Should you have any queries relating to this page, please contact Katie Hazelton:
Email: katie.hazelton@suffolkcc.gov.uk
Direct Line: 01473 265778

Suffolk’s tranquil and relaxed environment makes it a great county. It’s a good place to live, work, bring up children and retire to. This hasn’t happened by accident. Modern Suffolk has been fought over and fought for. It has produced inspirational leaders and artists and welcomed new settlers from across the UK and abroad.

Suffolk owes its name to the South Folk, the Germanic tribe that settled here in the afterglow of the Roman Empire, around the 5th Century AD. As part of the Kingdom of East Anglia it suffered the ravages of the Danes in the 9th Century and saw the last East Anglian king martyred at Hoxne. As an entity in its own right, Suffolk came into being during Anglo-Saxon times; part of the gradual process of shiring the whole country. By the end of the 11th century Suffolk was a Norman county and was part of the Diocese of Norwich.

The county has never been short on talent. Its beauty has been captured in art by Constable and Gainsborough, and in music by Benjamin Britten and Peter Pears, founders of the Aldeburgh Music Festival. From champions of the world to champions of people, Cardinal Wolsey, Sir Alf Ramsey and John Peel are just some of the famous people who came to call Suffolk home.

Churches and historic estates combine with Suffolk Pink houses to give the inland part of the county its unique look, whilst the picturesque coast between Felixstowe and Lowestoft has been designated the Suffolk Heritage Coast, including the Suffolk Coast & Heath Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

With a current population of over 700,000, there is a feeling that Suffolk’s reputation as an attractive, safe and enjoyable place to live is well founded. However, shifting patterns of paid employment, household composition, health, wealth and global climate trends pose major social and economic challenges for the county in the future. That said, Suffolk has been meeting challenges and changes with success for the last nine hundred years.

Recent events have led to rising fears about security and even though Suffolk is one of the safest counties in England, fear of crime remains high. However, communities in Suffolk have stayed strong, and have seen a growing trend in community activity. Active citizenship and volunteering is liable to prove central to future developments in relations between and within communities, including social and economic inclusion for disadvantaged communities. Communities will not only define the problems they face, but be able to tackle them as well.

Local people are very positive about living in the county, with 83% of those surveyed saying that they are satisfied with their part of Suffolk as a place to live. But the underlying challenges that Suffolk faces in the next ten to fifteen years means it is more important than ever to challenge the status quo.

Administratively, Suffolk is divided into three tiers of local government. There are 419 Town and Parish Councils, seven District and Borough Councils, and one County Council.

Suffolk is a mainly low-lying county, with the highest point being Great Wood Hill on Newmarket Ridge which reaches to 420ft (128m). Suffolk's wetlands are national attractions with the Norfolk and Suffolk Broads being Britain's largest wetland, and RSPB Lakenheath Fen working to restore the wetland habitats that had been lost to farming land several centuries ago.

For further information on Suffolk and its many attractions, you can visit the following websites:

Visit Suffolk

Heart of Suffolk

About Britain (Suffolk Webpage)