The Ipswich Conservation and Design Panel is a formally constituted body which meets monthly to consider built design issues within the Borough and make recommendations to council officers. The Council provides administrative support and the secretary to the Panel is the Council's Conservation Officer.

The Panel is made up of a range of local expertise and experience. Organisations currently represented include:

• The Building Employers Confederation;
• The Chartered Institute of Building;
• Ipswich Borough Council;
• Ipswich Building Preservation Trust;
• The Ipswich Society;
• The Ipswich & Suffolk Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Shipping;
• The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors;
• Suffolk County Council;
• Suffolk Preservation Society;
• The Suffolk Institute of Archaeology and History;
• The Landscape Institute;
• The Suffolk Architects Association.

The Panel has been meeting regularly since 1975 and has developed a unique working relationship with the local authority, independent of commercial or political influence. Its remit has expanded beyond conservation issues - listed buildings and conservation areas - to include all aspects of the built environment; for example public realm works, masterplanning and site redevelopment proposals.  The Panel's impartial, informed advice has influenced the pattern of development in the Borough over many years, as well as helping to protect and enhance the town's built heritage.