Plunkett Foundation News

  Experts gather to support rural communities to inspire innovative business ideas to rejuvenate rural villagesA free landmark event to help rural communities save vital services and reverse the trend of rural decline has been announced today.The Big Lottery Fund’s Village SOS national conference will draw on the widest range of experts from across the rural and social enterprise sectors to give communities the support they need to rejuvenate their villages by setting up community enterprises – from shops and pubs to local food and transport projects. UK Chair of the Big Lottery Fund, Peter Ainsworth, will be joined on the...

Social enterprises are increasingly being developed by rural communities to take control of the issues affecting them, states new report from Plunkett Foundation commissioned by Defra.The Review of Rural Social Enterprise in England is the first systematic review of the many various forms of community led social enterprise across rural England and the impact they have on rural communities.Peter Couchman, Chief Executive of the Plunkett Foundation, said: “The Review of Rural Social Enterprise in England has found that, despite the challenges facing rural areas, communities are responding through a range of community led social enterprises.”Couchman continued: “Rural social enterprises come...

New report into sector’s 2011 performance from Plunkett FoundationSt Tudy Community Shop, one of the 19 to open in 2011Community-owned shops are continuing to prove their resilience despite the economic downturn forcing many other businesses to close, states a new report. Nineteen new shops opened in 2011, with the highest concentration being in the South East with 7, closely followed by the South West with 5.The report, released by rural communities charity Plunkett Foundation, is a summary of the support it provided to communities across the UK in 2011. It finds:There are now 271 community-owned shops in the UK19 opened...

It is always a pleasure to wish Plunkett website visitors a Happy New Year, but is even more special to do so when we know that that year will be ours. The 2012 UN Year of Co-operatives gives us an opportunity the like of which we have never had before. At the Plunkett Foundation we have the pleasure of working with some of the world’s smallest co-operatives, each of which has a big impact on the community they serve.  The UN Year is our chance to share with everyone what co-operation has done to protect services, jobs and communities. So,...

The Plunkett Foundation is responding to this Department for Business, Innovation & Skills consultation on Building a Mutual Post Office for two main reasons:1. As the only national organisation supporting the network of 268 community-owned village shops across the UK, 58% of which provide facilities for Post Office services.2. As an organisation founded in 1919 which has been committed since this time to promoting and supporting co-operative and mutual enterprises in rural communities internationally as a way of improving the social and economic conditions for rural people and the communities they represent.SummaryA summary of the Plunkett Foundation’s response:• The Post Office is a...

The Big Lottery Fund’s Chief Executive, Peter Wanless, will join forces with Plunkett’s Peter Couchman and Locality’s Steve Wyler for the finale of this year’s Village SOS roadshow, which has brought the most comprehensive business and funding advice ever available to rural communities. The event, which will be on Friday 16th December at Cavendish Conference Centre in London, will be the last of thirteen events to have taken place across the UK since October. The events have been a roaring success, with Preston and Cambridge being the best attended to date (with 110 and 112 attendees respectively), and have brought...

A new guide for anyone involved in the creation of an enterprise that will be owned by, run by, and supported by the community in which it operates has been published.The guide – Simply Start Up – was written by Co-operatives UK and Plunkett Foundation as part of the Making Local Food Work programme and uses community food enterprises as examples of what is possible through co-operation, although the guidance applies to a vast range of community enterprises, from taking over a local shop, starting a community-owned and run newspaper or cinema, to building a community-owned windfarm. Providing an easy...

The Making Local Food Work national conference has been announced! As the Making Local Food Work programme draws to a close next year, this will be the last national conference and the last opportunity to attend one of these fantastic events. The event will take place on Tuesday 20th March 2012 at the Mermaid Conference Centre in London. Full details will be announced shortly, but you can register interest by emailing Eileen Keenan at info@makinglocalfoodwork.co.uk or by calling 01993 810730.

No fewer than six enterprises that have been supported by Plunkett Foundation have either won or been nominated in top national awards designed to highlight the best of the food and farming world. This week Brockweir and Hewelsfield Village Shop was crowned ‘Britain’s Best Farm Shop’ by The Times. Brockweir has benefited from the support Plunkett provides to community-owned shops through its dedicated advice team, regional advisers and online support forum, www.plunkett.uk.net. It is also a member of the Plunkett Community Shop Network, a membership scheme that gives community shops access to a unique range of benefits and savings on...

Village SOS in Yorkshire – second event a huge successThe second of the Village SOS Roadshow events was held in Doncaster on Wednesday 19th October at Doncaster Racecourse. The day was hugely successful, with 85 people from across Yorkshire turning out for a day of expert advice and inspiration. Big Lottery Fund’s Head of Region for Yorkshire and Humber, Paul Jones, welcomed people to the day and did a fantastic job of setting the scene, talking candidly about the some of the challenges his village had faced, like lack of accessible services – a common problem for many rural communities....