country air 116

The newsletter of Rural Action Yorkshire Summer 2010 Issue 116

Visit our website for funding news, information about resources & events, and to learn more about the work we do www.ruralyorkshire.org.uk

In this issue… Listening to your opinions at the Great Yorkshire Show page 2 Centre Stage page 6 High ground, high potential page 7 Community-led Planning page 8 Community Halls Conference page 10

Plus all the latest project updates and rural news.

Chairman’s Viewpoint The Government has now launched its idea of the Big Society promising to bring back ‘localism’ into the delivery of services in communities and suggesting that the voluntary and community sector (charities, social enterprises and community based initiatives) will be the framework for delivery. Great idea in principle but to make it work in practice will require working in partnership locally, regionally and nationally.

RAY is active in many partnerships across the region working with communities, statutory agencies and other charitable organisations which represent rural communities. We work closely with the Humber & Wolds RCC, with the Yorkshire & Humber Regional Forum, with our partners on the BASIS programme across the region and also on the Rural Voice project. This collaborative working was in evidence at the Great Yorkshire Show where we had a joint stand at which the public were encouraged to come along and give us their opinions and views on what issues were affecting their rural communities. It was also a great opportunity to showcase some great community initiatives across Yorkshire and show what can be achieved through community action.

We had another opportunity to network when ACRE, our umbrella organisation, held its annual fieldworkers conference in York in June. This event gave plenty of opportunities for development workers around the country to share knowledge and compare notes on issues affecting the rural groups they work with. Common issues discussed were around the need for affordable rural housing, fuel poverty, community consultation, deprivation and strategic influencing.

At the Yorkshire & Humber Regional Forum Conference, also held in York, Sylvia Brown, CEO of ACRE highlighted issues such as rural youth and transport. It was also provided a spotlight on successful rural

and social enterprises such as Esk Moors Caring, Bay Broadband, Ryedale Folk Museum and Hebden Bridge Community Association.

Hopefully, rural communities, supported by RAY, will be able to capitalise on the Big Society wave and find new incentives and build new partnerships for the future.

Linda Lloyd Chairman, Rural Action Yorkshire

RAY Contacts Switchboard: 0845 313 0270 Bill Cross, Chief Executive ............ ext.236 Gillian McIntosh Head of Finance & Admin ................ ext.230 Paula Wilcox Operations Officer ........................... ext.221 Marilyn Bennett Operations & Finance Assistant........ ext.222 Jonny Wooldridge - 07722 127505 Rural Community Buildings & Playing Fields Advisor........................................... ext.226 Amanda Kent - 07545 430977 Community Involvement Officer ........ ext.227 Sarah Robinson North Yorkshire Manager ................. ext.251 Maggie Farey - 07825 380051 North Yorks Development Officer (Ryedale) Mel McGeoch - 07722 127503 Youth Café Development Officer Sarah Bowden - 07540 691028 North Yorks Rural Network Development Co-ordinator .................................. ext: 223 Jane Johnson - 07540 691029 North Yorks Rural Development Support Officer................................ ext.234 Nick Butterworth - 07847 619388 Rural Capacity Building Officer Kathryn Chapman Development Officer........................ ext.247 Tina Chamberlain - 07963 533675 South & West Yorks Manager ......... ext: 235 Melanie Swanwick - 07757 639929 South Yorks Rural Network Development Co-ordinator YNYPFA - 0845 313 0270

02 The Newsletter of Rural Action Yorkshire

Front page picture: Great Yorkshire Show

Disclaimer: Every effort is taken to provide accurate information. However, Rural Action Yorkshire accepts no responsibility for any error or omission in, or complaint arising from, items in this publication. The views expressed in Country Air do not necessarily represent those of Rural Action Yorkshire. The display of advertising material does not represent an endorsement.

… Our GYS Survey Said! At the Great Yorkshire Show, visitors to RAY’s stand were asked a couple of questions:

What is great about the countryside? The 4 biggest responses were: peace and quiet, community spirit, nature & wildlife and leisure opportunities (walking, hiking, having a park etc).

What are the 2 key issues where you live? 855 votes were cast in total, highlighting housing as the clear winner with 183 votes, closely followed by transport with 126 votes and the environment in third place with 123 votes.


The Big Society: what it means to you

Current Government policy is advocating localism as a driving force to economic and social change and empowerment, however at a district level Local Authorities are reducing their support to the Voluntary and Community sector. What are your views on this? And what do you think are the short and long term implications of this?

On 31 March David Cameron unveiled the Conservative’s Big Society, an ethos being taken forward by the Coalition Government. To date the focus appears to be on the creation of a ‘community army’ of 6,000 community organisers, and promises of less waste and more power for voluntary and community groups, leaving many of us wondering just how the Big Society will work.

In the last few weeks, several briefing events have taken place to discuss the Big Society, including an informative presentation by Sylvia Brown, Chief Executive of ACRE at the Rural Support Network ‘Let’s Celebrate Rural’ event in York and a paper by Gabriel Chanan and Colin Miller of PACES. These briefings have highlighted some interesting viewpoints on how the Big Society could work, and how voluntary and community groups in Yorkshire will fit in.

The media is focusing on the concept that communities will be taking over delivery of public services through the “right to bid”. In reality, according to the PACES papers, very few groups want to take over services and few would have the capacity. Those that do, will need to have strong bids in place and will undoubtedly face similar scrutiny as public service delivery bodies. Those unable to bid for service delivery should, according to PACES, be looking at how they can “complement and co-produce public services” by getting involved at decision making levels, for example through tenant management partnerships and police-resident liaison groups.

Sylvia Brown explained that this “right to bid” will probably result in the purchasing of private services, such as pubs, rather than public services. The idea of giving power to the community by their purchasing services, is something that our communities have been embracing and delivering for years. The total wealth of community owned assets, such as village halls, currently stands at is £3.1b, and we’re already delivering services through community transport and other grassroots services.

Other concepts include the decentralisation of planning from the Government to local authorities who will take the lead in each area. Community- led planning, a key service offered by Rural Action Yorkshire, will be central to this. To find out more about our community- led planning service, please contact Amanda Kent at [email protected] / 0845 313 0270.

So, the main message, is ‘not to worry’. Many of us are already delivering the Big Society and this is an exciting time for voluntary and community groups. Bill Cross, Rural Action Yorkshire’s Chief Executive says, “This is an exciting proposition, but the devil will be in the detail.” We need to be prepared for the Big Society and the best way to do that is to keep doing what you’re doing. Whatever shape or form the Big Society takes, Rural Action Yorkshire will be here to provide support and advice to our members.

The Great Yorkshire Show - 2010

Rural Voice Network Update

The Rural Voice team is pleased to announce that they have already exceeded their targets for year one of the project, and they’re only just entering the final quarter! Over the last months the Rural Network Officers have worked with over 130 groups across North Yorkshire, ranging from silver bands to village halls. Groups have received support through one to one meetings, larger networking events and via telephone and email conversations.

A key element of this project is to find out the needs and concerns of rural groups, and to pass these onto the policy makers who can make a difference. Examples of what we’ve heard so far include poor and non-existent broadband coverage within areas of the county, concerns over loss of local services, and future funding fears. The team are working closely with district councils as well as North Yorkshire County Council, amongst others, to address these concerns and to find sustainable solutions.

The team have also been attending summer events such as the Great Yorkshire Show to highlight the work of the Rural Voice team. It’s envisaged that this autumn, the Rural Voice team will be running their own events to showcase the fantastic array of support available to groups in North Yorkshire. Details of these events will be made available at www.ruralyorkshire.org.uk.

To find out more about Rural Voice, forthcoming events, or to arrange a meeting with a Rural Network Officer, please contact Sarah Bowden by telephone on 0845 313 0270 or e-mail at [email protected].

North Yorkshire

Rural Access to Opportunities Fund Update

Rural Access to Opportunities is a Yorkshire Forward programme delivered by Rural Action Yorkshire and North Yorkshire County Council aimed at helping projects which have a primary economic purpose. Here are some of the projects RAOP has helped to fund.

“The George and Dragon is Officially Open” with these words the Foreign Secretary, William Hague, announced that the George and Dragon Community Pub in Hudswell near Richmond is back in business. It had been a long, journey, marked by problems, disappointments, surprises and successes that led villagers from a simple idea “perhaps the village could get together and buy the pub ourselves”, to the reality of actually doing it. Already the pub has won an award – they are the winner of the Social and Community Category for the Yorkshire & Humber Market Town Awards. The judges were impressed by

how the community has taken ownership of the pub through working in partnership and raising enough funds to purchase the building. But the George and Dragon won’t just be offering beer and food - a library, internet access and allotments make this a real hub of the community and like William Hague, users will be able to enjoy a pint or two at the same time as accessing these other essential services!

A major new scheme providing work-based training opportunities for young people in the Yorkshire Dales has been enthusiastically received by local employers. The scheme has also proved popular amongst applicants. Over 50 young people have applied for the Dales Countryside Trainee Scheme, which will give 12 young people the chance to train for a career in environmental and countryside management across the Dales.

The scheme, which has been set up by the Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust will help to meet the urgent needs of young people in the area and help bridge the gap in local skills and knowledge required to manage the local landscape sustainably into the future.

As well as studying for qualifications at Craven College, trainees will work alongside experienced and skilled staff at local businesses for 22 months initially, potentially going on to full time careers. Organisations offering placements include the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority, Natural England, The National Trust, Dinsdale Moorland Services, Webbers Ltd, Marsden Ltd, Swinton Estate and Coniston Estate.

The Countryside Trainee Scheme was established by the Yorkshire


Dales Millennium Trust, and has been made possible through grant awards from the Yorkshire Dales LEADER programme, Rural Access to Opportunities and the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority via the Sustainable Development Fund. Dave Tayler of YDMT said: “YDMT is here to support the Dales – the place, the people living here, as well as small and major businesses working in the area. We are delighted to be able to offer a Trainee Scheme that has the potential to transform the future for 12 young people. We are very much looking forward to working with all the employers and young people.”

The Walled Garden Scheme on the outskirts of Ripon is a registered charity which promotes and encourages the use of horticulture as a therapeutic tool by providing work experience for adults with disabilities and young people from Barnardo’s Springhill School in Ripon. Based in the Victorian kitchen garden of the former Bishops Palace built in 1847, the site includes a walled garden, orchard and woodland. The Orchard has 56 different varieties of apples, pears and plums, some of the varieties of apples are rare, either locally or nationally.

The project recently received funding from the Rural Access to Opportunities Fund, NY Aggregates Grants Scheme, NY Learning Consortium, Baily Thomas Charitable Fund, John Spedan Lewis Foundation and the Local Strategic Partnership to expand the community garden maintenance service it offers and to establish a community composting scheme which generates income from the garden waste they produce. This means they will be able to offer an additional 5 work placement opportunities per day and create a new full time equivalent paid position. This will strengthen their regular income stream and help to ensure their long term sustainability.

Volunteers have also begun restoring the conifer plantation into native broadleaf woodland and are using the sustainable timber for rural woodland crafts. The creation of an accessible pathway through the woodland and orchard enables more people to enjoy the garden and educational resources are provided for schools. The ongoing restoration work at the Walled Garden is creating a fascinating environmental and historical experience for the general public to have free access to. Well worth a visit!

For further information:

Rural Access to Opportunities Fund Jane Johnson, 07540 691029 [email protected]

Yorkshire Dales Apprentice Scheme 015242 51002 [email protected]

George and Dragon Pub is open everyday from noon 01748 518373 Ripon Walled Garden, Palace Road, Ripon, HG4 3HN is open every weekend during the summer. 01765 609229 www.riponcommunitylink.org.uk

RAY Welcomes…...

Nick Butterworth is the new member of the Coast, Wolds, Wetlands & Waterways (CWWW) LEADER programme team. In his role as

Rural Capacity Building Officer, Nick will be targeting the North Yorkshire section of the defined CWWW LEADER programme area. This funding Programme was launched in April 2007 and runs until March 2013. The area covers parts of Ryedale and Scarborough and most of the rural East Riding of Yorkshire. It is a £2.811 million funding programme from the RDPE funding. The overall aim of the programme is: ‘To utilise the unrealised potential of the area’s heritage and culture to stimulate local vibrancy, encourage enhanced pride in place, and thereby improve the area’s economic performance and social sustainability’. The Local Action Group (LAG) has chosen the key theme of Rural Heritage and Culture which, where appropriate, is linked to service provision, with business growth and opportunities as cross cutting themes. . For an update on the kind of projects funded so far, visit: http://www.rpey.co.uk/leader/funded-projects/ Nick will be happy to help your community develop ideas into projects and to provide advice and support. To find out more please contact Nick Butterworth on 07847 619388 or email [email protected], or visit the website: http//www.rpey.co.uk


Energy Efficiency in Community Buildings Many community buildings are cold, draughty and expensive to heat. The majority are run and maintained by a committee of dedicated volunteers who often struggle to keep the building in a good state of repair due to lack of funds. Improving energy efficiency in these buildings is one way of increasing the sustainability of the building and maintaining a hub for the community. A warm, well lit, draught free building provides a comfortable environment for volunteers, staff and users of the building, making it more attractive to hire and use, particularly in the winter. These energy efficient improvements will not only enable the committee to save money on their energy bills but will enable them to increase their income from users. As we live in an era of rapidly increasing fuel prices it is critical that we spend as little as possible on fuel and water, reduce our consumption of energy and manage our waste better. At the same time we must ensure that buildings are adequately heated to combat dampness and condensation and to ensure the comfort of users. A major difficulty for management committees is how to prioritise the work to be carried out. Is the building too cold or is it expensive to heat? Or is it a combination of both? This is where Rural Action Yorkshire can help. Our Community Buildings team, headed by Jonny Wooldridge can carry out Energy Audits for your community building. We will provide each building with an integrated package which will include an energy audit, an action plan, a list of suppliers and manufacturers and a list of funding sources and advisors who will be able to help them implement their plan. The energy audit will enable the committees to understand: • Why sustainable energy use is important. • How to make their community building more energy efficient. • How to reduce energy consumption and at the opportunities to

increase energy efficiency in the community building. • How to understand meter readings and bills and how to monitor

energy and consumption. This new service will encourage energy savings and will provide evidence of need for funding applications. Full details and costs are available by contacting Rural Action Yorkshire on 0845 313 0270 or by emailing [email protected].

LEADER Funds Energy Audits in North York Moors Coast &

Hills Area As part of the Sustainable Community Halls Project, RAY is now able to offer Energy Audits for community halls in the LEADER area, funded by the NY Moors, Coast and Hills LEADER programme.

Improvements will lead not just to a lower environmental impact, but also to a building which is warmer, more comfortable and cheaper to run. This means a better environment for staff, volunteers and users as well as increasing the buildings accessibility, especially in the winter.

Please contact Jonny Wooldridge for more information: [email protected]


Are you ready for Digital TV?

The Yorkshire TV region will be switching to digital TV during August and September 2011, and to keep your TV service you will need to convert your TVs to digital before then.

Rural Action Yorkshire will be working hard over the next year to ensure that the interests of rural areas are protected throughout the switchover period.

There is specific support available to the over 75s, if you are registered blind or partially sighted, or receive disability living allowance, attendance allowance or mobility supplement. If you are eligible for this support you will receive a letter from Digital UK in Spring 2011 giving full details.

Digital TV uses less broadcast space which means there will be room not only for more TV channels, but also for new services such as audio description and subtitling for people with visual and audio impairments, broadband and telephony.

If you live in North Yorkshire and receive your TV signal from the Tyne Tees area your switchover will be in 2012. More information is available on the Digital TV website www.digitaltv.co.uk

CENTRE STAGE

for land management, support for rural communities, a more substantial policy position for parish planning, investment in broadband infrastructure, support for rural business formation, changes to housing and planning controls to facilitate affordable housing provision, and so on.

It is uncomfortable to read this report. Much of it we may feel we have heard before but that is in general terms. There are specific risks in relation to upland communities and it will be unfortunate if it is seen as just more of the same old rural griping. These concerns need spelling out and the policy proposals addressing, specifically if the current trends in our upland economies and communities are to be slowed or reversed.

Let’s hope that these priorities are not overlooked amongst the many other challenges public policy faces.

At the end of June 2010 the Government announced that the CRC was to be abolished, being replaced with a new team to work across Government and beyond, based within Defra.


The Commission for Rural Communities published its report on the future of England’s upland communities last month. It is an important report dealing with some difficult issues. Difficult in part because we have heard it before yet things go backwards and in part because of the competing priorities which public policy must respond to. But unless public policy does respond to the difficulties uplands communities face, important wider benefits (“public goods” in the economist’s jargon) are at risk of being lost.

Their case is broadly as follows. Readers will be familiar with the problems rural communities face:-

• Slow but remorseless decline in local services • Lack of affordable housing as commuters, retiring people and holiday

and second home owners compete with local people whose income depends on the local economy

• Loss of rural skills • Loss of young people because of poor opportunities and high housing

costs

An ageing population Upland communities experience these difficulties especially intensely and it is discouraging to hear that things continue to deteriorate in these regards.

At the same time, though, upland areas provide some important public goods:-

• A high grade environment important for leisure and tourism • A resource of and protection for biodiversity • Water supply and flood protection • Food production

Carbon sequestration But these public goods, vital as they are, are at risk as the agricultural economy weakens, incomes fall and land is abandoned and as communities change. The problems of rural communities are felt especially harshly by people employed in the traditional industries and unless these communities can continue to provide support and opportunity through the life cycle of people living there, they will continue to contract, decline and change their character. The labour force, skills and entrepreneurship needed to maintain the agricultural economy will be lost.

So unless the agricultural economy can be supported and unless upland communities can be protected against further decline, these important public goods will be at risk.

In this way, the CRC report makes the case for more to be done to support upland farming and farm incomes, in recognition of the service they provide, and for changes in the CAP, EU and DEFRA policy to support rural economies and rural communities.

The report makes a range of proposals to these ends, including support

COMMA Fund successful projects announced!! Two of our region’s projects have been funded under the COMMA Fund! ACRE announced that the Maltby Cragg’s Footpath Improvements project in the Rotherham district of South Yorkshire, received £8,348 for improvements to a footpath which would improve access to a community facility of environmental importance for a deprived community.

Also funded was the PRISM Project, Big Brother Animal House project in the Bradford district of West Yorkshire. They received £9,870 for their project to build an educational facility which will help young people gain hands on experience of looking after animals and the environment in which they live.

Congratulations to both of these projects!

COMMA Fund 2011 – no announcements have been made on the fund for 2011 but details will be published on Rural Action Yorkshire’s website as soon as they become available. Visit www.ruralyorkshire.org.uk for details.

Commission for Rural Communities - High

ground, high potential

South Yorkshire Rural Network brings together voluntary and community groups across rural South Yorkshire to share experiences and knowledge and formulate a co-ordinated response to the challenging issues that face rural areas.

The network is being funded by The Big Lottery and developed and supported in partnership by Rural Action Yorkshire, Doncaster CVS, South Yorkshire Funding Advice Bureau, Together for Regeneration, Voluntary Action Barnsley, Voluntary Action Rotherham and Voluntary Action Sheffield. These organisations have a wealth of experience offering support and advice to the VCS in rural South Yorkshire.

A recent network meeting in Askern, Doncaster highlighted a number of issues facing rural communities; housing, transport and access to services were a concern for some of those attending and these are issues, together with others such as access to employment and training, which rural communities face across the region.

The next round of meetings will take place during early September and will be publicised on our website. Why don’t you come along and give us your experiences of living in rural South Yorkshire and get information from support organisations to help your community group.

Groups wanting to sign up for details of the meetings can do so via the website. Training is available for groups on a variety of issues provided by our project partners.

Alternatively, contact the South Yorkshire Network Development Coordinator, Melanie Swanwick, to talk about your ideas for the network or your community group. Melanie can be contacted at The Core, County Way, Barnsley, S70 2JW, by email at [email protected] or by telephone on 07757 639929.

Get involved, get your voice heard and get support for your community or voluntary group!

South Yorkshire Rural Network

Voluntary & Community Sector and the New Budget

While many welcome the reinstatement of the pensions and earnings link and the tax advantage for the lowest earners which formed part of the June 2010 budget, the Government has also announced significant cuts across all government departments of 25% over four years. Many fear that this could severely damage some of the already stretched services in the most rural parts of the country. Nevertheless, a number of interesting developments for the sector have been announced: * A Regional Growth Fund is being

launched to help fund capital projects in the areas worst affected by spending cuts.

* A white paper will appear in the summer exploring the ways in which regional economic differences in Britain can best be tackled.

* While the welfare budget has been cut by nearly £11 billion, the June 2010 budget includes clear commitments on the part of Government to continue to work with the Voluntary and Community Sector and to encourage charitable giving.

* HM revenue and Customs is re-thinking current rules on substantial charity donors and will be consulting on this over the summer.

* The Government has also been consulting on the role of the National Lottery in the funding of charitable causes and will be reviewing its current taxation arrangements.

As massive spending cuts are paired with a renewed enthusiasm for the voluntary and community sector, we must ensure that we will not have to live with under-funded public services while a handful of projects are celebrated as beacons of the "big society". The Government will publish more detailed decisions as part of its Spending Review on 20 October. It is our responsibility to anticipate these decisions by continuing to monitor developments and argue the cause of rural areas.


Its Showtime! Following our successful stand at the Great Yorkshire Show, look out for Rural Action Yorkshire at the following shows: Emley Show Saturday, 7 August 2010 Penistone Show Saturday, 11 September 2010 See you there!

Pro-active Penistone People

Succeeding to plan?... Plan to succeed. Being part of a Steering Group for the development of a community-led plan demands time, energy and commitment. When you’re sitting in a meeting and it’s cold, dark and wet outside, positive (let alone creative) thinking about your project can sometimes be elusive. However, if something is worth doing, it’s worth doing well and all the effort invested by Thurstonland Village Association paid dividends in June, as the interest rate (by the community) soared for their CLP public consultation event.

Engaging the community tends to be the first (and for many, the most scary) challenge a CLP project presents and deciding what consultation method(s) will be most successful needs careful thought. Knowing their community well and with support from RAY, Thurstonland VA decided to deliver their consultation using a Planning for Real© exercise. This provided the

school children at Thurstonland First School with a perfect excuse to have fun by building a model of their village, focussing their thoughts on their local environment, and creating a mini-drama to present on the day, and it created an informal forum for the consultation. Thurstonland VA addressed every possible detail, from invitation cards, to display board content, to greater community involvement (the school and a great team of volunteers) and worked hard to make this event, first and foremost, an entertaining and enjoyable one. The turnout was great, the sun shone, neighbour met neighbour met neighbour……. and someone was heard to say…..”we should do this more often!” At the end of the day, a tremendous range of ideas and suggestions about the future of the village fought for space on the village model and the post-it note board.

Thurstonland is one step closer to where it wants to be……..

To find out more about the Community-Led Planning support service Rural Action Yorkshire provides, or if you need help with

project development or funding, please contact: Amanda Kent (Yorkshire-wide): [email protected] T: 0754 5430977 or Maggie Farey (Ryedale): [email protected] T: 07825 380051


Partnership working that works

‘Partnership working between the Voluntary & Community Sector and the Public Sector in addressing the needs of Rural Communities’ is a recently published report, produced by the Yorkshire & Humber Empowerment Partnership in collaboration with RAY and HWRCC. The paper focuses on how partners from public sector bodies and VCS organisations in our region have worked together effectively and grown stronger by doing so. The main body of the report presents case studies, which highlight where the VCS has added value across all stages of project lifecycles. Key messages which emerge are: • Identifying and Scoping Need: the

VCS is ideally placed to identify the type and nature of need within its local community.

• Community Engagement: the VCS

plays an invaluable role in mobilising the enthusiasm of the community to getting involved, and ensuring the needs and preferences of relevant user groups are met

• Project Design: The wealth of local

knowledge and expertise within the VCS provides a pool of practical and sophisticated approaches.

• Project Delivery: The VCS proximity

to its community enables it to drive the provision and delivery of the project. It is able to be more responsive and refine its approach as the project develops.

• Sustaining the Intervention: For

projects that run over a number of years, completion can demand a grass roots commitment that often outstrips that of public or private bodies acting in isolation.

With public sector budgets increasingly under strain, the need to learn from and build on such examples of successful partnership working with the VCS is drawn into sharp focus. To read or download a copy of the report visit: http://www.yhep.org.uk/resources

Community-led Planning

Rural Community Buildings

Community Halls Conference This year’s Community Halls Conference will be held at Hinderwell Village Hall on Saturday, 9 October 2010 from 10am to 4pm.

The Conference is being organised jointly between Rural Action Yorkshire and Tees Valley Rural Community Council and is open to all community halls in Yorkshire and the Tees Valley area.

Part of the Sustainable Community Halls Project, funded by the NY Moors, Coast and Hills LEADER programme, the conference is designed to cater for all community halls across the area.

It provides an invaluable opportunity for community hall managers to broaden their knowledge of managing village halls and to network with each other, with a view to sharing ideas and best practice.

Several workshops will be run throughout the day. These include:

• Developing a Sustainable Community Hall for the Future

• Success with LEADER – benefits and experiences

• Financial Management

• Hallmark is good for your health

• How green is your hall?

The Conference is FREE to representatives of all community halls in the NY Moors, Coast and Hills LEADER area and to members of Rural Action Yorkshire.

For all other delegates the cost is £20 (inc VAT). Advance booking is required. Please contact Jonny Wooldridge for a booking form: [email protected] or 0845 313 0270.

GIVING WORLD ONLINE An online service that allows charities and community groups to access surplus business stock free of charge is expecting a surge in demand as the economic downturn continues to impact on the third sector. Giving World Online (GWO) is a scheme set up to help community groups and charities access free surplus goods from businesses and organisations and to help businesses reduce the amount of goods sent to landfill. In the next three months GWO will be engaging with businesses in the Yorkshire and Humberside region to encourage them to use GWO's free service to redirect their surplus goods onto charities and groups that could make use of them for their beneficiaries. Director Rama Bhalla said: "Our service is available to all charities and community groups but we are particularly aware that many smaller organisations are often volunteer-led and operate on very limited funds. We are focussing our efforts on engaging more businesses to use GWO to directly help community groups in their locality access surplus stock." Since GWO's soft launch in December 2008 more than half a million pounds worth of quality goods have been redirected from landfill to more than 450 UK charities. Items include clothing, educational materials, office equipment and toiletries. Rama added: "Groups can register now to familiarise themselves with the website, see how it works and browse the goods currently available."

Visit www.givingworldonline.com


Climate Change Fund The Northern Community Assembly is pleased to launch the Climate Change Fund (CCF) for the second year running. The Climate Change Fund was established in 2009 to fund Community projects which aim to counter and reduce the potential impacts of climate change. This year, 2010/2011, each Community Assembly (CA) has £40,000 of capital funding, which is available to: • not-for-profit ‘community’

organisations, • social enterprises, and public sector

organisations working in partnership with communities and/or not-for-profit organisations.

For an application form and guidance notes (which explain in more detail the eligibility criteria, process and monitoring arrangements, visit: http://www.sheffield.gov.uk/in-your-area/community-assemblies/climatechangefund The closing date is 13 August 2010. A pre-sifting panel comprising the Chair of the Northern Community Assembly, the Community Assembly Manager, an officer from the Affordable Warmth Team and the Accountable Body Services Team and a Ward Councillor will meet to consider applications in September. A report will be presented at a Community Assembly meeting on the 29 September 2010 for a decision by the Northern Community Assembly Councillors.

Please feel free to share this information with your networks to help promote the fund. If you have any questions please contact the Northern Assembly team on tel: 0114 2037153 or email:communityassemblynorthern@ sheffield.gov.uk

New LEADER Project helps Rural Communities Go Green

Sustainability 4 Yorkshire has launched LEADER funded community projects in the Yorkshire Dales and North Yorkshire Moors, Coast and Hills areas. In each area, a project co-ordinator will work with six communities over a 2 year period to help them understand their carbon footprint and identify and deliver carbon saving projects. This will involve helping the selected communities to deliver energy efficiency; renewable energy and other environmental projects as appropriate utilising the expert advice and resources of the partner organisations. The project recognises that people in the North Yorkshire rural areas have high carbon footprints because of the high number of properties off the gas network, a high proportion of dwelling that are ‘hard to treat’ for energy savings measures, and a high reliance on car use. However, there is generally good potential for localised renewable energy projects and working with the project co-ordinator the communities will be encouraged to develop bespoke and innovative schemes of their own. The communities will be able to take best practice from other successful community projects and will be supported throughout their project. The appointed project co-ordinator, Jill Armstrong, has been working from the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority Office in Bainbridge since the beginning of May and is well on the way to selecting the first communities to participate in the Yorkshire Dales project. The deadline for community groups to submit Expressions of Interest was 15 July 2010. However interested communities that have missed this date are encouraged to contact Jill as there may be an opportunity to work with other communities later in the project. An additional project coordinator is expected to be in post in the Moors, Coast and Hills area by August 2010 and the deadline for submitting Expressions of Interest in this area will be announced on the website. For further information on these projects visit www.sustainability4yorkshire.org.uk and follow the links to Sustainability 4 Communities or contact [email protected] Tel 01969 652391. These projects are funded by the Yorkshire Dales and North York Moors, Coast & Hills LEADER Programme as part of the Rural Development Programme for England, which is jointly funded by Defra and the European Union, and is managed by Yorkshire Forward in the Yorkshire and Humber region. The project has also received financial support from the North York Moors National Park Sustainable Development Fund, Howardian Hills AONB Sustainable Development Fund and the Energy Savings Trust.


Unit A, Tower House, Askham Fields Lane, Askham Bryan, York YO23 3NU Registered as a Company Limited by Guarantee in England & Wales No: 1839458 and as a Charity No. 515538 www.ruralyorkshire.org.uk [email protected] 0845 313 0270

RAY Membership Why not join and enjoy the benefits AND support the work RAY does?..... Rural Action Yorkshire offers the following to its members: • An opportunity to influence the direction

and priorities of RAY • An opportunity to influence rural priorities

in Yorkshire • Invitations to events hosted by Rural

Action Yorkshire, including RAY’s AGM. • An opportunity to network with like-

minded organisations and individuals. • Free copies of RAY’s newsletter, Country

Air, and other information produced by RAY.

• Value for money - the cost of membership of RAY remains low.

For more information and to download a copy of our membership form, please go to:

www.ruralyorkshire.org.uk

14 Keith Avenue

Huntington York YO32 9QH

Tel: 01904 763 095

VILLAGE HALLS, COMMUNITY HALLS & PAVILIONS

Specialists in Construction & Refurbishment of Village

Halls, Community Halls & Pavilions Free Hall Inspections & Building Advice Service

Free Design Service with floor plans & elevations Help with Planning Permission Advice & Direction on Funding

“Over 100 years’ Building Experience”

Call Mal Turner on 07511 529 712 to make an appointment

YOUR NEWS & VIEWS Do you have any news or views you’d like to share? Maybe you’re holding an event you’d like to publicise, or you’d like to comment on or raise an issue? Country Air has a circulation of 1900 throughout Yorkshire and is posted on our website, so why not take the opportunity to spread your news further afield?

Get in touch by emailing: [email protected],

or phone: 0845 313 0270.

We look forward to hearing from you! The copy deadline for the Autumn issue is 8 October 2010 (for distribution at the end of October).

COUNTRY AIR is the newsletter of Rural Action Yorkshire. It is issued quarterly to members, parish

councils and village halls and is financed by subscriptions and advertising. CLASSIFIED

country air 116

Documents

rural communities

rural community buildings

rural news

community action

great yorkshire

rural youth

rural groups

great community initiatives