Ipswich and South Suffolk

Ipswich and South Suffolk
Future unitary authority area
Clockwise from upper left: Ancient House in Ipswich, Port of Felixstowe, St Mary's Church and Deanery Tower in Hadleigh, Flatford Mill, River Orwell.
Ipswich and South Suffolk shown within Suffolk
Ipswich and South Suffolk shown within Suffolk
Interactive map
Coordinates: 52°03′13″N 1°08′35″E / 52.0536°N 1.1431°E / 52.0536; 1.1431
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
CountryEngland
RegionEast
Ceremonial countySuffolk
Incorporated1 April 2028
Government
 • TypeUnitary authority
 • BodyIpswich and South Suffolk Council
Area
 • Total
185.6 sq mi (480.7 km2)
Population
 (2024 estimate)
 • Total
257,131
Time zoneUTC+0 (GMT)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+1 (BST)

Ipswich and South Suffolk or Greater Ipswich will be a unitary authority area in the ceremonial county of Suffolk, England. It will be formed from the Ipswich district, 31 parishes from Babergh, 8 parishes from Mid Suffolk and 25 from East Suffolk.[1]

There will be elections in May 2027 and the new unitary will be created in 2028.[2] In 2021 the population of the area was 252,552.[3] The largest settlement in the district is the county town of Ipswich, other towns include Felixstowe, Kesgrave and Hadleigh.

Despite being part of the Ipswich built-up area in the 2011 census (but not 2001 census) the town of Woodbridge is planned to be in Central and Eastern Suffolk rather than the "Ipswich and South Suffolk" unitary, it has been suggested that this could be because the people of Woodbridge strongly opposed to being linked with Ipswich.[4]

Formation

In 2008 there was a similar proposal for a "North Haven" unitary authority covering Ipswich and Felixstowe and either a single "Rural Suffolk" or a split of the rest of Suffolk into eastern and western unitaries.[5] In 2007 there was a proposal for Ipswich alone to become a unitary authority.[6] Before 1974 Ipswich was a county borough.[7]

In the mid 2020s a new wave of local government changes throughout England was planned that would lead to all areas of the country that have separate county councils and district councils seeing those replaced with single-tier, or unitary, local governance.[8] The alternative proposal for a single unitary council for all of Suffolk was not chosen.[9]

Parishes and settlements

The current district of Ipswich is currently unparished but there are plans to set up a town council,[10] the rest of the future district is entirely parished and will contain the following civil parishes:

Governance

The local authority will be Ipswich and South Suffolk Council. The first councillors will be elected in the 2027 Ipswich and South Suffolk Council election.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Local Government Reorganisation Statement made on 25 March 2026". UK Parliament. Retrieved 25 March 2026.
  2. ↑ "Three councils for Suffolk government in shake-up". BBC. Retrieved 26 March 2026.
  3. ↑ "Case for change" (PDF). Three Councils for Suffolk. Retrieved 25 March 2026.
  4. ↑ One Suffolk Business Case page 311
  5. ↑ "Council Leaders Form Alliance on Suffolk Boundaries Issue". Haverhill. Retrieved 26 March 2026.
  6. ↑ "Local government review update" (PDF). Ipswich Borough Council. Retrieved 26 March 2026.
  7. ↑ "The English Non-metropolitan Districts (Definition) Order 1972". legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 26 March 2026.
  8. ↑ Forsyth, Alex (16 July 2026). "New councils to be created in 14 areas of England in local government shake-up". BBC News.
  9. ↑ "Proposals for local government reorganisation in Norfolk and Suffolk". Gov.uk. Retrieved 25 March 2026.
  10. ↑ "Ipswich Borough Council backs plan to create new town council ahead of reform". Ipswich. Retrieved 25 March 2026.
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