At Ipswich Central, we are passionate about seeing Ipswich town centre as a vibrant place for living, working, studying and visiting. Through everything we do, we strive to create a safe and welcoming environment, celebrate the town’s unique character, champion local businesses, and draw visitors to experience all that Ipswich has to offer.
Working with Ipswich Town Football Club to achieve a new community mural on pink site boarding between Princes Street and Portman Road as a competition for local artists. The winning design will be installed ready for the 2026/27 football season in August 2026.
Ipswich Central worked closely with the project team to develop the expression of interest for Ipswich’s competition entry to be crowned City of Culture 2029. Around 2,000 individuals and businesses pledged their support before the submission deadline (Image credit: John Ferguson)
Around 150 people came together at The Church in Ipswich Town Centre to watch the Traitors UK 2026 finale on the big screen at a former church in the town centre. This All About Ipswich community event saw Ipswich Central collaborate with the Brighten the Corners team to create a memorable experience for fans of the BBC programme.
Ipswich Central hosted the opening reception of the 2025 Christmas Tree Festival at Ipswich Minster and sponsored its booklets, festival branding and promotion as an All About Ipswich event, increasing footfall by 10%, with almost 10,000 people visiting over 10 days, £8,000 raised in donations for charitable causes and around 100 local businesses and community groups sponsoring trees or engaging with the festival.
Lee Walker, CEO of Ipswich Central, was presented with the FIPS leadership award for 18 months of sterling work leading Ipswich Central campaigns and events for businesses in Ipswich. Board Member, former EADT Editor and Thomas Wolsey 550 chair Terry Hunt was also presented with an award for championing Ipswich.
As part of the Digital Ipswich by Ipswich Borough Council thanks to Towns Deal funding, Ipswich Central delivered a new AR experience around Ipswich Waterfront called ‘Dock Stories’ which introduces you to characters from history who would have worked around Ipswich Docks when it was a working port. Narrated by Griff Rhys Jones, he also launched the app at Stoke Bridge Wharf. Image credit: Simon Lee Photography
A collection of photographs by World-renowed photographer and Ipswich resident John Ferguson were displayed in a vacant unit in the Buttermarket and as posters in vacant shop windows around Ipswich Town Centre as part of an ‘Inspiring Ipswich’ collection. The vibrant images with inspirational quotes showcase John’s talent for portrait photography locally in Ipswich, celebrities and people and places around the world.
In Autumn 2025 two new officers – Ben and Lesley – joined the Street Security team as patrols increased to include Sundays in the lead up to Christmas and some early evening patrols too. MLB also started the rollout of upgraded radios to town centre businesses on the RadioLink service, with recording capability to help Night-Time Economy venues with evidence capture.
Ipswich Central sponsored the first book festival in Ipswich, which took place over a weekend in October 2025. Organisers were local volunteers and independent business owners with a level of books and the festival was a huge success drawing thousands of people into the town centre for events and activities related to reading, authors, illustration and crafts.
In July 2025, Ipswich Central, using the All About Ipswich brand, turned the town pink to ‘Welcome Home Ed’ as Ed Sheeran performed three concerts at Portman Road Football Stadium, home of Ipswich Town Football Club. 90,000 fans visited the town from all over the world so the town was covered in pink bunting, shop windows decorated with pink displays, hundreds of posters were put up around the town centre, and a pink plaque trail to highlight places associated with Ed Sheeran were put in place, plus many buildings lit themselves pink!
As sponsors and supporters of the Brighten the Corners live music festival in June 2025, we heavily promoted the festival on our All About Ipswich brand, linked organisers up with hotel and food businesses and attended the weekend to promote live content in the sunshine and evening at indoor venues to help ensure the festival was the biggest and best yet!
Local award-winning artist Sammi Wong created a giant version of her Ipswich map, including DiGBY the Octopus, that Ipswich Central and Hudson Signs printed on a giant canvas and had abseilers install on the side of the Paul’s Silo building to brighten the disused waterfront building until development takes place.
Ipswich Central has for many years provided the giant Christmas Tree which stands proudly every Christmas outside the Town Hall. This 40 to 50ft real Christmas tree costs many thousands of pounds to put in place, including transport, lifting into place and decorations but is so appreciated by the town.
When games manufacturer Hasbro got in touch with All About Ipswich to say that Ipswich would be getting a new version of the classic monopoly game, we helped encourage votes for places to be included on the board and gave ideas for local places to be celebrated in the game.
Forknight food festival returned to Ipswich Town Centre, with food offers from around 50 eateries for two weeks in May 2025. In previous years Forknight has presented food awards and taken place in the Autumn. The 2025 celebration was all about the huge variety of great food on offer, from Best of British, European specials, American classics and Asian fusion categories with food offers covering lunchtime bites at street vendors and evening meals at pubs and restaurants.
Spring 2025 saw fifteen pubs and bars take part in two drinks trails around Ipswich, one trail highlighted dog friendly venues and the other historic Ipswich venues. Hundreds of people took part in the trails, receiving a prize for completing each (a pin badge of Wolsey’s Gate or Sip’Swich dog bandana) with a grand prize limited edition SipSwich reusable cup for everyone who completed both trails.
With Suffolk County Council funding, Ipswich Central upgraded the Stoke Bridge viewing platform, transforming this pedestrian area into Stoke Bridge Wharf gateway to the waterfront with new benches, greening, buoy and telephone box painting plus the addition of information panels about why the site is so important to the history of Ipswich.
To celebrate Ipswich Town Football Club’s mens team being in the Premier League for the 2024/25 season, we highlighted what this meant to fans and local businesses by promoting an ‘Added Time’ campaign highlighting the pride around our town watching our local team play and host the best teams from across the UK.
During 18 months in 2024 and 2025, the Thomas Wolsey 550 project, achieved thanks to the National Lottery Heritage Fund, used Cardinal Wolsey’s legacy to inspire the young people and adults through education about Wolsey’s achievements from lowly beginnings in Ipswich. There were Education encounters, a hat parade and Big Huzzah! Plus, Wolsey Place-changer artists brightened the town with a mural and new street art.
Ipswich Central co-ordinated Heritage Open Days at venues in Ipswich for 10 days in September. Every year The Ipswich Society organises venues to open their doors, but in 2024 they needed help and we stepped in! 28 venues took part, with many thousands of people coming to Ipswich for the heritage festival to enjoy the town’s many historic buildings.
In February 2024 our Street Rangers became the Street Security team, operated by experts at My Local Bobby who patrol other areas in the UK. Adam, Evander and Curtis were empowered to do more to catch shoplifters and retrieve goods, hold criminals for police arrest and tackle street drinking and anti-social behaviour.
Ipswich Central helped two local art experts bid for and receive funding for new murals that were installed around Ipswich in 2024. Four new giant and vibrant art installations plus other smaller interventions around the town centre, were installed and these are now loved and admired.
Brought to you by Ipswich Central, the Business Improvement District (BID) for the town centre and waterfront thanks to Towns Deal funding.
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