Action In Rural Sussex

The Rural Coalition launched their long awaited report ‘The Rural Challenge’  at the LGA in London this week.  This follows on from the Matthew Taylor Report in 2008 and ‘The future is rural too’ report published by the Rural Coalition in September 2009.  The Rural Challenge has been developed by the Rural Coalition against the background of the new government’s Big Society principles.  For more details follow the links below:

Rural Coalition Rural Challenge Report Aug 2010 short version

AirS Bulletin The Rural Coalition the Rural Challenge Aug 2010

Full Report on ACRE website

The Action in rural Sussex Annual Review 2009-10 and Action Plan 2010-11 are now both available in a new handy pocket size publication.

Click here for the Action in rural Sussex Annual Review 2009-10

Click here for the Action in rural Sussex Action Plan 2010-11

Due to the withdrawal of the main funding from Calor the East and West Sussex Village of the Year Competition will not be held this year.  We will,instead, be spending the remainder of this year reviewing and redefining our processes, which will include seeking feedback from villages and securing sponsorship for 2011.   If you would like to contribute to the feedback process or offer sponsorship please contact Claire Reynolds, Action in rural Sussex, Sussex House, 212 High Street, Lewes, East Sussex, N7 2NH or email  claire.reynolds@ruralsussex.org.uk.  Details of the 2011 Competition will be posted onto this website when confirmed.

Action in rural Sussex is once again working with Action with Communities in Rural England (ACRE) to deliver COMMA Communities Aggregates Fund, to benefit communities affected by quarrying.  Click here for more details of how to apply.  To get an application pack direct from ACRE please go to: http://www.acre.org.uk/sustainabledevelopment_comma.html.

Action in rural Sussex has re-launched its website. This new site represents a complete overhaul of the old version, bringing enhanced usability and features to the fingertips of people across East and West Sussex. It not only focuses on the role of Action in rural Sussex and how this translates into projects and activities on the ground, but also seeks to highlight the needs of rural communities in different parts of Sussex.

The website possesses many new features, including an interactive map of Sussex which allows users to view the services that Action in rural Sussex delivered in their parish during the last calendar year. We would greatly appreciate any comments which you may have regarding both the content, structure or usability of the website. Please click here to provide us with your views.

AirS is pleased to announce the opening of the Village of the Year 2009 competition. The competition is open to all communities of less than 5000 population within West and East Sussex. An Entry Form is available from here.

The annual Village of the Year competition is a way of celebrating the many achievements of active rural communities, that strive to improve and enhance village life for all their residents. The competition celebrates community activity and cohesion. Each year AirS holds its Village of the Year Awards Evening that celebrates the entries and provides a focus for our active communities† with the Lord Lieutenants of each County making the individual presentations.

Many villages say that they gain as much from entering as they would from winning any of the prizes. The process brings the community together and also helps to highlight strengths and weaknesses. For the winners and runners-up there are prizes that can be invested in the community. The overall winners have the opportunity of further accolades in the regional and national competitions. Sussex has a good track record at these levels. For example last yearís winner,† Fernhurst has recently won the best communications category within the South East.

AirS held the 2008 Annual Conference on 7th November at Ardingly. It focused on the delivery of rural services and was called ‘Rural services, hard to reach or hard to find’.

Over 200 people attended the conference and 30 public service providers manned ’stalls’ providing information about their services. It was a packed and lively event.† You can click here for the Conference report and for the main presentation by Jeremy Leggett, Chief Executive of AirS.