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Gloucestershire Rural Community Council

Supporting Gloucestershire's rural communities through change

 

Rural Services

This is the page for the rural services support and advice in Gloucestershire.

New interactive toolkit for communities - click image below to access

Rural Services Support

Introduction
Through funding secured from Rural Renaissance, GRCC employs a dedicated worker who is able to work with both communities and businesses looking at ways of addressing rural services issues in Gloucestershire. Your first point of call is Chris Cowcher, GRCC Rural Services Adviser and coordinator of the Rural Services Support Group.

Rural Shops and Post Offices
2008 was a year of change for rural services in Gloucestershire. As part of the national Post Office Network Change Programme, 39 post offices closed in the county with 13 of these closures being replaced by a Post Office outreach service point. An outreach service provides limited services during reduced service hours either through a mobile van or in a building in the village.

In July 2008, the Rural Services Support Group launched a Business Support and Enhancement Grant scheme that offered grants of up to £5,000 to rural shops and post offices and also to any community group investigating ways of providing services in Gloucestershire. The scheme, which was funded using Gloucestershire County Council funding, also included one to one business support to each applicant from the village shop specialists Rural Shops Alliance.

This grant scheme concluded in September 2008 and 12 shops and community initiatives were successful in their applications. Each applicant will receive a grant of up to £5,000 and also continued business support during the life span of their project from either RSA or Businesslink.

The successful applicants are:

Cotswold District
Blockley Community Shop
Down Ampney Community Shop
Longborough Village and Community Shop
Rendcomb Stores
Siddington Post Office and Stores

Forest of Dean District
Milkwall Post Office and Stores
Ruspidge Stores

Stroud District
Horsley Shop / Horsley Parish Council
Minchinhampton Post Office
Miserden Stores

Tewkesbury Borough
Minsterworth Post Office and Stores
Twyning Stores

Community shops
Community owned shops are an excellent alternative option to be considered by communities that have lost their local shop through closure or relocation. The Gloucestershire Community Shops Network promotes mutual support and if your community is interested in this option, GRCC and its partners within the Rural Services Support Group can help you. The Gloucestershire Community Shops Network Newsletter can be found in the right hand panel.

Rural Services Support Group
The Rural Services Support Group is a partnership of public, private, voluntary and community sector organisations aiming to identify and address issues affecting rural services in Gloucestershire.

Achievements of the group to date are:

What is planned for the future?

All details of future work will be published on the GRCC website

GRCC web forum
This web forum allows you to openly discuss rural services in Gloucestershire with others in the county or to publicly voice any concerns. Click here to join the GRCC web forum.

Contact
If you have any queries with regards to rural services in Gloucestershire or would like to find out more about the Rural Services Support Group and its work, please do not hesitate to contact Chris Cowcher.

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