At the July 15th meeting of Ipswich Borough Council, councillors are set to agree to create a new Ipswich parish/town council. This new council will hold elections for 17 councillors in May 2027, ensuring that Ipswich continues to have a mayor and the same level of very local representation as towns like Felixstowe and Hadleigh.
As England’s longest continuously settled Anglo-Saxon town, with a charter dating back to 1200, maintaining the town’s civic identity is important, especially in the context of local government reorganisation. Creating an Ipswich parish/town council represents the next chapter in Ipswich’s civic story.
Elections to the new council will be held in May 2027 with the mayoralty and civic regalia transferring on 1 April 2028 to coincide with the start of the Ipswich and south Suffolk unitary council. The civic regalia includes the mayor’s chain of office, dating from 1871; the town’s maces, gifted to Ipswich in 1665 by King Charles II; the borough’s ancient seals; the water bailiff’s ceremonial oar; and the ceremonial sword commissioned for Queen Victoria’s golden jubilee in 1887, amongst many other items.
In time, the new Ipswich town council may agree with the Ipswich and south Suffolk council that it should operate some services in the town.