Earlier this year, Severn Wye celebrated the end of its seven-year Rural Futures programme. Funded by The National Lottery Communities Fund, the programme supported 14 disadvantaged rural Welsh communities to develop grass-roots solutions to some of the issues they face. Community groups used their existing assets and skills, and developed new ones, to come up with projects suitable for funding. They were supported by Severn Wye ‘place coordinators’, who worked closely with their communities.
Place coordinator Adrian Roberts reflects on his time with Rural Futures.
My role as a place coordinator on the National Lottery funded Rural Futures programme has come to an end.
As part of the programme, I’ve had the privilege of working in Deiniolen, Llannerchymedd, Llangollen and Trawsfynydd, as well as having some recent involvement in Pentredŵr and Bro Machno. At the same time, my colleagues worked with eight other rural communities.
The last seven years have been eventful. Was it an easy ride? Definitely not! As with all community projects, there will be peaks and troughs, with unexpected hurdles suddenly slowing down your journey. There were times when great progress was being made, only to then experience a lull in momentum. Perseverance was key and it was important to make sure the groups didn’t lose heart.
Above: Adrian Roberts checks the script of the Rural Futures film.
In every community, progress relied on the goodwill and efforts of local volunteers who were willing to sacrifice their limited spare time to work together to deliver a project which met the needs of their wider community. These volunteers have other commitments such as jobs and families, and their contribution has been invaluable – without their dedicated involvement the projects would not have achieved what they did.
“Several community hubs, a community garden, new jobs, new opportunities to interact and socialise, greater confidence and new skills – the list of benefits goes on.”
Those projects have included the formation of several community hubs, a community garden, and the creation of a number of new jobs, all of which aim to improve the quality of life for residents in those rural communities. During the course of the programme we had to contend with external factors such as the pandemic and the cost-of-living crisis, which definitely changed the priorities in many communities. I would say that all of the resulting Rural Futures projects have since placed a great emphasis on tackling loneliness and isolation by creating new opportunities for people, young and old, to interact and socialise. And many of the projects will focus on providing advice and information for people who need help, and build social capacity by providing training opportunities for those who may be interested.
Above: A community project event at Deiniolen, Gwynedd.
Some of the projects are already up and running, while others have nearly finished the renovation works they needed before finally opening their doors to the public.
“I’ve enjoyed my time on the programme, and I’d like to think that I’ve made new friends along the way. It’s been a pleasure to see bunches of individuals developing into dedicated, enthusiastic, skilled and resilient groups which are capable of managing and delivering their projects.“
As I and my colleagues approach the end of our Rural Futures journey, the community groups are starting on their own, and we have every confidence they will make them a great success.
We’re now looking ahead to starting a new five-year programme – Energised Communities – where we will be working with 10 communities in Wales and England to support them to tackle the energy issues they face in their local area.
Find out more about Rural Futures and watch the film here.
