Southwold and Reydon Society

The Southwold and Reydon Society is a voluntary organisation with over 400 members from our community. Our mission is to protect the character and amenities of our area. For us, this means working with, and sometimes pressurising, others to ensure that the environment, facilities and services enjoyed by our community are maintained and improved.

In recent years, we have:

• Campaigned for local management of Southwold Harbour, which has now been achieved with East Suffolk Council’s Harbour Management Committee and a strong Stakeholder Advisory Group;
• Objected to plans for an extension of Wangford Quarry into Reydon at Lime Kiln Farm with success when a government planning inspector ruled against this proposal;
• Worked to secure action by our local MP to pressurise Suffolk County Council, the Environment Agency and the landowners at Easton Bavents to co-operate to deal with the cause of flooding at Potters Bridge (on the B1127) which cuts off Southwold from Wrentham – sadly this problem remains unsolved;
• Played an important role in raising awareness in our community of the plans for onshore cabling and infrastructure arising from schemes for offshore wind and electricity connections with Holland and between Suffolk and Kent. We leafletted every house in Southwold and Reydon, and thus ensured a strong response from our community supporting the case for offshore infrastructure for these important projects;
• Worked with local schools to ensure all the children in our community had access to the IT needed for remote learning during the covid lockdowns; and
• Monitored all local planning applications and commented wherever we feel what is proposed is not acceptable or could be improved.

Throughout the year, we give small donations of up to £200 each to local good causes, using donations given by members in addition to the annual subscription (which is a modest £2). In 2020, we donated £1,100 to a number of local groups.

Members receive frequent e-mail communication, including a monthly newsletter which is also published in local magazines. We hold two annual events for members, both including guest speakers who are either national figures or people with particular expertise on a local issue. At our AGM, we also present our Excellence Awards to individuals or groups who make an outstanding contribution to the community. Our Annual Lunch is more of a sociable occasion, but always a sell-out event as members enjoy networking and hearing what our speaker has to say.

To find out more, including how to join for only £2 a year, visit our website: sandrsoc.org.uk.