Future Generations

Every baby born in the town gets a ‘welcome pack’ that encourages - long term - a commitment to the town. They are a ‘Town Citizen’  from the start.

People

Community included in decisions. If they are consulted they will be concerned and committed.

Tourism

Develop our USP (a quintessential English Market Town) and get people to use the town as a base.

Vision

Joined up partnerships working on long term vision.

Facilities

So we can choose not to travel out of town for cinema etc

Economy

Independent traders supported to become proactive and responsible for the town they trade in

Chris Stewart

Rural Britain in 2020 will be a place in which to live, that is sustainable and economically viable. It will be a place to visit, to share in the economy and enjoy the relative peace and beauty. It will provide a range of housing to suit all pockets. Above all it will retain what is best about the area and change only what is necessary. The local community will exercise real democracy.

Keith Smith

A caring cohesive community, with a sustainable, economically active population Access to appropriate and suitable services for a wider age range of residents and visitors and opportunities for all to:

• Participate
• Plan
• Prepare
• Propser

Lynne Cairns Bucks Community Action - Trustee

Vibrant rural faith communities recognised as partners in the rural economy as holders of buildings, land and an army of volunteers

Following the government agenda to remove barriers to faith community involvement, representatives being key stakeholders in rural groupings such as Action for Market Towns.

A proper renaissance programme for all Market Towns which does not just include business and council but also has significant community involvement.

Working more closely with schools and churches as community anchors to create vibrant village communities

Rev’d Cllr James Allison

Town Councillor, Vicar, Social Entrepreneur

• Sustainable rural communities with equitable access to employment, services and opportunities
• An end to the view that certain types of economic activity are ‘inappropriate’ in rural areas
• Adoption and implementation of the recommendations of Matthew Taylor’s review in a timely and consistent manner
• Local people (especially people moving into rural areas) need to recognise that if they don’t USE local services, they should not be surprised if those services are not there for much longer, or when they disappear

Rural economy fully integrated into regional and national economy

Rural housing / population to be a balanced population

Governments to recognise rural proofing of its policies not just give lip service to the process

That stewardship of landscape, forna and flora by farmers and landowners is recognised as a product of land management and recompensed with an annual payment into the farm accounts, with perhaps a higher rate of payment for family farms.

Government grants to local authorities to fully tackle into account the population sparsity factor and distance in miles of service delivery in rural areas.

That the definition of conservation is the sound management of change.

Robert G Heseltine

To have an integrated community where people can share services i.e. Post Offices with Tourist Information Centre / Library.

Better Housing for people on low incomes.

Cheap and accessible transport schemes for people of all ages.

Use tourism to support local economy through production of tours / evets / festivals etc.

Make the countryside more accessible to urban groups who never visit rural communities.

Overall greater investment by Government to support future infrastructures of rural communities.

Keep a pub in every village

Malcolm Salisbury

My vision for rural areas is of truly sustainable rural communities that meet the three pillars of sustainability:

social

economic

environmental

They will have a balanced population in terms of age and skill sets. They will be prosperous with a diverse economic base and they will be taking real steps to enhance and protect their environments. This will be done by promoting co-operation and partnerships among rural communities throughout the UK

Ruth Kendal

ADAS UK Ltd

Less traffic and more rural opportunities.

Being able to work from home.

Safe, friendly and enterprising communities

People working in partnership

Sharing of all types of resources e.g. food, people skills, time, transport, energy,

recreation, caring

Vibrant and economically viable shops, pubs and services working in harmony to deliver what people want and need.

The retention of local stories, ‘yarning’, history and information being shared and passed down, old and young for future generations.

Local customs, a sense of belonging and not a sense of loss.

Charlotte Foster

Plunkett Foundation

1) Environmental challenges will become more intense and market towns will need to be at the forefront of rural responses to carbon reduction, the development of sustainable lifestyles and low impact affordable places to live.

2) This will best be accomplished by empowering communities, informing them of their challenges and opportunities and working with them to develop their own responses. Councils & agencies need to establish the frameworks within which this can happen and then let people get on with it; giving power away will energise rural places.

3) Rural economies have diversified slowly – the pace and range needs to increase. Rural wages still lag behind regional/national averages. Sustainable places depend on diversity in employment opportunity – supported by local networks that improve trading links and skills acquisition

Ian Baker

Advantage West Midlands