Plunkett Foundation News

Peter Cleasby has been elected as the new Chair of the Plunkett Foundation.  Peter succeeds Susan Knox OBE in the role.Peter Cleasby joined the Plunkett Board in April 2008, becoming Vice-Chair in February 2009.  Until 2006 he was a deputy director of rural policy at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), championing social enterprise approaches across the Department’s business. Peter is a director of a small consultancy business.Speaking after his election, Peter Cleasby said: “It is difficult to imagine a more exciting time than now to become Chair of the Plunkett Foundation.  Our belief in rural communities...

A review of the economic, social and environmental impacts of rural social enterprise in England is to be undertaken. The Plunkett Foundation is undertaking this research on behalf of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and the Office for Civil Society within the Cabinet Office.The research and development project will collect evidence on the contributions made by social enterprises to rural communities. It will be used to inform the understanding of Defra and other policy makers in related government departments and agencies.Peter Couchman, Chief Executive of the Plunkett Foundation and member of Defra’s Civil Society Board, said:...

A number of community-owned shops and representatives stepped up to the co-operative mark at the Co-operatives 2010 three day long conference. The event brought together a range of community shops, from those in their first year of trading through to those that had been up and running for 16 years, as well communities pushing forward to open their shops in the very near future. As well as shop representatives, a number of regional advisers and retails experts were in attendance and it was clear that there was a great deal of experience and knowledge to share, as well as delegates...

'Never before have the solutions that the Plunkett Foundation supports attracted so much attention in a single year.'Plunkett Foundation Annual Review 2010 (pdf)Introduction by Peter Couchman, Chief Executive The majority of national newspapers ran stories about rural communities taking control. The main Party manifestos each made reference to the importance of saving shops and pubs. Our reputation grew even more when the good people of Ambridge decided to save their village shop with the help of Plunkett. Over 800,000 people listened every night to The Archers explaining how a village shop could be saved. One national newspaper described the year as...

Two distinguished co-operators have been awarded Fellowships by the Plunkett Foundation at their annual seminar and AGM in Oxford on 9 June.   Edgar Parnell, former Chief Executive of the Plunkett Foundation, and Dr Rita Rhodes, academic and writer on international co-operation and a long standing member of the Plunkett Foundation, were awarded their Fellowships for their outstanding contribution to the work of the Plunkett Foundation.PHOTO: Susan Knox (Plunkett Foundation Chair), Rita Rhodes, Edgar Parnell and Peter Couchman (Plunkett Foundation Chief Executive)  Edgar Parnell, speaking at the event, said: "It is my privilege to have the award of a Plunkett Foundation Fellowship....

Kirdford community-owned village shop in Sussex was opened by actor Julie Walters on 5th June.  The shop opening, following hot on the heels of the community-owned shop on Radio 4’s The Archers this week, is the fiftieth new shop to open following the support of a dedicated support programme for communities looking to set up and run a community-owned shop.Following the closure of their village shop in 2006, the village of Kirdford rallied together to ensure that this valuable village service was not lost.  Over the last three years, the village of Kirdford has raised in excess of £200,000 through...

After months of anticipation, the villagers of Ambridge in BBC Radio 4’s The Archers have celebrated the opening of their community-owned shop. In setting up their own shop, they have followed a path chosen by an increasing number of rural communities across the UK, many of whom are so empowered by their success that they’re going on to create more community-owned enterprises such as pubs, local food schemes and broadband services.The storyline on The Archers, which the Plunkett Foundation has been advising on, began in October in a way that would be familiar to many rural communities.  The shop owner,...

Date: 09 June 2010 - 10am - 4pmLocation: Oxford University Department for Continuing EducationRewley House1 Wellington SquareOxfordOX1 2JAOverviewDownload booking formThe closure and withdrawal of services has left a growing number of rural communities without access to a range of essential services including local shops, pubs, transport and health services.  With public funding in short supply, will the government be able to less to prevent this happening?While services have increasingly closed or been withdrawn in recent years, there has been a growing movement of rural communities setting up and running community-owned services as a way of taking control of the issues...

Peter Couchman, Chief Executive of the Plunkett Foundation, said:“There are great expectations for change from the new government.  This combined with the public sector finance squeeze means that there are huge challenges ahead.  "Both the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats have included fantastic commitments for support community activity as a way of improving people’s lives and we believe that the Right to Try for rural communities is a tool that can be used to achieve this. "The Right to Try for rural communities through community-ownership to take control of the issues affecting them is a model which has been increasingly used...

Plunkett Weekly News is the latest news from the Plunkett Foundation and that affecting social enterprise and co-operatives, farming, food and rural development.Download Plunkett Weekly News This week in the Plunkett Weekly News:Plunkett Foundation News-Plunkett Foundation Welcomes New Coalition Government-Plunkett Annual Seminar and AGM-Media and Communications Officer Vacancy-LlankellyChase Foundation to Support the Development of Community-Owned Shops-Market Overton, Rutland, Celebrate Their New Community-Owned Shop-Loxley Valley Community Farm on Radio 4-Community Food Enterprises up to the Challenge of Climate Change Co-operative and Social Enterprise News-Nick Hurd Appointed Minister of Civil Society-Cameron and Clegg Launch The Big Society-Communities and Local Government Ministerial Team Announced-The Role...