The newsletter of Rural Action Yorkshire Autumn 2010 Issue 117

For information on funding, resources & events and to learn more about RAY visit www.ruralyorkshire.org.uk

In this issue… RAY Annual Conference & AGM page 2 Big Society Update page 3 New Ask RAY page 6 New Meet a Trustee page 7

Plus all the latest project updates and rural news.

Chairman’s Viewpoint

There has been much talk about the Big Society here at RAY and we felt it made sense to focus our 2010 conference on the many issues it raises.

It is yet unclear what the new coalition government’s aims are for the charitable and voluntary sector and in the meantime everyone is all too aware of the stark reality of funding. The hopes within the sector are that the Big Society agenda will need our expertise in order to engage with the new programme. The threatened cuts of quangos is another issue that is on people’s minds. This RAY conference aims to discuss the many issues that the Government’s agenda brings forth and we’re planning presentations, discussions and special guests. We will be showcasing communities and projects to give everyone a glimpse of the work that RAY is involved in. Our annual conference is also a chance for members to get together, chat to RAY staff and Trustees and share success stories and topical issues from around the region. We’d love to hear from you if there’s good news from your community. This event will also include our Annual General Meeting. There is a vacancy for one Trustee on the RAY Board, which consists of twelve Trustees in total. Trustees come from all corners of Yorkshire, and have many and varied interests. If this opportunity interests you, please get in touch with me. The nomination needs to come through a member of our present Trustee Board. Meet one of our Trustees on page 7. The 2010 RAY Conference and AGM will be held in the village hall of East Keswick, near Wetherby, on Saturday, 27 November. The event starts at 10.30am and concludes with our AGM and a buffet lunch. Please contact the RAY office to book. See you there! Linda Lloyd Chairman, Rural Action Yorkshire chairman@ruralyorkshire.org.uk

RAY Contacts Switchboard: 0845 313 0270 Bill Cross, Chief Executive ............. ext.236 Gillian McIntosh Head of Finance & Admin ................. ext.230 Rebecca Craven Marketing & PR Officer ..................... ext.232 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 Amy Robinson - 07963 533675 West Yorkshire Manager ............................. 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 Yorkshire Manager ................ ext: 235 Melanie Swanwick - 07757 639929 South Yorks Rural Network Development Co-ordinator (Barnsley & Doncaster) Peter Foyle - 07834 322296 South Yorks Rural Network Development Co-ordinator (Rotherham & Sheffield) YNYPFA - 0845 313 0270

02 The Newsletter of Rural Action Yorkshire

Front page picture: Beningbrough

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.

Rural Challenge and The Big Society The Rural Coalition – Action with Communities in Rural England, the Campaign to Protect Rural England, the Country Land and Business Association, the Local Government Group, the Royal Town Planning Institute and the Town and Country Planning Association – is pressing for proper action to support rural communities as the cuts and the new Government’s policies come into effect.

There are several issues important to rural communities. The Big Society idea is how many rural communities work now – helping themselves – and then there are the community rights to build, to buy and to bid. In their publication ‘The Rural Challenge’ the Coalition comments on each of these ‘rights’.

The community right to build is the proposed right of communities to by-pass the usual planning system and to bring forward developments on the basis of a referendum demonstrating a high level (75%) of support in the community. The inference is that the communities’ aspirations are being frustrated by the planning system. This level of support, together with the many other hurdles hampering success by this route is likely to mean this approach will not lead to much new development. If it is thought that planning processes frustrate communities’ aspirations it may be better to issue new guidance for the planning system. The Rural Coalition proposes that any new processes require practical, well-designed proposals to be brought forward along with the agreement of the parish council and with the support of a community-led plan.

The community right to buy refers to the right to buy public or private sector facilities that are closing down and to operate them locally. It is a particular example of the trend for social enterprise in which communities run shops, post offices, pubs and so on, which otherwise would close for commercial reasons. The Coalition supports this innovation but wants to see a proper provision of time within such proposals could be developed. It is a successful approach and many communities have used it to retain a village shop, post office or pub. But the arrangements cannot be put in place at the drop of a hat and without enough time, opportunities will lost.

The community right to bid is similar to the right to buy. Communities would have the right to bid to run public sector services which otherwise would be withdrawn. The problem here is that the withdrawal will usually be for cost reasons and any continuation of the service would give rise to some costs, even if run on a voluntary basis, which would need to be met by the public service provider. The Coalition wants to see the Government recognise that a practical alternative would be to allow communities to bid to provide partial replacement services rather than like for like ones. That approach would mean that lower cost alternatives would enable the community to retain something and the service provider to make some savings.

There is lots of doom and gloom at present but these innovations are real opportunities for rural communities to make the Big Society work, provided their implementation can be made as practical as possible. We wait to see whether or not the Rural Coalition’s ideas are taken up.

www.ruralcommunities.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/RuralCoalitionWEB_MH.pdf

Adopt a Phonebox By the 1960’s almost 70,000 kiosks could be found across the countryside, and while the public payphone service has undergone enormous changes since then, the traditional red kiosk had already forged itself as an iconic symbol of British life.

Judges in our Best Kept Village competition recall that it was not uncommon to find vases of flowers in rural telephone boxes and that, one year, they came across one box sporting a fitted carpet, telephone directory, flower vase, ash tray and sparklingly clean windows!

BT has been running an Adopt-A-Kiosk scheme and now, residents in Marton-cum-Grafton, North Yorkshire have bought theirs for £1 and transformed it into a miniature library.

Local children have been involved in a project to stock the library and it is hoped that the book exchange idea will lead to more arriving as the box gets more use.

More than 350 red phone boxes have been adopted by small communities across the country since the start of the scheme.

Last year ‘The Gallery on the Green’, in Settle, won a BT competition to find the most innovative use of a phone box in Yorkshire. It is thought to be the smallest art gallery in the world.

Chedworth in Gloucester is using one for a heart defibrillator kit.

We would love to hear of your experiences if you have adopted a phone box.

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FREE Advice Future of Rural Energy – England (FREE) is visiting the region. Calor, the supplier of bottled gas, has many customers in rural Yorkshire in off-mains gas areas. In the past they have supported rural areas by helping to fund the Village of the Year competition but they have re-thought their approach and have decided instead to provide a service rather than a celebration. The FREE project is designed to provide energy advice to rural households in areas that are off mains gas and it is felt that it would be particularly useful for households to be well-informed about how to keep their energy costs down (it’s not about promoting Calor heating or gas supply systems). Calor has teamed up with the National Energy Agency and with rural community councils across England to make this available. It is a three-year project and this year the service will be a roadshow in targeted areas of North and East Yorkshire. The chosen communities will receive a visit from our Energy Advice roadshow during November. We hope to bring along other agencies with useful advice for households on the same roadshow and will announce those details in the areas of benefit later. If you live in the parishes between Lastington/Rosedale to Bransdale/Fadmoor look out for leaflets for our events over 9 and 10 November and similarly for parishes between Burythorpe/Leavening and Foxholes for details about 23 and 24 November.

North Yorkshire

Rural Voice Network A Busy First Year!

The Rural Voice project has reached the end of its first year, and in the past twelve months over 600 groups in North Yorkshire have had our help. We’ve been supporting groups as they access services, and also taking their concerns and issues to local bodies as well as national groups such as Action with Communities in Rural England. One concern we’ve been taking forward is the lack of broadband coverage in rural North Yorkshire, and our Network Officers have been working together to address this. In Hambleton, Kathryn Chapman of Northallerton and District Voluntary Service Association, has been working in partnership with Hambleton District Council and NYNET and has developed a regular forum for local groups to discuss their issues and work together to find solutions. Other issues which groups have been raising include volunteer management, loss of local amenities such as shops, access to services and reductions in local transport provisions. We’re addressing these concerns by working closely with colleagues at district and county council, community transport providers and via our contacts at the Yorkshire and Humber Forum. In the next couple of months we’ll be looking to support even more groups by holding a series of events where voluntary and community groups will be invited to local events, where they can meet with people such as RAY’s Community Building Advisor, funding advisors and representatives of North Yorkshire County Council and the National Park. The first of these events took place at the end of September in Oswaldkirk and Snainton, and were well attended by local groups from the Ryedale and Scarborough area. To find times and details of these events keep an eye on the Rural Action Yorkshire website. The Rural Voice team is also working closely with the Yorkshire and Humber Forum and our sister projects in East, South and West Yorkshire to improve the representation of young people in the region. To do this 15 young people from across the region will be attending a free residential trip to Carlton Lodge in North Yorkshire where they’ll develop their leadership and advocacy skills with representatives from each Rural Voice project. It’s hoped that these young people will keep in touch via sites such as Facebook, and will give us their thoughts on the changing political landscape, and important national issues such as spending cuts. To find out more about Rural Voice, forthcoming events, or to arrange a meeting with a Rural Network Officer, contact Sarah Bowden on 0845 313 0270 or email her at sarah.bowden@ruralyorkshire.org.uk.

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Church Workshop We love hearing your success stories at RAY and we also know that sharing them is a great way for other groups and communities to get inspired to have a go too. St Andrew’s Church in Paull used LEADER money to help fund a café and heritage trail and then discovered lots of other churches were keen to learn how they did it. St Andrew’s recently hosted a free workshop which was supported by LEADER and attracted eleven representatives from other churches.

Presentations were given from St. Andrew’s Parochial Church Council, LEADER, The Mission and Ministry, ERVAS and the East Riding of Yorkshire Council’s External Funding Team and created much discussion and exchange of ideas.

The Workshop also enabled the PCC of St. Andrew’s to demonstrate to other Church Groups how they have raised the profile of their Church, ensured its long-term sustainability and effectively put it on the map. Nick Butterworth is RAY’s Rural Capacity Building Officer working in North Yorkshire’s Coast, Wolds, Wetlands & Waterways LEADER area. He can help your community develop ideas into projects too.

Call him to find out more or visit:

www.ruralprogrammeseastyorkshire.co.uk

Diary Dates

Information and Support Event for Voluntary and Community Groups Saturday, 20 November 10.00am - 12.00 noon in Christ Church, Skipton & Tuesday, 23 November 2.00pm - 4.00pm in Ripon. For more information on the Ripon event, contact Cath Calvert: cath@riponcvs.co.uk Telephone: 01765 603631 For the Skipton event, contact Sue Gibson: susan@Sccaco.com Telephone: 01535 634588.

Social Enterprises back in demand for Future Jobs Fund

style placements The Social Enterprise and Employment Development (SEED) Project is an Action for Blind People initiative set up to match blind and partially sighted people to social enterprises for paid placements throughout the North East, Yorkshire & the Humber and the West Midlands. The SEED project, with £0.5 million of funding from the Big Lottery, provides six-month paid trainee placements and shorter term unpaid work placements to visually impaired people within social enterprises. Trainees and enterprises will be supported throughout the placements by the SEED team, with the loan of any adaptive equipment, support in creating development plans and increasing employability skills. For more information about the Social Enterprise and Employment Development Project, please call the team on 0113 386 2800 Email: seed@actionforblindpeople.org.uk or visit www.actionforblindpeople.org.uk/seed-project.html

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If you’ve got a problem or query which you’d like help with: ask RAY! By sharing issues, ideas and solutions, other communities can hopefully learn something too and get a different perspective on how they are doing things. In this issue, Amanda (our Community Involvement Officer) shares her thoughts on how to engage young people with their communities. "We find it increasingly difficult to get younger people involved in village organisations - such as our village hall management committee. With a few exceptions most organisations in our village are kept going by the over 50s. Do others have the same problem and has anyone any good ideas to involve younger people? We know everyone is busy and the majority of people work full time”. Clare Beckett – Whixley Village Hall Committee Many thanks for your question Clare. I don’t think it would be unfair to say that, for many young people, the idea of joining community organisations populated wholly by adults dealing with issues that appear remote to them, probably presents a pretty unappealing prospect. Communicating the relevance of what such groups are about to them is one hurdle, another may be them doubting how seriously their views would be taken. You don’t say if Whixley has created a Community-led Plan, but developing one offers an ideal springboard to engage young people by inviting them to contribute their perspective on the needs and aspirations of their age group – all the better if this is done by setting up a Youth Panel, or Forum, which could run independently and feedback information to the CLP Steering Group. By affording them their own space and responsibilities, you not only benefit from their input to the Plan, but also from gaining their confidence. This could, of course, develop into a permanent organisation in its own right – perhaps running parallel to the Parish Council? Is there a Youth Club in Whixley? It might be worth asking if you could go along to talk to them about how you need their input and the advantages of their getting more involved in village organisations (eg. building on their skills base, enhancing their CVs, the personal reward of making things change for the better and being able to say “I helped make that happen!”). Perhaps you could approach the local school(s) to explore how some sort of ‘work experience’ programme might be developed; a great opportunity for mutual benefit – they gain some insight into the value of their own opinions and you gain feedback on how you may need to change to involve them more consistently. Alongside these possibilities, you could introduce a ‘buddying’ scheme, where existing members of your groups ‘mentor’ younger new recruits and they, in turn feel more comfortable and confident about sharing their ideas and opinions in a welcoming environment. I am sure there are many more ideas our readers may suggest have been successful in their communities – if anyone would like to share their successes with other Country Air readers, please do get in touch.

IT Help for Free iT4Communities matches IT professionals who want to volunteer their time and technical skills to organisations that need IT help. iT4Communities has 6,000 IT professionals across the UK who are willing to give their time to charities, community groups and social enterprises. If you would like to be part of this network of advice and practical IT help please register with iT4Communities (there is an annual registration fee of £85). You can expect expert guidance from the staff at iT4C, who will help you to define your IT needs and then put your projects onto their website so that volunteers can apply to help you. On average organisations get £3,000 worth of support from their volunteers. That support can be strategic advice, practical work, training or troubleshooting. Their volunteers have helped plan databases, build websites, network computers, write policies, and maintain computers. What does your organisation need help with? Visit their website to request an IT volunteer as well as read case studies, testimonials and examples.

www.it4communities.org.uk iT4Communities is a project of AbilityNet, a UK registered charity (No. 1067673).

Ask RAY

Penistone Show

06 The Newsletter of Rural Action Yorkshire

We’re a friendly lot and we like getting about Yorkshire and meeting people. But how much do you know about RAY and its Trustees? Country Air caught up with Shirley Fawcett to find out more…

CA You must know a fair bit about RAY (and previously YRCC) now Shirley– when did you get involved with our charity?

SF I was asked to become an Executive Member for the Yorkshire Rural Community Council in 1986. I’ve seen a lot happen since then!

CA Our Trustees have all been very busy people: how did your interest in village life come about?

SF I started out as a church council member and a school governor, but my real commitment came when I became a member of the parish council in the late seventies. I have always been interested in the community and life of the village I was born in. I still live there now.

CA You’ve been involved with Harrogate Borough Council and Harrogate District Hospital’s Board too, but what’s been your greatest moment?

SF My time as Harrogate’s Mayor from 1997 to 1998, with my youngest son as my consort. We set out on a great experience, a great challenge, but a wonderful privilege, meeting and welcoming so many interesting people and attending such fantastic events.

CA You’ve also travelled round the region judging villages.

SF I’ve been a judge for the Best Kept Village competition and also Yorkshire in Bloom. It’s a treat to see what fantastic projects villages are involved with.

CA We’re currently looking for another Trustee to join the RAY Board. What are your reasons for doing your work with communities?

SF My great interest and passion is trying to achieve the very best of life and facilities for people in rural areas. We must have public transport, shops and Post Offices, otherwise our elderly residents become more dependent, lonely and isolated.

I am fortunate to live in a village with a thriving school and church and many organisations. The Parish Council worked hard to keep a Post Office in the one remaining village shop and to achieve a dedicated Doctor’s surgery within the village hall. Our last very successful project was to make a children’s playground and environmental park area. Our latest venture is trying to develop allotments.

There are always such a lot of worthwhile activities to achieve for young and old in the community. I have always believed and still do, that it is a privilege and a joy to try and help to achieve these things.

Through working with different organisations, I’ve made many friends too.

Who is RAY? The 2011 Census is Coming…. The census has collected information about the population every ten years since 1801 (except in 1941). The next census in England and Wales is on 27 March 2011.

The census tells us how many people live where and the types of people they are (young, old, married, single). This means decisions, like working out who needs facilities in the future, are focused on accurate, relevant details

Millions of pounds shared out The Department of Communities and Local Government and the Department of Health allocate money to local and health authorities. Census statistics feed into that process, That’s why you need to be counted to make sure that your community is properly represented in the decision-making process.

Your community and family benefit You need to complete and return the Census form so that the services and facilities your community / family uses can be identified. These services include schools, hospitals and emergency services. Census statistics help work out the amount of funding allocated to facilities in communities.

Jobs that benefit your local area If you can spare a bit of time to get out into the community and help us gather the information we need, we'll make it worth your while.

Find out more/apply at: www.censusjobs.co.uk

2011 Census Help Tomorrow Take Shape

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For people living in rural areas, the separation they can feel from services available to the general population can be a real issue. The same is true of community groups – a range of support services are available to any group in the South Yorkshire area, but for those in the rural parts, it can be hard to find out what help people from support agencies can offer, or to meet up with them. In a recent survey, two thirds of groups in the county said ‘finding out what support is available’ was a ‘problem’, and for one quarter it was a ‘serious problem’. Obviously, a lot of those will be rural groups who find themselves a long journey away from where the support is based. The aim of the network is to break down these barriers, by helping groups find out who can help them, and giving groups and the agencies who provide support an opportunity to meet up. The network now has two staff, each covering two districts – Melanie Swanwick is now part time, working in Barnsley and Doncaster; Peter Foyle joined RAY in September and covers Rotherham and Sheffield. Both are looking at the best ways of making these links, taking account of the needs of groups in each district, and the potential support available. In Sheffield, the Council’s Northern Community Assembly area covers the main rural areas of the district, and a networking meeting was held recently preceding a meeting of the Assembly. It was attended by representatives from South Yorkshire Funding Advice Bureau, Voluntary Action Sheffield, Together for Regeneration, and RAY, who were able to explain the services they could offer, and made a range of resources available to those attending. RAY is currently in discussion with workers from other agencies about other events which could help groups link up with support, to complement the Assembly meetings in Sheffield, and to run stand alone events in Rotherham, where the rural areas are spread far more widely. In Doncaster the next meeting will be held at Tickhill Parish Rooms in Tickhill on Wednesday, 24 November, from 10am until 12 noon. The meeting is open to any groups wanting to make links or access support from project partners. A meeting in Barnsley is scheduled for late November, or early December. Barnsley’s rural areas are largely in two separate parts of the borough, the rural east and west. The next meeting will be in the rural east.

Any groups wishing to host a meeting should contact Melanie or Peter.

South Yorkshire Rural Network

RAY Welcomes... ...Peter Foyle who has joined RAY to help co-ordinate the development of the South Yorkshire Rural Network with Melanie Swanwick. Peter will be covering the Sheffield and Rotherham rural districts to help groups there link up with each other and with resources, giving advice, support and training. Peter hails from Surrey, but has lived in Sheffield since 1976 (so we forgive him!). Originally a metallurgist working in Sheffield’s steel industry, when the industry collapsed, he retrained as a community worker and has a wealth of experience from working with a number of VCOs in South and West Yorkshire. Our South Yorkshire team

If you would like to find out about events in your part of South Yorkshire, please contact: Barnsley and Doncaster Melanie Swanwick - The Core, County Way, Barnsley S70 2JW. Telephone: 07757 639929 melanie.swanwick@ruralyorkshire.org.uk Rotherham and Sheffield Peter Foyle - The Spectrum, Coke Hill, Rotherham S60 2HX. Telephone: 07834 322296 peter.foyle@ruralyorkshire.org.uk South Yorks Development Manager Tina Chamberlain Telephone: 07963 533675 tina.chamberlain@ruralyorkshire.org.uk

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Pro-active Penistone People

Engaging Oswaldkirk: From Felt-making to Fire Safety

What’s the best way to get everyone in the community involved? The Howardian Hills Community Engagement project has been exploring this through a series of diverse events. RAY helped Oswaldkirk to hold a successful drop-in event recently in their Village Hall. Residents called in throughout the afternoon and teatime to meet useful organisations, have a cuppa and gather information. They were able to get advice on keeping safe, getting a free fire alarm, reducing their carbon footprint and finding an adult learning course. Community groups had an opportunity to learn about current funding from Ryedale District Council and LEADER and pick up tips on making applications from Ryedale Voluntary Action’s Funding Advisor. They could also find out how to raise issues through the Rural Voice project. There were younger visitors to the event too and they enjoyed having a go at making felt with Rural Arts.

Can’t See the Trees for the Wood…? Housing and healthcare, public transport and play areas - these issues feature regularly in community-led plans - and rightly so - they are important components influencing the quality of life for rural communities. Given the time and energy it demands to develop a CLP and the pivotal role it can play in influencing a community’s future, it makes sense to address as broad a range of issues as possible. Lowering the community’s carbon footprint, for example. The trouble with this one is that it can seem so,….well, big! Too often it’s viewed as a ‘special interest’ issue that handfuls of people have chosen to focus on. Also, news coverage tends to focus on the overwhelming scale of global warming-related catastrophes, making the problem appear insurmountable. The challenge for community plan development, therefore, lies in translating the global into the local (and personal) and helping people recognise that there are many, many small actions they can take in their daily lives that demand little or no effort, not just to significantly reduce their carbon footprint, but saving money by doing so. It’s worth pointing out that many concerns voiced through the CLP public consultation process address carbon reduction, but are seldom recognised as such. Anything that reduces car usage, for example. Something like people wanting to establish a farmers’ market, may fall under the heading ‘Local Economy’, but undoubtedly saves people the time, energy and expense of travelling to the nearest food store. Less petrol used, reduced carbon emissions, more money saved. Needless to say, in these cash-strapped times, it’s relevance to improving the quality of life for everyone is powerful and immediate.

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) Maggie Farey (Ryedale) amanda.kent@ruralyorkshire.org.uk maggie.farey@ruralyorkshire.org.uk Telephone: 07545 430977 Telephone: 07825 380051

‘Localism’ Conference Date: 23 November 2010 Time: 9.30am Place: Queens Hall, Burley-in-Wharfedale Are you interested in the ‘localism’ debate and how this might affect your community? RISS in partnership with RAY, Keighley & Ilkley Voluntary Action and Shipley & Bingley Voluntary Services, is running an event focussing on localism to look at how better collaboration and cross boundary working can improve delivery of services to rural communities. Come and have your say! More information will be available soon: visit the Events page on our website for details.

RISS project partners, who include RAY, have had a busy summer, attending

Pool Fest, Todmorden Show, The Great Yorkshire Show and Emley Show. These events provided a fantastic opportunity to promote the work RISS does and to let voluntary or community groups in West Yorkshire know how to access support. Forthcoming events • A conference looking at

communication skills and tools for voluntary/community groups

• A 2-day course around the issue of community building management,

Other good news: the Community-led Planning Service provided by RAY within West Yorkshire has increased from one to two days per week, until April next year, and the project funding has supported investment in new survey software, which will enhance the questionnaire management part of the service. If you’d like any details about how the project can help your group or more information about the events above, please ring the project’s co-ordinator, Andy Goff, on 01422 431099, or visit the website www.ruralconnect.co.uk

Community Engagement The Newsletter of Rural Action Yorkshire 09

Rural Community Buildings

Community Halls Conference

For those involved in managing community buildings, there can seem to be a growing number of areas to tackle, from looking after an ageing hall, to raising funds and planning for the future. The annual RAY conferences give management committees lots of valuable information on best practice, new sources of help and things to look out for. The 2010 Community Halls Conference focussed on sustainability and was hosted by Hinderwell Village Hall. Hinderwell’s story highlighted to the group the impressive end results from many years of perseverance and provided a great venue for the event. The conference had a packed programme of speakers, workshops, exhibitions and opportunity to network with other delegates. Workshops included looking after the money, creative ways to get young people involved and ways to become green. We’d really like to do similar events next year, so it was great to hear your feedback: “inspiring” and “enjoyable”. If you can’t wait, don’t forget that Jonny Wooldridge is available for one to one consultancy for managers of halls aiming to improve their knowledge and management skills.

Energy Audits Energy Audits are useful in identifying the potential for improving the energy efficiency of community buildings and can form an essential piece of any future planning for the building.

Rural Action Yorkshire are offering FREE energy audits to community halls within the North York Moors, Coast and Hills LEADER area.

For more information about energy audits or about any of the other services we offer, from governance and management issues through to practical advice on major developments and renovations, please contact Jonny Wooldridge at RAY.

Hallmark Quality Standard Award Hallmark is a Quality Standard Award which halls can achieve. It is reassurance to both hall management committee and hirer that the hall is doing things right.

Hallmark gives your hall a promotional advantage over others, may help you obtain cheaper insurance and may make you more attractive to prospective funders.

Contact Jonny to find out more.

Village Hall Energy Club Using collective buying power, village halls can secure the very best prices for their electricity and gas.

www.villagehallenergy.co.uk

Visit the website for a free review or call 01727 877020 and quote ‘ruralclick village hall energy club’ to see how much you could save.

10 The Newsletter of Rural Action Yorkshire

LEADER Update Following a review of NYCC’s recently updated information on the financial situation of the Programme, for the time being LEADER have suspended applications under the following themes: • Basic services for the economy and

rural population (priorities 1-5 of the LDS)

• Village renewal and development (Priorities 6-7 of the LDS)

• Encouragement of tourism activities (Priorities 8-10 of the LDS)

LEADER will continue to take Project Idea Forms but will not issue full application forms to projects under the above themes. LEADER still has resources available to allocate and will continue to actively encourage applications under the fourth theme: • Conservation and upgrading of the

rural heritage This decision will be reviewed on 27 October after further discussion of the Programme financial information to be presented by NYCC. Future years may depend on what happens following the CSR announcements on 20 October, after which Defra will need to take some decisions about the RDPE, within which LEADER sits.

Revenue Costs Problem?

Let’s Have a Party! Whilst many communities are feeling the funding pinch and losing services, one brave community has launched a brand new Community Hub. Local MP Julian Smith opened Grassington Hub in September after months of hard work from a very enthusiastic and dedicated committee. Thanks to them Grassington now has a central library and information service 6 days a week replacing the super mobile which visited just two days a week. This service has proved to be very popular with residents with 23 new members joining the library in the first week alone. The other innovative service offered at the Hub is a telemedicine link with Airedale Hospital which will save residents a round trip of over 25 miles and lots of time. But Hubs and Community Offices don’t come free - even if they are staffed by volunteers - rent, electric and the photocopier paper still have to be paid for, and with all councils having to reduce spending and grants getting harder and harder to obtain, they had to realise from the outset that there would be no revenue funding - they would have to look somewhere else. The building has offices upstairs which were originally earmarked for the Manager of the Hub. Reluctantly the big leather chair and the oak desk had to go and the space let to paying tenants. So far Channel 4, the Grassington Festival and an online tourism company have made use of the space. But whilst these may cover some costs, they won’t cover all of them. So this enterprising group held a street market which raised £1,600 (we heard the big leather chair and the oak desk raised quite a sum) and they have organised concerts which will be held in the Town Hall. Next year’s fundraising may include a sponsored 'Beat the Bounds' of the parish, a 30 mile walk and a directory of local shops, services and accommodation together with a village magazine/newsletter. Grassington Hub was funded by Yorkshire Forward Access to Opportunities Fund, Big Lottery, Craven Trust and Rotary. Show your support by buying tickets to see Gervais Phinn on 9 December 2010. Call the Grassington Hub on 01756 752222.

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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 info@ruralyorkshire.org.uk 0845 313 0270 0845 313 0271

RAY Membership Join RAY and enjoy the benefits AND support the work we do..... Rural Action Yorkshire offers the following to its members: • Invitations to events hosted by Rural

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

minded organisations and individuals. • An opportunity to influence the direction

and priorities of RAY • An opportunity to influence rural priorities

in Yorkshire • Free copies of RAY’s newsletter, Country

Air, and other information produced by RAY.

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

Get more information and download a membership form at:

www.ruralyorkshire.org.uk

The Big Society Making it Real

RAY CONFERENCE & AGM

27 November 2010

East Keswick Village Hall

Book your place now 0845 313 0270

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: info@ruralyorkshire.org.uk,

or phone: 0845 313 0270.

We look forward to hearing from you! The copy deadline for the Winter issue is 7 January 2011 (for distribution at the end of January).

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.

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