Bill Quinton retires after 39 years as councillor in Ipswich

He has resigned as county councillor for the Priory Heath division on health grounds - leading to a by-election for the seat on May 4, the same day as the borough elections.

Mr Quinton, 82, was first elected to Ipswich Borough Council in 1984 after becoming involved in Labour politics through his trade union and was mayor of the town twice, in 1988/9 and 2014/15.

One of his key roles in the town was as chair of the borough's development control committee in the 1990s.

That was involved in the development of the Ravenswood District on the site of the town's former airport - a project that was very controversial at the time.

Mr Quinton's time as Development Control Committee chair paved the way for Ipswich's new Ravenswood development. (Image: Simon Parker)

He said: "I was sad to see the end of the airport - we had flown from their once - but when you see what we have there now, it was clearly the right thing to do."

He was first elected as county councillor in 2003 and became mayor of Ipswich for a second time in 2014. 

One of the highlights of that year was leading a delegation from Ipswich to its twin town of Arras - the scene of a fierce battle in the First World War - to mark the centenary of the start of that conflict.

Bill Quinton led an Ipswich delegation to Arras in 2014. (Image: Paul Geater)

Mr Quinton stood down from Ipswich council in 2016, but remained on the county.

He has been married to Barbara for 60 years - she has been mayoress twice - but is having to step down because of a bone disease.

He said: "The fact is that I just can't get about enough to do the job properly any more and it's time to stand down.

"I'm very sorry to be having to retire - but I'll always be interested in politics and I've made a lot of friends through that."