News Archive

The Plunkett Foundation made it's fourth appearance on The Archers last night (Wednesday 28th May).Ambridge, the fictional local for The Archer, is setting up a community-owned shop to save their village shop which has been threatened with closure.Like many other communities in this situation, the community turned to the Plunkett Foundation and our dedicated support programme for community-owned shops, The Village CORE Programme.  This programme has opened 48 new community-owned shops over the past four years.You can listen again to the programme by following the link below (it is around 7.30 minutes into the programme).http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00s2pbn/The_Archers_28_04_2010/

PRESS RELEASE: SUPPORT FOR LOCAL COMMUNITIES TO SET UP COMMUNITY-OWNED PUBS ANNOUNCED A new support programme has been announced to help local communities to set up and run community-owned pubs.  The support programme, led by the Plunkett Foundation, is part of a 12 point action plan announced by Pubs Minister John Healey to give practical support to community pubs up and down the country. Almost 40 pubs are closing each week leaving many communities without access to a pub.  Co-operative-ownership has been a proven success in saving village shops with record numbers opening in 2009.  Community-owned shops now save or reopen 10%...

Online network launch is the start of a new era for community-owned shopsThe launch of a new online network has been hailed as the start of a new era for community-owned village shop development in the UK.  The network, hosted by the Plunkett Foundation, enables people involved in setting up and running community-owned shops to communicate with each other, share ideas and experience across the UK and be inspired by others.The new network (www.plunkett.uk.net) was launched on Friday 12 March at Thorncombe Community-Owned Village Shop in West Dorset by Oliver Letwin MP who alongside being Thorncombe’s local MP is also...

The Plunkett Foundation’s Right to Try conference in London on 27 January provided a forum for debate on the sustainability of rural communities, by examining the barriers they are faced with and of the solutions needed to improve local services through community-ownership. A number of guest speakers attended including Jim Paice and Alun Michael MPs, along with social enterprise leaders and active rural community members.Jim Paice, Shadow Minister for Food and Farming said: “The Right to Try is about unlocking the enterprise spirit in communities and we must tailor local communities to local problems. He also said: “Right to Try...

Feckenham Village Shop in Worcestershire, a community-owned shop in supported by the Village CORE Programme has won a national award for the best village shop and post office at the Countryside Alliance Awards at the Houses of Lords this week, (Wednesday 3 February).Sue and Grey DarbyThe shop in Feckenham is one of over 230 community-owned rural shops currently in the UK, 37 of which opened in 2009. The shops come in various shapes and sizes, reflecting the needs of their communities. Some are based in purpose-built premises whilst other are based in previous shops, village halls, portacabins, churches and pubs....

 Rural communities should have the Right to Try to take control of the issues important to them through community-ownership.  This was the message from Rural Communities - The Right to Try, a Plunkett Foundation conference held on 27th January in London.Peter Couchman, Chief Executive of the Plunkett FoundationPeter Couchman, Chief Executive Officer of the Plunkett Foundation said: “Rural communities want to take ownership of the issues affecting them but are often prevented from doing so because of barriers around a lack of rights and a lack of support.  We are exploring why and how these barriers must be removed, to...

The Government’s Food 2030 report needs to go a step further by engaging communities in food production and food security according to Making Local Food Work, a partnership of organisations which help communities to take ownership of their food and where it comes from.Peter Couchman, Chief Executive of the Plunkett Foundation which leads the Making Local Food Work partnership said; “While we welcome this as the first major food report in sixty years, we feel that the vision set out in the report does not reflect the change in the relationships that consumers increasingly want to have with the food...

In 2009 we celebrated 90 years of helping rural people to believe in what they can achieve together.This year we have:Helped rural communities to set up and run community-owned shopsAssisted rural communities to take control of vital rural servicesSupported people to take ownership of their food and where it comes fromReconnected producers and consumers through local foodThank you to everyone we have worked with during the year to make this possible.Plunkett Foundation Christmas E-Card (pdf 121KB)

Faced with declining or threatened local services, limited job opportunities, not enough affordable housing and looming public expenditure cuts, we need new ways to sustain the quality of life in rural communities. DATE: 27th January 2010LOCATION: Cavendish Conference Centre, London (map and directions)Delegate Booking Form (download Word doc)Exhibitor Booking Form (download Word doc)Latest NewsJim Paice MP, Shadow Secretary of State for Agriculture and Rural Affairs and Alun Michael MP, Vice President of the Local Government Association confirmed as keynote speakers.Jim Paice MP was appointed Opposition Spokesman on Agriculture and has remained on the front bench ever since. Following the 2001 General...

Rolande Anderson has been appointed Campbell Robb's successor as director general of the Office of the Third Sector. Anderson, who is director general of the Office for National Statistics, will take up the post on 21 December on a 12-month contract. Robb was on a three-year contract, but a spokesman for the OTS said Anderson was being loaned from the ONS for a year. He stressed, however, that her time at the OTS could extend beyond 2010. Anderson will combine her job at the OTS with the role of director general of the Social Exclusion Task Force, which is also...