Awards celebrate thriving rural communities

Rural community businesses’ extraordinary impact was honoured at Plunkett UK’s annual awards, held at the start of July.

Around 100 people gathered at the Royal Society of Chemistry in London for the 2025 Rural Community Business Awards, sponsored by Lands Improvement. The event shone a spotlight on the wide-ranging impact being made by community businesses in safeguarding access to a wide range of goods and services, boosting the local economy, creating employment, training and volunteering opportunities, tackling climate change, and promoting equity, diversity and inclusion.

This year’s winners were:

• Connecting the Community Award: The Rising Sun, Woodcroft in Gloucestershire
• Going Green Award: The Locks Inn, Geldeston in Norfolk
• Keeping it Local Award: Bishop Wilton Community Shop and Café, Yorkshire
• The ‘More Than’ Award: Titchmarsh Village Shop, Northamptonshire
• Investing in Local People Award: Gairloch and Loch Ewe Action Forum, Highlands,
• The One to Watch Award: The George Community Pub, Wickham Market in Suffolk
• Young Person Award: Archie Kitcher (16), East Boldre Community Stores in Hampshire
• Community Contribution Award: Celia Collett, Brightwell-cum-Sotwell Community Village Stores in Oxfordshire
• The Nina Foskett Award for Team Spirit: Semley Village Stores, Wiltshire

You can find out more about each of the winners and sponsors by clicking here.

Plunkett Chief Executive James Alcock said:

“We are here today to honour the extraordinary actions happening in ordinary places through our community business members. It takes a huge amount to support individual people, the places they live, their local economies and the wider environment.

“At Plunkett we’ve been progressing from primarily saving businesses to supporting them to grow their impact, and representing them through policy and membership. It’s an important way of ensuring community businesses can exist in a thriving trading environment and also to ensure their long-term resilience.”

Among the winning community businesses were Bishop Wilton Community Shop and Café in Yorkshire, which uses local businesses, products and suppliers wherever possible, including supporting a mother in the village to sell her own speciality breads in the shop. On receiving the Keeping it Local their award, Ingrid Haywood from Bishop Wilton, said:

“It’s been a long five years but we couldn’t have done it without the support of Plunkett. We appreciate the commitment of all of the volunteers at the shop – we’ve not had a closed day, which is incredible.”

Celia Collett picked up the prestigious Community Contribution Award. Celia is a driving force behind the success of Brightwell-cum-Sotwell Community Village Stores in Oxfordshire. As she collected the award, Celia said with a broad grin:

“I am speechless and for me that’s quite unusual! The community shop has been running for 15 years and the team at Plunkett has been with us every step of the way.” Addressing others from community businesses, Celia said, “It has been an amazing privilege to be in the room with all of you. You do so much for your communities, because we love them, don’t we!”