News Archive

The International Co-operative Alliance celebrated its 115th anniversary this month. Founded on 19 August 1895, the ICA is an independent, non-governmental association which unites, represents and serves co-operatives worldwide. It has 243 member organisations from 91 countries active in all sectors of the economy, and together these co-operatives represent nearly one billion individuals worldwide. http://www.ica.coop/al-ica/ © ICA

The 2010 Countryside Alliance Awards, nicknamed "The Rural Oscars" have opened to nominations. The Awards are the Countryside Alliance's annual celebration of rural skills, produce, heritage and enterprise. The Awards are public nomination led and welcome tales told in as much detail as possible about the colour, eccentricity and British grit and determination of rural people, whether they are the local Post Mistress or butcher, farmer, shop-keeper, teacher, nurse or gamekeeper. Last year we were delighted to hear that Feckenham Village Shop, Blockley Shop and Cafe and Berrynarbor Shop and Post Office fought off the area competition to win regional...

The Government has invited local authorities to submit proposals to form Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) by 6 September 2010.  It is envisaged that LEPs will form a key part of the delivery of economic development at a sub-national level.It is vital that rural communities have the opportunity to access the services and funding that new LEPs will bring to areas and that rural economies’ contributions and needs are recognised and embraced in any emerging partnerships.The call for evidence provides more detail on the scope and proposed timescale, and can be found at: http://ruralcommunities.gov.uk/2010/08/20/call_for_evidence/ © CRC

The Welsh Assembly Government is currently seeking people’s views on the draft food strategy for Wales, 'Food for Wales, Food from Wales 2010-2020'. To complement this, a series of regional consultation events will be held throughout Wales in September.The draft strategy sets out a wide ranging vision of the place of food in Wales, with a view to develop a clear direction for the Welsh food industry to grow in a sustainable and profitable manner over the next 10 years.Elin Jones, the Minister for Rural Affairs said:“Our new overarching Food Strategy for Wales will set a long-term, ambitious, and proactive...

Now in its ninth year, British Food Fortnight is the biggest national promotion of the diverse and delicious range of food that Britain produces. The Plunkett Foundation strongly advocates the promotion of local foods as a way of offering a point of difference, increasing sales within community shops and supporting the local rural community. The BFF is a great opportunity to get involved with the promotion of British food; to find out how, visit http://www.lovebritishfood.co.uk. The Local Food Forum is also a great source of information: http://www.plunkett.uk.net/choose-forum/local-food.

Simon Harris, Chief Executive of the Wales Co-operative Centre, is to step down in October to take on his new role as director for Wales for Business in the Community, a charity which champions corporate social responsibility. He will replace current director Owen Evans who is taking up a new role with the Welsh Assembly Government. Mr Harris joined the centre in 1992 as deputy chief executive. He was appointed chief executive in 2004 and is also a council member of the Social Enterprise Coalition UK, a board member of Promo Cymru, the Wales Council for Voluntary Action, Welsh Social...

A shining example of how communities are taking control of their futures came this week with the announcement that the Making Local Food Work programme, delivered in part by the Plunkett Foundation, has already benefitted over 1.4million people.Making Local Food Work, which is funded by the Big Lottery Fund’s Changing Spaces programme, reported that it had already exceeded its target of reaching out to 1million people by 2012, with a staggering 1.4million people being provided with better access to local food by sustainable community enterprises. Jennifer Smith, Head of managing Making Local Food Work, commented: “We’re thrilled to report such...

Herefordshire Farmers’ Market Group has been taking advantage of a scheme offered through the Plunkett Foundation’s Making Local Food Work programme which facilitates the sharing of expertise and experience to enhance its performance.It was noticed that Taunton Farmers’ Market, which takes place on Thursdays, returned more than twice as much value as the Hereford Thursday and Saturday markets combined during a presentation of its Retail HealthCheck TM results. The similarities of the two markets suggested that Taunton Farmers’ Market could share useful experiences and practices with Herefordshire, so the Making Local Food Work Skillshare project stepped in to fund a...

The decision to pull the plug on the £3.3million Community-Owned Pubs Support Programme promised to help the 39 communities each week who face the loss of their local pub has far-reaching implications for communities across England. BBC Radio 4’s current affairs programme You and Yours enlisted the help of the Plunkett Foundation’s Mike Perry to investigate how the decision will affect real people in real communities who had been counting on the funding to help salvage one of the few remaining focal points of community life. Click here to listen to the programme.

The DTA conference is the largest community enterprise event in the calendar.  500 community enterprise practitioners and supporters will attend to explore exciting new developments in the field of community-led regeneration, learning from inspiring examples of best practice and debating the issues currently affecting the community enterprise movement. An exciting line-up of plenary speakers, workshops, visits to local community enterprises, networking opportunities and much more is planned. For a full event programme and to book your place please visit www.dta.org.uk/conference or contact our bookings team on 01633 411 732  or by email at: dta@eesolutons.co.uk.