Community Services

To access services people take for granted - healthcare, job centres and secondary schools - rural people travel further and spend more of their income on transport. At the same time services like shops and primary schools, traditionally located in rural settlements, are under threat of closure. Accessibility and closure threats have significant impacts on rural communities. It is essential therefore, through working with communities, that RCAN and others, achieve sustainable delivery solutions

Village Shops

Village shops are vital to the life and future of all villages. Many of the people who live in village communities cannot, or do not want to, travel to large supermarkets and enjoy the local interaction that can take place in a village shop.

Many rural communities are finding that the only sure way to secure their post office and/or village shop, for the long-term, is to form a community-owned enterprise to take over the ownership and operation. For information specifically about community-owned shops, visit the Rural Community Shops pages on the Plunkett Foundation Website.

Post Offices

Following the need to cut costs and modernise the Post office network has seen significant change following different reviews and initiatives over recent years. These have included debates over a Post Bank and privatisation of the Royal Mail.Each has generated much debate, attracted strong views and opposition nationally not least in rural areas.

The impact upon communities are significant nationally. In rural areas especially because of the community and services hub function post offices hold the closure of rural branches and subsequent restructuring of the has impacted significantly upon rural communities.

In 2011 ACRE compilied a Briefing about the consultation on the potential mutualisation of the Post Office

You can also read our earlier (2009) Briefing about rural post offices

Pubs

External view of pub entrance in Cerne Abbas Dorset

The position of pubs (nationally and in rural areas) and their communities appears bleak if the current pattern of closures and job losses continues. RCAN supports communities being empowered to bring about change for their communities but to enable this to happen additional action is required.

Within this concerning situation there are many examples of activity taking place that is benefitting pubs in both rural and urban communities. At the heart of this work has been Pub is the Hub. Operating since 2001, it seeks to support pubs to be the focal point of community services. It encourages pub owners, licensees and their local communities to work together to support and retain local services by, where possible, bringing services into the pub itself. Much of this work is taking place in rural areas.

ACRE has prepared a Briefing about rural pubs.

ACRE Policy Position Paper: Rural Services

ACRE has complied a number of Policy Position Papers reflecting the issues of importance to rural communities and how our members in RCAN respond to them. The text below summaries part of ACRE's Rural Services Policy Position Paper

Rural communities should be empowered to influence and even deliver rural services so that rural people have access to a range of fundamental services tailored to their needs. Re-localising services means less travel, reduced costs to local people who are in most need of the services and, in the longer term, delivers the potential to generate more sustainable rural communities.

For more information, please contact Martin Hawkins, Rural Services Officer.