FROM PUB HUB TO VILLAGE AGENT

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.

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! Many villages no longer have a shop or a local pub. The number of pubs in the UK has fallen from 52,500 in 2001 to 38,815 today. But enterprising communities can find ways to keep these local hubs 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 cooperatives, 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.