Mid Suffolk

52.1560°N 1.0489°E / 52.1560; 1.0489

Mid Suffolk District
Non-metropolitan district
Stowmarket, the district's largest town
Mid Suffolk shown within Suffolk and England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Constituent country	England
Region	East of England
Non-metropolitan county	Suffolk
Status	Non-metropolitan district
Admin HQ	Ipswich
Incorporated	1 April 1974
Government
• Type	Non-metropolitan district council
• Body	Mid Suffolk District Council
• MPs	Peter Prinsley Patrick Spencer
Area
• Total	336.3 sq mi (871.1 km2)
• Rank	37th (of 296)
Population  (2022)
• Total	105,723
• Rank	226th (of 296)
• Density	310/sq mi (120/km2)
Ethnicity (2021) [1]
• Ethnic groups	List 96.8% White 1.4% Mixed 0.8% Asian 0.5% Black 0.4% other
Religion (2021) [1]
• Religion	List 49.3% Christianity 43.5% no religion 7% other 0.2% Islam
Time zone	UTC0 (GMT)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+1 (BST)
ONS code	42UE (ONS) E07000203 (GSS)
OS grid reference	TM0853555286

Mid Suffolk is a local government district in Suffolk, England. The district is primarily a rural area, containing just three towns, being Stowmarket, Needham Market and Eye. Its council was based in Needham Market until 2017 when it moved to shared offices with neighbouring Babergh District Council in Ipswich, outside either district. In 2021 it had a population of 103,417.

The neighbouring districts are East Suffolk, Ipswich, Babergh, West Suffolk, Breckland and South Norfolk.

History

The district was created on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972, covering five former districts which were all abolished at the same time:

• Eye Municipal Borough
• Gipping Rural District
• Hartismere Rural District
• Stowmarket Urban District
• Thedwastre Rural District

Thedwastre Rural District had been in the administrative county of West Suffolk prior to the reforms; the other districts had all been in East Suffolk.^[2] The new district was named Mid Suffolk, reflecting its position within the wider county.^[3]

Governance

Mid Suffolk District Council
Type
Type	Non-metropolitan district
Leadership
Chair	Keith Scarff, Liberal Democrat since 15 May 2025[4]
Leader	Andy Mellen, Green since 22 May 2023
Chief Executive	Arthur Charvonia since 2017[5]
Structure
Seats	34 councillors
Political groups	Administration (23)   Green (23) Other parties (11)   Liberal Democrats (4)   Conservative (3)   Independent (4)
Elections
Voting system	First past the post
Last election	4 May 2023
Next election	6 May 2027
Meeting place
Endeavour House, 8 Russell Road, Ipswich, IP1 2BX
Website
www.midsuffolk.gov.uk

Mid Suffolk District Council provides district-level services. County-level services are provided by Suffolk County Council.^[6] The whole district is also covered by civil parishes, which form a third tier of local government.^[7]

In 2011, Mid Suffolk and Babergh District Councils began working together, with one, fully integrated staff structure.^[8]

Political control

The council has been under Green Party majority control since the 2023 election, being the first time that the party had taken majority control of any council.^[9][10]

The first elections were held in 1973, initially operating as a shadow authority alongside the outgoing authorities until the new arrangements came into effect on 1 April 1974. Political control of the council since 1974 has been as follows:^[11][12]

Party in control		Years
	Independent	1974–1976
	No overall control	1976–2003
	Conservative	2003–2005
	No overall control	2005–2007
	Conservative	2007–2019
	No overall control	2019–2023
	Green	2023–present

Leadership

The leaders of the council since 2003 have been:

Councillor	Party		From	To
Penny Otton[13]		Liberal Democrats		May 2003
Roger Saunders[13][14]		Conservative	May 2003	Aug 2005
Tim Passmore[14][15]		Conservative	Aug 2005	Nov 2012
Derrick Haley[15][16]		Conservative	Dec 2012	28 Apr 2016
Nick Gowrley[17][18]		Conservative	28 Apr 2016	May 2019
Suzie Morley[19][20]		Conservative	20 May 2019	May 2023
Andy Mellen[21]		Green	22 May 2023

Composition

Following the 2023 election,^[22] and subsequent by-elections and changes of allegiance up to May 2025, the composition of the council was:^[23]

Party		Councillors
	Green	23
	Liberal Democrats	4
	Conservative	3
	Independent	4
Total		34

The four independent councillors sit together as the "Mid Suffolk Independents" group.^[24] The next election is due in May 2027, where all seats of the council will be up for election.^[23]

Elections

See also: Mid Suffolk District Council elections

Since the last boundary changes in 2019 the council has comprised 34 councillors representing 26 wards, with each ward electing one or two councillors. Elections are held every four years.^[25]

Premises

Since 2017 Babergh and Mid Suffolk councils have their combined headquarters at Endeavour House in Ipswich, sharing the building with Suffolk County Council.^[26][27]

Council Offices, High Street, Needham Market: Council's headquarters 1982–2017

When first created the council inherited offices in Elmswell, Eye, Stowmarket and Needham Market from its predecessors. It initially used the former Hartismere Rural District Council offices on Castleton Way in Eye as its headquarters, retaining the former Gipping Rural District Council offices in Needham Market and Stowmarket Urban District Council offices at Red Gables on Ipswich Road as secondary offices.^[28]

The council initially decided to consolidate its offices in Stowmarket, being the district's largest town and a central location, but no suitable site could be found there. Instead it decided to extend the former Gipping Rural District Council's headquarters in Needham Market. The original building there was a large eighteenth century house called "Hurstlea" at 131 High Street.^[29][30] A large modern extension was built behind the original building, which was formally opened in January 1982.^[31]

Towns and parishes

Further information: List of civil parishes in Suffolk

Hawks Mill at Needham Market

Church and Guildhall at Eye

The whole district is covered by civil parishes. The parish councils for Eye, Needham Market and Stowmarket have declared their parishes to be towns, allowing them to take the style "town council". Some of the smaller parishes have a parish meeting rather than a parish council.^[32]