Rural communities need more support and encouragement to provide for their own needs and their level of access to help and expertise must be improved if we are to build a sustainable countryside for future generations, according to the Countryside A...
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Helping Rural Communities Help Themselves - 25 November 2003

Rural communities need more support and encouragement to provide for their own needs and their level of access to help and expertise must be improved if we are to build a sustainable countryside for future generations, according to the Countryside Agency’s chief executive, Richard Wakeford, announcing research findings today.


Speaking at a social enterprise conference organised by the Plunkett Foundation in Cheltenham today (Tuesday 25 November) Richard Wakeford highlighted the contribution of social enterprise in the countryside: "For many communities in rural areas, problems caused by a lack of suitable transport, access to a local shop or business advice have resulted in innovative solutions. Through our social inclusion programme we have helped establish many of these schemes such as taxi-bus services, a not-for-profit petrol station and more specifically a school in Devon for young people that equips them with business skills that can be reinvested back into the community."

The Countryside Agency has also funded the first rural Community Development Finance Institution* which enables local people to get home improvement loans, develop affordable housing and business space. Mainstream financial services often do not fully meet the needs of local rural people and businesses, particularly since many areas suffer from low wages and higher property prices. 

Richard Wakeford concluded: "By showcasing current schemes and their achievements to rural communities and those who hold the purse strings, lessons learnt can enable more schemes to get off the ground. Our work is leading the way for a countryside that can provide for the needs of its communities – now and in the future."

Copies of the Countryside Agency’s Supporting Rural Social Enterprise  (CAX 136) and Mapping the Social Economy of the Rural East Midlands (CAX 140)  can be obtained from Countryside Agency publications PO Box 125, Wetherby, West Yorkshire LS23 7EP. Tel: 0870 120 6466.

Case studies highlighted in the report include:

*The Wessex Reinvestment Trust:  England’s first rural Community Development Finance Institution (CDFI) and covers Devon, Dorset and Somerset. The trust provides loans for business start-ups and funding for social enterprise. 

Kielder petrol station:  the community in the remote village of Kielder decided to reopen the petrol station which is now run on a not for profit basis. Other plans include diversifying into community transport to link the village with nearby towns.

Eden Community Outdoors (ECO), Appleby, Cumbria: set up by Eden residents to develop low cost, accessible arts and an outdoor adventure and environmental programme for people aged 7-25.  

Notes to editors:

The Plunkett Foundation Conference – Rural Social Enterprise: Joining the Mainstream is being held on 25-26 November at Cheltenham Racecourse. 

Research was carried out by the New Economics Foundation, and the Centre for Enterprise and Economic Development Research (CEEDR).

The Countryside Agency is the statutory body working to make the quality of life better for people in the countryside and the quality of the countryside better for everyone.