Towns and villages in Babergh and Mid Suffolk have received close to £1.6million in funding taken from developers building homes in the area.

The money comes from the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL), which is a payment that developers are charged when building new homes, to enable local infrastructure to keep up with housing growth.

The latest payments, taken in April, totalled £1,593,662, and were distributed to 84 town and parish councils.

A total of £1,025,936 was allocated to 49 town and parish councils in Mid Suffolk, with a further £567,726 handed to 35 of Babergh's town and parish councils.

Babergh district council’s cabinet member for planning, councillor Clive Arthey said: "As well as meeting demand for homes, we want to ensure that our communities can thrive as attractive, successful and connected places for people to live and work.

"The CIL funding makes a real difference to local communities and helps to provide facilities needed to help keep pace with growth."

A proportion of the funding is automatically paid to town and parish councils, who are eligible for 15% of the funds collected in the area, subject to a financial cap, but this number can increase to 25% in areas that have adopted a Neighbourhood Plan.

They can then decide where the money goes to help development in the local area.

Mid Suffolk district council's cabinet member for planning, councillor David Burn said: "We know that communities worry about local facilities keeping pace with development, so we work with a wide variety of organisations and partners through the CIL process, including local education and healthcare providers, community groups, towns and parishes to ensure this funding is can be used in the best way to meet local need."

More information about how CIL funding works can be found here, while details about how the levy is spent can be found on the developer contributions database.