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News added 14 March 2008
Greensand Ridge Local Action Group submits bid for £3m
BRCC and Bedfordshire Rural Affairs Forum , working with a
newly-formed Local Action Group have been developing a bid for
the Greensand Ridge area to benefit from up to £3m new EU
funding. The bid was submitted yesterday to
the East of England Development Agency, and we hope to hear in
May whether the bid has been successful. Many thanks to
all those businesses, organisations and individuals who have
been part of the bid's development.
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Pathfinders lead way to better rural services
Results of a two year Government programme aimed at improving
rural services have been published by Defra. As part of the
Rural Delivery Pathfinder programme eight Pathfinders were set
up across England to demonstrate new approaches to managing
rural delivery, and develop toolkits, joined up services
and other resources. The report,
‘Rural challenges, local solutions’ highlights the finding
that partnership working is critical to success, and that
communities must be directly engaged in defining what they want
and how to deliver it. It also demonstrated that local
authorities that show leadership and innovate, play an important
role in delivering solutions. Amongst the many issues tackled by
individual pathfinder projects were affordable housing, local
transport, parish planning, economic development, and community
broadband access. A wealth of case study
material about the work of the pathfinders is also available via
the
Improvement and Development Agency (IDeA) website.
Reporting the realities of rural England
Two recent reports have highlighted the realities of what it
is like to live in rural England and press Government for
action on a range of rural issues:
- Government Rural Advocate and Chair of the Commission of
Rural Communities, Stuart Burgess, reports on his visits to
rural communities across the country to listen to rural
people. His programme of visits for 2007 included a
visit to Bedfordshire, at the invitation of BRAF. The 'Report
of the Rural Advocate 2007' sets out a wide-ranging
package of actions for Government to lead on to tackle the
issues people raised with him such as affordable housing and
loss of key services.
- More than 250 organisations have teamed up to launch a
call for action to support rural England. The Rural Services
Network – a coalition of local authorities and other public
service providers – said action was needed to sustain
fragile countryside communities. "Sustaining
Rural Services - A Call for Action"
Unitary decision for Bedfordshire
Local Government Minister
John Healey has announced decisions on the Bedfordshire unitary
proposals. He announced that the proposals from Bedford Borough
Council and Mid and South Beds District Councils would proceed
to implementation. From 1 April 2009, therefore, there will be
two unitary authorities for Bedfordshire - one for Bedford and a
second for the rest of the County area.
BRAF one of the first websites to get the Rural Services
"widget"
The development charity ruralnet|uk is breaking new ground
with the launch of its first ‘web widget’ to support communities
who are rethinking rural service delivery in the wake of the
government’s restructuring of the Post Office network.
Rural Service Support service (RSSupport) incorporates an
Experts Online question and answer service and is designed to
help rural communities work together as one in their transition
towards the alternative ways that the service needs of local
residents and businesses can be met in the light of decisions on
the Post Office network.
The ‘Rural Services Support’ initiative, is being funded by
the Commission for Rural Communities and supported by a
consortium of national organisations including Post Office Ltd.
The widget technology allows the ruralnet|uk to deliver services
seamlessly via others’ websites so that local people can access
them without having to go to the national rural|net website
You can find the widget on BRAF's
home page (centre, bottom). It shows the three latest
questions that have been posed. After registering you will
have access to the Rural Services Support site, including:
- access to a panel of people with specialist expertise
who will interpret and understand users questions, and reply
usually within 24 hours (or by the next working day)
- A searchable archive of past questions and answers
Useful resources including sample policies, templates, tools
and guidelines
- A forum where a large number of practitioners and policy
makers can engage and exchange ideas, knowledge and
experience Facilitation and policing of the system by a
nationally recognised/ experienced organisation
Search is on for Beds Village Of The Year 2008
The contest has begun for Bedfordshire's Village Of The Year
2008, and every village in the county is encouraged to enter.
Organised by Beds Rural Communities Charity and sponsored by gas
supplier Calor, the contest is designed to promote community
involvement in village life with the added spice of friendly
competition. Entrants are judged on categories including
community life, business, young people, older people, the
environment and information communication technology.
The Bedfordshire winner will also be nominated to go forward
and represent their county in the Calor Village Of The Year for
England 2008/9. This will give the village the chance to scoop a
share of the prize fund, which totals more than £40,000.
For an entry form for the 2008 county competition, contact
Jemma McLean at BRCC on 01234 832617
New carbon calculator for farmers
The CLA and Savills have release
a new, absolutely free, web-based calculator which will allow
farmers and land managers to work out their carbon accounts.
The software is the result of a project led by the CLA,
working in partnership with Savills and supported by the East of
England Development Agency, and the Crown Estates. The CLA says
the figures the calculator produces may eventually become as
important as profit and loss accounts.
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