country air 121

The newsletter of Rural Action Yorkshire Autumn 2011 Issue 121

Get the latest news online: www.ruralyorkshire.org.uk www.twitter.com/ruralyorkshire

In this issue… Saving Local Services page 3 Saving on Oil page 6 Community-led Plans page 9 Village Halls Working Together page 10

Plus all the latest project updates and rural news.

Chairman’s Viewpoint Sharing together. Sharing what? Whenever we act together, whether as a community or a business, we become stronger. RAY over the last few months has found new friends and developed our relationships with ‘old’ friends within the third sector and the statutory sector, within the rural community and with individuals. Whatever and whoever, we all benefit by shared working, partnership, co-operation and listening to others. RAY was at the Great Yorkshire Show, listening to people and explaining our schemes such as: - Energy Audits, Community-led Plans, Broadband and offering advice on Village Halls and the Digital Switchover. More on page 4. The Northern Rural Network’s seminar in September was attended by one of our Trustee’s, Mike Feist, who reported on the day’s discussion around the ‘Uplands Policy Review and the Role of National Parks’. There was also an update from Defra on the promised ‘rural statement’ and the Rural Community Broadband Fund, both should be released in December. The Village Halls Conference held in Hovingham on 6 October, presented delegates with a chance to exchange tips and advice with other village halls and be informed, in particularly of today’s hot topic - energy advice. This event was arranged in partnership with Tees Valley Rural Community Council. RAY’s Annual Review and AGM, at the end of October, was a place for members to experience ‘A year in the life of RAY’, to share their thoughts and meet with staff and trustees. Our President, Lord Crathorne who is the Lord Lieutenant of North Yorkshire, took the Chair. Our chance to listen to other Rural Community Councils will be at the Action with Communities in Rural England (ACRE) annual conference in November. There are 37 fellow organisations (RCCs) represented by the umbrella of ACRE. One of our trustee’s, Janet Thornton, is Vice-Chair of ACRE’s Trustee Board. These conferences are a good way of reinforcing our knowledge and picking up pointers from fellow organisations, without reinventing the wheel!

RAY’s toolkit on ‘Participatory budgeting for Parish Councils’ was distributed to the RCC network and is used extensively throughout, just one prime example of ‘sharing’.

Linda LloydChairman, Rural Action Yorkshire

[email protected]

RAY Contacts Switchboard: 0845 313 0270 Leah Swain, Chief Officer .............. ext.236 Gillian McIntosh Head of Finance & Admin ................. ext.230 Rebecca Craven Marketing & PR Officer .................... ext.232 Paula Wilcox Operations Officer ........................... ext.221 Marilyn Bennett Operations & Finance Assistant ........ ext.222 Amanda Kent - 07545 430977 Community Involvement Officer ........ ext.227 Amy Robinson - 07963 533675 Regional Manager Sarah Robinson - 07540 691028 North Yorks Rural Network Development Co-ordinator ................................... ext: 223 Maggie Farey - 07825 380051 North Yorks Development Officer (Ryedale) Mel McGeoch - 07722 127503 Active Communities Nick Butterworth - 07847 619388 Rural Capacity Building Officer Kathryn Chapman - 07825 380052 Development Officer ........................ ext.247 Tina Chamberlain - 07963 533675 Regional Manager ......................... ext: 235 Melanie Swanwick - 07757 639929 South Yorks Rural Network Development Co-ordinator (Barnsley & Doncaster) Peter Foyle - 07834 322296 South Yorks Rural Network Development Co-ordinator (Rotherham & Sheffield) YNYPFA - 0845 313 0270

02 The Newsletter of Rural Action Yorkshire

Disclaimer: Every effort is taken to provide accurate information. However, Rural Action Yorkshire accepts no responsibility for any error or omission in, or complaint arising from, items in this publication. The views expressed in Country Air do not necessarily represent those of Rural Action Yorkshire. The display of advertising material does not represent an endorsement.

Front page picture: Amy Kettle’s colouring

Big Society in Action Rural communities need to be empowered to work together with service providers to take charge of services in their area. The Big Society is not a new concept to rural communities who already have many proactive volunteers running village shops, village halls, recreational activities and even pubs. However, if this ethos of self-support is to continue to grow it will need public sector investment. These are the conclusions in a study by the consultancy firm, Rural Innovation. Rural Action Yorkshire supports the findings. We know that rural communities are already doing an incredible job providing cost-effective services for their residents, but ongoing investment and support is needed if that provision is to be extended. Fortunately, we are starting to see some forward-thinking local authorities already taking steps to provide support for rural communities who wish to take on the running of services which are being affected by Government funding cuts. North Yorkshire County Council (NYCC) has committed funding to the Active Communities project which Rural Action Yorkshire is delivering in partnership with the North Yorkshire and York Forum and local infrastructure organisations. The project aims to provide support to communities to help them explore alternative local solutions to keep services running where public funding is no longer available or has decreased. The first phase of work has started by supporting 22 communities who face losing their library or are experiencing reduced opening hours. Rural Action Yorkshire is working with community groups in Barlby, Bedale, Colburn, Great Ayton, Leyburn and Tadcaster to explore how they can find a viable way of keeping their libraries open. The project will help community groups develop their plans, and provide a range of support to enable them to put these into practice – including help with setting up the group, business planning, accessing funding and legal advice. Each community group will need to submit plans to NYCC Library Service by the end of October to be considered by the Executive on 22 November. In the e-newsletter, North Yorkshire Now, Councillor Metcalfe commented, “We have been very gratified by the enthusiasm and support shown by communities which do not want to lose their libraries. We have volunteers ranging from teenagers who want to gain experience – and perhaps add useful information to their CVs – to older people who love books and want to play an active part in keeping their library at the heart of the community. The more volunteers we get, the better the service will be – whether it’s to read to children, to deliver books using the home library service or to help in other ways to maintain the library service that is so highly valued in North Yorkshire.” From now until January 2013, Active Communities will go on to provide support for community solutions to a wider range of needs. If you are part of a group seeking to mitigate the effect of public sector funding cuts through community action, please get in touch to discuss how we may be able to help.

National Planning Policy Framework The NPPF is the Government’s attempt to simplify planning guidance from 100’s of pages to nearer 50. It will govern where, and how, development can take place. The NPPF seeks to balance driving forward housing and economic development, protecting the environment and valued landscape while funding infrastructure that is essential to make development sustainable. Debate in regard to rural areas is polarised between those who believe it jeopardises the green belt and other beauty spots and those who believe that without the opportunity to build houses and businesses rural communities will stultify and decline. There is also contention around the weight given by the NPPF to allow development where no strong objection exists on the grounds of environmental protection or other valid reasons which have been justified in an up to date local development plan. I consider that the NPPF has some issues that need resolving before it is a workable solution; however it has strong potential to support the evolution of vibrant rural communities. But we must ensure that those communities have made their views heard through their Community-led Plans and related Neighbourhood Plan. I would urge you to read the ACRE briefing on the NPPF which can be found at www.acre.org.uk (follow link to Localism Briefings) and get in touch with Rural Action Yorkshire if you would like to move your community-led planning forward. Leah Swain Chief Officer

The Newsletter of Rural Action Yorkshire 03

Heritage Open Days The beginning of September saw a series of Heritage Open Days delivered throughout Ryedale, Scarborough and the East Riding of Yorkshire as far as Spurn. The events were delivered through the CWWW LEADER team in conjunction with the National English Heritage programme.

Hunmanby officially unveiled their newly-restored Market Cross on Saturday, 10 September as part of their Heritage Open Day. The restoration has been supported through the CWWW LEADER programme’s Fast Track Grant Scheme which is managed by David Bull (Rural Heritage Officer). Rural Capacity Building Officer Nick Butterworth said, “the event was a massive success with many of the villagers supporting the event.” A ceremony depicting a historic village tradition of recruiting labour was played out by the young people of the village. Kath Wilkie CWWW LAG Chair hosted a series of walks giving an in-depth history of the landmarks of the village. Weaverthorpe held their Heritage Open Day on Sunday, 11 September which was delivered from St Andrew’s Church. The event offered an in-depth insight into the recent archaeological surveys carried out in and around the manor site. The event highlighted the work of the “Understanding Weaverthorpe Manor” project which has also received support through the CWWW LEADER programme’s Fast Track Grant Scheme. Other sites in North Yorkshire delivering Heritage Open Days were; St Edmunds – Knapton, All Saints Church – West Heslerton, St Andrew’s Church – East Heslerton & Scampston’s Walled Garden. Contact Nick Butterworth to see how your Heritage project can be included in next year’s programme:

[email protected]

North Yorkshire

Summer Shows Rural Action Yorkshire had a busy few months attending the shows and markets around North Yorkshire. Even though it was summer the shows and markets were a great place to meet people and chat about how they heat their homes and how we at RAY can help them to reduce heating costs and save energy. Many visitors were concerned with how they were going to make ends meet this winter and the problems they face without access to mains gas and energy companies increasing prices and changing tarrifs. We had a great response at Rosedale Show, Reeth Market and Muker Show to our survey and lively discussions which are helping us understand what rural communities need and how we can support them.

Great Yorkshire Show We were invited to attend the Great Yorkshire Show again in July as part of the Involve Yorkshire and Humber stand. We took the opportunity to talk to visitors about the issues they face in their communities, including rising fuel costs, village shops and services and affordable housing. We also asked visitors to map their broadband service, by covering our big map with coloured stickers. This was a really useful exercise and will inform our future work, particularly with North Yorkshire County Council.

We also took our newest recruit– knitted Ray– to the show and he enjoyed the networking and being featured in our colouring competition. Our winner was Amy Kettle and her picture features on our front cover.


Showtime in Ryedale Rural Action Yorkshire attended Rosedale & Ryedale Shows promoting the work we do in rural areas and meeting new community people and groups and catching up with ‘old friends’ and a great opportunity to network with colleagues from other voluntary sector organisations. Agricultural shows are a great opportunity to celebrate all things rural and marvel at the wonderful entries in the tents, especially the homemade jams & cakes, the traditional rows of cattle and sheep along with the more recent alpacas. At Ryedale Show we tempted visitors along to our stand with a ‘Yorkshire’ hamper and free tickets to ‘Go Ape’ in Dalby Forest and Family Pass on the North York Moors Railway, kindly donated by the attractions, which were prizes in a photo quiz. The main theme of our consultation at Ryedale Show was broadband, or lack of it in rural areas. Nearly all of those we spoke to said it could definitely be improved! Rosedale Show is not as large as Ryedale but the setting is amazing, set in an undulating site surrounded by hills, it was a beautiful day which resulted in a record number of visitors. Again a photo competition tempted visitors with another hamper of local produce and a Family ticket to Castle Howard as the prize. We had many interesting conversations with both locals and visitors from all over the country, not surprisingly the areas of concern were very similar, lack of housing for young local families, the cost of fuel for both travel and heating homes and lack of local employment opportunities being the most mentioned.

See more of our photos and try to spot ‘Where’s Ray?’ in our online albums at www.flikr.com/ruralyorkshire

Community Led Plans The second time around Many of the rural communities in Ryedale have already done a Community Led Plan, and some are now over 5 years old and getting rather out-dated. Some have been re-visited and updated and these include Sheriff Hutton & Hutton-Le-Hole. The parish council Chair at Hutton Le Hole keeps a record of house sales in the village and noted that between 2003 and 2008, 25% of the properties had changed hands and with all but one of the dozen or so action points having been achieved it was felt it was time to do another plan.

Ryedale District Council have for a long time, appreciated the many uses of plans and the fact that they manage to consult with so many households, with return rates of over 70%. The action points from the plans are all uploaded on the Community Led Plan database and they are all displayed on their website. Ryedale District Council has provided financial support to RAY in order to keep the Community Led Planning Officer in post until March 2012 for 14 hours per week. This will enable more parishes to update their plans and some have already started, these include Gillamoor and Fadmoor, Rosedale and Farndale with Sinnington looking to start soon. These plans provide the parish council with a blue print of how the residents would like to see their community develop over the next few years and prove a need to funders and statutory authorities. Previous plans have been instrumental in gaining support and funding for new playing fields, village hall improvements, youth clubs and community allotments.


In this issue we are reporting on oil buying co-operatives also called oil syndicates or oil clubs.

If you live in an area that does not have mains gas then there is a very good chance you heat your home with oil. In the past two years the cost of heating oil has rocketed and many householders are struggling to pay the increased bills.

One way of reducing the cost of oil is to join a buying group.

So what is an oil co-operative?

The idea is simple. A group of people in the same area join together and order their heating oil in one order. All members pay the same price per litre regardless of the size of their order. This is particularly helpful to those on low incomes who would otherwise be penalised for small orders.

How much can I save?

In March 2011 the Lower Swale Syndicate (at that time seven villages were in the scheme) ordered 200,000 litres of heating oil and paid 54.98 pence per litre. It is estimated that members save 10% to 12% per order which works out at between 3 to 5 pence per litre. All prices are quoted in pence per litre and exclude VAT.

How does this work?

The co-operative co-ordinator puts a notice in the parish magazine, posters in the village and phones/e-mails members to let them know when the next order will be. Generally orders are placed every two months. Members let the co-ordinator know how much oil they want – either a fixed number of litres (minimum 500) or “fill up the tank”. However the co-ordinator does need an estimate of the likely quantity so he has an idea of the total volume when negotiating with the suppliers. The syndicate co-ordinator phones round the various companies for prices based on the total volume and places an order with the best value.

The supplier will offer a lower price because it dramatically improves their delivery efficiency resulting in few tankers movements and significantly reduced delivery mileage.

The minimum order is 500 litres and the oil is delivered on an agreed day. The supplier leaves or sends each person an invoice for their own oil. The invoice is payable direct to the supplier within two weeks by cheque or credit/debit card. The co-operatives do not handle money.

RAY has supported a number of rural communities to set up oil co-operatives. Please contact Kathryn if you would like our help too.

[email protected]

Dales Integrated Transport Alliance DITA was formally established in January 2011 by the Dales & Bowland Community Interest Company (responsible for DalesBus) and the Little Red Bus Co. DITA is a new community-led consortium to organise better transport. Members come from local communities, businesses, commercial public transport and community transport organisations. Working with transport authorities and the Yorkshire Dales National Park, DITA’s aim is to create a more integrated, responsive transport network. The first pilot project is taking place in Nidderdale and aims to create a more responsive service and build on current service provision throughout Nidderdale, to encourage greater use of public transport and to create services that commuters, shoppers, young people, pensioners, tourists and people living in more isolated communities can rely on. For more information visit the DITA website at www.dalesconnect.net

Second Homes Many rural communities in Yorkshire are affected by second homes, especially in the most scenic parts such as the North York Moors, Yorkshire Dales or Peak District national parks. The effect on some communities is profound and has resulted in the closure of local facilities such as schools, churches, village halls and shops. Housing becomes unaffordable for local people and often there is a loss of community and sense of place. We would like to know what impact (if any) second homes are having on your rural community and what solutions you are finding to the issues you are facing. Email us at [email protected]

Ask RAY 06 The Newsletter of Rural Action Yorkshire

The Trustee Board of RAY has welcomed the experience of individual trustees, both past and present which gives the Board the insight to manage decisions which affect RAY's strategic overview of Yorkshire. This experience, culled from years of public service and knowledge of individual areas, has given RAY a good foundation of management at Board level. We are aware that the continuing changes within the sector also highlight the need for a continuing assessment and updating of the Board's skills and experience. We continue to develop ourselves and therefore the strategic vision of RAY with ongoing training and away days. North Yorkshire Linda Lloyd (Chair), Castleton, near Whitby. Patrick Mulligan (Treasurer), Elslack, near Skipton Margaret Billing, Draughton, near Skipton Shirley Fawcett, Spofforth, near Harrogate David Jeffels, West Ayton, near Scarborough Geoffrey Rennie, Huttons Ambo, near York South Yorkshire Adrian Willis (Vice-chair), Worsbrough Dale, near Barnsley Monica Carroll, Woodsetts, near Worksop. Jean Leah, Todwick, near Sheffield West Yorkshire Mike Feist, Billams Hill, near Otley Mark Crowe, Marsden, near Huddersfield. Janet Thornton, East Keswick, near Leeds.

Who is RAY? Open Public Services The Open Public Services White Paper was released for consultation in July. It sets out how the Government will improve public services by putting choice and control into the hands of individuals and neighbourhoods. Through the proposals in the White Paper, public services will become more responsive to people’s needs. The White Paper sets out the Government’s approach to public services by applying five key principles to provide people with the best possible services for the money spent: 1. Choice – wherever possible Government will increase choice.

2. Decentralisation – power should be decentralised to lowest appropriate level.

3. Diversity – public services should be open to a range of providers.

4. Fairness – Government will ensure fair access to public services.

5. Accountability – public services should be accountable to users and taxpayers. But how do these changes affect the communities we live and work in? Communities will be affected mostly by the changes to neighbourhood services. This is due to these services being provided very locally and on a collective basis rather than individual. Examples of this would be maintenance of leisure and recreation facilities and community safety. Currently local authorities run these services, however, the proposal being put forward in the White Paper is that Government will transfer the power for running these services to elected councils at neighbourhood level if that is what the communities choose. The next steps for Government Consultation has closed and the Government will set out how departments will take forward ideas to implement open public services. Progress reports will set out the steps taken to open public services.


Participatory Budgeting Fills the Village Hall

For groups in the rural parts of Sheffield, participatory budgeting (PB) is proving a huge success. Under the slightly friendlier title ‘You Choose’, groups in each Council Ward can bid for up to £2,000 for their activities. With a total of around £10,000 available, this is serious money to support local community action. Key to the process is not the assessment of an application form, but the votes of the local community, which leads to venues for the meetings being packed out. There are often upwards of 100 people attending, including a lot of children and young people. PB has been trialled previously by RAY across North Yorkshire, where parish councils were encouraged to generate project ideas from their local community, with the successful ones decided by votes cast by the public at a meeting. A consequence of this, above the benefit to the successful group, was the raised profile of the parish council, and the extra interest generated in what it did and how it worked. Sheffield City Council obviously has considerable resources, and can offer larger amounts, and the interest and enthusiasm generated by the process is correspondingly higher. This is what happens: 1. Groups complete a simple application form, which is then checked

by council staff. 2. At the ‘You Choose’ event, everyone signs in; those living in the

area and aged 11 or over are issued with voting slips 3. All groups then do a short presentation on what they do and what

they want the money for. 4. Everyone completes their voting slip. A key point is that voters

must rank all projects for their vote to count – this avoids the groups with the most supporters present winning automatically.

5. Votes are counted, and money allocated to the groups with the most votes. Groups find out there and then who has been successful. You wouldn’t describe it as a perfect process – sometimes things that might be considered the council’s responsibility are funded (eg hanging baskets in the local shopping centre). Activities involving children invariably do well (particularly the group who gave out cakes to the audience at the end of their presentation!) and some valuable but not ‘populist’ projects don’t get funded.

However, the failings are vastly outweighed by the interest and enthusiasm generated, not just in the activities, but in what other groups are doing, in how the council has involved people in the process, and the powerful idea of local people given a direct say in how some council money is allocated. You are never likely to see so many people responding so enthusiastically to an invitation to attend a public meeting.

Network Meetings The Doncaster Network meeting took place on 7 September 2011 at The New Hall, Bawtry. The event was attended by 15 individuals who had the opportunity to speak with Project partners (Rural Action Yorkshire, Doncaster CVS, Together for Regeneration and South Yorkshire Funding Advice Bureau) and attend a training session around managing a community building delivered by RAY. The 15 individuals represented 8 different community organisations in the Doncaster area and feedback from the event was positive with the majority of those present stating they found the event informative. Attendees learned about different aspects of managing a community building from gambling and gaming laws and employer responsibilities, to legal obligations and building health and safety requirements. Many of the people present were keen to obtain more information from RAY and have requested further details by e-mail. One of the participants said the training provided a “very good overview” with “further contact information very useful”. The Barnsley event took place in Thurnscoe on 19 October 2011 with training around finding funding, marketing and social media and consultation and community led planning.

The next series of meetings is due to take place in the spring. If you are a voluntary or community group in Barnsley or Doncaster and wish to host an event in your area or attend training please get in touch with Melanie Swanwick on 07757 639929 or take a look at our website for details of training events planned around Yorkshire.


South Yorkshire

Pro-active Penistone People

As we all know, our political and, arguably, our cultural landscape is changing rapidly. The current Government’s promotion of localism and significant cuts in spending draw a line in the sand as far as top-down service delivery and the final say over land use are concerned. Whereas the previous Government placed a responsibility on local authorities to ‘inform, consult and involve’ communities, the emphasis is now very clearly on community empowerment. Where they were once providers and carers, local authorities now find themselves called on to ‘enable’ communities by responding to and supporting local action and, it is in this context that the value of community-led planning (CLP) to local authorities is now brought into sharp relief.

The potential benefits from developing a CLP have long since been understood by the rural communities who have developed them over the past 30 years or so and, indeed by some local authorities. Not only have such plans proved to strengthen community cohesion and trigger a durable interest and pride of people in where they live, but, more pertinently, they result in tangible actions that communities can undertake themselves – a fair definition of empowerment, in fact. To help local authorities recognise what benefits they may derive from supporting CLPs and how they can

play an active role in supporting the process, ACRE* and AMT** have produced a guide, ‘Making the most of Community Led Planning: a best practice guide for local authorities.’ This is not a hefty tome, but a neat, comprehensive and clearly structured reference. It explains CLP and its relevance to the Localism agenda. It outlines, the accepted process through which quality plans are developed, who the ‘main players’ are and the roles they play at each stage of that process. It defines the key mutual benefits, ie to local authorities and communities alike, giving examples of how, by actively engaging with CLP activity in their areas, some local authorities have already made good use of the evidence plans produce to better inform their strategic planning. The guide is developed from extensive research with local authorities experienced in using CLP as a method of working with communities to improve neighbourhoods and includes a Foreword by Greg Clark MP. The second half gives best practice examples of the practical measures these authorities have taken to make the most of CLP. To view or download the guide, visit the Community Led Planning page on our website: www.ruralyorkshire.org.uk * ACRE: Action with Rural Communities in England ** AMT: Action for Market Towns

Training As we begin to pull our training calendar together for the coming twelve months, there are some exciting developments afoot. Building on the success of the Community Buildings training we shall be developing some additional courses, to meet your needs. You have told us that you would like more training in marketing, book keeping, attracting funding and running your community buildings, so to respond to this demand we will be putting a suite of training courses together and piloting them during the next 6 months. More information will follow so watch this space… Our Community-led Planning team is also looking to get out and about and spread the word, and we hope to have a full calendar of events to share with you shortly. In the meantime two sessions have been arranged: Silsden Methodist Church on Wednesday, 9 November The Children’s Centre in Pateley Bridge on Tuesday, 29 November. To book a place, or for more information, please email [email protected]

Community-led Planning: Best Practice Guide for Local Authorities


Rural Community Buildings

Village Halls Conference Hovingham Village Hall was buzzing on 6 October when around 50 delegates attended the Village Halls Conference. The event which RAY organised in partnership with TVRCC was about celebrating the success of the LEADER Sustainable Community Halls project and showcased some inspirational examples from halls such as Hovingham, Saltburn Methodist Church Hall and Carlin How.

A lively session took place where delegates swapped ideas about their experiences of particular issues such as changing energy supplier or managing a building project and this session demonstrated just how much halls can learn from each other and the value of networking with other village hall trustees.

We also heard from the experts in a series of workshops with a wide range of topics from “Looking after the Money” by Peter Bryan to “Renewable Energies” and “Green Community Buildings” for those interested in reducing their hall’s electricity costs and case studies from halls which have developed a green energy building. Back in York, we’re now looking at the feedback from the event. The feedback was excellent (the jam and cream scones got a big thumbs up!). On a more serious note, this feedback is really important because it helps RAY to respond and to develop its service to village halls. So, delegates told us that they wanted village hall networks, e-newsletters (as a simple way of being kept informed) and more training to develop their skills to enable them to run their own halls successfully. Look out for our first e-newsletter this autumn which will be sent to all halls in our area and will detail our plans to put together networks of village halls, detail our training programme and give information and tips about keeping your village hall sustainable.

Rural Arts ON Tour ‘Get It On In Your Village’ LEADER Coast, Moors and Hills project, January 2010-June 2012

This project enables rural community venues in the LEADER Moors area to promote professional theatre, dance and drama in their village hall or community venue. We offer subsidised performances to villages within the area to allow villages access to the highest quality theatre, dance and drama that they might not otherwise get the opportunity to see.

ON Tour works in partnership with local volunteers in each of the villages, who act as promoters for events. It is these promoters who are at the heart of ON Tour and make the running of the scheme possible.

We offer two seasons of work, an Autumn and a Spring programme. Villages are invited to make their selection from a menu of shows. Rural Arts then co-ordinates the tour and contracts the artists.

The scheme brings villages alive and has a real impact on the village and it’s wider geographical area.

‘Events of this kind are breathing life back into village halls and villages as a whole’ (Audience member from Autumn 2010)

We ask interested villages to contact Rural Arts if they would like to get involved, you will be amazed what live performance can do for your Village Hall.

Contact Rural Arts’ ON Tour Manager Jo Thorne: Phone : 01845 526536 Email : [email protected] www.ruralarts.org


Inside Parliament A series of workshops designed to give practical and useful information on how groups

can engage with Parliament’s processes for the benefit of their communities.

The free events will be delivered at six venues across Yorkshire & the Humber:

Date: Monday, 7 November 2011, 12pm - 4pm Venue: Salem Community Resource Centre, Hebden Bridge, HX7 6HB

Date: Monday, 14 November 2011, 12pm - 4pm Venue: Voluntary Action Barnsley, The Core, Barnsley, S70 2JW

Date: Monday, 28 November, 12pm - 4pm Venue: Malton & Norton Rugby Club, Malton, YO17 7EY

Date: Thursday, 1 December 2011, 12pm - 4pm Venue: Bishop Burton College, Bishop Burton, HU17 8QG

Date: Monday, 5 December 2011, 12pm - 4pm Venue: Ropery Hall, The Rope Walk, Barton on Humber, DN18 5JT

Date: Thursday, 8 December 2011, 12pm - 4pm Venue: Skipton, North Yorkshire, Venue TBC

Each event will start with lunch and networking from 12pm-1pm

The events will be facilitated by the Houses of Parliament’s Outreach Service, a non-partisan initiative designed to raise awareness of the work and role of Parliament.

The event is for any community group, support organisation, stakeholder or active member of the community

To book a place or for more information about the event please contact Sophie Stockdale on 0113 394 2316 or email: [email protected]

Each event is limited to 35 people so please book early to avoid disappointment.

Managing Well – Congratulations! Hallmark accreditation is a well-established nationally recognised quality standard for rural community buildings. The Award, in three parts, is by peer assessment by trained ‘Visitors’ working in pairs. Hallmark 1 recognises good practice in managing the hall – charity governance, meetings, booking arrangements, instructions for users, clear notice board and well-presented accounts. The Award lasts for three years, after which time a new assessment is required. Thorner Victory Hall, near Leeds has just renewed its Hallmark 1 Award and has also gained Hallmark 2 for the first time. Hallmark 2 covers health & safety, security and licensing. Thorner is the first hall to gain Hallmark 2 in Yorkshire and the management committee has worked really hard to meet the exacting standards for Hallmark 2 following major refurbishment of the hall.

Hallmark has been flagged up in the North York Moors, Hills & Coast Leader area where the Sustainable Community Halls Project has been jointly managed by Rural Action Yorkshire and Tees Valley RCC. Ruswarp Village Hall, near Whitby, is the first Yorkshire hall to gain the award as part of the project: they have been awarded Hallmark 1 which reflects a lot of hard work by the officers following significant improvements to the hall. Meanwhile, a number of halls in the Whitby area are working together to help each other gain Hallmark Awards and acting as assessors for each other. Sharing experience is an obvious way to move forward but this has not featured as a means of gaining Awards until now. Hall management committees in many parts of the county have attended a training event, ‘Community Halls in a Changing Landscape’ where the huge shift from inspection of halls to self-regulation by hall committees has been the main theme. The problem with self-regulation is uncertainty about the regulations and the extent to which hall management committees can be confident that ‘they are doing things right’. This is where Hallmark is really useful – it gives reassurance that hall committees are indeed ‘doing things right’. But Hallmark cannot deliver this reassurance without the help of trained ‘Visitors’ to assess applicants. Visitors should be people who have experience of managing a hall through membership of a hall management committee. We need some volunteers!


Unit A, Tower House, Askham Fields Lane, Askham Bryan, York YO23 3FS Registered as a Company Limited by Guarantee in England & Wales No: 1839458 and as a Charity No. 515538

www.ruralyorkshire.org.uk [email protected] 0845 313 0270 0845 313 0271

CLASSIFIED

COUNTRY AIR is financed by subscriptions and advertising and is issued quarterly to members, parish councils and village halls throughout Yorkshire. We love it when you share your news and views with us

and when you share your copy of Country Air with others. Look out for the Winter issue in January.

Where’s Ray?

See page 4

Aidan, age 4

Martin, age 11

country air 121

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