Plunkett Foundation News

 Thursday 10th NovemberDillington House, Ilminster, Somerset.Hosted by the Plunkett Foundation in partnership with Somerset Rural Community Council, we are delighted to present this Community Shops Networking Event in Somerset on the 10th November as the latest addition to the popular series of national networking events for community shops.With over 80 shops already thriving in the South West, this event has the potential to be one of the largest yet, providing community shops across the region with a unique chance to network, make new connections and foster established relationships. As a national networking event, the day will also see shops from...

Village SOS Roadshow series launches in BristolMonday 10th OctoberThe Watershed, BristolFREE eventThe Big Lottery Fund is set to launch a series of events that will see every English region and Scotland being visited twice, Wales three times and Northern Ireland once, taking the message of community enterprise out to rural communities. The series of 24 regional events plus a national conference is being delivered by Plunkett Foundation and its partners as part of the Big Lottery Fund’s Village SOS Active campaign, designed to help rural communities combat decline in their areas by setting up community enterprises. The series will kick off...

Event takes Colne Valley a step closer to self-sufficiency On Monday 12th September, an event was held that saw business, community and public sector organisations in the Colne Valley declare independence from global and industrial foods.The event, organised by a group of four local organisations, invited local enterprises to join with them in signing a manifesto of independence from the corporate and global food system. Taking place during Colne Valley Food Festival, it will see representatives of key businesses, shops, community organisations, restaurants, schools, politicians and the local authority all in attendance.Attendees at the event.The last nine months has seen...

A project that sees £110,000 available for communities to set up and run their own shops is calling for applications.The project sees Plunkett Foundation joining forces with Victory Housing Trust and the Esmee Fairbairn Foundation to deliver £110,000 in grants, loans and specialist advice for North Norfolk communities wishing to buck the trend of rural decline in their areas by establishing shops owned and run by the communities themselves. With only three community shops, North Norfolk will benefit greatly from additional financial support and advice from the project.  It is hoped that the project will inspire similar partnerships between housing...

Westminster event highlights vital contribution of Community Food Enterprises (CFEs) in delivering and shaping government agendasAn event was held yesterday to highlight the key role community food enterprises play in delivering and shaping government policy.The event, organised by rural communities charity Plunkett Foundation and held at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), brought together community food enterprises from the South West to showcase the vital contribution they make to the food sector to Defra ministers and employees. June and Robin Small of Taunton Farmers' MarketAlso present at the event were Plunkett Foundation’s partner organisations Social Enterprise UK,...

Village SOS Active campaign will see national advice line & expert support rolled out to rural communities A new campaign is set to be launched to help people in rural areas reverse the trend of decline by helping them set up and run community enterprises. Village SOS Active is a campaign by the Big Lottery Fund (http://www.biglotteryfund.org.uk/) which is being delivered with rural communities charity the Plunkett Foundation, in partnership with Co-operatives UK, Locality, and Action with Communities in Rural England (ACRE). It will be launched on 10th August 2011 as part of the BBC’s new six-part series, Village SOS. The Active...

The Plunkett Community Shop Network, a national membership scheme to unite community-owned shops across the country, is going from strength to strength, with the 32nd shop being approved this week. The Network was launched in March following close consultation with representatives from the network of 259 community-owned shops across the UK. The Network not only represents a way for shops to formally join together as a united sector, but also enables them to take advantage of a unique benefits package that could see them saving in the region of £2,000. The benefits package offers member shops deals on electricity from...

Helping communities to set up and run co-operative pubs is key to saving rural pubs.  This was the message from Rory Stewart MP at an event at the Old Crown co-operative pub in Hesket Newmarket, Cumbria, on Saturday 2nd July.Rory Stewart MP (centre) with Peter Couchman, Chief Executive of the Plunkett Foundation (left) and constituents at the Old Crown, the first co-operative pub.At the event, organised by the Plunkett Foundation, an organisation which helps rural communities to set up community-owned enterprises, communities looking to save their local were joined by a range of experts and communities who had already saved their...

The Plunkett Foundation has received praise in national newspaper the Guardian this week. The editorial 'In praise of the Plunkett Foundation' raises awareness of our work and our values, reiterating the messages of our founder, Sir Horace Plunkett, and how they are relevant for today's rural communities. The piece can be read online at http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/jun/20/in-praise-of-plunkett-foundation.The Foundation’s Mike Perry also appeared on Radio 4’s You and Yours programme last week as part of a feature on community-owned shops.The programme, which featured Nenthead Community Shop in Cumbria, focused on the services Plunkett Foundation provides to rural communities and the support it offers through its Village...

A former journalist who dedicated 10 years of her life to clarifying the influence of one of Ireland’s leading political figures has been awarded a prestigious Fellowship by the Plunkett Foundation. Kate Targett, who was awarded the Fellowship at the Foundation’s AGM and Annual Seminar in Westminster on 8 June, transcribed, annotated and indexed the fifty-one handwritten diaries of Sir Horace Plunkett, the rural pioneer who influenced the social and political landscape of Ireland, England and America. Pictured at the AGM are Chief Executive Peter Couchman, Kate Targett and Chair Peter Cleasby.Speaking at the event, Kate said: “A Fellowship recognising my...