Bentley has a parish council.[9] It has also a forum called Bentley Free Speech [10] that comments on matters relating to the parish council and other village issues. There also an alternative news site called Bentley News,[11] which is managed by a local resident.
The Eastern Union Railway was built through the parish and opened on 15 July 1846. Bentley railway station was about 1⁄2 mile (800 m) east of the village, and served the area until British Railways closed it in 1966. The station was a junction between 1847 and 1965 for the Hadleigh branch line.[12] The branch line also had a short-lived station called Bentley Church (1847-1853).[13][14]