Case Studies

ACRE works with RCAN members to research and evidence Community Led Planning (CLP). This page provides a number of case studies that show how CLP works in practice.

RCAN members work on different projects and initiatives that benefit children, young people and their families. The work often involves partnership with other providers and sectors and includes research projects ascertaining children and young people's needs along with directly provided services that are often necessarily innovative to meet the needs of rural communities.

RCAN members work on a wide range of community services projects including those related to shops, social enterprise and economic well-being.

RCAN members work on a range of projects and initiatives to support communities to establish the high speed broadband and digital services that they need for employment and personal use. To do this RCAN works with technology providers, which can deliver the appropriate technologies that work for the locations in question including cable, wireless and web mesh systems.

We feature examples of the work of RCAN members in Health & Wellbeing including involving communities in health decisions relevant to them through Local Involvement Networks (LiNKs), healthy food projects and mental health initiatives.

Rural Housing Enablers (RHEs) have been successful across the country in helping to bring forward rural affordable housing schemes. They work closely, often over many years, with communities and with development partners such as landowners, local authorities and housing associations. Their work is central to the delivery of affordable housing schemes for local people that helps sustain rural communities.

RCAN members undertake a range of work in relation to older people and their needs including advice and information services and good neighbour projects.The projects featured here include Gloucestershire's pioneering Village Agents and Suffolk's Good Neighbour Scheme both of which help support and empower older people living in rural communities.

The Rural Community Action Network provides a village hall information and advice service. The Network's advisers provide valuable support to village hall management committees across England.The case studies demonstrate the types of issues and projects that they support.

RCAN members work on a range of projects and initiatives in respect of supporting communities to help overcome social exclusion. These range from befriending schemes aimed at the isolated and elderly to specific support for other groups in rural areas such as Gypsies and Travellers, migrant workers and children.

RCAN members work on diverse projects in relation to sustainable communities. These include the development of toolkits that help communities and agencies to assess what really makes a rural settlement sustainable and new types of delivery that support services in a rural area. Also featured is a research project into local businesses as part of its Community Led Plan, helped stimulate the village economy.

Rural Community Action Network (RCAN) members work on a range of transport solutions in rural areas across England. These include voluntary car schemes, car share, community rail partnerships, partnerships to bring down speeds through villages and wheels to work. The latter are initiatives offering affordable private transport (usually in the form of mopeds) overcoming barriers to people without their own transport, so they can get to work, education or training.