Breadcrumbs
Prince of Wales hosts rural revival seminar at Highgrove – 28 March 2003
The results of these practical Rural Revival projects, launched by His Royal Highness in 1999, are highlighted in a report published today by the Countryside Agency.
Aiming to share lessons learned and demonstrate how the public and private sectors can support rural projects more effectively, The Prince of Wales, Rural Affairs Minister Alun Michael and representatives from all three projects will discuss the results with government, national and regional agencies concerned with rural regeneration.
In his Foreword to the Rural Revival Initiative report, The Prince of Wales said:
“They have each in their different ways demonstrated what can be achieved through local action and a willingness of people to work together at all levels. They have shown that the nature of rural areas and rural problems requires local solutions rather than top-down approaches, but at the same time they need the active participation and support of national, regional and local agencies.
“The people involved in the projects – the community leaders, the rural champions, the volunteers, the mentors, the young people – are the real inspiration. They have shown what can be done and that a noticeable difference can be made. I hope that their achievements will inspire others to follow the example they have set.”
Dale Action for Local Enterprise(DALE)
DALE aims to enable new business start-ups by previously unemployed or underemployed young people in the Yorkshire Dales National Park. Based on a Prince’s Trust model, the project provides outreach and support for 18-30 year olds. It aims to reduce the drift of population away from the area by demonstrating the possibilities for local employment. DALE has resulted in 61 new businesses, creating a total of 80 new jobs. The project is now being rolled out to the whole of Yorkshire and Humberside, and Defra has recently endorsed DALE as an example of good practice for other regions to adopt. Stephen Robshaw from Dales Anglers, a DALE start up business, said: ‘This is the best thing that has ever happened to me. I mean that. I don’t know where I would now be if it wasn’t for you”
The Northern Fells Rural Project
Based on seven parishes in the Northern Fells, a remote area of upland Cumbria, it focuses on identifying the unmet health and social needs of rural residents – particularly the elderly and the young, people with disabilities, carers, young parents, unemployed people and those on low income or without their own transport. Its successful initiatives include a minibus services driven by volunteer drivers which now averages 100 journeys a month, workshops for teenagers on childcare, basic life support, cookery and mechanics, and a benefits advice scheme which has led to more than £20,000 worth of benefits being claimed.
The Northern Fells Rural Project Final Report identified that: “When one scratches the surface of an attractive fellside area one finds a significant number of isolated, often stoical individuals, many of them elderly, infirm or caring for others who do not have access to services now considered to be ‘normal’ in the UK.”
YP2 Clay – Action for Young People
Through an innovative voucher scheme, YP2 Clay is successfully demonstrating new ways of working with and engaging young people, with a particular focus on the forgotten 14 year old age group. Each 14 year old in the parish is given a £20 voucher to redeem on activities of their choice - the face value of the voucher is doubled if at least five people band together for a single project, and trebled, if there are at least 10. It aims to give young people the opportunity to demonstrate responsibility and have control over their own lives. Over 600 vouchers have been issued and activities have ranged from quad biking and horse-riding lessons, to communication workshops and a trip to the cinema.
Project manager Helen Trudgeon said: “We need to reach them before they are influenced by outside pressures, lack of facilities, transport problems and boredom.
YP2 Clay is about empowering young people and giving them ownership and a senses of responsibility.”
Countryside Agency director Margaret Clark said:
“Really significant rural revival requires many people and organisations to champion the cause of rural communities. The three projects established by The Prince of Wales have demonstrated different ways of working to tackle long standing problems of rural disadvantage. Each is important in its own right but together they provide valuable lessons for others who are looking to address rural issues. We particularly welcome the support His Royal Highness has given by bringing together a range of agencies and people working in partnership to show in practical ways what can be achieved.”
Launched in 1999 by The Prince of Wales, the Rural Revival Initiative is a partnership of national and regional agencies concerned with rural regeneration – the Countryside Agency, Yorkshire Forward and three of His Royal Highness’s own organisations, Business in the Community, The Prince’s Trust and The Duchy of Cornwall.
NOTES TO EDITORS:
For a free copy of Rural Revival Initiative – Showing the way in tackling rural disadvantage, please contact Richard Turl, at the Countryside Agency’s Social Inclusion Unit, on 0207 340 2920 or email: Richard.turl@countryside.gov.uk.
Photographs of this event are available through the Press Association on Royal Rota. Photographs are also available from Paul Burns Photography (contact 0117 923 9798)
For more information about the Rural Revival Seminar or the three pilot projects, please contact:
St James’s Palace/Duchy of Cornwall Press Office: Kirsteen Clark or Heather Partridge on 020 7024 5832 (www.princeofwales.gov.uk)
Countryside Agency: Isobel Coy on 020 7340 2906 (www.countryside.gov.uk)
Northern Fells Rural Project: Dr Jim Cox (chairman) on 01697 478302 or Antoinette Ward on 01697 478220 (www.nfrp.org.uk)
Dale Action for Local Enterprise (DALE): Keith Crane at Yorkshire Forward on
0113 394 9710 (www.ruralopportunities.org.uk) or Gill Robinson (Project Manager) on 01748 812665
YP2 Clay, Cornwall: HelenTrudgeon (Project Manager) on 01726 821 946 (www.yp2clay.ik.com)
Business in the Community: Graham Russell on 07774 861574 (www.bitc.org)
Prince’s Trust: Patrick Lavery on 01670 790499 (www.princes-trust.org.uk)
