Nomination papers for Town Council elections can be found here

Press release from Waveney & Suffolk Coastal District Council

Monday April 1 will see the historic creation of a brand new local authority, replacing Suffolk Coastal and Waveney District Councils.

East Suffolk Council will deliver essential services to local people and communities, from Lowestoft in the north to Felixstowe in the south, and is the natural culmination of a partnership between Suffolk Coastal and Waveney which has seen them save a combined total of over £22 million.

The creation of this new ‘super district council’ is a historic first for local government. It is the latest step in a meticulously planned journey designed to ensure that local people receive the services they deserve and expect in the face of considerable financial challenges for local government.

The primary reason for creating this new council is to meet the challenges presented by a hugely pressurised financial and service-delivery environment. Compared with the other options considered, it is the most simple to implement and has involved limited transitional costs. It will enable the new council to grasp more opportunities and deliver its priorities for East Suffolk: financial self-sufficiency, economic growth, and enabling communities.

So what will you as taxpayers see that is different? First, the number of councillors is being reduced from 90 across the two authorities to 55 and the elections to the new council will take place on May 2nd. A lot of work has gone in to ensuring that it will be ‘business as usual’ when the new council comes in to force on April 1.

Residents will continue to pay their council tax in the same way, refuse and recycling will be collected by the same friendly and efficient teams a and a range of important services from Planning and Coastal Management to Housing and Environmental Health will continue in exactly the same way.

There will of course be some changes. A new telephone number is being introduced for the Council’s switchboard and customer contact centre: 03330 162 000. This will be a non-geographic number, meaning that callers will be charged at a local rate, no matter where they call from in East Suffolk. And of course, there will be new signs – from the largest logos on the side of our main buildings, to car parks and vehicles.

These changes will be made gradually to keep costs down; another example of how the creation of a brand new council has been carefully planned with the taxpayer and public money in mind.

At the last Town Forum meeting in September 2018, residents in attendance were in favour of the Council exploring the option of CCTV for Halesworth.  Since then a working group has been set up to explore the possibility.  The group has been in discussion with the Police, security firms and other towns in the area to finalise a proposal.

Click here for the CCTV report that goes in to the proposal in detail.

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Waveney District Council have allotted another 2 hours free parking in all their car parks in Halesworth on the 22nd December.  Time for some last minute Christmas shopping or just enjoy a cup of tea in one of our lovely cafes, feeling smug if you've done it all..

The Council welcomes enquiries from members of the public interested in becoming a Town Councillor as there is currently one vacancy.

This seat would initially be for a few months because there will be new elections for all the Council seats in May 2019. This is an ideal opportunity for someone to see if it is for them and whether they can spare the time and commitment.

These are changing and challenging times for local authorities with more responsibilities being passed down from the Police, District and County Councils. All the local market towns will experience significant housing developments in the next few years adding more demands on the existing infrastructure which in many cases is under severe pressure. It looks increasingly likely that the town councils will have to try and fill the gap. This will be a challenge as the Town Council has limited resources and powers, so forward progressive thinking is required as well as the time to attend meetings, workshops and training. The Town Council meets monthly to receive reports on what has happened elsewhere in the other workgroups, committees and external meetings and this also provides the legal mechanism for all the members to review any recommendations and make the necessary decisions. It is therefore essential that the new Councillor is able to be involved in some of these other Town Council activities during the month.

The Town Council would like to attract members who have some relevant skills or a keen interest in any or some of the following; planning (surveying, building, architects, etc), youth facilities and engagement, social media, business (local business owners or professionals), legal (solicitors, financial advisors, accountants) but there are many other skills not listed which may be of interest to the Council. The Council has many committees and working groups such as Finance & Personnel, Planning, Communications, Community Infrastructure, Community Centre and Neighbourhood Planning.

Town Councillors are all volunteers, training will be provided but there is no pay. Council decisions, finances and minutes are all public information and many of the meetings are held in public, so applicants should be comfortable with this environment. The full Council normally consists of twelve members, inevitably members will have differing opinions on a wide variety of subjects from time to time and therefore debate is an active part of being a councillor.

If you are interested, please send in a short statement by the 16^th of November outlining why you wish to become a Councillor to: Town Clerk, Waveney Local Office, London Road, Halesworth, IP19 8LW or by email: clerk@halesworthtowncouncil.org.uk. If you need more information please call the Clerk's office: 01986 874517