Quick links

Hawstead on film:

To watch a short video made by Andy and Janet Taplin in support of our bid for Suffolk Village of the Year (2014), visit our Picture Gallery page. 

Village information:

Visit our Documents page where you'll also find previous copies of the Village Voice and its predecessor, The Hawstead Journal.

Upcoming parish council and community council meetings. For all other village events and updates, take a look at our Events page.

Parish council meetings: 

Parish Council meetings are held on the second Thursday of January, March, May, July, September and November in the village hall at 7.30pm. The agenda will be posted here a few days before each meeting   

Please note that archive material posted onto the website before 25 May 2018 may include limited personal data for which consent to publication has not been given.

This website is maintained by local volunteers, for which thanks.

Any enquiries regarding this website can be addressed to Hawstead Parish Council.

E-mail

clerk@hawstead-pc.gov.uk
 

Also on the Contacts page you'll find MAPS!

Latest local news for Hawstead residents

Advice from Suffolk and Norfolk police

Information about Suffolk Connected, a free messaging service from Suffolk Police.

CityFibre gigbit-capable broadband in Suffolk

CityFibre has been awarded the Project Gigabit contract for Suffolk.  Project Gigabit is the government’s flagship programme, enabling hard-to-reach communities to access lightning-fast gigabit-capable broadband.

This is a four-year programme and will see around 136,000 premises across Suffolk and parts of surrounding counties connected to CityFibre's fibre-to-the-premises network.   

CityFibre want to advise that work is due to start in our area over the coming weeks. As they move from area to area, they will endeavour to let affected parish councils know ahead of time. 

The contractor carrying out the work is OCU Utility Services. Wherever possible, existing duct and pole infrastructure will be used to reduce the amount of construction required. However, new infrastructure will be needed and we are working closely with the council’s highways team to coordinate any work that is required. 

If you want to find out more, visit cityfibre.com/build.  

Project information, including an FAQ and a way to register for updates is available at: www.cityfibre.com/projectgigabit. 

When it’s time to order services, residents and businesses will also be able to choose from a range of internet service providers. 

If you have any immediate questions then please contact: Contact_CityfibreSouth@cityfibre.com.  

West Suffolk Council is tackling the stigma and highlighting the help that we and our community partners can offer to residents.

More than half of UK adults have run into problems with debt according to national support charity StepChange.

In West Suffolk, Citizens Advice who we work closely with and support with funding, reports that it has given debt advice to 761 people between 1 March 2025 and 28 February this year.

Of those people, 82 people needed and were given further support from Citizens Advice to help them with managing a collective debt of just under £1.7m.

But it’s believed that many other people feel too ashamed to come forward for help.

Our key message for anyone in West Suffolk who is struggling with debt is, you’re not alone, speak to us.

Support is available through West Suffolk Council, our partners, and national charities.

As part of Debt Awareness Week, we are also raising awareness of the help provided through our Financial Inclusion Service.

Sharon from Newmarket has debts and was struggling with living costs including weekly shopping. 

The Financial Inclusion Service put her in contact with local food projects including Newmarket Community Pantry Shop, to help reduce her weekly spending and Reach Community Projects to help with her finances and debt. 

Gary, another resident of West Suffolk, started working part-time without realising that would impact on his Universal Credit payments. He then discovered he was £900 behind on his rent.

“I panicked,” he said. “Then West Suffolk Council’s Financial Inclusion Service helped me apply for grants and get money off my water bills. Together we worked out how to clear the debt. I feel much better and happy to be working again.”

Linda who lives in one of our beautiful West Suffolk villages, suffers from a lung condition. A pensioner, she was so worried about falling into debt on her heating bill, she was going to bed every night at 7pm just to stay warm.

“I didn’t want to live anymore. My doctor referred me to the Financial Inclusion Service who helped me apply for grants and Attendance Allowance. That extra money has made a tremendous difference and given me peace of mind,” she said.

Tim from West Suffolk is another pension who was struggling to keep on top of everyday bills. Our Financial Inclusion Service has helped improve his situation.

“The team completed a full benefit check and found I was eligible to claim Housing Benefit. It has been very helpful and has stopped that worry,” he said.

You can direct people to our Financial Inclusion Service at www.westsuffolk.gov.uk/cost-of-living

Other local help is available through Citizens Advice West Suffolk Citizens Advice West Suffolk | Free, confidential, independent advice

Reach Community Projects which operates in Haverhill and Newmarket Reach Community Projects, Haverhill | Free Debt Advice, Benefits Help & Foodbank

Newmarket Community Pantry Shop at The Racing Centre The Racing Centre Newmarket | Community Hub & Charity

Realise Futures offer courses in household budgeting - www.realisefutures.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/West-2025-26-Spring-Term-Brochure-For-web-email.pdf

Nationally support is available through StepChange StepChange Debt Charity. Free Expert Debt Help & Advice

Anglian Water pipeline - UPDATE

Anglian Water are building a new pipeline from North Lincolnshire to Essex. The Bury St Edmunds to Colchester section may impact residents living in Hawstead, here's a copy of the letter from Anglian Water along with a map of the affected (local) area (page 5 - sheet 4 of 24) how our pipeline route directly impacts the parish.

Here's an update on works (from Anglian Water):

What are we doing?

 

We’re building a brand new, multi-million pound water pipeline to help keep water flowing across our region, which is one of the driest in the UK.

This brand new water main is our flagship project and one of Europe’s biggest environmental programmes. Hundreds of kilometres of underground, interconnecting pipelines will stretch from North Lincolnshire all the way to Essex, allowing water to be moved from ‘wetter’ to ‘drier’ areas. 

 

When will this be happening?

 

Suffolk Highways have agreed our permit request to close Brands Lane, Lawshall. The closure date is the following:

 

Monday 8th January to Sunday 14th January 2024.

 

To make things easier for you and residents in the area, I have created a web page that lists all the planned road closures along the pipeline route. I have listed these under parish areas, so you can also identify closures in nearby villages which may also impact residents: Bury St Edmunds to Colchester Road Closure (anglianwater.co.uk).

 

*Please note, the permit has been submitted in advance as requested by Highways to allow enough time to contact blue light services etc. When booking work in advance we do face the challenge of aligning our works with the closure date, this has been difficult recently due to the bad weather. I want to make you aware that this date is subject to change. I will get in contact if anything changes and update our website if needed. I have added some FAQ’s at the bottom of the page covering some of the common questions we get asked.

 

Communicating the road closure to residents

 

We will write to residents living directly on the road closure route and would welcome any recommendations of other channels that we can communicate to residents through e.g. parish newsletter or local social media pages. 

 

If you, any residents or local businesses have any concerns about this road closure, please do get in touch.

 

Regards, Polly Williams, Stakeholder Engagement & Communnications Lead (07879 158530)