Don't forget your Voter ID
If you are voting in person in the General Election on Thursday 4 July, you will need to take an accepted form of photo ID with you.
In Summer 2021, Babergh and Mid Suffolk District Councils began developing a parking strategy that would outline both on-street and off-street parking provision for the next 20 years. Support towards, and expertise regarding, the development of the strategy was also provided by 2020 Consultancy (now known as Ethos Consultants).
A parking strategy is key to enhancing its local area. Via our own strategy, we want to make sure that our districts continue to be strong and vibrant for years to come.
Whilst some of the strategy's aims might be more obvious - such as:
It must also help us to:
A significant amount of work has been carried out in this area, including benchmarking with other, neighbouring authorities and locations who share similar characteristics to ours. These characteristics might be type of town offering, size, population or key trip generators.
Occupancy and condition surveys of all car parks operated by both Councils were also carried out.
Engagement has been, and continues to be, a key focus in developing the parking strategy, but also beyond its adoption - we want to make sure that we keep everyone informed about what is happening in the districts.
The stage one questionnaire was launched in August 2021, and was open for six weeks. This questionnaire was a fact-finding opportunity that allowed those interested in parking to comment on our existing arrangements.
Council officers delivered virtual and in-person workshops to Councillors, town and parish councils, transport groups, businesses, educational establishments and more.
The stage two questionnaire was launched in June 2022 and was open for 6 weeks. This questionnaire focussed on the parking strategy's recommendations. Before the strategy was finalised and shared, we wanted to seek your views on the recommended actions to be included - and to find out the level of support, or opposition, for each recommendation.
Running in tandem with the questionnaire, we provided an opportunity for anyone interested to attend one of a series of roadshow events. These were held in 13 different locations across the districts during 21-28 June 2022.
The governance process began in August 2022 and ended in October 2022. The Cabinets of both Councils approved the parking strategy unanimously.