District Council
Annual Report

Last spring who would have thought that the proposed changes that we now face
would be upon us. Although devolution had been considered and proposed during
the last few years, there had never been any suggestion that district councils would
cease to exist. Back then, we never expected to be spending so much time on one
topic.

In fact, the main topics for the summer and early autumn were the introduction of car
parking charges in Hadleigh and Sudbury. Babergh, unlike all other districts in
Suffolk, had long been able to provide free parking in our main towns. However, it
was something that the council simply could not afford to continue funding. While
the last administration initially put forward the proposals, continued pressure on the
council budget meant that it was only implemented during this term.

Finalised in the early autumn the charges came in to affect in January this year with
charges in Hadleigh starting at £1 for one hour in the short stay car park or £1 for
two hours in the long stay. Although it is too early to assess if there has been any
detrimental effect on the towns, early reports indicate that takings are in line with the
council’s predictions. The council will monitor the situation, and Scrutiny committee
will review progress later this year.

Other topics discussed over the last year included the mandatory changes to waste
collection. Back in September the cabinet agreed that the collections will change to
a three-weekly cycle with two separate recycling bins, for different materials, along
with the introduction of new weekly food waste collections from 2026.

The properties at Corks Lane in Hadleigh, the site of the old district council offices,
finally started to go up for sale with some properties already reserved. The
development, which has been a difficult project for the council, will eventually see the
original buildings transformed into forty-nine new high-quality homes, a mix of one,
two, three and four-bedroom apartments and one cottage. Unfortunately, due to the
rising costs of materials the cost of the project continues to rise, and Green
Councillors have called for an independent inquiry into the way the whole venture
has been handled.

Kingfisher Leisure Centre in Sudbury has also been a big issue this year.
Following routine maintenance to the roof in November contractors discovered more
complex problems that left the pool closed until the New Year. The repair costs were
unbudgeted and have placed an unexpected burden on the already difficult finances.

In terms of finance, the budget is a continuing concern to members and officers
alike. Despite making savings and additional income totalling £2.6million, the council
still had to use £630k from its financial resilience reserve to plug a budget gap and
still faces a budget shortfall of £14.6m over the six years from 2024/5 to 2029/30.

Further savings and, unfortunately, additional increases in council tax, fees and
charges are unavoidable.

Late in the year came two big announcements from national government. Firstly, The
new Labour government’s commitment to build 1.5million homes in this
parliamentary term has resulted in an 86% uplift in Babergh’s housing delivery
commitments. The council is required to build 775 new homes a year across the
district – 16,275 properties in 20 years including a 5% buffer requirement. This is a
huge ask for the council and will have ramifications for every parish in the district.
Indicative numbers released to parishes last month indicated the scale of the
challenge. The numbers are likely to change when the spatial strategy is
formulated. Babergh and Mid Suffolk took the decision to review its Joint Local
Plan with an adoption date of 2029.

This announcement was shortly followed by the Devolution and Local Government
Reforms plans that will see the creation of a single Mayoral Combined Authority for
Suffolk and Norfolk, with Unitary Councils replacing County and District Councils in
2028. Following their acceptance onto the fast-track program, both Suffolk and
Norfolk County Councils cancelled elections, planned for this May. Instead, elections
for the new Mayor will take place in May next year. I do think we need to carefully
look at the District Council’s proposals for two or three unitary authorities and decide
which is better for East Bergholt.

Elm Estate has been a focus this year. Council officers have visited twice to talk to
residents and, after a slow start, I am hoping we have a good system in place so that
residents can communicate easily with the council and ensure that the properties
and the public environment are kept in good order. Much of my work is behind the
scenes, bringing support from the District Council to East Bergholt. I am happy to
have helped in this way with some enforcement issues, the potential purchase of the
Red Lion Car park and bringing in our Locality Officer to support the Be Well Bus
initiative. I have also helped several residents who had problems with council
services.