Latest news with #WestSuffolkCouncil
Yahoo
08-08-2025
- Yahoo
Suspect stopped in tracks after store theft
A suspect has been caught after a town centre shop theft. A police officer conducting foot patrols in Stowmarket town centre sprung into action when she alerted to the shop theft in progress. The officer managed to identify the suspect with the help of West Suffolk Council CCTV, recover the stolen items, and return them to the store. The suspect will be dealt with an out-of-court disposal, police confirmed. The patrols were part of the Safer Towns initiative, Operation Spotlight, an initiative focusing on tackling knife crime, serious violence, and anti-social behaviour.
BBC News
09-07-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Three-council plan for Suffolk proposed
A proposal has been made to create three new councils in Suffolk under local government government wants the current council structure in the county scrapped and replaced with one layer of existing district and borough councils have proposed three unitary authorities, and the BBC understands they could be based around Ipswich, Bury St Edmunds and County Council wants a sole authority to provide all services across the county. In June, the county was given nearly £300,000 to help develop plans for council government minister Jim McMahon said the funding should be split between councils and he hoped areas would collectively submit final five district and borough councils will now vote on whether to take forward their three-authority published proposals do not contain details about boundaries or names for the new councils. West Suffolk Council will be the first of the authorities to vote on the Waterman, the Labour leader of the council, said: "This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to ensure local government stays local and delivers for the communities and businesses it serves."A local unitary authority specifically for the western area of Suffolk would find it far easier than one mega council to concentrate on the unique attributes and needs of our market towns, and on the rural communities that surround them."The other local authorities will vote on the plans soon, with proposals due to be submitted to the government in September. Suffolk County Council has accused the district and borough councils of leaving "communities in the dark" over a lack of detail in their Rout, the council's cabinet member for local government reform, said: "This detail is important not only for the public, who rightly want to know where their town or village is within the districts' proposals, but also for us as we model the service implications for some of Suffolk's most vulnerable residents if the government chooses to break Suffolk up."Are they suggesting Felixstowe is in with east Suffolk or Ipswich? Where is Hadleigh, Woodbridge or the Shotley peninsula?"We just don't know, and by not coming clean they're keeping the public in the dark and putting service users at potential risk." Follow Suffolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
BBC News
22-05-2025
- Business
- BBC News
West Suffolk Council's net zero pledge pushed back by nine years
A council said it had been forced to push its "ambitious" net zero target back by nine years, after conceding a "more realistic plan" was Suffolk Council had hoped to be completely net zero by 2030, having declared a climate emergency in September authority said it had made "significant progress" in reducing its carbon emissions while helping homeowners, businesses and the wider community do the it said due to "elements out of our control" a "more deliverable timeline" had to be established, with a revised target of 2039 being set. 'Being honest is key' Gerald Kelly, independent cabinet member for governance, regulatory and environment, said net zero by 2030 was "an ambitious aim"."Pushing ourselves to hit that target has put us in the strong position we are in today, but due to elements out of our control, we now need a more realistic plan," he said."And being honest about that fact is a key part of maintaining trust in this agenda."Since declaring a climate emergency, the authority said it had prevented at least 7,000 tonnes of carbon consumed by third parties such as homes, businesses and community groups from entering the atmosphere every various schemes, it said it had also helped those struggling with the cost of living to manage energy council's own carbon consumption currently stands at just below 5,000 tonnes each year - 13% lower in absolute terms than in 2019, it also wants to remove a further 1,000 tonnes before 2029 and plant 5,000 trees. Last year, a review of the council's progress towards net zero identified areas for council's Environment and Sustainability Reference Group recommended actions including phasing out gas use in authority buildings and exploring opportunities to set more stringent building to remove gas will soon get under way, after the council was awarded £4.1m from the government to decarbonise its Bury St Edmunds and Haverhill leisure centres. 'Momentum and optimism' Despite the funding, the authority said new national demands meant its target had become harder to cited government-led initiatives such as Simpler Recycling, which will aim to streamline waste collections across England by making councils separate food waste and dry recycling from general waste by the council said this would increase the demand for new waste collection vehicles, which in turn would boost emissions. Despite this, Kelly assured residents net zero would one day become a reality in the west of the county. "The new trajectory includes decarbonising the leisure centres in Bury St Edmunds and Haverhill, installing solar canopies at the Mildenhall Hub car park, to name a few projects," he said."The revised target allows us to keep the momentum and optimism for tackling climate change going and continue to make significant progress." Follow Suffolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
Yahoo
26-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Supermarket and burger chain planned at ex-waste site
A supermarket and drive-through restaurant could be built at a former household waste site. West Suffolk Council announced that German supermarket chain Aldi and American fast food outlet Wendy's have signed agreements to rent buildings which the authority is looking to build on the site. The Rougham Hill recycling centre, at Bury St Edmunds, was replaced by a new site in 2020 and was briefly used as a Covid-19 testing site during the coronavirus pandemic. Diane Hind, cabinet member for resources at the council said: "It will create employment for our local communities both through opportunities at the two businesses, and through the construction phase." The buildings will need planning permission and the authority said it would evaluate the final costs but was looking to complete construction "over the next few years." The site is opposite a new build housing development where 900 homes could be built. If all went to plan, Aldi would be the second supermarket from the same brand in Bury St Edmunds, whilst the Wendy's would be the only franchise in Suffolk. Carl Morris, managing director of Blank Table Ltd, who are the franchisee for Wendy's for the East of England, said: "Opening our first drive-through restaurant in the region represents a significant step in our commitment to expanding Wendy's footprint across the UK". Hind said renting out land to commercial businesses was important to boost council finances, with less than 20% of the authority's spend being covered by council tax income. "Much of the rest of our income comes from fees and charges and capital investments such as this," she added. "We can invest to achieve the regeneration of strategic sites, supporting the sustainable growth of our economy while also creating additional annual income to help fund public services and keep council tax as low as we possibly can." A public consultation on the plans has been launched and runs until 16 April. Follow Suffolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X. Housing targets 'extremely challenging' - councils Village shop opens thanks to community volunteers 'Bright future' for town as council plans facelift West Suffolk Council
BBC News
26-03-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Aldi and Wendy's planned at former Suffolk waste site
A supermarket and drive-through restaurant could be built at a former household waste site. West Suffolk Council announced that German supermarket chain Aldi and American fast food outlet Wendy's have signed agreements to rent buildings which the authority is looking to build on the Rougham Hill recycling centre, at Bury St Edmunds, was replaced by a new site in 2020 and was briefly used as a Covid-19 testing site during the coronavirus Hind, cabinet member for resources at the council said: "It will create employment for our local communities both through opportunities at the two businesses, and through the construction phase." The buildings will need planning permission and the authority said it would evaluate the final costs but was looking to complete construction "over the next few years."The site is opposite a new build housing development where 900 homes could be built. If all went to plan, Aldi would be the second supermarket from the same brand in Bury St Edmunds, whilst the Wendy's would be the only franchise in Suffolk. Carl Morris, managing director of Blank Table Ltd, who are the franchisee for Wendy's for the East of England, said: "Opening our first drive-through restaurant in the region represents a significant step in our commitment to expanding Wendy's footprint across the UK". Hind said renting out land to commercial businesses was important to boost council finances, with less than 20% of the authority's spend being covered by council tax income."Much of the rest of our income comes from fees and charges and capital investments such as this," she added."We can invest to achieve the regeneration of strategic sites, supporting the sustainable growth of our economy while also creating additional annual income to help fund public services and keep council tax as low as we possibly can."A public consultation on the plans has been launched and runs until 16 April. Follow Suffolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
