27.10.2021

27/10/2021 - RSN Seminar: Town Centres, High Streets & Village Hubs

Seminars

Date: 27th October 2021

Subject: Town Centres, High Streets & Village Hubs

Chair: Graham Biggs MBE, Chief Executive, Rural Services Network

- To download the Agenda for this seminar click here

- To view the welcome message from the RSN click here

- To download the Learning Outcomes from this seminar click here

- To view the Attendance and Apologies for this seminar click here

Speakers:

Steve Dowling, Public Affairs Manager, Association of Convenience Stores

"Rural Shops, the Pandemic Legacy & Changing Communities"

- Download the presentation here
Christine Donnelly, Non-Executive Director, National Federation of Sub Postmasters

"The Challenges Faced by a Rural Subpostmaster"

- Download the presentation here

Learning Outcomes:

Examples of Good Practice/Reports/Information

Stafford BC used it’s Assisted Restriction Grant (ARG) to write policies to support our rural businesses both existing and start-ups. and particularly those who missed out on mandatory Covid payments.
Support for community shops from the Plunkett Foundation.
Community Access to Cash Pilots
Article on Post Offices to host banking hubs
ACS Rural Shop Report 2021
ACS Community Barometer research
Young Somerset – supporting young people in rural areas

Key Learning Points

The Pandemic Legacy, Rural Shops & Changing Communities which will focus on rural element of latest shop report

In the last year, Convenience Stores have achieved £16bn in sales and provided jobs for 126,500 people.
79% of convenience stores in rural areas are independently owned.
64% own their business, 13% work more than 70 hours per week and nearly a quarter take no holiday per year.
54% trade in isolation ie no other stores or businesses near by
Since the pandemic, rural convenience stores now provide over 600,000 home deliveries a week and have adjusted their product ranges accordingly
Levelling Up – need policy makers to invest in local not regional and promote 15-minute neighbourhoods.
Use Growth hubs to support local and circular economies
ACS and RSN working with two big ATM operators re access to cash.

The Challenges Faced by a Rural Sub-Postmaster

Challenges include operating costs, demanding hours, accountability, competition. Minimum wage goes up but little wiggle room to earn more money to pay for this.
Valued by customers, work varied and belonging to a community
Need fair renumeration rates for sub-postmasters and Banks to contribute to Outreach and banking service costs
Outreach work is very demanding physically, time consuming travelling to diverse locations and out in adverse weather. It’s a good solution but not perfect and vans often struggle with internet signal.
Also have to consider if a member of staff is sick – which one do you do? Outreach or main Post Office – can’t do both.
Concern where the next generation of sub-postmasters will come. Most PO’s are based in someone’s house and very expensive to buy now and set up afresh.
Work long hours to always be open and not let anyone down in community.
Social value – keeping an eye on most vulnerable – informal and voluntary sup
Local farming community a great support to Post Office – understand the value of buying local and keeping local

Any Other Key Outcomes from the Seminar

RSN’s Revitalising Rural Campaign Specific Policy Asks of the Government is for fairer distribution of national resources to rural areas and more nuanced national policies. There are 14 Chapters in the campaign; and one looks at Rural Economies, at Rural Town Centres and High Streets and also Challenges facing Young People in Rural Areas.

As new Government strategies are announced, RSN puts them through a “Rural Lens Review” which adds depth and texture to the Policy Asks. A fresh crosscut of the Revitalising document being worked on will look in more depth at younger people. It will also look at the impact of various issues on younger people and develop case studies (personal experiences) rather than dry policy discussions. One of these reviews looks at Government Place Based Funds and another at Build Back Better High Streets.

RSN report with Pragmatix Advisory on how there is bias in the metrics used towards northern, urban red-wall areas in the allocation criteria of the Levelling Up and other Funds.

RSN report with Pragmatix Advisory on recognising and addressing the post-pandemic rural productivity challenge – Cultivating rural growth.

Analysis and Commentary pieces for Rural Services Network by Jessica Sellick, Researcher at Rose Regeneration: From Survival to Revival: How can we Regenerate our High Streets?

RSN Member Insights produced by Dan Worth, Research & Performance Analyst, RSN. Please click on the link to access the Economy Insights.

Attendance and Apologies

Attendance:

Full Name	Organisation
Vinia Abesamis	Herefordshire Council
Bethan Aldridge	Rural Services Network
Cllr Chris Allen	Burnham and Highbridge Town Council
James Armstrong	Northumberland County Council
Chris Ashman	Isle of Wight Council
Daniel Ayiah	Herefordshire Council
David Barnes	Belper Town Council
Cllr Belinda Bawden	Lyme Regis Town Council
Cllr Owen Bierley	West Lindsey District Council
Graham Biggs	Rural Services Network
Prof. Gary Bosworth	Northumbria University
Steve Broome	East Sussex County Council
Alison Brown	Cambridgeshire ACRE
Lillian Burns	National Association of Local Councils (NALC)
Cllr Julie Carr	Lewes District Council
Esther Carter	Sedgemoor District Council
Cllr Stephen Clarke	West Northamptonshire Council
Josyanne Clarke	North Somerset Council
Zoe Cornick	Rugby Borough Council
Abi Culley	Warwickshire County Council
Angela Daly	Irthlingborough Town Council
Andy Dean	Rural Services Network
Cllr James Deane	Petersfield Town Council
Cllr Judith Derbyshire	Eden District Council
Marina Di Salvatore	West Lindsey District Council
Christine Donnelly	National Federation of Sub Postmasters
Steve Dowling	Association of Convenience Stores
Richard Dowson	Raising Aspirations Empowering Change Ltd
Andrea Durn	Wotton Under Edge Town Council
Robin Edge	Northumberland County Council
David Farnsworth	East Riding of Yorkshire Council
Cllr Lesley Farrow	Petersfield Town Council
Louise Flavell	Braintree District Council
Cllr Tina Foster	Swanage Town Council
Cllr Jan Goffey	Okehampton Town Council
Cllr Simon Gomes-Da Costa	Downham Market Town Council
Dr Bryonny Goodwin-Hawkins	Countryside and Community Research Institute
Holly Goring	Uckfield Town Council
Martin Gorringe	Defra
Alan Gray	North Kesteven District Council
David Hall	Northumberland County Council
Adrian Hamilton	Ryedale District Council
Jodie Hancock	Biddulph Town Council
David Hardy	Northumberland County Council
Cllr Michael Harris	New Forest District Council
Antonia Harrison	YMCA Lincolnshire
Cllr Lee Hatcher	Cranbrook & Sissinghurst Parish Council
Cllr Mervyn Head	North Kesteven District Council
Nicola Healy	Babergh & Mid Suffolk District Councils
Beth Heritage	Wealden District Council
Michael Hewitt	Cherwell District Council
Laura Higgins	Somerset West and Taunton Council
Cllr Stephen Hillier	West Sussex County & Mid Sussex District Councils
Christoper Hinchliff	CPRE, the countryside charity
Cllr Tony Hirons	Lutterworth Town Council
Ella Howman	South Norfolk and Broadland Councils
Dr Cllr Colin Hutchinson	Calderdale Metropolitan Borough Council
David Inman	Rural Services Network
Gavin Iredale	Reed in Partnership
Wendy Jackson	Forest of Dean District Council
Nita Jarram	South Hams & West Devon Borough Councils
Claire Johnson	Devon County Council
Karla Johnson	Herefordshire Council
Liz Johnson-Idan	Chard Town Council
Will Jones	Dartmoor NPA
Dr Andrew Jordan	Wirksworth Town Council
Terry Jordan	Wisbech Town Council
Amine Kabouchi	West Oxfordshire District Council
Cllr Simon Leney	Heathfield and Waldron Parish Council
John Longden	Pub is The Hub
Rachel Lovett	Northumberland County Council
Emily Lowe	Herefordshire Council
Martyne Manning	Stafford Borough Council
Toby Matthews	Norfolk County Council
Emily McMonagle	Lincolnshire County Council
Guy McQueen	Lewes District & Eastbourne Borough Councils
Cllr Paul Andrew Milner	Petersfield Town Council
Cllr Terence Moore	Great Dunmow Town Council
Yvonne Morland	Tandridge District Council
Caitlin Murray	Cornwall Council
Cllr Julie Najuk	Gedling Borough Council
Janet Neale	Warwickshire County Council
Lynne Nicholl	Alzheimer's Society
Cllr Liz Parker	Oxted Parish Council
Sue Petters	Barnstaple Town Council
Amanda Phillips	United Utilities
Emma Phillips	West Oxfordshire District Council
Jeff Pyrah	Rother District Council
Nicola Radford	Lincolnshire County Council
Steven Robson	Northumberland County Council
Ally Rood	Stroud Town Council
Vanessa Saunders	Holsworthy Town Council
Cllr Jeremy Savage	South Norfolk District Council
Melanie Sealey	Devon County Council
Beth Searle	Corsham Town Council
Cllr Richard Sherras	Ribble Valley Borough Council
Clair Shields	North York Moors NPA
Emma Smith	Shropshire Council
Emma-Jane Snowden	East Riding of Yorkshire Council
Katherine Stanley	West Northamptonshire Council
Graham Swiss	South Hams District Council & West Devon Borough Council
Cllr John Toye	North Norfolk District Council
Cllr Alison Trenery	Uttoxeter Town Council
Carole Troake	Harborough District Council
Steve Trotter	Lechlade on Thames Town Council
Nadine Trout	Rural Services Network
Martin Tucker	Wotton Under Edge Town Council
Anita Turner	Somerset NHS Foundation Trust
Deborah Urch	Westbury Town Council
Alex Ward	InvestSK/South Kesteven District Council
Catherine Weldon	Cumbria County Council
Cllr Amy Wheelton	South Derbyshire District Council
Susan White	Richmondshire District Council
Cllr Warren Whyte	Buckingham Town Council
Cllr Ryan Wills	Bath and North East Somerset Council
Cllr Liz Withington	North Norfolk District Council
Emma Wray	Wealden District Council
Cllr Julie Yelland	West Devon Borough Council

Apologies:

Full Name	Organisation
Cllr Georgina Allen	Totnes Town Council
Tony Allen	Peacehaven Town Council
Jennie Atherton	Harrogate Borough Council
Cllr Philip Atkins	Staffordshire County Council
Emma Baker	Oundle Town Council
Andy Bates	South Hams and West Devon Council
Cllr Francis Beatty	Stafford Borough Council
Miranda Beavers	South Kesteven District Council
Jane Berni	YMCA Community Lincs
Mandie Berry	North Somerset Council
Penny Body	Devon Churches Rural Forum
Ollie Boulter	Isle of Wight Council
Cllr Melanie Bridgen	South Derbyshire District Council
Cllr Steve Bridger	North Somerset Council
Louisa Brinton	Teignbridge District Council
Ruth Buckley Salmon	National Federation of Subpostmasters
Cllr Stephen Bunney	West Lindsey District Council
Nigel Burch	South Holland District Council
Cllr Alan Burgis	Camelford Town Council
Dr. Ian Cass	The Forum of British Pubs
Cllr Alan Chantler	West Northamptonshire Council
Karen Chapman	Great Torrington Town Council
Cllr Gill Clayton	Great Torrington Town Council
Jane Coleman	Maldon Town Council
Aaron Corsi	Warwickshire County Council
Cllr Richard Cox	Lichfield District Council
Cllr Caroline Cross	Irthlingborough Town Council
Cllr Wendy Croucher	Hunstanton Town Council
Maya Cullen	East Herts District Council
Cllr Sharon Cullingford	Gillingham Town Council
Stephen Davies	Castor Parish Council
Nicola Doble	South Somerset District Council
Chris Drake	Launceston Town Council
Rose Dugard	South Hams District Council and West Devon Borough Council
Cllr Janet Duncton	West Sussex County Council
Cllr James Easter	South Norfolk Council
Shannon English	East Suffolk Council
Steve Evans	North Yorkshire County Council
Cllr Jane Evison	East Riding of Yorkshire Council
Eleanor Farrell	Cumbria County Council
Cllr Maggie Filipova-Rivers	South Oxfordshire District Council
Cllr Caroline Finch	Swanage Town Council
Simon Fletcher	Lichfield District Council
Susan Fryer	Eden District Council
Cllr Margaret Gateley	Buckingham Town Council
Odette Ghent	Atherstone Town Council
Jo Giles	Cadent Ltd
Genevieve Gillies	Harrogate Borough Council
Jessica Goodfellow	Eden District Council
Carol Grey	Penrith Town Council
Cllr Lyn Harris	Southwell Town Council
Jonathan Harris	Cumbria County Council
Frances Harris	Northamptonshire ACRE
Helen Harris	Leicestershire County Council
Duncan Harvey	Sedgemoor District Council
Nik Harwood	Young Somerset
Alison Hayward	East Devon District Council
Lizzi Hearn	CPRE
Cllr Joan Heaton	Launceston Town Council
Cllr Robert Heseltine	North Yorkshire County Council
Claire Holt	Durham County Council
Lisa Hughes	Newark and Sherwood District Council
Marie-Ann Jackson	North Yorkshire County Council
Nick Johnson	Norfolk County Council
Matt Jones	Suffolk County Council
Sarah Jones	Shropshire Council
Katie Judge	Solihull Council
Cllr Margaret King	St. Ives Town Council (Cambs)
Cllr Phil King	Harborough District Council
Kirsty Larkins	South Somerset District Council
Caroline Leet	Edenbridge Town Council
Cllr Elisabeth Malvisi	Babergh and Mid Suffolk District Council
Jo Martin	Rural Business Network
Cllr Richard Meredith	East Riding of Yorkshire Council
Adam Milner	East Riding of Yorkshire Council
Ian Morrell	No 65 High Street - Digital Health Hub
Dr Rob Murray	East Devon District Council
Mike Napper	Cotswold District Council
Cllr Jonathan Noble	Boston Borough Council
Keli Nolan-Lyons	Tenterden Town Council
Cllr Emily O'Brien	Lewes District Council
Leigh Palmer	Lewes and Eastbourne Councils
Abi Player	Richmondshire District Council
David Pooley	St Austell Town Council
Hilary Porter	Nottinghamshire County Council
Pam Posnett	Leicestershire County Council
Sylvia Pringle	Northumberland County Council
Julia Raven	South Northamptonshire Council
Julia Raven	West Northamptonshire Council
Cllr David Roach	West Suffolk District Council
Cllr Lynda Robertson	Midsomer Norton Town Council
Cllr Richard Robertson	Midsomer Norton Town Council
Cllr Christopher Ryley	Burscough Parish Council
Ian Kenneth Sherriff	University of Plymouth
Ron Simpson BEM	Uppingham Town Council
Anne Solomon	Stratford District Council
Katherine Southwood	South Cambridgeshire District Council
Tom Stanyard	North West Leicestershire District Council
Cllr Peter Stevens	West Suffolk Council
Sharon Thomas	Corsham Town Council
Cllr Michael Thompson	St Austell Town Council
Charles Thornton	Eden District Council
Cllr Mark Thorpe	Verwood Town Council
Rachael Tooth	Wychavon and Malvern Hills District Councils
Andy Tordoff	East Riding of Yorkshire Council
Cllr Sarah Wakefield	Somerset West and Taunton Council
Karen Wakefield	Ollerton & Boughton Town Council
Cllr Norman Webster	Mid Sussex District Council
Cllr Jackie Westrop	Downham Market Parish Council
Clare Wilkins	Peak District National Park
Claire Windridge	Faversham Town Council
Cllr Mark Winnington	Staffordshire County Council
Helen Wright	East Riding of Yorkshire Council