The Prince’s Countryside Fund last week published The Village Survival Guide, a vibrant, entertaining manual featuring case histories, checklists and practical advice. The guide is intended to help those living in the countryside to utilise the talents available in their own communities to tackle some of the social and economic challenges they face.

It follows on from the Fund’s 2018 research Recharging Rural, which saw over 3000 people tell the charity about the challenges they faced living in rural areas, and how they were pulling together to overcome these.

Claire Saunders, Director of The Prince’s Countryside Fund said: “Over the past nine years, the Fund has distributed more than £10 million in grant funding, to hundreds of inspiring community groups and charities. We realised that what people had learned from these successful projects could help to inspire others to take the initiative and transform their local community; the projects run by these groups deliver essential services at a local level, often making up for shortfalls in other provisions.

“The 100-page handbook covers everything from how to set up a committee, to installing digital infrastructure, and where to go to get funding for your project. We hope that this is a really useful, empowering resource that makes it easier for people to put their ideas into practice.”

The guide covers topics including how to set up shops, pubs, and hubs; rural housing; transport; business development; digital infrastructure; and how to get help when you need it. There is also a Village Sustainability Top 10, which looks at the key things’ communities must do to safeguard their future viability.

The Prince’s Countryside Fund would like to thank all those who contributed their expertise and story to The Village Survival Guide, and also players of People’s Postcode Lottery for their support of the digital version.

Read the online version of the guide here: https://www.princescountrysidefund.org.uk/research/read-vsg