Levington, Suffolk

Levington, Suffolk, has won the 2008 Calor Village of the Year® for England award. Levington came first in the Environment category for the East England region, winning the regional competition, before winning overall.

The village of Levington is situated to the south east of Ipswich in the county of Suffolk and has a population of just 280.

Considering its small size and close vicinity to Felixstowe port – already the UK’s largest container terminal and set to grow further – it would be understandable if community spirit in Levington wasn’t great. However, this is far from the case; in fact the opposite is true.

Over 40% of the villagers in Levington offer their help, in one form or another, in the running of activities, of which there are many, catering for all members of the community from the youngest to the oldest.

The village also makes a large contribution to the running of activities and opportunities offered in conjunction with Levington’s neighbouring parish of Nacton.

With a heritage of diverse buildings which need to be protected villagers work hard to support and protect their local environment. The village church and surrounding churchyard have been transformed by good planning, enthusiastic fundraising and hard work.

Other listed buildings have been saved from inappropriate development and the Village Hall has been made safe, ‘fit for purpose’, and accessible for all, including the disabled.

While trying to maintain the quality of the natural and built environment, the Parish Council in Levington has also been a catalyst for work to support and improve the business community.

Efforts are continually being made to save local services and amenities with campaigns to maintain the bus service and for the local post office in Nacton to be saved from closure.

Central to the Parish Council’s work has been greatly improved communication with villagers and a more robust consultation process which takes into account the views of everyone in the community when it comes to decisions that will affect them.

Many initiatives have resulted from the Parish Council’s lead and all can enjoy the improvement in facilities and activities that have been made possible by the enthusiasm, hard work and active participation of an increasing proportion of villagers.