Your council

West Suffolk: what’s happening where you live

What the council itself has published on the five things it most shapes for a household: homes, getting about, the bill, the local environment and schools. Each line is quoted from the council’s own document, with the link. This page says what was decided or proposed; it never says whether it was right.

This page is built from official registers only; the council’s own publications have not been read yet, and every line below says so where that leaves a gap.

West Suffolk Council: Non-metropolitan district (lower tier), England, East of England; within the county of SFK. GOV.UK lists it as a district council, within Suffolk County Council. ONS code E07000245.

Council website · Publication scheme

Do it online

The council’s own service pages as listed by GOV.UK’s Local Links Manager (Open Government Licence), refreshed weekly; the same list of everyday services, in the same order, for every council, in GOV.UK’s wording.

Housing

We haven't read this council's own publications yet. The council’s website

Transport

We haven't read this council's own publications yet. The council’s website

Council tax

Band D set by West Suffolk for 2026–27: £209.70 of a £2,351.47 total bill in the area. MHCLG, Council Tax levels set by local authorities in England 2026 to 2027 (Open Government Licence).

We haven't read this council's own publications yet. The council’s website

Environment

We haven't read this council's own publications yet. The council’s website

Education

We haven't read this council's own publications yet. The council’s website

Changes to schools in this area recorded by the Department for Education Updated automatically

No school here is currently recorded as proposed to open or close.

In the last twelve months: 5 opened (3 academy converter, 2 new provision), 4 closed (3 academy converter, 1 closure)

Honington Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School (primary) — closed; reason recorded: academy converter, 31 October 2025
Hopton Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School (primary) — closed; reason recorded: academy converter, 30 September 2025
St Edmund's Catholic Primary School (primary) — closed; reason recorded: academy converter, 31 August 2026
Stoke College — closed; reason recorded: closure, 1 July 2026
Abbey Gardens School — open; reason recorded: new provision, 22 May 2026
Honington Church of England Primary School (primary) — open; reason recorded: academy converter, 1 November 2025
Hopton Church of England Primary Academy (primary) — open; reason recorded: academy converter, 1 October 2025
Pushforward Primary School — open; reason recorded: new provision, 19 February 2026
St Edmund's Catholic Primary School (primary) — open; reason recorded: academy converter, 1 September 2026

Get Information about Schools, DfE’s register of every school in England, refreshed daily (Open Government Licence). The register’s own reason is shown: most closures and openings are a school becoming an academy, which changes who runs it, not whether it is there.

What the council plans to spend, 2026–27

The budget for each service, as West Suffolk reported it to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government. The same headings, in the same order, for every council in England.

West Suffolk: budget by service, 2026 to 2027
Service	Budget
Education services	none budgeted
Highways and transport services	−£2.8 million
Children's social care	none budgeted
Adult social care	none budgeted
Public health	none budgeted
Housing services (general fund only)	£5.4 million
Cultural and related services	£5.6 million
Environmental and regulatory services	£13.0 million
Planning and development services	£4.4 million
Police services	none budgeted
Fire and rescue services	none budgeted
Central services	£4.3 million
Other services	none budgeted
Total service expenditure	£29.8 million

Net current expenditure: net of sales, fees and charges; spending funded by the NHS, such as through the Better Care Fund, is excluded.A minus figure means the service’s income is budgeted to be more than its spending. “None budgeted” usually means another body runs that service here. Source: Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, Revenue Account Budget 2026 to 2027, individual local authority data (part 1), updated 11 June 2026 (Open Government Licence).

West Suffolk in numbers

Official statistics for the whole council area. Each figure is the latest published, with the period it covers.

Total population: 188,485 people 30 June 2024 · Office for National StatisticsMid-year estimate of the total number of people
Median age: 41 years 30 June 2024 · Office for National StatisticsMedian age of people
Gross disposable household income per head: £23,636 2024 · Office for National StatisticsAverage income per person (£) after taxes and direct benefits
Gross median weekly pay: £654 30 April 2025 · Office for National StatisticsGross median weekly pay based on where people live (£)
Children in relative poverty after housing costs: 19.9% April 2024 to March 2025 · Department for Work and PensionsPercentage of children aged under 16 living in relative low income families After Housing Costs (AHC)
Claimant Count: 2.4% 2025 · Office for National StatisticsPercentage of people aged 16 to 64 who are claiming unemployment-related benefits
Average house price: £294,810 July 2026 · HM Land RegistryAverage monthly price of a property (£)
Housing affordability ratio (residence-based): 7.2 affordability ratio 1 April 2025 · Office for National StatisticsRatio of median house price to median gross annual residence-based earnings
Greenhouse gas emissions: 7.6 tCO2e per capita 2024 · Department for Energy Security and Net ZeroGreenhouse gas emissions (tCO2e) per capita
Gigabit capable broadband: 82.6% 1 January 2026 · OfcomPercentage of premises that have coverage from a gigabit-capable service (download speeds of 1,000 Mbps or more)
Public electric vehicle chargers: 236.1 per 100,000 population 1 July 2026 · Department for Transport, sourced from ZapmapPublicly available electric vehicle chargers at all speeds per 100,000 people
Active businesses: 8,020 number of enterprises 2024 · Office for National StatisticsBusinesses with turnover or employment in current year

Gathered by the Office for National Statistics in Explore Local Statistics (Open Government Licence), refreshed daily. Some figures aren’t published for every nation, so the list can be shorter outside England.

Who runs the council

64 seats in 2026. Run by: a coalition or arrangement of Labour, independents, Greens and Liberal Democrats. Open Council Data (public domain).

Councillors by party: Conservative and Unionist 24, Labour Party 15, Independent / Other 12, West Suffolk Independents 7, Reform UK 3, Green Party (E&W) 2, Liberal Democrats 1.

Next scheduled council election: 6 May 2027.

All 64 councillors, by ward

Dylan Roques (Green Party (E&W)) — Abbeygate
Julia Wakelam (Green Party (E&W)) — Abbeygate
Andrew Smith (Conservative and Unionist) — Bardwell
Carol Bull (Conservative and Unionist) — Barningham
Ian Houlder (Reform UK) — Barrow
Jools Savage (West Suffolk Independents) — Brandon Central
Phil Wittam (Independent / Other) — Brandon East
Victor Lukaniuk (West Suffolk Independents) — Brandon West
Mike Chester (Conservative and Unionist) — Chedburgh & Chevington
Karen Richardson (Conservative and Unionist) — Clare, Hundon & Kedington
Marion Rushbrook (Conservative and Unionist) — Clare, Hundon & Kedington
Nick Clarke (Conservative and Unionist) — Clare, Hundon & Kedington
Cliff Waterman (Labour Party) — Eastgate
Jon London (Liberal Democrats) — Exning
Aaron Luccarini (Independent / Other) — Haverhill Central
Lora-Jane Miller-Jones (Independent / Other) — Haverhill East
Pat Hanlon (Labour Party) — Haverhill East
Joe Mason (Conservative and Unionist) — Haverhill North
Paul Firman (Independent / Other) — Haverhill North
David Smith (Labour Party) — Haverhill South
Liz Smith (Labour Party) — Haverhill South
Tony Brown (Independent / Other) — Haverhill South East
Andrew Martin (Labour Party) — Haverhill West
Margaret Marks (Conservative and Unionist) — Haverhill West
Karen Soons (Conservative and Unionist) — Horringer
Andy Drummond (Conservative and Unionist) — Iceni
Dawn Dicker (West Suffolk Independents) — Iceni
John Griffiths (Conservative and Unionist) — Ixworth
Roger Dicker (West Suffolk Independents) — Kentford & Moulton
Gerald Kelly (Independent / Other) — Lakenheath
Tracy Whitehand (Independent / Other) — Lakenheath
David Taylor (West Suffolk Independents) — Manor
Richard Alecock (Independent / Other) — Mildenhall Great Heath
Ian Shipp (Independent / Other) — Mildenhall Kingsway & Market
Andy Neal (Independent / Other) — Mildenhall Queensway
Donna Higgins (Labour Party) — Minden
Richard O'Driscoll (Labour Party) — Minden
Birgitte Mager (Conservative and Unionist) — Moreton Hall
Peter Armitage (Labour Party) — Moreton Hall
Rowena Lindberg (Labour Party) — Moreton Hall
Adrian Whittle (Reform UK) — Newmarket East
Rachel Hood (Conservative and Unionist) — Newmarket East
Janne Jarvis (Labour Party) — Newmarket North
Michael Anderson (West Suffolk Independents) — Newmarket North
Charlie Lynch (Conservative and Unionist) — Newmarket West
Kevin Yarrow (Labour Party) — Newmarket West
Andrew Speed (Conservative and Unionist) — Pakenham & Troston
Susan Glossop (Conservative and Unionist) — Risby
Sara Mildmay-White (Conservative and Unionist) — Rougham
Patrick Chung (Conservative and Unionist) — Southgate
Sarah Stamp (Conservative and Unionist) — Southgate
Frank Stennett (Independent / Other) — St Olaves
Luke Halpin (Labour Party) — St Olaves
Jim Thorndyke (Independent / Other) — Stanton
Beccy Hopfensperger (Conservative and Unionist) — The Fornhams & Great Barton
Sarah Broughton (Conservative and Unionist) — The Fornhams & Great Barton
Don Waldron (Reform UK) — The Rows
Mick Bradshaw (West Suffolk Independents) — The Rows
Diane Hind (Labour Party) — Tollgate
Marilyn Sayer (Labour Party) — Tollgate
John Augustine (Conservative and Unionist) — Westgate
Richard Rout (Conservative and Unionist) — Westgate
Sarah Pugh (Conservative and Unionist) — Whepstead & Wickhambrook
Indy Wijenayaka (Labour Party) — Withersfield

Each councillor’s register of interests is on the council’s own website; we have not yet located the page. Councillors from Open Council Data as recorded after the May 2026 elections; a by-election since then may have changed one seat. Attendance and allowances are not shown.

This council’s meeting papers are not yet read automatically, so decisions and motions are not listed here; they are on the council’s website.

Write to your councillors → WriteToThem (mySociety) finds them from your postcode; nothing is sent through this site.

Cite this page

Harvard style. Every figure on the page also names its original source, which is usually the better thing to cite.

Every council page has the same five headings in the same order. Sources are the council’s own publications and official statistics. Council list: mySociety, UK Local Authorities (CC BY 4.0) and WhatDoTheyKnow authorities (CC BY-SA 4.0); council websites, tiers and service links: GOV.UK (Open Government Licence); codes: ONS Code History Database (Open Government Licence). Corrections: hello@whatsittome.org.