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Community Governance Review

The consultation on the draft recommendations of the Bacton Community Governance Review has been extended until Friday, 9 October 2026, providing additional time for residents, local organisations and other interested parties to submit their views.

Community Governance Review 2025

Mid Suffolk District Council is undertaking a Community Governance Review (CGR) of the parishes, towns, and unparished areas in the district, that started in October 2025.

The town and parish councils were written to in May 2025 to consider any changes to their community governance arrangements, with initial requests submitted between 23 October and 7 November 2025.

Consultation

The review has included two stages of consultation to ensure residents and other stakeholders have had the opportunity to comment on proposed changes.

The first stage of consultation took place between 8 December 2025 and 23 January 2026 and sought views on the initial requests received from town and parish councils and other interested parties.

Following consideration of the responses received and the development of draft recommendations, a second stage of consultation was undertaken on those draft recommendations. This consultation commenced on 13 April 2026 and was extended until 19 June 2026.

Feedback received during both consultation stages were considered alongside the statutory criteria for Community Governance Reviews when the determining the final recommendations of the review.

Next Steps

The working group met to consider the feedback received during both consultation stages and to formulate their final recommendations. The Final recommendations can be found below.

There is now a period before any decisions are made to allow stakeholders time to review the outcome.

The final recommendations will be presented to Full Council on 22 October 2026 to request any necessary reorganisation orders needed to implement changes to community governance arrangements.

In addition, the consultation on the draft recommendations for the Bacton community governance review has been extended until Friday 9 October 2026.

Residents and stakeholders can submit their representation in the following ways:

Areas under review

Bacton

The draft recommendation for Bacton is that Bacton parish council increases from nine (9) to twelve (12) seats.

Coddenham

The final recommendation for Coddenham is that Coddenham parish council reduces from eleven (11) to nine (9) seats.

Framsden and Helmingham

The final recommendation for Framsden and Helmingham is that Framsden parish council and Helmingham parish council merge to form Framsden and Helmingham Parish council with seven (7) member seats.

A merger involves both parishes becoming one distinct parish area, below is a map of the current Framsden and Helmingham boundaries:

Framsden and Helmingham

Palgrave

The final recommendation for Palgrave is that Palgrave parish council reduces from eleven (11) to nine (9) seats.

Stradbroke

The final recommendation for Stradbroke is that Stradbroke parish council reduces from thirteen (13) to eleven (11) seats.

Notices and documents

Indicative timeline and key stages

Stage Action Dates
Authorisation Council resolves to undertake CGR Terms of reference approved Full Council – 23 October 2025
Commencement Notice of review and ToR published 24 October 2025
Stage One Initial submissions invited on future arrangements in accordance with terms of reference 27 October 2025 – 7 November 2025
Stage Two Consideration of submissions received November 2025
Stage Three Consultation on the valid submissions 8 December 2025 – 23 January 2026
Stage Four Draft recommendations prepared January – February 2026
Stage Five Council to approve of the draft recommendations and their associated communications strategies 26 March 2026
Stage Six Draft recommendations published for further consultation 13 April 2026 – 19 June 2026
Stage Seven Working Group recommendations published for a final comment period June 2026
Stage Eight Council to note CGR outcomes, with resolution to make any necessary re-organisation order(s) Full Council 22 October 2026
Stage Nine Re-organisation order made As soon as practicable after publication of final recommendations

Please note that the Community Governance Order made following the CGR will, for administrative and financial reasons take effect on 1 April 2027. Electoral arrangements will come into force at the first elections to any new parish council following the making of the order.

Published orders

Copies of published orders are available for inspection by appointment at Endeavour House, 8 Russell Road, Ipswich, IP1 2BX.

What is a Community Governance Review?

A community governance review is a legal process that provides an opportunity for principal councils to review and make changes to community governance within their areas. It involves consulting those living in the area and other interested parties and making sure they have a say in how their local communities are represented.

The Review can consider one or more of the following options:

  • Creating, merging, altering or abolishing parishes
  • The naming of parishes and the style of new parishes and the creation of town councils
  • The electoral arrangements for parishes (for instance, the ordinary year of election; council size; the number of councillors to be elected to the council, and parish warding)
  • Grouping parishes under a common parish council or de-grouping parishes
  • Consider other types of local arrangements, including parish meetings

The Review cannot:

  • change the number of councillors on Mid Suffolk District Council
  • change the amount of money that a parish council raises through council tax (known as ‘precept’)

It is good practice to carry out a Community Governance Review every 10-15 years. However, as the principal authority, Mid Suffolk District Council may schedule a review in response to a reasonable request from an individual, group or parish or following the receipt of a valid petition containing the sufficient number of signatures required to trigger a review.

Read more about the review process

For further queries, email the Community Governance Review team

Community Governance Review considerations

Legislation requires that the council must ensure that community governance within the area:

  • reflects the identities and interests of the communities in the area
  • be effective and convenient and takes into account any other arrangements for the purpose of community representation or engagement in the area

In considering proposals for change, the council will take the following into account:

  • a strong, inclusive community and voluntary sector
  • a sense of civic values, responsibility and pride
  • a sense of place – a place with a ‘positive’ feeling for people and local distinctiveness
  • reflective of the identities and interests of the community in that area
  • the impact of community governance arrangements on community cohesion
  • the size, population and boundaries of a local community or parish

Parish councils

Parish and Town councils are the first level of local government.

Mid Suffolk hosts 95 Parish Councils and 21 Parish Meetings.

Parish councils have relatively few statutory functions (things they have to do). The statutory functions are, for example, the holding of meetings, the management of its finances and the preparation of annual accounts. A parish council employs staff, owns and manages premises, and provides services.

How do Parish Councils operate?

Residents of the parished area elect parish councillors. They represent residents and their interests and councillors will make most of the decisions about what a parish council does in meetings. Although the public has a right to attend meetings of a parish council and its committees, it is the councillors who collectively make decisions about council business and what services or facilities it provides.

How are they funded?

The parish council must carefully budget for the expenditure it will have to pay in the next financial year. A parish council may generate income from money from rents from premises that it leases or licences for use by others, or from the services or facilities it provides, for example sports facilities, off-street carparks. It may also receive grants for certain projects. The main source of income derives from the precept levied on the residents in its area. The precept is incorporated into a local resident’s council tax bill.

What do they do?

Although parish councils have few statutory functions or duties, there are many things they can do if they choose. What they choose to do will depend on the needs of the local community they serve. They have the discretion to exercise a range of statutory powers related to the provision or support of certain services or facilities which benefit their area, and/or the residents that live there. Examples might include sports facilities, allotments, local youth projects, bus shelters, litter bins, off street carparks, community centres, parks and open spaces, community transport schemes, neighbourhood planning, crime reduction measures, street lighting, festivals and fetes, traffic calming measures and tourism activities.

Is there a difference between a town and parish council?

No, they both have the same statutory powers and can provide the same services. The only differences are that a town council has decided that it should be known as a town council instead of a parish council, and a town council usually has a mayor. Since 2007 the alternative terms community, neighbourhood or village council can also be adopted, but there is also no difference in their powers.