PRESS RELEASE
29 July 2010
NEW CHAIR FOR PLUNKETT FOUNDATION ANNOUNCED
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 using co-operation and enterprise-based approaches to take control of their own affairs places us firmly in the mainstream of the new public policy.
“The government has committed to return power to communities, but many will need advice and support from Plunkett and others on how to develop effective and viable co-operative and community-run institutions locally. I greatly look forward to supporting the talented team at Plunkett as we rise to meet this challenge.”
The Plunkett Foundation is a national organisation which supports rural communities through community-ownership to take control of the issues affecting them.
For press and media enquires please contact Elizabeth on elizabethofmar@yahoo.co.uk or 07870 276375
[ENDS]
NOTES TO EDITORS:
The Plunkett Foundation (www.plunkett.co.uk) is a national organisation based in Woodstock, Oxfordshire that helps rural communities through community-ownership, co-operatives and social enterprise enterprise to take control of the issues important to them. The Plunkett Foundation runs a range of projects and services supporting rural communities to set up and successfully run such enterprises including community-owned shops, community-owned rural services and Community Food and Farming Enterprises. The Plunkett Foundation is strategic partners with the Office of Civil Society within the Cabinet Office (www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk) and Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (http://ww2.defra.gov.uk/).
PRESS RELEASE
10 June 2010
DISTINGUISHED CO-OPERATORS AWARDED PLUNKETT FOUNDATION FELLOWSHIPS
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), Dr 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. Plunkett is a very special organisation that both punches above its weight in terms of its influence and has an innate capacity to adapt and respond to a fast changing world. I am extremely proud of my continuing association with the Foundation".
Dr Rita Rhodes, when accepting the Fellowship, said: “By any reckoning Sir Horace Plunkett was a major historical co-operative figure. I am delighted yet somewhat humble if it was felt that I had reflected his values in my co-operative career and I thank the Plunkett Foundation warmly for its award."
Peter Couchman, Chief Executive of the Plunkett Foundation, said: “Both Edgar and Rita have dedicated their lives to promoting, supporting and researching the impact co-operatives have as a way of improving the lives of people and communities worldwide. We would like to thank them for their enormous contribution and welcome them as Plunkett Foundation Fellows,”
The Plunkett Foundation Fellowship is awarded to an individual for an outstanding contribution to the work of the Plunkett Foundation in supporting rural people through co-operative enterprise to take control of the issues affecting them. The Plunkett Foundation was founded in 1919 by Sir Horace Plunkett, the great pioneer of co-operative enterprise in rural Ireland.
The Fellowships were awarded at the Plunkett Foundation’s Annual Seminar and AGM which focused on the role of community-ownership in the future of rural services. Speakers included Professor Jonathan Michie, Founder of the Centre for Mutual and Employee-owned Business at Kellogg College, Oxford and Dr Stuart Burgess, the Government’s Rural Advocate.
For press and media enquiries, please contact Elizabeth of Mar on elizabethofmarpr@yahoo.co.uk or 07870 276375
[ENDS]
NOTES TO EDITORS:
The Plunkett Foundation (www.plunkett.co.uk) is a national organisation based in Woodstock, Oxfordshire that helps rural communities through co-operative enterprise to take control of the issues important to them. The Plunkett Foundation runs a range of projects and services supporting rural communities to set up and successfully run co-operatives including community-owned shops, community-owned rural services and Community Food and Farming Enterprises.
Edgar Parnell biography
Edgar Parnell started his working life in a consumer co-operative in the north of England and subsequently held senior management posts within several UK co-operatives before becoming General Manager of the Co-operative Development Trust, Botswana, which established the nation’s first supermarkets and central wholesaling operations.
On returning to the UK he was appointed as a retail management consultant for Clarks Ltd and later held a similar position with the Co-operative Wholesale Society (UK). Next he became the Non-Food Retailing Manager covering co-operative stores throughout Scotland; then in 1974 adviser on co-operative management to the Government of Jamaica. Other appointments followed, including Manager for the Fund for the Research and Development of Africa and then UN/ILO adviser on management and marketing to co-operatives in India. In 1980 he was appointed as Education Officer at the Plunkett Foundation and thereafter served as Chief Executive from 1984 to 1998.
He has undertaken consultancy and training assignments for co-operatives both in the UK and in over 40 other countries. He also served as: a member of the General Assembly of the International Co-operative Alliance, co-chairman of the EU Committee for the Development of the Rural Economy of Poland, a member of the Council of the Federation of Agricultural Co-operatives (UK), chairman of the UK national Co-operative Development Agency, Education and Training Committee, and on various COGECA (the EU federation of agricultural co-operatives) working parties. Edgar Parnell is the author of many publications of which the best known is Reinventing the Cooperative - Enterprises for the 21st Century, which has been translated into several languages. Edgar is author of the Co-op Pundit blog (http://www.co-oppundit.org/).
Dr Rita Rhodes biography
Dr Rita Rhodes, a long standing member and former Trustee of the Plunkett Foundation, graduated from the Co-operative College in 1957 and after this time took on a number of co-operative education roles. Her roles included Lecturer in Co-operative Studies at Magee College, University of Ulster, Londonderry, the Co-operative Union’s Scottish Sectional Education Officer, the Education Liaison Officer of the National Co-operative Development Agency, London and the Education Officer and Secretary to the Women’s Committee of the International Co-operative Alliance in London and Geneva.
In 1995 she completed her Ph.D at the Open University on The International Co-operative Alliance During War and Peace 1910-1950 and her thesis was published by the International Co-operative Alliance in the same year. She has since co-authored Thematic Guide to ICA Congresses 1895-1995 in 1996 and authored An Arsenal for Labour – The Royal Arsenal Co-operative Society and Politics 1896-1996 in 1997. Currently, she is preparing a history of the development of co-operatives in the British Empire 1900 – 1960. Dr Rhodes has written numerous articles for Co-operative journals and has delivered papers for national and international co-operative research conferences.
Dr Rhodes is a Visiting Research Associate of the Co-operative Research Unit at the Open University, a member and past Chair of the Society of Co-operative Studies and Review Editor of the Journal of Co-operative Studies and a founder member of the Scottish Co-operatives Development Committee.
PRESS RELEASE
03 June 2010
THE ARCHERS COMMUNITY-OWNED SHOP OPENING IS THE BEGINNING OF A RURAL SERVICES REVOLUTION
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, Peggy Woolley, could no longer afford to run the shop and announced to villagers to their great dismay that the shop would be closing. The community decided to not take the threat of closure lying down and set about raising funds for a community-owned shop.
Peter Couchman, Chief Executive of the Plunkett Foundation, said, “The community-owned shop storyline on The Archers has mirrored the journey taken by an increasing number of rural communities across the UK in setting up and running community-owned services. We hope that for Ambridge, this is just the start as we have found that after communities go through the process of setting up and running a community-owned shop they then apply this approach to a range of other challenges they are facing. Our question is what is next for Ambridge?”
Greg Clarke, Minister of Decentralisation has also offered his congratulations to the village of Ambridge.
"I'd like to congratulate the people of Ambridge for taking the initiative and successfully saving the hub of the village! There are real people doing similar things all over the country. This Government wants to make it easier for communities to help one another and improve their local area. We’ll be giving new powers to help them save local facilities that are facing closure. I hope many more communities will feel inspired to take charge of the things that are important to them."
Only time will tell whether the residents of Ambridge set up more community-owned enterprises to improve village life but, as villages across the UK are discovering, community enterprise can provide a sustainable solution to many of the issues affecting them such as access to public transport, childcare facilities broadband and local food. The possibilities for community enterprise to meet the needs of villages such as Ambridge are endless.
Dr Stuart Burgess, the Government's Rural Advocate emphasises the importance and power of community action. “The opening of the community-owned shop on the Archers is a powerful portrayal of the importance of village services. The capacity of rural people to pull together to ensure vital amenities continue to be available is something I have seen on many occasions as part of my regular visits to rural communities.”
For press and media enquiries, please contact Elizabeth of Mar on elizabethormarpr@yahoo.co.uk or 07870 276 375
[ENDS]
NOTES TO EDITORS:
The Plunkett Foundation (www.plunkett.co.uk) is a national organisation based in Woodstock, Oxfordshire that helps rural communities through community-ownership to take control of the issues important to them. The Plunkett Foundation runs a range of projects and services supporting rural communities to set up and successfully run community-owned enterprises including community-owned shops. The Plunkett Foundation hosts an online Community Shops Network (www.plunkett.uk.net) for community-owned shops to share ideas and best practice.
The Village CORE Programme (http://www.plunkett.co.uk/whatwedo/core/Core.cfm) was launched in 2006 as a three year support programme for community-owned shops but was extended for a further three years to meet demand. The programme is managed by the Plunkett Foundation in partnership with the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation (http://www.esmeefairbairn.org.uk/) and Co-operative and Community Finance (http://www.co-opandcommunityfinance.coop/) and is supported by the LankellyChase Foundation (http://www.lankellychase.org.uk/). It provides financial start-up packages and advisory support to communities looking to set up a community-owned rural shop.
Community-ownership now saves around 10% of village shop closures and is the approach that rural communities now turn to first when looking to save their village shop from the threat of closure. There are 237 community-owned shops in the UK with 38 opening in 2009 alone. They come in all shapes and sizes depending on the needs of the community which sets them up. Some (as is the case in Ambridge) are in previous shop premises while others are based in churches, pub buildings, village halls and portacabins.
The Ambridge shop has ‘received’ support from the Village CORE Programme and had it been a real shop, it would have been the 50th shop to be supported under the programme. The 50th shop will actually be in Kirdford, West Sussex, which opens three days after the Ambridge shop.
19 MARCH 2010 - 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% of village shops closures. This £3.3m support programme will support 50 communities through community-ownership to save their local pub by helping to provide the funding required and the advice and support necessary to open and run a successful community-owned pub.
Peter Couchman, Chief Executive of the Plunkett Foundation, said: “Pubs are vitally important to communities. They provide places where people can come together to socialise and join in a number of community activities. Community-ownership can secure the future of pubs, just as it is doing for village shops, through harnessing the creativity and energy of a whole community. We’re delighted with today’s announcement of the support available to help set up community-owned pubs and this, we believe, will make a real and lasting difference to communities.”
Pubs Minister, John Healey said, “This package of tough, practical measures aims to put some real support behind our community pubs, giving publicans more support to diversify and punters more choice. We need and can do more to support our pubs which can be at the heart of a local community. Today’s measures are a much needed shot in the arm for publicans in these tough times. They will make it easier to diversify, lower costs and cut red tape when it comes to branching out. It is also a boost for local communities, giving them a greater stake in the future of their local pubs often so important in bringing people together. Pubs will receive specialist business support with a direct line through ‘Pub Is the Hub’ for a wide range of business advice and help that is readily available.”
A Cabinet Office spokesperson said: “This is an exciting way of enabling 50 communities to come together to buy and own their own pub. Communities will be able to use the building to offer other services they want and need, which will improve community cohesion and also provide opportunities for members to gain new skills. It will also create a network of community hubs across England which will act as inspiration to a range of communities, and increase awareness of social enterprise, and mutual approaches to self help within communities.”
The Community-Owned Pubs Programme, led by the Plunkett Foundation and developed with the Office of the Third Sector, will be delivered in partnership with a range of organisations with direct experience of supporting pubs and enabling community-ownership including Pub is the Hub, Co-operative and Community Finance, Co-operativesUK, CAMRA and the Co-operative Development Network.
For further information about this release please contact Mike Perry on 01993 814381 or at mike.perry@plunkett.co.uk.
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Editors’ Notes
The Community-Owned Pubs Support Programme, led by the Plunkett Foundation, will provide support for up to 50 communities to set up and run community-owned pubs over the next three years. The £3.3m programme will provide grants to communities matched with loans from Co-operative and Community Finance and a contribution from the communities themselves. Alongside funding, the programme will provide a range of advice and support to communities to help them through the process of setting up a community-owned pub. The Community-Owned Pubs Support Programme is part of a 12 point action plan announced by Pubs Minister John Healey on 19 March (http://www.communities.gov.uk/news/corporate/1511255).
The Plunkett Foundation (http://www.plunkett.co.uk/) is a national organisation based in Woodstock, Oxfordshire that helps rural communities through community-ownership to take control of the issues important to them. The Plunkett Foundation runs a range of projects and services supporting rural communities to set up and successfully run community-owned enterprises including community-owned shops.
'Pub is the Hub' (http://www.pubisthehub.org.uk/) is a national advisory body who will act as a business support gateway and the first point of contact for landlords and tenants requiring access to expert business advice on a range of issues that they face.
'Pub is the Hub' is a not for profit business support service and has visibility and credibility with the industry and a track record of supporting over 300 pub based rural services. With Government support of just over £1million over three years to underpin 7 full time advisors, Pub is the Hub can extend their support to cover all areas, providing business advice directly themselves or directing an inquiry onto the most appropriate source, whether Business Link or another agency.
The Plunkett Foundation works with the Office of the Third Sector (http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/third_sector.aspx) to promote the role that social enterprise can play in rural communities in England. As part of the Cabinet Office, the Office of the Third Sector (OTS) leads work across government to support the environment for a thriving third sector (voluntary and community groups, social enterprises, charities, cooperatives and mutuals), enabling the sector to campaign for change, deliver public services, promote social enterprise and strengthen communities. The OTS was created at the centre of government in May 2006 in recognition of the increasingly important role the third sector plays in both society and the economy.
The Village CORE Programme (http://www.plunkett.co.uk/whatwedo/core/Core.cfm) is a support programme which has been running for over 3 years. It is managed by the Plunkett Foundation in partnership with the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation (http://www.esmeefairbairn.org.uk/) and Co-operative and Community Finance (http://www.co-opandcommunityfinance.coop/). It provides financial start-up packages and advisory support to communities looking to set up a community-owned rural shop. It has supported 47 new community-owned village shops to date.
In February 2010, the British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA) released figures on the rate of pub closures for the last 6 months of 2009. This is not a problem faced solely by rural communities but also urban and semi-urban communities. The figures show:
• pub closures now running at 39 a week, down on the 52 pubs a week closing in first half 2009
• total of 2,365 pubs closed in 2009
• 24,000 jobs lost in sector in 2009
Interviews are available upon request.
February 2010 - Rural Community Programme Hailed a Success in the Northwest
A two-year project supporting rural communities in the Northwest of England has created or safeguarded 70 jobs and supported 57 social enterprises.
Strengthening Rural Communities across the North West was set up in July 2007 to improve the services available in rural area and increase productivity.
Operating across Lancashire, Cheshire and Cumbria the £826,000 programme targeted those rural areas which most needed help. The result was 57 social enterprises being supported across a wide range of services including childcare, health and social care, retail and recycling where there had previously been market failure.
Chief Executive of the Plunkett Foundation, Peter Couchman says: “Rural communities are increasingly coming together and using social enterprise to provide essential services, where there has previously been a market failure. This is certainly what we have seen in the Northwest region through a diverse range of proposals from community groups, which aim to improve social and financial sustainability of their communities. We believe the programme has been a real success.”
Proposals were invited from both new and existing social enterprises and community-led organisations to bid up to £10,000 and 5 days of business support. All projects had to create new social or economic activity.
The challenges faced by rural communities are heightened by greater distances, a more widely dispersed population and poor access to jobs and services. Increasingly, rural social enterprises – businesses for a social purpose - are stepping up to the mark and finding ways to overcome these challenges.
In Nenthead, Cumbria, the last remaining shop closed in 2006. Residents of this isolated community were faced with a 10 mile round trip to the nearest shop. Funding of £10,000 from the programme helped to establish a village shop and Post Office.
Strengthening Rural Communities was led by the Plunkett Foundation, a charity which supports social enterprise in rural communities, in conjunction with the North West Rural Community Councils and funded by the Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWDA).
David Hunter, Head of Rural Development at the NWDA said: “Strengthening Rural Communities has made a real difference to rural areas, supporting sustainable changes which have made a tangible impact on peoples’ lives.
“By giving these social enterprises business and financial support, the programme was able to build confidence in projects and to suggest ways on how to make them survive in the long-term..”
Further accomplishments of Strengthening Rural Communities were the 70 jobs that were created or safeguarded as a result of the programme during a time when many others were being lost due in the recession. It also led to the creation of £1.09 million pounds worth of value added income for the region
It also provided support for new skills and knowledge to community-led enterprises, ranging from Credit Unions, shops and swimming pools to fitness groups for the elderly and horticultural projects for people with learning difficulties.
For further details about the communities that took part in the programme, including Nenthead, see to http://www.plunkett.co.uk/templates/asset-relay.cfm?frmAssetFileID=259. For information, advice and support on strengthening your community, contact James Alcock at the Plunkett Foundation on 01993 814375 or email james.alcock@plunkett.co.uk.
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Notes to Editors:
For further details about this press release contact Ema Murphy at the Plunkett Foundation on 01993 814386 or email ema.murphy@plunkett.co.uk.
A social enterprise is a business, group or organisation set-up with the primary aim of benefiting the people or a community that it serves and whereby profits are reinvested in to the business or enterprise instead of going to shareholders and owners.
The Strengthening Rural Communities: Information, Advice and Support guide, and the accompanying film, are available on the Plunkett website (www.plunkett.co.uk). Hard copies are available by e-mailing info@plunkett.co.uk or by calling 01993 810 730.
Strengthening Rural Communities across the Northwest (http://www.plunkett.co.uk/whatwedo/src/Index.cfm) was a support programme for social enterprises and community-led initiatives that worked with rural communities to help improve and develop the local services in their communities.
Further details can be obtained on the various projects involved including community-owned shops, a furniture recycling scheme and a music therapy trust. Other initiatives included a horticultural project which provides fresh produce via a mobile shop and which also creates invaluable training opportunities for adults with learning difficulties.
The Plunkett Foundation (www.plunkett.co.uk) is a national organisation which promotes and supports co-operatives and social enterprises in rural communities. In a world in which rural communities are seeing challenges to services, jobs and community vitality, the Plunkett Foundation builds on a tradition to help rural communities find the answers to tackle the problems they face. Through its commitment to co-operatives and social enterprises, the Foundation provides support, networks and knowledge offering practical solutions that help create thriving places where people live and work for future generations. The Plunkett Foundation works with the Office of the Third Sector (http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/third_sector.aspx) to promote social enterprises in rural communities.
The Northwest Regional Development Agency works to deliver economic success in England’s Northwest by building the competitiveness of businesses, people and places. Our investment and strategies are working to secure long-term positive change for our rural areas by improving productivity, helping businesses grow and diversify and supporting sustainable communities.
Northwest Rural Community Councils is an organisation comprised of the three rural community councils in the North West region. Including Cheshire Action (www.cheshireaction.org.uk), Community Futures (www.communityfutures.org.uk) and Action with Communities in Cumbria (www.ruralcumbria.org.uk
FEB 2010 - ENTERPRISE SPIRIT OF RURAL COMMUNITIES MUST BE UNLOCKED SAYS TORY SHADOW MINISTER
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 is a new direction. Rural values of enterprise and independent innovation, is much more durable than any amount of public money endorsed by public spirit.”
Alun Michael MP, Vice President of the Local Government Association said: “We need to bridge the gap between rich and poor and to connect people living and working in rural communities, and, those who ‘want’ to live in rual areas but for reasons such as a lack of affordable housing can’t. Social enterprise therefore is part of the solution.” He also said: “The principal of ‘Right to Try’ moves us out of the comfort zone and asks what do we need to do to sustain our communities and to make them better places to live in?”
Key areas highlighted at the event were the need for better business advice on social enterprise, better powers for purchasing community assets and the need for changes to legislation to support co-operatives and social enterprises. An action plan identifying key elements of the conference will also be published in coming months by the Plunkett Foundation.
Peter 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 enable more communities to take control of what matters most to them, through community-ownership.”
The conference was supported by the Big Lottery Fund, the Post Office and the Office of the Third Sector.
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Editors’ Notes
Ema Murphy on 01993 810730 or 07733 228 038 or email: ema.murphy@plunkett.co.uk.
‘The Right to Try’ concept goes beyond political rhetoric to explore a specific and practical proposition to return power to rural communities: the ‘Right to Try’. If a village shop is threatened with closure, the community should have the right to try to save it. If lack of affordable housing is a concern, rural communities should have the right to try to secure land and raise finance. If a bus operator plans to withdraw a service, the community should have the right to try to put in place an alternative service. The scales need to be tilted more firmly towards the community by removing the barriers to the development of community-owned enterprises.
Jim Paice MP was appointed Opposition Spokesman on Agriculture and has remained on the front bench ever since. Following the 2001 General Election, he was appointed Shadow Minister for Police. Then in September 2004 he was promoted to Shadow Secretary of State for Agriculture and Rural Affairs. He has been the spokesperson for Agriculture and Rural Affairs unbroken since that time. Jim is also Chair of Conservative Rural Action.
The Plunkett Foundation promotes and supports community-ownership, co-operatives and social enterprises in rural communities. It provides support, networks and knowledge to help rural communities to be aware of, understand and implement practical solutions to the challenges that they are facing. It works with a range of organisations who share the same values to develop support programmes for rural co-operative and social enterprises.
The Plunkett Foundation has recently supported the producers of The Archers, the longest running radio soap on BBC Radio 4, with its storyline to save the last remaining shop in Ambridge. The villagers are currently setting-up it’s first community-owned shop to keep the heart of the village alive and to save this much needed service.
The Plunkett Foundation works with the Office of the Third Sector (www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/third_sector.aspx) to promote the role that social enterprise can play in rural communities in England. As part of the Cabinet Office, the Office of the Third Sector (OTS) leads work across government to support the environment for a thriving third sector (voluntary and community groups, social enterprises, charities, cooperatives and mutuals), enabling the sector to campaign for change, deliver public services, promote social enterprise and strengthen communities. The OTS was created at the centre of government in May 2006 in recognition of the increasingly important role the third sector plays in both society and the economy.
The Big Lottery Fund (BIG) awarded the Plunkett Foundation’s Making Local Food Work initiative £10 million from the BIG’s Changing Spaces Programme. The Changing Spaces programme was launched in November 2005 to help communities enjoy and improve their local environments. The programme is funding a range of activities from local food schemes and farmers markets, to education projects teaching people about the environment.
The Big Lottery Fund, the largest of the National Lottery good cause distributors, has been rolling out grants to health, education, environment and charitable causes across the UK since its inception in June 2004. It was established by Parliament on 1 December 2006.
Full details of the work of the Big Lottery Fund, its programmes and awards are available on the website: www.biglotteryfund.org.uk
The Post Office
With around 12,000 branches nationwide, the Post Office has the largest retail network in the UK, with more branches than all of the high street banks combined. Around 99 per cent of the UK population lives within three miles of a Post Office branch and more than 23 million customers visit every week. The Post Office offers over 170 products and services to its customers. In addition to traditional mails and postage, the Post Office offers travel and financial services, from travel money to car insurance, banking facilities, bill payments, telephone and broadband, gift cards, lottery products and licence applications. Post Office Ltd is a separate limited company within the Royal Mail Group.
For more information about the Post Office, call 08457 22 33 44 or visit
www.postoffice.co.uk.
03 FEB 2010: FECKENHAM COMMUNITY-OWNED VILLAGE SHOP WINS NATIONAL BEST VILLAGE SHOP AWARD AT THE COUNTRYSIDE ALLIANCE AWARDS
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).
The 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. The Plunkett Foundation supports rural communities wanting to set up and run a community-owned rural shop, providing practical assistance through a network of community retail advisers, its website, various publications and a national office.
Feckenham Village Shop was helped by financial support and advice through the Village CORE programme, managed by the Plunkett Foundation, in partnership with the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation and Co-operative and Community Finance. It provides financial start-up packages and advisory support to communities and has supported 48 community-owned rural shops since the programme started four years ago.
Peter Couchman, Chief Executive of the Plunkett Foundation said: “The successes of Feckenham community-owned village shop, demonstrates what can be achieved by rural communities given the right support. This award is a tribute to the hard work and dedication of their growing group of volunteers.”
A record three community-owned shops were crowned regional winners with the other two being in Blockley, Gloucestershire and Berrynarbor in Devon. A total of eleven community-owned shops were finalists in the awards.
This winning community-owned shop has also been supported by Making Local Food Work, to assist them with creating better links with their local producers and to enable them to stock and sell more locally produced food.
For further information please contact Ema Murphy at the Plunkett Foundation on 01993 814386 or at ema.murphy@plunkett.co.uk.
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NOTES TO EDITORS
The Plunkett Foundation (www.plunkett.co.uk) is a national organisation based in Woodstock, Oxfordshire helps rural communities to take control of issues important to them through community-ownership. The Plunkett Foundation works with other organisations that share its aims of helping rural communities respond to challenges to jobs, services and community vitality. Community-owned rural shops are one example of the growing number of rural social enterprises in the UK. A social enterprise is a business with primarily social objectives whose surpluses are principally reinvested for that purpose in the business or in to the community.
The Plunkett Foundation works with the Office of the Third Sector (http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/third_sector.aspx) to promote the role that social enterprise can play in rural communities in England. As part of the Cabinet Office, the Office of the Third Sector (OTS) leads work across government to support the environment for a thriving third sector (voluntary and community groups, social enterprises, charities, cooperatives and mutuals), enabling the sector to campaign for change, deliver public services, promote social enterprise and strengthen communities. The OTS was created at the centre of government in May 2006 in recognition of the increasingly important role the third sector plays in both society and the economy.
The Village CORE Programme (http://www.plunkett.co.uk/whatwedo/core/Core.cfm) is a three year support programme managed by the Plunkett Foundation in partnership with the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation (http://www.esmeefairbairn.org.uk/) and Co-operative and Community Finance (http://www.co-opandcommunityfinance.coop/). It provides financial start-up packages and advisory support to communities looking to set up a community-owned rural shop. The Village CORE Programme will have supported 60 community-owned rural shops over the three years.
Making Local Food Work (http://www.makinglocalfoodwork.co.uk) is a five year programme supported by £10 million from the Big Lottery Fund’s Changing Spaces Programme, which aims to help communities connect with the land and to have easy access to locally produced, healthy food. A consortium of seven organisations, led by the Plunkett Foundation, is pooling its expertise to develop and promote different types of community food enterprise, giving advice to people all over England looking to re-engage and help others access good, fresh, local produce with clear origins. The programme aims to secure the long term future of thriving communities that are strongly connected with the land, that understand where their food comes from, and are empowered to respond to their own needs using community-led solutions.
The Countryside Alliance Awards (www.countrysideallianceawards.co.uk) are designed to celebrate the achievements of unsung rural heroes. The grand final will be held at the Houses of Parliament on Wednesday 3 February 2010.
5 JANUARY 2010 - COMMUNITIES MUST BE ENGAGED IN THE FUTURE OF FOOD, SAYS MAKING LOCAL FOOD WORK
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 they eat and who produces it.”
Making Local Food Works supports community food enterprises such as community supported agriculture, community-owned shops and farmers’ markets in areas ranging from sparse rural communities to large cities.
Peter also said: “The report we feel proposes a 20th century outlook to a 21st century problem. Consumers want to be able to actively shape the future of food. The report largely omits the trend of communities across the UK increasingly taking control of food production and food security through developing direct relationships between the people who produce and consumer food.”
-Ends-
For media enquiries, please contact Ema Murphy on 01993 814386 or 07733 228 038 or email ema.murphy@plunkett.co.uk.
Notes to Editors
Making Local Food Work (http://www.makinglocalfoodwork.co.uk/) is a five-year programme funded by £10 million from the Big Lottery Fund’s Changing Spaces Programme. Making Local Food Work aims to secure the long term future of thriving communities that are strongly connected with the land, that understand where their food comes from and are empowered to respond to their own needs using community-led solutions. A consortium of seven organisations, led by the Plunkett Foundation, is pooling its expertise to develop and promote different types of community food enterprise, giving advice to people all over England looking to re-engage and help others access good, fresh, local produce with clear origins. The partnership includes Campaign to Protect Rural England, Co-operativesUK, Country Markets Ltd, FARMA, Plunkett Foundation, Soil Association, and Sustain.
The Plunkett Foundation (http://www.plunkett.co.uk/) is a national organisation based in Woodstock, Oxfordshire dedicated to improving rural livelihoods through co-operative and social enterprise. The Plunkett Foundation works with other organisations that share its aims of helping rural communities respond to challenges to jobs, services and community vitality. It was founded in 1919 by Sir Horace Plunkett, the pioneer of agricultural co-operation in Ireland and in 2009 it celebrated 90 years of helping rural communities to believe in what they can achieve together.
The Big Lottery Fund’s Changing Spaces programme was launched in November 2005 to help communities enjoy and improve their local environments. The programme is funding a range of activities from local food schemes and farmers markets, to education projects teaching people about the environment.
The Big Lottery Fund, the largest of the National Lottery good cause distributors, has been rolling out grants to health, education, environment and charitable causes across the UK since its inception in June 2004. It was established by Parliament on 1 December 2006. Full details of the work of the Big Lottery Fund, its programmes and awards are available on the website: www.biglotteryfund.org.uk.
24 November 2009 COMMUNITY-OWNED SHOP GOES AHEAD ON THE ARCHERS
Ambridge, the village which the world’s longest running radio soap The Archers is based upon, has chosen community-ownership as the answer to saving the last shop in the community. The Plunkett Foundation supports rural communities to set up and run community-owned shops. It has worked with the show’s producers to highlight how real communities are combating village shop closures, by taking control of the very thing they are faced with losing.
Currently in Ambridge, the only shop and post office is going to close. After serious consideration at a recent Parish Council meeting, villagers decided that the best way to keep the shop open is to set up a community-owned shop joining 220 other rural communities across the UK.
Peter Couchman, Chief Executive Officer of The Plunkett Foundation says: “Community-ownership is often the only viable way of saving or reintroducing vital rural services like a village shop. The Plunkett Foundation is the first place that rural communities turn to when looking to save or reintroduce a vital service through community-ownership and we can provide the specialist advice and support needed to save or reopen a shop. We hope The Archers storyline will encourage more people in rural areas to take action.”
In the past three years, the Plunkett Foundation in partnership with the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation and Co-operative and Community Finance has supported 45 community-owned shops to open through the Village Core programme. Out of these a record number of 27 have opened this year proving how effective the shops are, even in the most challenging economic times.
For further information on community-ownership visit www.plunkett.co.uk.
For media enquiries, please contact Elizabeth of Mar on 07870 276 375 or elizabethofmarpr@yahoo.co.uk.
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NOTES TO EDITORS
The Plunkett Foundation (www.plunkett.co.uk) is a national organisation based in Woodstock, Oxfordshire dedicated to helping rural communities through community-ownership. The Plunkett Foundation works with other organisations that share its aims of helping rural communities respond to challenges to jobs, services and community vitality. Community-owned shops are one example of the growing number of community-owned rural enterprises in the UK. The Plunkett Foundation supports and provides practical assistance through a network of community retail advisers, a dedicated website, various publications and a national office.
The Village CORE Programme (www.plunkett.co.uk/whatwedo/core/Core.cfm)
is a dedicated support programme for rural communities looking to set up a community-owned shop managed by the Plunkett Foundation in partnership with the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation (www.esmeefairbairn.org.uk) and Co-operative and Community Finance (www.co-opandcommunityfinance.coop). It provides financial start-up packages and advisory support to communities looking to set up a community-owned rural shop.
The Plunkett Foundation works with the Office of the Third Sector (www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/third_sector.aspx) to promote the role that social enterprise can play in rural communities in England. As part of the Cabinet Office, the Office of the Third Sector (OTS) leads work across government to support the environment for a thriving third sector (voluntary and community groups, social enterprises, charities, cooperatives and mutuals), enabling the sector to campaign for change, deliver public services, promote social enterprise and strengthen communities. The OTS was created at the centre of government in May 2006 in recognition of the increasingly important role the third sector plays in both society and the economy.
Interviews, high resolution images and case studies of a range of community-owned rural shops are available on request.
2nd October 2009 - COMMUNITY ASSET OWNERSHIP PROGRAMME LEVERS £20M INTO THE EAST OF ENGLAND
The Building Community Assets programme levered almost £20m into the East of England following support from the East of England Development Agency an independent evaluation has found.
Building Community Assets was a two year capital grant programme totalling an investment of £4.9m which helped social enterprises and other third sector organisations to take ownership of land and buildings in the East of England. Eight flagship projects in total were supported with capital grants of up to £750,000 to fund the purchase and development costs of assets in order to facilitate a greater level of economic and social outcomes.
Amongst the successful applicants were organisations seeking to develop accommodation through community land trusts, business incubation premises, furniture recycling operations and community and youth centres. Each organisation focussed on addressing the economic and social exclusion experienced by people in their community. Successful applicants also had to demonstrate proposals which would lead to increased viability of their organisations in terms of business growth and increased employment.
The independent evaluation of Building Community Assets also highlighted the value of the bursary awards which were provided to help organisations to become ‘investment ready’ through business planning, feasibility studies and assistance with professional services including legal, planning and architectural advice. 33 organisations were supported with bursaries of up to £15,000 – most of whom have been successful in securing capital funding from outside of Building Community Assets programme.
Building Community Assets was managed by a consortium of specialists in social enterprise: Co-operative and Community Finance, the Plunkett Foundation and Social Enterprise East of England.
Disability Essex, a social enterprise which supports people living with disabilities through clubs, training, and outreach healthcare, was supported by Building Community Assets through a capital grant of £750,000 following a bursary of £15,000. It was able to build a purpose-built, and accessible multi-use centre from which to locate their headquarters, training centre, and community centre which better supports their operational needs and provides a rental income. The new building has reduced maintenance costs, can accommodate an increased number of users, will safeguard and lead to new jobs, and increases their income generation potential.
The independent evaluation of Building Community Assets concludes that through the programme the East of England Development Agency and the Building Community Assets consortium successfully achieved its objective of investing in a small number of flagship social enterprise and other third sector organisations. It also demonstrated the value of asset ownership and development as having a positive impact on the regional economy.
The Building Community Assets consortium has produced a practical guide for communities considering purchasing land and buildings. The guide is intended to provide an insight into the range of organisation supported through the programme including their core objectives, their proposals and achievements through Building Community Assets and beyond. A separate section at the end of the guide provides signposts for further information and advice on acquiring community assets including potential sources of funding. Copies of the guide are available online via the consortium partner’s websites. Hard copies are available from the Plunkett Foundation and Social Enterprise East of England.
The full programme evaluation and its recommendations is available at
[ENDS]
For media enquiries, please contact Mike Perry at the Plunkett Foundation on mike.perry@plunkett.co.uk or 01993 810730.
Notes to Editors:
Building Community Assets was a fund established by the East of England Development Agency to support the development of sustainable, catalytic community assets that were genuinely transformational in scale. EEDA established the fund at the end of 2006 following extensive consultation with third sector organisations about their needs or funding and support and the best ways of developing capacity for social enterprise and asset based development. The fund comprised a total of £4.915M and ran from June 2007 until March 2009. Building Community Assets was managed by a consortium of specialists in social enterprise: Co-operative and Community Finance, the Plunkett Foundation and Social Enterprise East of England.
East of England Development Agency (EEDA) is one of the nine Regional Development Agencies in England, responsible for the sustainable development of the regions economy. EEDA works across the six counties of Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Norfolk and Suffolk. EEDA was the sole funder of the Building Community Assets programme.
Building Community Assets Guide is a practical guide which was produced by the Plunkett Foundation on behalf of EEDA and the Consortium Partners intended to for the use of social enterprises and other third sector organisations considering the purchase or development of community owned assets. The Guide is available from the Plunkett Foundation in hard copy and also on the Plunkett Foundation website.
An External Evaluation of the programme was carried out by Marilyn Taylor Associates between March 2008 and May 2009. The aim of the evaluation was to evaluate, both qualitatively and quantitatively, the role of the Building Community Assets programme in improving the performance of social enterprises through community asset ownership and also the performance and effectiveness of the Programme Consortium in managing the programme and reaching the target audiences.
Co-operative and Community Finance (C&CF) - who specialise in providing loan finance and business advice to community controlled and co-operative businesses. C&CF were the lead partner of the consortium, responsible for overall programme management and client reporting, and for grant application assessments. They were the primary contact for capital applicants.
Plunkett Foundation (PF) - a national organisation which promotes and supports rural co-operative and social enterprise and through this approach assists rural communities respond to challenges to jobs, services and community vitality. PF were responsible for the assessment and management of the bursary awards and for setting and managing this evaluation.
Social Enterprise East of England (SEEE) - a membership and networking organisation for social enterprises which aims to support and promote the social enterprise sector as a valuable part of the region's economy and for its significant social impact. SEEE was responsible for publicising and promoting the BCF programme, using their specialist regional knowledge, contacts and membership to reach out to potential applicant organisations.
Download Press Release
06.07.2009 NEW CAMPAIGN TO HELP RURAL COMMUNITIES TO TAKE CONTROL OF THE ISSUES AFFECTING THEM IS LAUNCHED
An innovative new campaign that helps rural communities to take control of the issues affecting them is being launched at the Royal Show this week (Tuesday 06 July) by the Plunkett Foundation.
Communities Taking Control is the Plunkett Foundation’s major new campaign to promote to rural communities what is possible when rural people believe in what they can achieve together. From communities owning and running essential rural services to taking control of their food and where it comes from, rural communities across the world are increasingly taking control if the issues affecting them. The Communities Taking Control campaign will highlight the impact that communities taking ownership has across the UK and give people and communities the tools to take control of the issues affecting them.
Launching the campaign, Peter Couchman, Chief Executive of the Plunkett Foundation said: “Rural communities across the world are increasingly taking control of the issues affecting their everyday lives. From the availability of essential services to providing employment and opportunities for rural people, our Communities Taking Control campaign aims to demonstrate to rural communities across the UK what is possible when rural people believe in what they can achieve together.”
The Plunkett Foundation is an organisation which helps rural communities to believe in what they can achieve together. It promotes and supports community-owned enterprises such as co-operatives and social enterprises in rural communities across the UK and internationally and has been doing so for 90 years.
The Village Shop at Feckenham, Worcestershire, is one of over 210 community-owned rural shops in the UK and this number is increasing by around 30 each year. It stocks a wide range of everyday groceries as well as many locally produced foods. There are 60 volunteers who help to run the shop. “It’s 19 years since we had a shop,” says John Calvert, chairman of the board of the Feckenham Community Shop Association Limited, which governs the store. “We used to have about eight and a post office. Now people are prepared to travel and they like to do all their shopping in one place.” Almost three years ago, when the villagers set about designing a parish plan for the 700 inhabitants of Feckenham they discovered that what people wanted most was a shop.
They wanted the convenience. They wanted to be able to buy local produce. Perhaps most of all they wanted a place where they could pop out and meet people. The question was how to achieve it. The Village Shop opened in January 2009 and is owned and run by the community in Feckenham.
Stroud Community Agriculture in Gloucestershire is one of 60 Community Supported Agriculture enterprises in the UK. It is a co-operative which is owned by 200 local members which is pursuing a new model for sustainable farming in the England. The risks and rewards of farming are shared between the farmers and consumers to enable. The owner-members hire farmers to run the farm for them but they also do volunteer work on the farm. Members who join the co-op commit themselves to supporting the farm and providing a fair income for the farmers. Farmers can then develop the health and fertility of the farm, its wildlife and the environment. Through this approach, communities can take control of their food and where it comes from. Community Supported Agriculture enterprises across England are being supported by the Plunkett Foundation led Making Local Food Work programme.
Dr. Stuart Burgess Chair of the Commission for Rural Communities and the Government’s Rural Advocate said: “As Rural Advocate I have the opportunity to witness the tremendous community spirit and vitality within communities across rural England. I have seen numerous examples of enterprise, initiative and opportunity and have heard about innovative plans to explore how a social enterprise business may offer an alternative way of managing the delivery of local services. The ‘Communities Taking Control’ campaign is a further opportunity for rural communities to demonstrate the value of community ownership and what can be achieved when people pull together. I wish the campaign well and look forward to hearing about further examples of creative solutions and how people’s experience and learning is being shared around the country.”
For further information please contact Mike Perry at the Plunkett Foundation on 07779 112130.
High resolution images of a range of rural communities taking control of the issues affecting them are available on request.
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NOTES TO EDITORS
Communities Taking Control is the Plunkett Foundation’s major new campaign to promote to rural communities what is possible when rural people believe in what they can achieve together. From communities owning and running essential rural services to taking control of their food and where it comes from, rural communities across the world are increasingly taking control if the issues affecting them. The Communities Taking Control campaign will highlight the impact that communities taking ownership has across the UK and give people and communities the tools to take control of the issues affecting them.
The Plunkett Foundation (www.plunkett.co.uk) is a national organisation based in Woodstock, Oxfordshire that is dedicated to improving rural livelihoods through co-operative and social enterprise. The Plunkett Foundation works with other organisations that share its aims of helping rural communities respond to challenges to jobs, services and community vitality. Community-owned shops are one example of the growing number of rural social enterprises in the UK. A social enterprise is a business with primarily social objectives whose surpluses are principally reinvested for that purpose in the business or in the community. The Plunkett Foundation supports rural communities wanting to set up and run a community-owned shop, providing practical assistance through a network of community retail advisers, its website, various publications and a national office. In 2009 the Plunkett Foundation is celebrating 90 years of helping rural people to believe in what they can achieve together.
The Plunkett Foundation works with the Office of the Third Sector (www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/third_sector.aspx) to promote the role that social enterprise can play in rural communities in England. As part of the Cabinet Office, the Office of the Third Sector (OTS) leads work across government to support the environment for a thriving third sector (voluntary and community groups, social enterprises, charities, cooperatives and mutuals), enabling the sector to campaign for change, deliver public services, promote social enterprise and strengthen communities. The OTS was created at the centre of government in May 2006 in recognition of the increasingly important role the third sector plays in both society and the economy.
Making Local Food Work (http://www.makinglocalfoodwork.co.uk/) is a five-year programme funded by £10 million from the Big Lottery Fund’s Changing Spaces Programme. Making Local Food Work aims to secure the long term future of thriving communities that are strongly connected with the land, that understand where their food comes from, and are empowered to respond to their own needs using community-led solutions. A consortium of seven organisations, led by the Plunkett Foundation, is pooling its expertise to develop and promote different types of community food enterprise, giving advice to people all over England looking to re-engage and help others access good, fresh, local produce with clear origins. The partnership includes Campaign to Protect Rural England, Co-operativesUK, Country Markets Ltd, FARMA, Plunkett Foundation, Soil Association, and Sustain.
The Big Lottery Fund’s Changing Spaces programme was launched in November 2005 to help communities enjoy and improve their local environments. The programme is funding a range of activities from local food schemes and farmers markets, to education projects teaching people about the environment.
The Big Lottery Fund, the largest of the National Lottery good cause distributors, has been rolling out grants to health, education, environment and charitable causes across the UK since its inception in June 2004. It was established by Parliament on 1 December 2006. Full details of the work of the Big Lottery Fund, its programmes and awards are available on the website: www.biglotteryfund.org.uk
24.06.2009 SUPPORT FOR RURAL COMMUNITIES LOOKING TO SET UP COMMUNITY-OWNED SHOP EXTENDED
Further support for rural communities looking to set up and run a community-owned shop is now available following the announcement from the Plunkett Foundation that the pioneering Village CORE Programme is to be extended for a further three years.
The Village CORE Programme is a support programme for rural communities looking to set up and run a community-owned rural shop. It has supported 36 community-owned shops to open since May 2006 and a further 17 are due to open by the end of the year. The extended programme will be able to support a further 60 communities across the next three years.
Feckenham Community-Owned Village Shop in Worcester received advice and financial support through the Village CORE Programme
The Village CORE Programme is a partnership between the Plunkett Foundation, the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation and Co-operative and Community Finance. It provides a combination of grant and loan finance up to a maximum total of £40,000 matched with the equivalent community contributions of up to £20,000 alongside specialist enterprise support from the Plunkett Foundation. The Plunkett Foundation supports rural communities wanting to set up and run a community-owned rural shop, providing practical assistance through a network of community retail advisers, its website, various publications and a national office. In 2009 the Plunkett Foundation is celebration 90 years of helping rural people to believe in what they can achieve together.
There are now over 200 community-owned rural shops in the UK and this number is growing by around 30 each year. The shops come in various shapes and sizes, reflecting the needs of the community in which they are based. Some are based in purpose-built premises whilst others are based in previous shop premises, village halls, portacabins, churches and pubs and others find a use for a previously unused community building.
Nenthead Community Shop and Post Office is one of the community-owned shops to benefit from the Village CORE Programme. Nenthead is a small and isolated community in the Northern Pennines and is England’s highest village. Originally a mining community, Nenthead once had a series of shops and services to support the workers and their families. In 2006, the last remaining shop closed leaving the community with a 10 mile round trip needed to reach the nearest shop and with limited access to transport.
Nenthead Community-Owned Shop and Post Office in Cumbria
At this point the community decided to take action with six residents forming a committee with the aim of re-establishing a shop in Nenthead which would be community-owned. In 2007 Nenthead Community Shop Ltd opened for business. A Nenthead resident and committee member explained how much the community had missed the shop over the summer: “In a rural community like Nenthead a shop is more than just a place to buy groceries. It’s where you find out the news and especially for people without transport, it’s the main place where you meet others and can have a chat.”
Like many community-owned rural shops, it provides a wide range of groceries including fresh fruit and vegetables and a range of local products. It also provides a Post Office alongside other services including access to cash, community information and a small seating area. Nenthead Community Shop provides employment for six part-time staff and is also reliant on a group of volunteers from the community.
Peter Couchman, Chief Executive of the Plunkett Foundation said, “The extension of the Village CORE Programme is fantastic news for the growing number of rural communities looking to set up and run a community-owned shop. We have seen communities transformed through this process and we look forward to helping more communities to help themselves over the next three years.”
Ian Rothwell, Development Manager of Co-operative and Community Finance says, “To those outside of rural communities, it can be difficult to understand the importance of a local shop but they really are vital to small communities. Often, they provide much more than food as they serve as a meeting hub for local residents and help to create community cohesion, which is why we’re so keen to support them.”
Dawn Austwick, Chief Executive of the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, said: "The Village Core Programme is a dynamic attempt to help rural communities revitalise themselves. It takes an enterprising approach to achieving its aims, addresses a significant gap in provision and looks to develop good practice - all things which are at the heart of the funding decisions that Esmée Fairbairn makes. We were impressed by the energy of those working on the programme, and the record of delivery in local communities, and therefore our Trustees have made a further grant to support this work."
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NOTES TO EDITORS
The Village CORE Programme (www.plunkett.co.uk/whatwedo/core/Core.cfm)
is a dedicated support programme for rural communities looking to set up a community-owned shop managed by the Plunkett Foundation in partnership with the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation (www.esmeefairbairn.org.uk) and Co-operative and Community Finance (www.co-opandcommunityfinance.coop). It provides financial start-up packages and advisory support to communities looking to set up a community-owned rural shop.
The Plunkett Foundation (www.plunkett.co.uk) is a national organisation based in Woodstock, Oxfordshire that is dedicated to improving rural livelihoods through co-operative and social enterprise. The Plunkett Foundation works with other organisations that share its aims of helping rural communities respond to challenges to jobs, services and community vitality. Community-owned shops are one example of the growing number of rural social enterprises in the UK. A social enterprise is a business with primarily social objectives whose surpluses are principally reinvested for that purpose in the business or in the community. The Plunkett Foundation supports rural communities wanting to set up and run a community-owned shop, providing practical assistance through a network of community retail advisers, its website, various publications and a national office. In 2009 the Plunkett Foundation is celebrating 90 years of helping rural people to believe in what they can achieve together.
The Plunkett Foundation works with the Office of the Third Sector (www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/third_sector.aspx) to promote the role that social enterprise can play in rural communities in England. As part of the Cabinet Office, the Office of the Third Sector (OTS) leads work across government to support the environment for a thriving third sector (voluntary and community groups, social enterprises, charities, cooperatives and mutuals), enabling the sector to campaign for change, deliver public services, promote social enterprise and strengthen communities. The OTS was created at the centre of government in May 2006 in recognition of the increasingly important role the third sector plays in both society and the economy.
Co-operative & Community Finance (www.co-opandcommunityfinance.coop) provides sympathetic loan finance to help people take control of their economic lives and create social benefit. They exclusively serve the co-operative and social enterprise sector, and over 36 years they have supported hundreds of businesses ranging from small community-run enterprises to large award-winning organisations.
Esmée Fairbairn Foundation (www.esmeefairbairn.org.uk) is one of the largest independent grant-making foundations in the UK. It aims to improve the quality of life throughout the UK. It does this by funding the charitable activities of organisations that have the ideas and ability to achieve change for the better. The Foundation takes pride in supporting work that might otherwise be considered difficult to fund. Esmée Fairbairn’s primary interests are in the UK's cultural life, education and learning, the natural environment and enabling people who are disadvantaged to participate more fully in society. In 2009 the Foundation expects to make grants of approximately £25 million across the UK.
For further information please contact Mike Perry at the Plunkett Foundation:
Tel: 01993 810730
E-mail: mike.perry@plunkett.co.uk
Website: www.plunkett.co.uk
High resolution images of a range of community-owned rural shops supported through the Village CORE Programme are available on request.
PRESS RELEASE
6 MAY 2010
ARCHERS COMMUNITY-OWNED SHOP TO OPEN ON 2 JUNE
Ambridge, the fictional home of The Archers, will be celebrating next month with the announcement that their new community-owned shop will open its doors on 2 June.
In October listeners heard how the only shop in Ambridge was threatened with closure after the owners decided to sell up. As it is the only shop in the community, villagers reacted with shock and concern at the decline of this vital community service which provides so much to so many people in the community. Since then, The Archers have taken their 800,000 daily listeners through the process of a community coming together to set up a community-owned enterprise to save their shop.
Recently listeners heard how the community have reached their target of raising the funds needed to save the shop. They are going down the route of being supported by the fictitious arm of the Village CORE Programme, a real life dedicated support programme managed by the Plunkett Foundation which helps rural communities to set up and run community a community-owned shop. It matches community contributions with a grant and loan. Nearly 50 new community-owned shops have opened through this programme and now community-ownership saves around 10% of village shop closures which are estimated to be around 400 this year.
Peter Couchman, Chief Executive of the Plunkett Foundation, said, “Due to The Archers, awareness of the potential for community-owned enterprises has never been higher. The knock-on impact has been greater numbers of communities coming forward with the confidence to take on this challenge themselves. This in itself is a legacy The Archers can rightly feel very proud of.”
There are now 235 community-owned shops in the UK with a record 38 opening in 2009 alone. They come in all shapes and sizes depending on the needs of the communities themselves. The Plunkett Foundation works with a range of organisations to support the development of community-owned shops in the UK.
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For press and media enquires, please contact Elizabeth of Mar on 07870 276375 or elizabethofmarpr@yahoo.co.uk
Notes to Editors:
The Village CORE Programme (http://www.plunkett.co.uk/whatwedo/core/Core.cfm) is a dedicated support programme for rural communities wanting to set up and run a community-owned shop to save or reintroduce the last shop in a community. It is a partnership between the Plunkett Foundation, the Esmee Fairbairn Foundation and Co-operative and Community Finance and is supported by the LankellyChase Foundation. It has supported 48 new community-owned village shops to open since it began in 2006.
The Plunkett Foundation (http://www.plunkett.co.uk/) helps rural communities through community-ownership to take control of the issues affecting them. Founded in 1919, the Plunkett Foundation provides dedicated support for the development of community-owned village shops, community-owned rural services and community food and farming enterprises.