On the 20th May, at our Annual Meeting, I was elected by my fellow Councillors to a second term as Mayor. It is a privilege to serve and I am grateful for all the support I have received during my first year.

When I look back over the past year, I am proud of many things that Woodbridge Town Council has achieved including:

In May 2025, we signed an agreement with Doullens in France as a first step to renewing our commitment to international twinning.

From summer 2025, we picked up the challenge of Local Government Reorganisation with a view to taking ownership of some or all of the green and built spaces in Woodbridge owned by East Suffolk and Suffolk County Councils. It is early days and there are many challenges ahead.

In September the very first outcome of Active Travel Woodbridge became visible – a new zebra crossing near St Mary’s School. Delivery should speed up over the next year and our roads will consequently become safer for all users.

In February, our new in-house gardening team took the first steps in restoring our parks.

In April, following the recent celebration of its 450th birthday, the Shire Hall was surrounded by scaffolding for the first phase of the restoration that the Town has asked us to undertake.

The biggest lesson I have learnt is that as a town we need to set our level of ambition and stop expecting others to pay for it. We will need to pay for it through our own efforts by working together, pooling skills, finding time, making donations and accepting that there will be an impact on the local tax you pay to your council. We will also need to become smarter at accessing grants and other forms of funding.

Looking ahead there are in my view two areas that need even greater attention:

As a community we need to take much stronger action to help mitigate the impact of the cost-of-living crisis on our town and its residents.

As we all get increasingly affected by the green energy revolution taking over East Suffolk, we need a broad alliance of residents and visitors demanding a step change in the infrastructure – a road system that is transformed, more frequent passenger trains and a bus network that actually offers a viable alternative to the car.

I am looking forward to working with my fellow Councillors and residents over the coming year.

Nigel Phipps

Mayor of Woodbridge