We serve around 200,000 residents across two districts.
We are passionate about building communities. Our communities should be attractive for people to live in. They should be enjoyable to work in, and to visit. They should also be ideal places to invest in.
We are well-known for our partnership working across public, private and voluntary sectors. This allows us to ensure we can co-design or enable the right solutions for our communities.
In 2011, we became a "dual authority". This means that our Councils are separate but we share a workforce of around 600 people. This allows us to deliver efficient services. It also allows us to better influence and collaborate, and to innovate.
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:
We are at the heart of Suffolk, with a population of around 200,000.
Our districts contain historic market towns, beautiful villages and acres of countryside.
There are good train lines to London, Cambridge and Norwich. We are also served by key road networks (the A12 and the A14).
Our area is consistently voted as among the best places to live in the country.
Babergh is part of the Suffolk Coast and Heaths Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (ANOB). This includes the Stour and Orwell estuaries, and Dedham Vale and Stour Valley.
Babergh and Mid Suffolk are rich in heritage assets. We have 60 conservation areas, 6,400 listed buildings and 60 monuments. We also have seven registered parks.
Our vision is to create thriving, sustainable, empowered communities. We want to leave a positive legacy for our children and grandchildren.
Mid Suffolk District Council invested £36 million for land on the edge of Stowmarket.
This is to develop Gateway 14, which is a major new business, innovation and logistics park.
Garden and leisure retailer, 'The Range', was the first occupier of the site. Other businesses are moving in, including from the sustainable building sector.
They are also developing an £18 million Skills and Innovation Centre at the site.
This centre creates a fantastic talent pipeline for local businesses. There is a particular focus on the green economy, digital and AI technology.
The centre will bring businesses and training together. This helps to bridge the skills gap, and encourages firms to innovate. It also promotes inward investment.
The centre is due to open in late summer / autumn 2026.
Babergh and Mid Suffolk fuel their bin lorries using hydrotreated vegetable oil. They were the first rural councils in the UK to do this.
They were also the first to commission a full tree canopy survey. The survey identifies places where biodiversity is thriving.
Babergh and Mid Suffolk published a new Local Development Scheme in March 2025. They are also carrying out a full review of their Joint Local Plan. Communities are also supported to develop Neighbourhood Plans.
We invest in the development of our staff – from apprenticeships to our leaders of the future.
We hold an annual staff conference, called "Navigating our Future". This brings our teams together for team-building exercises and workshops.
In 2023, our Councils won the Smarter Working Live Award for Putting People First. This was in recognition of our extensive wellbeing support for our workforce.
We have introduced non-pay benefits for staff, including electric car and cycle leasing. There is also a 24/7 GP helpline, and optional health checks every two years.
Our leadership team is dynamic and aspirational. Over the past year, it has participated in an externally-facilitated leadership programme.
We have embraced a flexible working strategy. This includes working from home. It also includes working from the office, our depots and our customer access points. Our ethos is that work is something you do, not somewhere you go.
We combine technology and management support to ensure staff are effective.
We have a superb modern office at Endeavour House, Ipswich. This is a short walk from Ipswich Railway Station. It also overlooks Ipswich Town’s football stadium.
Babergh and Mid Suffolk are part of the government's Devolution Priority Programme. We look forward to a Combined Authority for Norfolk and Suffolk, and the election of a Mayor, from May 2026.
Local government reorganisation will take effect from April 2028.