I so enjoy the Suffolk Show, personally and professionally. I’ve been more times than I can remember and on every occasion, there has been wonderful sense of comforting familiarity mixed with the excitement of new experiences. No wonder over 90,000 people flocked to Trinity Park this year, and I’m sure it will be repeated in 2024.
Suffolk County Council is a long-standing supporter of the Suffolk Agricultural Association and the Suffolk Show and rightly so, farming is part of the fabric of our county.
That is why, this year, we sponsored a new part of the Suffolk Show – the Farm4Future area. It showcased the farming practices of the future and the state-of-the-art equipment currently used to deliver food to our tables. We are also acutely aware of how precious our water resources are in Suffolk, and we exhibited some of the water-harvesting projects that the council is involved with, such as Reclaim The Rain and FRESH4Cs. All of this through a lens of protecting our environment and supporting wildlife to thrive.
Away from farming, we were rushed off our feet at our main stand, with thousands of people of all ages dropping by to enjoy what we had to offer.
This year we very much focused on what Suffolk County Council is doing to make our county even better in the future, including improving health, Family Hubs, recruitment and careers, electric vehicle charging points, digital care and our new highways contract with Milestone, which starts in October. There was something for everyone.
Every aspect of our work fits under our four ambitions for Suffolk:
- Looking after our health and wellbeing
- Protecting and enhancing our environment
- Strengthening our local economy
- Providing value for money for our residents.
Of course, the Suffolk Show is about having fun – especially if you have little ones with you. That is why we embraced our Suffolk To The Future theme with a few recognisable and much-loved icons from the TV and films.
I didn’t realise the popularity of Back To The Future and Dr Who, but I certainly do now. Our stand was packed full of people, throughout each of the two days of the Show, and our staff worked tirelessly to welcome everyone as visitors circulated around the displays and asked questions.
We also welcomed our friends from the Ipswich’s Geek Retreat, who provided a wellbeing zone for people to take a seat and enjoy a rest from the busy show. Our colleagues from Combat to Coffee were also on hand, serving delicious tea and coffee whilst talking to visitors about their fantastic charity work.
This was also the first of annual Local Matters community engagement events, where residents can come and talk to my councillor colleagues and me about the issues that matter to them and ways that Suffolk County Council can help.
We’ve just published on our website the dates and locations of our 13 events. We’re travelling all over Suffolk again this year, so please do look at the schedule and visit us if you can. The list can be found on the local matters page.
In fact, many Suffolk County Council services were represented at the Suffolk Show this year, in different locations and guises. Suffolk Fire and Rescue, Suffolk Libraries, Suffolk Archives, Suffolk Music Service and our Fostering and Adoption Team were all on hand – making me proud that they are part of the Suffolk County Council family.
As I left the ground at the end of the second day, I was filled with that familiar sense of admiration at our great county and the way we come together at events like this. There really is something for everyone, no matter where in Suffolk you hail from.
