NOTICE OF VACANCY IN OFFICE OF COUNCILLOR
CHELMONDISTON
PARISH COUNCIL
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN
that a casual vacancy has arisen in the Office of Councillor for Chelmondiston Parish Council.
If by 20th February 2026 a request for an election to fill said vacancy is made in writing to the Returning Officer at the address below by TEN electors for the said Parish, an election will be held to fill the said vacancy, otherwise the vacancy will be filled by co-option.
If an election is called, it will take place not later than 29th April 2026.
 

Dated: 2nd February 2026
Proper Officer

 

 


 

District Councillor’s February Report

I am pleased to announce that I now have a date for visiting a specialist clinic in Sheffield for a Stereotactic Radiosurgery procedure, this will be on February 9th and this will be only required to be a one time procedure and works similarly to an MRI scan whereby the patient with a special mask worn, has proton beams which detect the artevious malformation in the brain and destroy it permanently over time.

The same procedure is also used for cancer patients and its effectiveness can make a huge difference, it is non-evasive surgery and across 1 year and 2 at the most can remove the malformation and harmful blood cells in the brain.

As you will already know, the local elections for Suffolk were postponed again following a county council decision during a special meeting held a few weeks ago along with 29 other councils to give additional preparation time.  Although many, myself included would point out this is now a second time local democracy has been closed off to the public and cannot be healthy for denying opportunities for anyone to vote while this takes place.

However, there is a judicial review sought by Reform to challenge the decision during the 19th and 20th of February, and if successful then elections may still go ahead.

If the elections do not go ahead then the first order of business would be for the Local Government Reorganisation process for new unitary authorities to have shadow unitaries in place by May 2027 and also if there are any by-elections called to anticipate and prepare for these as well.

During full council on the 20th January as Greens, we signalled a motion for the council to note the problem of sewage sludge near to Wattisham Airbase, this practice though cheap to administer has had big problems here with environmental conditions and ongoing concerns as a council the motion pledged to write to the Secretary of Defra to urge the following:

Stronger regulation of sewage sludge spreading that guarantees public safety in its review announced on 1st December 2025.

While we await a rapid conclusion to the review, Defra takes a precautionary approach and warns farmers of the dangers of taking this sludge from water company contractors.

Defra confirms that any changes to regulations relating to the sludge regime will not have a financial impact that will be borne bythe customers of water companies or farmers.

Defra regulates to stop chemical producers and industrial companies from paying water companies to take their commercial effluent and mixing it into sewage sludge. that Defra intensifies its research into sustainable agricultural practices that benefit farmers and the environment.

 

Work with farmers and farming organisations to help them to resist the temptation to take sewage sludge offered by water company contractors as fertiliser and to encourage the use of alternatives such as the nutrient-rich fertiliser that will be produced by our new food waste service and Suffolk’s anaerobic digester, herbal leys and legume rotation.

Support citizen science to improve monitoring of contaminants of emerging concern in soil and water through partnership working with community groups and organisations.

This motion was passed, since this was inducted, Suffolk County Council has called a halt to operations at the site with concerns local residents had about the smell to the point of feeling sick and has been shutdown by FGS Agri the operators at the site for 56 days while an investigation is carried out.

Compositions of ammonia were found by Deben Climate Centre to be 170 times higher than recommended safe levels as well as the presence of E. coli in the material, added to this campaigners have said the site operators did not allow for rain to wash away the sludge thus being a threat to local wildlife, and would be difficult to contain within their structure base.

Housing Solutions are an essential part of determining need throughout the housing needs of local communities, especially when it comes to homelessness and vulnerable residents.

But in the last two years, the service has been redesigned to move away from a reactive, crisis-led model and towards a prevention-first, whole system approach.

 Read the strategic reintroduction to find out more about what this vital service area now does, why it matters, and how it supports our councils’ wider priorities.

This can be read in full here: https://midsuffolk.us15.list-manage.com/track/click?u=b92522d28bbfbe421813f5565&id=29c9b41c2e&e=c31bc69cb8

Armed Forces Day has a date for this year on Saturday June 27th in Stowmarket, with more information which will be shareable in the run up to this date both districts in Mid-Suffolk and Babergh are involved with the last day held in Hadleigh in 2022.

Finally, in partnership with East Suffolk Council and MENTA, Babergh are taking part in the Careeriosity initiative which has been designed to ignite curiosity, confidence, and ambition in young people.

There are a number of events taking place during the February half term, with three being hosted within our districts:

Gaming workshop - Monday 16 February - The Bank, Eye

Build a museum - Thursday 19 February - Gainsborough's House, Sudbury

Film & TV workshop - Thursday 19 February - John Peel Centre, Stowmarket

 

Careeriosity is open to young people aged 12 to 25 across East Suffolk, Mid Suffolk, and Babergh District Council areas, and participation is free.

You can find out more about the initiative and workshops on the MENTA website.

 

Daniel Potter (Cllr)

Orwell - Green

 

 

 

 

County Counsellor Report  

Cllr Simon Harley, Peninsula Division       simon.harley@suffolk.gov.uk

07955 434409

Local elections in May 2026 postponed

At council on Monday 12 January, a debate was held in the morning about the resource implications of an election in May on the delivery of Local Government Reorganization in Suffolk. The Conservative administration unanimously voted down an amendment proposed by my group that the council was in favour of the elections going ahead, although we spoke passionately about the importance of Suffolk voters getting to have their say. A Cabinet meeting was held following the council debate, where the administration voted unanimously to write to the government outlining capacity concerns that might be felt if elections were to go ahead. On 22 January, the government announced that the elections in Suffolk, and in 28 other councils around the country, would not take place in May this year.

The elections were postponed already in May 2025, so this second postponement means county councillors will be serving a seven-year term instead of four years. As part of the Local Government Reorganization process, Unitary councils are due to be in place in the county from April 2028.

 

Council budget 2026-27

At Cabinet on Tuesday 27 January, the budget for the 2026-27 financial year was presented for approval. The council is planning to raise council tax by the maximum 4.99% this year, reflecting the serious financial concerns it is facing. The budget for 2026-27 is forecast to overspend by £5.9m and the council will need to draw that from its reserves to balance the books. It is also planning savings of £46.5m across the council to make ends meet, and is predicting a budget ‘gap’ of £23.4m for 2027-28 and £24.6m by 2028-29 which it will need to fund by savings. Cost pressures for the council include care purchasing in adult social care, high-cost social care placements for children and young people and Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND). Regarding SEND, the council holds a ‘negative reserve’, a debt of education funding under the Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) that the government allows it to hold until 31 March 2028. This is a national issue rather than just relating to Suffolk County Council, but the council will not be able to repay it if the government calls it in: by the end of 2027-27 it is forecast to be -£252.3m. Although the council is allowed to hold the debt, it is spending millions on interest costs to service the debt, by 2027-28 the cost of that will be £8.9m. There are also concerns about the amount of money the Local Government Reorganisation will cost the council. This is currently estimated as £47.8m overall, but will be divided between all Suffolk councils.

 

Net Zero Carbon Report

Also coming to Cabinet on Tuesday 27 January was the annual report on the council’s efforts to reach net zero carbon by 2030. In view of the Local Government Reorganisation and Suffolk County Council not existing past 2028, the target has been adjusted to a 63% reduction in emissions by 2027-28 and will only include scopes of emissions that the council is in direct control of – that is, excluding things like its its supply chain, or staff commuting to work. In addition, to reflect the financial position of the council, any measures taken by the council towards this will now have to create an in-year financial saving: this means that the financial benefit from it must be greater than the cost. The work undertaken so far for the net zero programme has saved the council many thousands of pounds, for example changes to the heating controls in Endeavour House should reduce energy costs by £30k each year, and a new car park solar array and battery storage at Beacon House is expect to save more tha £50k a year. The council is also involved in a heat network project in Ipswich to heat large buildings using energy from the River Gipping. 

 

Suffolk Roads Rated Red by UK Government

 

The government recently released RAG (Red, Amber, Green) ratings each county based on how effectively they use the government’s highways maintenance funding. Suffolk’s road maintenance was rated as Red, the worst category. This has struck a chord with residents in the county, who have been clear that they agree and want the quality of Suffolk’s roads to improve. Suffolk County Council’s administration, however, has denied that the rating is accurate, saying that overall the condition of Suffolk’s roads are rated Amber, with the overall Red rating being arrived at because the Department for Transport did not include in its assessment £10m of highways funding that it brought forward from the 2025-26 financial year and invested early in a resurfacing programme in 2024-25. The council has met with the Department for Transport to press for the Suffolk rating to be raised to Amber, pointing out that Department for Transport data shows that only 3% of the county’s A roads is in poor condition, which is better than the England average. In addition, in December the council received £2.9m from the Department for Transport’s Incentive Fund, which rewards authorities with a record of good performance in highway maintenance.

 

 

New 20mph Policy

At Cabinet on Friday 9 January, a new 20mph speed limit policy was approved with the aim of making the process for communities to apply for a 20mph speed limit easier and more streamlined. From now on, any application for a new 20mph limit in an area where recorded average traffic speeds are 28mph and under is likely to be approved by the council. The local county councillor must also be in favour of the change, and there should be majority support from residents. My group pointed out that the new requirement to prove majority support for the new speed limit was likely to make the process more onerous for town and parish councils rather than less. The council states that local engagement needs to be carried in the community, for example a survey or consultation of residents living on the roads/in the area. Any new 20mph limits will also still need local funding to be in place, unless the scheme aligns with a council programme as part of the Local Transport Plan. The new policy is based on recording speeds as follows:

 

  • Below 28mph – likely to be accepted, with a speed limit sign only, although signs warning that a 20mph zone is ahead may be required
  • Between 28 - 32mph - unlikely to be acceptable with signing alone. Gateway signing and traffic calming throughout the area may be required
  • Above 32mph - Unlikely to be acceptable without extensive traffic calming measures such as road humps, plus night-time lighting. It would also be subject to a Road Safety Audit

 

You can read the new policy here: https://www.suffolk.gov.uk/asset-library/imported/20mph-speed-limit-policy-criteria.pdf

 

 

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Cost of Living help and advice:   https://infolink.suffolk.gov.uk/kb5/suffolk/infolink/family.page?familychannel=6 

Benefits advice and support: https://infolink.suffolk.gov.uk/kb5/suffolk/infolink/adult.page?adultchannel=0

Flood preparation advice: https://www.suffolk.gov.uk/suffolk-fire-and-rescue-service/fire-and-rescue- safety-advice-in-the-community/what-to-do-in-a-flood

https://suffolkprepared.co.uk/get-prepared/risk-advice/flooding/

Flood recovery advice and support: http://www.suffolk.gov.uk/about/flood-recovery-information-for- suffolk