The Babergh area has a population of circa 83,500 and covers 240 square miles, stretching from the Shotley Peninsula in the east to Bury St. Edmunds in the west.

Babergh District Council has a 2005/06 budget of over £8.5 million and is responsible for a range of services including planning, domestic waste collection and recycling, the collection of Council Tax and administration of housing and Council Tax Benefits, council housing, leisure centres, economic development, environmental health and some aspects of community safety.

Babergh works with a broad range of partners in the private, public and voluntary sectors to deliver its 8 main service priorities: building strong and inclusive communities, increasing the supply of affordable homes, promoting healthy living, maintaining a safe and clean environment, minimising domestic waste production and maximising recycling, giving easy access to quality services, encouraging the active involvement of citizens and raising individual and community ambitions.

Babergh has been given Beacon status in two areas: neighbourhood renewal and supporting people and was assessed as being a ‘good’ council in its 2004 Comprehensive Performance Assessment (CPA) – the only district council in Suffolk to achieve that score.