Addressing the needs of remote and peripheral rural areas
Whilst the population of much of the United Kingdom and Ireland is growing with generally buoyant economies, some peripheral areas are experiencing depopulation.
In particular, it is the loss of young, economically active people from these areas that is causing concern. Additionally, these areas rely heavily on agriculture and the impact of the Single Farm payment and new agri-environment measures in these areas is uncertain. The Action Research Programme will support three community led interventions to address these issues. These are the Celtic Neighbours Project led by Voluntary Arts Wales; The Hill Farming Communities project led by Fells and Dales LEADER and the project 'New Ground' led by the Eden Foundation.
The projects as a RARP group have now met together on four occassions: In Lewis (25th to 28th July 2006), at the Rural Convention on the 25th September 2006 in Cornwall from the 31st January to the 2nd February 2007 (hosted by the Eden Foundation) and in Cumbria in March 2008, hosted by the Hill Farming communities group. These meetings have been fundamental in shaping the programme and in building networks and the sharing of ideas. Full details of the work taking place can be found by clicking the links on the right.
Consultant
The consultant for this theme is Dr Frank Rennie, Head of Research and Post Graduate Development at Lewis College, UHI.
Have your say
Please use the forum to post any comments, questions or suggestions for essential reading for this theme.