Planning Development Management will be introducing extra mornings to its non-appointment pre-application advice service from Monday 16th May. Residents and developers will be able to drop in on Monday, Thursday and Friday mornings at both the Needham and Hadleigh offices.  Appointments for application advice can still be made for Monday-Thursday afternoons.  There will shortly be […]

Micro-chipping of dogs Most dog owners should be aware of the legislation which makes it compulsory for all dogs to be microchipped – this became mandatory on the 6th April.  A notice can be served requiring a chip to be implanted. Failure to do this, or to keep details updated, can result in a fine […]

“Safe Partnership” Working with Babergh and Mid Suffolk, the Safe Partnership charity has secured a one-off grant from the Suffolk Community Fund that could help enable victims of domestic abuse and their families to remain in their homes by providing free, and immediate, home security measures.  This national charity has been assisting victims of domestic […]

Major planning developments in Babergh In the new Local Plan, adopted by Babergh in 2014 which covers the period up to 2031, some 2500 new homes are planned.  60% of these are destined for the urban centres with 40% going to the rural areas. Whilst there are policies in place to “protect” existing settlements from […]

Early warning on Council Tax It seems very likely that there will be a 3.5% hike in Babergh’s portion of the council tax from April, after four years of “freeze”.  Whilst this increase sounds dramatic, the actual impact will be £5for the whole year, or less than 10p a week for a Band D property.  […]