Daily Mail - 01.08.2019

Daily Mail, Thursday, August 1, 2019 Page 
QQQ

‘Village survival guide? The

Post Office used to stock it

but that closed down...’

1

Create a ‘village vision’.

Identify priorities and

resources to make them

viable – and formulate a

business plan.

2

Find a hub – whether it’s a

pub, shop, village hall, post

office or church. ACRE (Action

with Communities in Rural

England) can help.

3

Engage with your

community to find out

what they need. Are they

isolated? Where do you

shop? How can we help?

4

Focus on transport.

Reduced bus services can

leave communities isolated.

But some of them have

developed ‘Wheels2Work’

affordable hire schemes,

while others have managed to

keep their bus service running

by putting in a tender with

local volunteers.

5

Discover your creative

spirit and be adaptable.

Villages have set up

volunteer-run shops to sell

local produce from across

the area.

6

Develop initiatives like

CRAFT (Can’t Remember A

Flipping Thing) for those with

memory loss. Nominate a

‘village agent’ or create a

Good Neighbours Scheme.

7

Save your local pub!

Seven out of 10 villages in

England no longer have a

shop and the number of pubs

has fallen by more than 25

per cent. But enterprising

communities find ways to

keep them alive by

diversifying with play centres

and cafes or even launching

their own co-operative.

8

Look at developing a

‘pop-up’ post office if

yours is earmarked for

closure. St Mary’s Church in

Stow, Lincolnshire, has done

just that.

9

Bring business to you.

Set up your own

enterprise hub. Hot desk and

share wi-fi connectivity and

skills. A range of groups can

provide advice.

10

With limited broadband

and poor phone signal,

some communities club

together to set up co-

operatives, buying bulk data

on a pay-as-you-go basis. Your

local church – often the tallest

structure in the area – might

host a discreet wi-fi booster.

The Prince of Wales has helped pub-

lish a ‘survival guide’ for struggling

rural communities which advises on

everything from starting their own

bus service to creating a ‘telephone

tree’ for emergencies.

Charles has been a passionate advocate

of the countryside and set up The Prince’s

Countryside Fund almost a decade ago to

help financially stricken family farm busi-

nesses flourish with £10million in grants.

Now it has launched a 104-page booklet, The

Village Survival Guide, a manual for rural life

filled with tips and advice on the best ways to

build a strong community.

The colourful guide is an entertaining collec-

tion of case histories, checklists and practical

advice. There are also examples of how com-

munities have started to help themselves with

Ten steps that can

save rural Britain,

by Prince Charles

services such as the ‘Rural Coffee Car-

avan’ which, through 50 volunteers,

offers coffee, cakes and a help service

to the elderly, young parents and car-

ers in rural Suffolk.

The guide also highlights schemes

such as The Pub is the hub, supported

by the prince, which fights to keep

pubs at the heart of their communi-

ties. Some have opened cafes and

community games rooms to diversify

and encourage new clientele, while

others have incorporated the local

post office to share costs.

It also focuses on enterprise and how

to set up a local business hub to

encourage entrepreneur-based indus-

tries, while another section outlines

how communities, driven mad by the

lack of broadband, have created co-

operatives to provide wi-fi services,

often with the help of their church.

In a foreword, Charles says: ‘There

are huge opportunities to help the

countryside and rural people meet the

challenges of the future. The role of

the countryside, with all its diversity

and idiosyncrasies, in our national life

is too important to be left to chance.’

The guide includes an article by

comedian Miranda hart who was born

and bred in the countryside and is an

ambassador for the fund. She said:

‘Nobody living in the countryside

should be alone. If community is the

key to living well, then everyone needs

to be connected and that means prac-

tical changes to many areas, from

transport to technology.’

The guide is available to purchase

in hard copy or to download for free

from the fund’s website.

By Rebecca English

Royal Correspondent

FROM PUB HUB TO VILLAGE AGENT

Archie’s on the

way: A visibly

pregnant Meghan

shares a lighter

moment at the

charity

Great to see

you: Meghan

receives a

welcome hug

When mum-to-be

Meg got to work

Pictures: SUSSEX ROYAL

PHOTOGRAPHS of the then

pregnant Duchess of

Sussex visiting a charity

which helps women

return to the workplace

have been released to

mark her collaboration

with British Vogue.

The largely mono-

chrome images show

Meghan, now mother to

two-month-old Archie, at

Smart Works in London,

chatting to clients and

looking round.

In one shot, her baby

bump can be seen in a

£2,296 monochrome

Gucci dress; others show

her dressed more casu-

ally. The pictures are

included in the maga-

zine’s September issue,

which Meghan has guest

edited, and were released

on Instagram.

Smart Works helps

women dress for inter-

view. A royal spokesman

said: The duchess will

[support] a collective to

help equip women with

workwear essentials.’

Stephen Glover – Page 21