The average age of rural communities is rising as young people and families are priced out of their local area. Not only is this creating a rural housing crisis, but it has a knock-on effect on rural businesses and services who also suffer as a result.
But it’s not all bad news. Now, more than ever, housing associations across the UK are committed to supporting rural communities to thrive and provide much needed affordable homes. At Abri, we believe our role as a housing provider isn’t just to target areas with a high concentration of people, but smaller, less visible neighbourhoods where support is needed too.
That’s why we’re investing and building homes in areas that are rural, alongside more central city-based delivery. In Longhedge, Salisbury, we’re building 65 more new homes in Longhedge Village. You can read more about this here.
Building homes is the first, essential step; increasing and improving local resources is the next. Less than a year ago we launched our five-year £15m investment in 11 communities across the south of England. Among these areas are Longhedge in Salisbury and Archer’s Gate in Amesbury. Both are rural locations where homes have been built to create new, thriving neighbourhoods.
Supporting young people in rural communities
At Archers Gate, Amesbury, residents requested more activities for children to get them active and outdoors as provision of youth sports was low in the area. And so we set up Doorstep sports which provides young people with a variety of different sports to take part in each week. It’s now been running for over a month, and has been really well received by the community.
As the summer holidays near, we’re ever conscious that holiday hunger and food poverty is a problem faced by children and families across the UK, in rural and central communities alike. We want to help relieve the financial pressure families face during school breaks, while also promoting healthy recipes that are easy to make and low in cost. So, we’re introducing our Good Grub Club to Longhedge, Salisbury from 27 July 2021, which will provide a weekly recipe box and cook-along virtual session throughout the 6-week summer holiday.
Green fingers across the community
With a renewed sense of just how important spending time outside is, we’ve been working with the community and our partners to get different projects off the ground.
We’ve been working with the local community to create Amesbury Community Garden. We all know that being outdoors is good for our mental and physical health. Which is why we’re passionate about initiatives that focus on enhancing outdoor spaces to make them accessible to all. The community garden aims to:
- promote health and wellbeing
- provide education to our young people about where food comes from and how it’s grown.
- bring community back to the forefront
- build a team of gardeners, volunteers & helpers that want to help grow fresh produce to eventually share amongst the community
Blossoming into 2021 was another project ran in Amesbury which aimed to support the wellbeing of socially isolated older people. Older adults were given kits to grow hyacinths, supported by Wiltshire Council’s Health and Wellbeing Fund.
Health and wellbeing support for rural communities
Lack of services and transport options can cause real problems for rural communities. It’s a particular problem for aging populations and those on low incomes, whose mental and physical health and wellbeing can often suffer as a result.
For rural communities, transport barriers were preventing some people from being able to access the Covid-19 vaccine. In partnership with the NHS and Wiltshire Council, we provided a Covid-19 vaccine outreach bus to help people access this essential healthcare. So far, the bus has provided nearly 100 first doses and continues to support the rural community.
In partnership with Wiltshire Council, we’ve set up a Running Club at Archers Gate, Amesbury and Longhedge, Salisbury. The weekly sessions aim to increase physical activity and improve the wellbeing of residents.
In Old Sarum, Salisbury, we’re helping the local Community Centre to implement a Community Fridge which will be accessible to Longhedge residents too. This project will begin in August, and will provide local people with access to affordable food options and help prevent food poverty in the community.
We’re always developing new initiatives in partnership with local people and organisations who know best what their community needs. A Veterans outreach project is currently in development in partnership with Forces Connect in Longhedge. We’re also organising a drop-in services hub in Longhedge. This will allow the community to access local services which residents have told us they often feel isolated from.
We’re focusing on improving health and wellbeing, increasing employment and empowering local people to turn their ideas into reality. We want every community to have the resources they need, whether they live in or out of town.
