The remarkable achievement of a community group has been recognised with an invitation to parliament.
SouthGen - formerly Save Our Southwold - has been invited to the Palace of Westminster on Thursday, July 12, for a parliamentary reception hosted by Suffolk Coastal MP Thérèse Coffey.
The invitation is a nod to the successful purchase of the former Southwold Hospital for community use, the first acquisition of its kind in the UK.
All those who were instrumental in securing the deal have been invited to the capital, including SouthGen volunteers, Hastoe Housing Association and NHS Property Services.
Laurence Vulliamy, who was chairman of SouthGen during the two-year campaign, said: 'It's an honour to have the work of our local community group recognised by our MP.
'We've been able to save an iconic local hospital building to ensure it's future use for the community. SouthGen has shown that local people can have an effective say in the future of their communities.'
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here