At Babergh and Mid Suffolk District Councils, we are passionate about building communities that people want to live, work, visit and invest in.

Following the local elections last year, in Babergh, the Green, Independent and Liberal Democrat groups formed a coalition for the four-year term and in Mid Suffolk, the Greens won 24 of the 34 available seats and is the first Green Council in the country. Both Councils have Cabinet governance.

We became a dual authority in 2011, with our two sovereign Councils sharing a workforce of around 600 people. This has transformed what we do - we’ve been able to deliver services more effectively and efficiently, with improved knowledge sharing.

But working together was just the start. We’ve used our size to influence and collaborate more widely, and our staff use this as a platform to relentlessly innovate and achieve better outcomes.

We serve around 200,000 residents across two districts and are well known for our collaboration and partnership working across public, private and voluntary sectors.

The richness of these partnerships is a bedrock of our approach, ensuring we can co-design or enable the right solutions for communities and work more efficiently.

But working together as a dual authority does not mean ‘one-size-fits-all’. We take a place-based approach, finding the right solutions for every area.

For more information about our strategic priorities, please access:

Innovating, and doing things differently

Mid Suffolk District Council has invested £36million acquiring land on the edge of Stowmarket and is developing Gateway 14, a major new business, innovation and logistics park.

Garden and leisure retailer The Range was secured as the first occupier on the site, which is part of the Freeport East, creating 1,650 jobs.

Other businesses are also moving in, including from the sustainable building sector, and it is fast becoming an emerging centre for green and hi-tech industries.

We are also developing an £18million Skills and Innovation Centre at the site. This centre will create a fantastic talent pipeline for local businesses – with a particular focus on the green economy, digital and AI technology.

Crucially, it will bring businesses and training together in the same centre – not only helping bridge the skills gap, but helping firms to grow and innovate, and encourage more inward investment.

Babergh and Mid Suffolk were the first rural councils in the UK to start the switch from diesel to hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) to fuel its fleet of bin lorries – drastically reducing emissions.

We were also the first rural authorities in the UK to commission a full tree canopy survey. The aim was to identify and protect existing places where biodiversity is thriving, while also locating areas with low coverage or gaps where it could be strengthened.

Meanwhile, we continue to support communities develop Neighbourhood Plans, and the first part of a new Babergh and Mid Suffolk Joint Local Plan – the blueprint for the districts’ future development until 2037 - was adopted in November 2023.

The second phase – which will include housing allocations and settlement boundaries - will involve further consultation next year ahead of its submission to the Secretary of State and examination by Planning Inspectors.

We invest in our people so they can drive us forward

In 2023, our councils won the Smarter Working Live Award for Putting People First, in recognition of our extensive wellbeing support for our workforce. We consistently invest in the development of staff – from apprenticeships to our leaders of the future.

You will join a dynamic and aspirational council leadership team. We completed an 18-month externally-facilitated leadership programme for the senior leadership team and heads of service and have now commenced a further programme for even wider leadership development. We never want to stop developing ourselves and others.

We hold an annual in-person staff conference, Navigating our Future, to bring our teams together for a day of team-building and workshops.

This year has also seen the introduction of additional non-pay benefits for all staff, including electric car and cycle leasing through salary sacrifice, a 24/7 GP helpline, and optional health checks every two years.

Where we work

We have embraced a flexible working strategy, with a combination of home working, and staff based from the office, our depots, customer access points, and working remotely. Our ethos is that work is something you do, not somewhere you go.

But we’ve worked hard to ensure we have the right environments for staff to be at their most effective - combining technology, facilities and management support.

We’ve invested in creating a superb new modern office at our main office in Endeavour House, Ipswich, with collaborative working at its heart. This is a short walk from Ipswich Railway Station, and overlooks Ipswich Town’s Premier League football stadium.