MAYOR'S MONTHLY - FEBRUARY 2026

Mayor’s monthly - February

Our new in-house gardening initiative is off the starting blocks. We have now recruited our new gardening staff team members, Jess Dighton, Head Gardener, and her assistant. They will officially take over our Town’s green spaces on 1st April when the contract with our outsourced provider comes to an end. More on this in future updates.

We are very pleased to have co-opted a new Town Councillor following the resignation last year of Patrick Gillard, who served many years as Councillor and been Mayor for two terms.  Katharine Turner has joined the Council and we are looking forward to her contribution on behalf of the town. Thank you to all those who showed an interest in the role.

In January, as required by law, the Council adopted its budget for 2026/27. The amount a Band D household in Woodbridge will pay to Woodbridge Town Council is £186.54 a year, which represents an increase of 57p per week on last year. The 18% increase is driven by three principal decisions of the Council.

• Firstly our grounds maintenance contract ends in March. We anticipated a significant cost increase in any outsourced contract. In reviewing the underperformance of our outsourced provider and the previous provider, we decided the best solution is to bring the gardening team in-house.
• Second, with local government reorganisation happening, we have taken decisions to ensure Woodbridge is better prepared if, or when, more responsibilities are passed to Woodbridge Town Council.   We have decided:
  • to strengthen our clerking team with an additional senior and junior role.
  • to support the outcome of our consultation at the end of last year, and undertake due diligence on some of the twenty plus green and built spaces owned by East Suffolk Council and Suffolk County Council in Woodbridge.
• Third, we have increased the funding available to our community and residents through grants and other initiatives. This has been partially offset by the decision not to have a significant event in 2026/7, similar to last year’s very successful celebrations of the 450th anniversary of the Shire Hall and VE Day.

Please take a look at our Jenny Riddell-Carpenter (MP)’s website and her campaign to increase the frequency of trains on the East Suffolk Line. As Mayor, I helped launch the campaign with her at Woodbridge Station. With the increasing pressure on the A12, it is becoming urgent that the rail network offers local residents in East Suffolk a viable alternative to the car and this can only be done with a train every 30 minutes. Here is the link if you want to sign up www.jennyforsuffolkcoastal.org/rail.

Nigel Phipps

Mayor of Woodbridge

CouncillorPhipps@woodbridge-suffolk.gov.uk