20. Coney Weston
  21. Cowlinge
  22. Culford
  23. Dalham
  24. Denham
  25. Denston
  26. Depden
  27. Elveden
  28. Eriswell
  29. Euston
  30. Exning
  31. Fakenham Magna
  32. Flempton
  33. Fornham All Saints
  34. Fornham St Genevieve
  35. Fornham St Martin
  36. Freckenham
  37. Gazeley
  38. Great Barton
  39. Great Bradley
  40. Great Livermere
  41. Great Thurlow
  42. Great Whelnetham
  43. Great Wratting
  44. Hargrave
  45. Haverhill (town)
  46. Hawkedon
  47. Hawstead
  48. Hengrave
  49. Hepworth
  50. Herringswell
  51. Higham
  52. Honington
  53. Hopton
  54. Horringer
  55. Hundon
  56. Icklingham
  57. Ickworth
  58. Ingham
  59. Ixworth
  60. Ixworth Thorpe
  61. Kedington
  62. Kentford
  63. Knettishall
  64. Lackford
  65. Lakenheath
  66. Lidgate
  67. Little Bradley
  68. Little Livermere
  69. Little Thurlow
  70. Little Whelnetham
  71. Little Wratting
  72. Market Weston
  73. Mildenhall (town)
  74. Moulton
  75. Newmarket (town)
  76. Nowton
  77. Ousden
  78. Pakenham
  79. Poslingford
  80. Rede
  81. Red Lodge
  82. Risby
  83. Rushbrooke with Rougham
  84. Santon Downham
  85. Sapiston
  86. Stansfield
  87. Stanton
  88. Stoke-by-Clare
  89. Stradishall
  90. Thelnetham
  91. The Saxhams
  92. Timworth
  93. Troston
  94. Tuddenham
  95. West Row
  96. Westley
  97. West Stow
  98. Whepstead
  99. Wickhambrook
  100. Withersfield
  101. Wixoe
  102. Wordwell
  103. Worlington

See also

References
  1. Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (24 May 2018). "The West Suffolk (Local Government Changes) Order 2018". legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 12 August 2018.
  2. "West Suffolk: Councils to merge workforces in move to save cash". East Anglian Daily Times. 27 October 2011. Retrieved 12 August 2018.
  3. "The English Non-metropolitan Districts (Definition) Order 1972", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 1972/2039, retrieved 4 July 2023
  4. "How your council works". www.westsuffolk.gov.uk. Retrieved 3 March 2022.
  5. "Local Government Act 1972", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, 1972 c. 70, retrieved 31 May 2023
  6. Green, Tamika (25 May 2023). "Bury St Edmunds councillor Cliff Waterman on 'exciting' new era for West Suffolk Council after being elected coalition leader". Suffolk News. Retrieved 4 July 2023.
  7. "Council minutes". West Suffolk Council. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
  8. "Local elections 2023: live council results for England". The Guardian.
  9. "Your councillors". West Suffolk Council. Retrieved 4 July 2023.
  10. Bunn, Roderic. "West Suffolk House" (PDF). Usable Buildings. Retrieved 4 July 2023.
  11. "The West Suffolk (Electoral Changes) Order 2018", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 2018/1375, retrieved 4 July 2023
  12. "Your Councillors". democracy.westsuffolk.gov.uk. West Suffolk District Council. Retrieved 3 March 2022.
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