News Archive

CURRENT DISPLAY : 1 - 250 of total 369 news items in archive

Wednesday 20th December 2006 How Market Towns will be Saved by the Internet Article taken from Times Online:- Climate change will be one of the main drivers for change in the workplace over the next decade, restricting the freedom to travel and raising the cost of transporting goods. Companie...

Monday 18th December 2006 Town Post Offices Face Threats and Opportunities Government proposals to restructure the Post Office network, are another example of the continued pressure to scale-back rural services. Equally, the proposals also provide new opportunities for some rural communities t...

Monday 11th December 2006 DTA welcomes new £30 million fund for asset transfers from councils to community Last week, Gordon Brown announced that a new Community Assets Fund worth a total of £30m in capital grants will be established by April 2007 to offer support to partnerships between community-led third sector organisatio...

Friday 8th December 2006 Charity Commission celebrates new Charities Act The Charities Bill received Royal Assent on 8th November 2006. This means that the Bill has become the Charities Act 2006 and is now law. The autumn 2006 edition of Charity Commission News provides details of the m...

Friday 8th December 2006 The Eddington Transport Study Sir Rod Eddington was jointly commissioned by the Chancellor of the Exchequer and the Secretary of State for Transport to examine the long-term links between transport and the UK's economic productivity, growth and stabi...

Friday 8th December 2006 BURA are Presenting Two New Award Schemes The British Urban Regeneration Association (BURA) are currently administering two award schemes which identify and celebrate exemplary practice in creating sustainable communities as follows: The ASC Awards for Sus...

Thursday 7th December 2006 Monitoring Poverty and Social Exclusion in the UK 2006 The New Policy Institute has produced its ninth annual report of indicators of poverty and social exclusion providing a comprehensive analysis of trends over time and differences between groups. This report has jus...

Friday 3rd November 2006 East Midlands Development Agency BIDs Academy A Business Improvement District (BID) is a partnership between a local authority and the local business community, which develops and takes forward a project that will benefit the trading environment and the public realm...

Wednesday 18th October 2006 Action for Market Towns Launch amt-i The mood was one of celebration at the AMT convention which marked the launch of AMT's new research and consulting division, amt-i. Further good news came in the form of an announcement from AWM's chairman that amt-i wil...

Wednesday 18th October 2006 Views Sought on Saving Town Partnerships Action for Market Towns is calling for comment on a new national programme that it is proposing to help sustain the work of market town partnerships across the country. Having listened to concerns and responded with ...

Wednesday 11th October 2006 Fighting back against the supermarkets! One year on and Haslemere’s Loyalty Card wins National Award! As small independent shops struggle to survive, the market town of Haslemere has created a successful loyalty card system that has enabled sm...

Wednesday 4th October 2006 National Market Towns Conference Povides Food for Thought Over 180 delegates from around the country converged on the Worcestershire towns of Evesham and Pershore last week for the annual Action for Market Towns National Conference. During an action packed two days in the tw...

Wednesday 4th October 2006 £1 Million Tourism Boost for West Midlands Market Towns Market towns across the West Midlands will each receive a slice of almost £1million as part of an exciting new tourism initiative funded by Advantage West Midlands. The Regional Development Agency's Chairman Nick Paul...

Monday 2nd October 2006 AMT Convention 2007 Expression of Interest Deadline After a succcessful 2006 event, expressions of interest are sought from towns seeking to host the 2007 National Market Towns Convention. The deadline for these outline applications to be sent is Friday October 6th. I...

Thursday 21st September 2006 69 Parish Plans in the South East 69 rural communities across the South East have received grants to help create a parish plan thanks to Defra funding. In 2005-06 Defra made £1 million available for parish plans, a tool which can help local voices be...

Wednesday 13th September 2006 Markets as Social Spaces The report 'Markets as social spaces' has just been published on the Joseph Rowntree Foundation website. This study, by The Open University, examines the importance of markets as social spaces in towns and cities in E...

Monday 11th September 2006 Climate Champions Project Will Save Energy and the Planet! Action for Market Towns, in partnership with the Association of Town Centre Management and Impetus Consulting Ltd, have developed the ‘Business Climate Champions’ project. Being launched this autumn, the project will of...

Thursday 7th September 2006 A Focus On Strategic Planning 50 delegates from partnerships in the East of England are now more able to navigate the strategic landscape thanks to an AMT event held in Newmarket on 6th September 2006. Speakers from the East of England Development Ag...

Wednesday 30th August 2006 State of the Countryside 2006 The State of the Countryside report is a unique and vital examination of rural England and of the many ways that it is changing - socially, economically and environmentally. This year's report presents some key trend...

Wednesday 30th August 2006 New Role for Rural Plan? Action for Market Towns has joined forces with the Carnegie UK Trust and ACRE to assist with the pioneering research aimed at increasing the effectiveness of community based planning in rural areas. The work that AMT ...

Wednesday 23rd August 2006 New Call for Support Action for Market Towns is calling for backing for a new national programme of support to help sustain the work of market town partnerships across the country. Known as the 3i Programme, this initiative seeks to inc...

Wednesday 16th August 2006 Master's Degree in Social Enterprise and Community Development The course of study for this two-year, part-time degree will begin in September 2007 and will consist of lectures, seminars and supervised independent study. It is offered to those who are, or would like to be, policy...

Monday 14th August 2006 Call for Towns to join The Market and Coastal Towns Initiative Market and coastal towns across the south west are being invited to take part in the Market and Coastal Towns Initiative, an innovative community planning programme which supports local people to design the future of the...

Tuesday 1st August 2006 Imaginative and Innovative Rural Services Set a New Standard Some of the best examples of imaginative and innovative ways to improve services in rural areas are highlighted in Defra's Rural Services Review, published today. The Review gives real life examples of how communitie...

Friday 21st July 2006 Festival Drayton Wins Regional Market Towns Accolade A community led project in Market Drayton has scooped the award for Overall Winner at the West Midlands Regional Market Town Awards 2006. The Festival Drayton Centre includes a 200 seat auditorium, a gallery/exhibitio...

Friday 14th July 2006 Big Lottery Fund Updates - Community Buildings The Community Buildings programme will give communities the chance to improve their quality of life by funding buildings that are economically, socially and environmentally sustainable. The programme will pay for creatin...

Friday 7th July 2006 Huge Cash Boost for Community Hospitals £750 million in extra funding is being invested in community hospital schemes to bring blood tests, x-rays and minor operations closer to patients’ homes. Our Health, Our Care, Our Community: Investing in the Future o...

Friday 16th June 2006 South East Market Town Awards-Category Award Winners Announced Action for Market Towns have announced the South East category award winners for the Regional Market Town Awards 2006. This Award scheme gives recognition to the dedication and hard work that is already showing results ...

Monday 22nd May 2006 National Response to the Consultation on the England RDP 2007-2013 Rural Programme is major opportunity "Market Town Partnerships and Action Plans should be central to the local delivery of the new Rural Development Programme for England." That was the core message from AMT when i...

Thursday 18th May 2006 Britain's High Street in 2015 The All Party Parliamentary Group for Small Shops has recently published its report 'High Street Britain 2015'. Wafer thin margins, combined with the threat of unfair competition from the major supermarkets mean that sm...

Thursday 18th May 2006 Migrant Workers Bring Real Benefits and Challenges to Rural Communities The movement of people and labour into local communities is, and always has been, absolutely essential to our economy, including the rural economy. Speaking at an East of England Development Agency (EEDA) and Trade U...

Thursday 18th May 2006 Rural Housing Inquiry - Reporting Back Last Autumn, The Commission for Rural Communities Rural Housing Inquiry heard directly from rural communities about the housing issues that concerned them, what impact these were having on their lives and the wider commu...

Thursday 18th May 2006 Affordable Rural Housing Commission Solving the housing crisis in the countryside is achievable - says the Affordable Rural Housing Commission in its final report to Government. Rural communities need a major increase in subsidised housing, if the next ...

Friday 12th May 2006 East Midlands: Changes to Action for Market Towns' East Midlands Services Attached (below) is a statement from Chris Wade (AMT’s Chief Executive), that I would like to pass on to you all, to inform you of imminent changes and to provide information on future support. My departure coincides...

Thursday 11th May 2006 Keep it Local and Save our Small Shops A new campaign urging people to support their local shops is launched today (Friday 28 April 2006) amid growing concerns that unless shopping habits change, the great British high street will disappear. Friends of the Ea...

Wednesday 10th May 2006 East Midlands: State of Partnerships Report Launched Today Full report available to download below: Introduction This report aims to provide a snapshot of the regeneration activity within the region’s market towns by assessing the presence and current status of...

Tuesday 2nd May 2006 Markets and Market Places - Media Release by Common Ground Markets as a focus for local distinctiveness, good fresh food, social vibrancy and commercial diversity are called for today in a new 24 page free pamphlet by Common Ground. Common Ground's Manifesto for Markets ...

Wednesday 26th April 2006 Knowing Your Communities Toolkit The Audit Commission's Knowing Your Communities toolkit reflects the commitment to putting service users and citizens at the heart of public service improvement. This tool has been produced because public service pro...

Tuesday 25th April 2006 Consultation on next Rural Development Programme for England 2007-2013 Defra are currently consulting on the priorities for the next Rural Development Programme for England: 2007-2013. The deadline for responses to Defra is 4pm on 22 May 2006. The consultation document can be downloaded...

Wednesday 19th April 2006 Government Announces Review of Housing and Regeneration A review of the institutional structure for delivery of the Government’s housing and regeneration programmes has been announced today. The Review will consider the best way of organising national delivery mechanisms t...

Tuesday 11th April 2006 EMFF Professional Development Programme 2006 launched The East Midlands Funders' Forum is holding a series of workshops throughout 2006. They are aimed at funders who wish to improve their grant making practice and people who work for organisations who wish to improve their...

Monday 10th April 2006 Councils Compete for £7 Million to Transform Services Councils in the East Midlands have the chance to win £7 million Government funding to invest in technology to improve their services to the public. Local authorities across the East Midlands are being invited to bid f...

Friday 7th April 2006 Help for Shaw House restoration from English Heritage English Heritage awards £125,000 to important Newbury Project - The next phase of repair work on the restoration of Shaw House in Newbury is able to go ahead, thanks to a £125,000 grant from English Heritage. The gran...

Thursday 6th April 2006 Melton Wins the Lottery Melton Mowbray has won £25,000 in lottery money to celebrate the history and heritage of fairs and markets in the borough. Melton Mowbray Country Fair Committee has secured the cash following a successful bid to the ...

Tuesday 4th April 2006 Former Ledbury Hospital to be developed for the community A former cottage hospital in Ledbury, Herefordshire is to be given a new lease of life under the Hospital Sites Programme led by national regeneration agency, English Partnerships. English Partnerships, Ledbury & Area...

Tuesday 4th April 2006 Funding: Lottery Widens Goal Posts with Awards for All £10K Hike The Lottery's Awards for All small grants scheme just got bigger. The ceiling for funding awards for local communities is today being raised to £10,000 and a new lower threshold level of £300 is also being introduced. ...

Tuesday 4th April 2006 Tourism redefines our English Market Towns Market towns all over the south east are being refreshed and revitalised thanks to pan-regional regeneration initiatives. Historically, market towns were centres of thriving commercial and social activity drawing in ...

Monday 3rd April 2006 Local authorities urged to name community planning champions Local authorities should appoint a councillor or officer to act as a champion to help individuals and groups play a greater role in shaping their communities by engaging with the planning process, ODPM Minister Baroness ...

Friday 31st March 2006 Is Yours the Cleanest Place in Britain? We are looking for nominations for the cleanest cities, towns and districts in the UK. If you believe that where you live has got what it takes to win this title please send your nominations to us by clicking here. Fr...

Friday 31st March 2006 Funding: Big Basis for Voluntary Support with Lottery Multi-Million Backing The Big Lottery Fund today launches a multi-million pound programme that will fund support for the voluntary and community sector in England - the new £155 million BASIS programme (Building and Sustaining Infrastructure ...

Thursday 30th March 2006 Litter Laws Lame Without Training Keep Britain Tidy has today heralded new laws to crack-down on litter louts as, “the biggest breakthrough in tidying up our nation in over a decade.” But the campaign also warned that without proper training for the w...

Tuesday 28th March 2006 ODPM Publishes its Sustainable Development Action Plan The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM) has published its Sustainable Development Action Plan to highlight progress in implementing its commitment to sustainable development through its policies for creating susta...

Tuesday 28th March 2006 What do we mean by 'Sustainable Rural Communities'? The Commission for Rural Communities recently commissioned five consultants to prepare 'thinkpieces' addressing this question. "We believe that England’s rural communities should be diverse, thriving and sustainable, ...

Tuesday 28th March 2006 Building a Sustainable Future for All 'Support for families and first time buyers driving forward plans to making housing more affordable' The Government announced further plans to boost housing supply and deliver more affordable housing as part of the Bu...

Tuesday 28th March 2006 Community Empowerment Awards The Commission for Rural Communities, in association with the National Association of Local Councils (NALC), has launched the inaugural Community Empowerment Awards. We're searching for innovation and best practice from ...

Monday 27th March 2006 Rural Disadvantage: Quality of Life & Disadvantage Amongst Older People Older people in rural areas can experience disadvantage in many ways, from difficulty in accessing services to financial hardship. This pilot study highlights the different forms of disadvantage and their impact on r...

Friday 24th March 2006 Diss becomes Cittaslow During the first annual board meeting of Cittaslow UK, held in the Council Chamber in the Corn Hall, Diss, on Saturday 18th March 2006, Diss was welcomed into membership of Cittaslow UK. This makes Diss the third town...

Thursday 23rd March 2006 Major milestone reached for devolved decision making for Local Areas Devolved decision making for local government took a major leap forward today as the signing of 66 new Local Area Agreements (LAAs) was announced by Minister of Communities and Local Government David Miliband. This buil...

Monday 20th March 2006 Government Celebrates Best Practice across Local Government in the South East Innovation by local authorities in delivering quality public services was recognised today at the seventh annual Beacon Scheme awards ceremony. The Deputy Prime Minister, John Prescott, and Local Government Minister, Ph...

Saturday 18th March 2006 500 enterprising communities The Development Trusts Association (DTA) is urging government and investors to assist in its aim to achieve and sustain five hundred enterprising communities across the UK, through the launch of its new manifesto, 500. ...

Tuesday 14th March 2006 Action to Drive Down Vandalism A new programme of action and five practical guides aimed at reducing vandalism and other forms of criminal damage in 80 local areas in England and Wales have been launched today by the Home Office, in partnership with G...

Saturday 11th March 2006 South East Young Power Life Changing Lottery Projects Young people will be the driving force behind seven key projects in the South East today to share in £696,462 from the Big Lottery Fund. The money comes from the Young People’s Fund programme, which will distribute £40 m...

Friday 10th March 2006 Our Message on Junk Mail Bin Row (Hinckley) Statement in response to the case of Andrew Tierney from Hinckley in Leicestershire, who was allegedly fined £50 for putting junk mail in a litter bin. "If this case is true, the fine sends out the wrong signal. T...

Monday 6th March 2006 Funding: The Big Lottery Fund - Well-being programme (Yorkshire and the Humber) A new leaflet is now available from the Big Lottery fund which outlines their up-coming Well-being programme. The programme does not formally launch until April 2006, but this brochure provides background to the program...

Monday 6th March 2006 The Big Lottery Fund - Get set for People's Millions (Yorkshire and the Humber) The Big Lottery Funds "People's Millions" is set to launch again next month, following the success of its first awards last year. The programme - which supports projects that improve the lives of the local community thr...

Monday 6th March 2006 The All Party Parliamentary Group for Small Shops Report The All Party Parliamentary Group for Small Shops has recently published its report 'High Street Britain 2015'. Wafer thin margins, combined with the threat of unfair competition from the major supermarkets mean that sma...

Monday 6th March 2006 Hampshire Buyers see the quality of local produce on offer Public sector buyers and catering officers for schools, hospitals and prisons will see first hand the range and quality of produce available locally through a series of ‘buyer meet supplier’ events running in March 2006 ...

Tuesday 28th February 2006 Consultation on the next Rural Development Programme for England 2007 - 2013 Defra have announced today the start of a 12 week consultation period on the national strategy for the next Rural Development Programme for England. This consultation is on the priorities for the next Rural Developmen...

Tuesday 21st February 2006 Not Spot Survey from Community Broadband (market towns and rural areas) Community Broadband Network are conducting something they are calling a UK 'not spot' survey which is trying to quantify how big a problem the lack of availability of broadband is or are people wanting more speed than is...

Thursday 16th February 2006 Multi-million pound infrastucture package to help growing communities thrive Communities across London and the wider South East received a major boost today after being allocated a share of a cash pot worth almost £300m for more than 85 vital infrastructure schemes that will support new housing. ...

Tuesday 14th February 2006 SPECIAL RECOGNITION RECEIVED BY SOUTH EAST PROJECTS IN DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER’S A East Oxford Action, The Phoenix Centre Sutton, Surrey and the Sunlight Development Trust, Gillingham Kent have all received special recognition in the Deputy Prime Minister’s Award for Sustainable Communities 2005. Of...

Tuesday 14th February 2006 GRAVESEND ANNOUNCED AS RUNNER-UP IN DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER’S AWARD FOR SUSTAINABL Gravesend Town Centre has been announced as a runner-up in the Deputy Prime Minister’s Award for Sustainable Communities 2005. The panel felt that Gravesham offered an example of civic leadership at its best with man...

Monday 13th February 2006 Have Your Say on Job Creation and Live-Work Units in Market Towns Smart Growth and Historic Towns - Discussion Paper Competing demands for space and limited financial resources make it essential to find better ways of managing urban change in areas that are environmentally sensitive...

Monday 13th February 2006 Have your say and influence PPS3 Consultation on Planning Policy Statement 3 (PPS3): Housing The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister is seeking responses to the draft of PPS3 by 27th February 2006. PPS3 will replace Planning Policy Guidance 3 (PPG...

Monday 13th February 2006 WOOLAS REWARDS LOCAL AUTHORITIES FOR BUSINESS GROWTH WITH OVER £105 MILLION Local Government Minister Phil Woolas has announced 37 local authorities in the South East are to be rewarded for encouraging business growth in their areas by sharing in a national award in excess of £105m. Including...

Friday 10th February 2006 Could a Regen School bursary help train you or members of your organisation? For over four years, Regen School has pioneered practical, community-led training for people who want to regenerate and improve their neighbourhoods. From March 2006, Regen School are pleased to be announcing the launch ...

Thursday 9th February 2006 Influencing Policy - The Digital Challenge What's it about? The Digital Challenge is a groundbreaking government-run competition that will act as a catalyst to develop e-enabled local public services. Launched on 07 December, the Challenge is open to all local a...

Monday 30th January 2006 English Heritage Offers £1 million for repair of England's Cathedrals Portsmouth Cathedral set to receive £15,000 English Heritage today announced £1 million of grants for repairs to 25 cathedrals across England, including three in the South East - Portsmouth, Arundel and Rochester. ...

Thursday 26th January 2006 Notice of (East Midlands) consultations on: 1. The East Midlands Regional Rural Development Framework 2. The East Midlands Rural Action Plan 3. The Rural Development Programme for England 2007 - 2013 Leaflet attached at bottom of this page; The full consul...

Thursday 19th January 2006 LOTTERY CASH HELPS SOUTH EAST YOUTH DEVELOP THEIR POTENTIAL A project run by young people that provides outdoor residential courses for young people is among two projects in South East England to share in £246,910 from the Big Lottery Fund. The money comes from the Young People's...

Tuesday 17th January 2006 Kent Finalist for Sustainable Communities Award 2005 The Taking Pride In Gravesham project in Kent has been recognised by the Deputy Prime Minister for its outstanding contribution to the local community. The project, along with three others, was today announced as a f...

Monday 19th December 2005 DEFRA Launches 'Community Halls for Rural People' Online Defra today launched an information hub 'Community Halls for Rural People' on its Rural Affairs website. The website has been designed to help rural communities to benefit from the variety of funding opportunities ava...

Friday 16th December 2005 The first Community Retailing Conference Social Enterprise Conference – Sharing a rural success story Delegates travelled from as far afield as the Isle of Wight, Devon and the Highlands to attend the first National Community Retailing Conference at Melton ...

Friday 16th December 2005 Sports Tourism Worth Tens of Millions to East Midlands Sports tourism plays an integral part in the growth of the East Midlands economy, according to a new study. The independent report, commissioned by the East Midlands Development Agency, East Midlands Tourism and Sport...

Tuesday 13th December 2005 Regional Sustainable Development Indicators - Results for the English Regions Regional versions of the UK Government's indicators of sustainable development were published today to help provide a perspective of sustainable development in each region. To support the new UK Government Sustainable...

Friday 9th December 2005 Credit unions to offer banking services Credit unions are set to offer banking services, ABCUL and The Co-operative Bank have announced. In what is seen as a major step change in the development of credit unions in the UK, a selected number, from next autumn, ...

Thursday 8th December 2005 Choice and Voice Agenda: Our Second Thematic Study (Public Service Delivery) The Government’s Choice and Voice agenda (‘Choice’) is a major force for change in the way public services will be designed, delivered and funded. Plenty has been written about the overall issues of extending choice, ...

Wednesday 7th December 2005 Charity Commission Seeks Ideas to Make Life Simpler for Charities The Charity Commission today launched a key step in its 'simplification' programme to reduce the burden of unnecessary rules and regulations on charities by asking charities to send in their suggestions for change. Th...

Wednesday 7th December 2005 EU Ministers strike a deal for sustainable communities An historic agreement to unite Europe behind a common goal of creating sustainable communities was announced today at the EU Informal Meeting of Ministers, hosted by Deputy Prime Minister, John Prescott. The Bristol A...

Tuesday 6th December 2005 DEFRA LIFTS £86M Business Burden Defra today published its plans to simplify regulations and reduce their cost on business. Lifting the Burden - Defra's Initial Simplification Plan, identifies ways of cutting bureaucracy and invites suggestions to st...

Monday 5th December 2005 Getting Cinema to your Town One of the first ‘surveys’ carried out as part of the Hythe & Dibden Healthcheck was the ‘Love It, Hate It, I wish’ Survey in which residents were asked to simply list 3 things they loved, they hated and they wished they...

Monday 5th December 2005 Providing Homes for a Sustainable Future (Affordable Housing - ODPM) The Government sets out ambitious action plan to make housing more affordable Providing homes for a sustainable future - government sets out ambitious action plan to make housing more affordable The Government toda...

Friday 2nd December 2005 Local Success Stories Highlighted at Rural Conference (East Midlands) Projects from across the East Midlands which are making a difference to improving rural areas were held up as examples of good practice at a meeting of key rural decision makers this week. The East Midlands Rural Affa...

Thursday 24th November 2005 NEW FUND: Lottery to Plough £234M into Revamping Local Environments The Big Lottery Fund is calling on organisations to go the extra green mile and help channel up to £234 million in lottery good cause funding to groups hungry to improve their local environment. Changing Spaces is the...

Thursday 24th November 2005 Hexham named as England's Favourite Market Town 2005 Hexham in Northumberland has been named as the overall winner of the title 'England's Favourite Market Town' by that arbiter of quality life style, Country Life magazine. Country Life, in association with Strutt & Par...

Wednesday 23rd November 2005 NEW FUND: Big Fund Reaches Out to Communities England-wide with Lottery £100M The Big Lottery Fund is launching a major £100 million programme of funding for communities on 7 December. The Reaching Communities programme will support projects that improve the quality of life in communities acros...

Thursday 17th November 2005 Government Invests Over £100 Million to Preserve and Support our Rural Heritage England's historic rural environment is an asset that must be protected and treasured, Rural Affairs Minister Jim Knight said last night. Mr Knight, speaking at the launch of English Heritage's report Heritage Counts,...

Tuesday 15th November 2005 RURAL FUNDING TO BECOME MORE FLEXIBLE, SAYS MINISTER Rural affairs funding will be more flexible and accessible under new EU regulations, UK Rural Affairs Minister Jim Knight told an EU Presidency conference today. Mr Knight told the Agra Europe Conference on Rural Dev...

Tuesday 15th November 2005 Rural Funding to Become More Flexible, says Minister Rural affairs funding will be more flexible and accessible under new EU regulations, UK Rural Affairs Minister Jim Knight told an EU Presidency conference today. Mr Knight told the Agra Europe Conference on Rural Deve...

Friday 11th November 2005 Achieving Social Justice in Rural Areas Rural Affairs Minister, Jim Knight, set out his commitment to tackling rural disadvantage and achieving social justice in rural areas at a Newcastle summit today, citing a vision of sustainable rural communities as the w...

Thursday 10th November 2005 £600 Million Boost to Modernise England's Street Lights The Government is making a further £600 million available in 2005/06 to help local authorities modernise their street lighting, Transport Minister Karen Buck announced today. The Government is making a further £600 mi...

Wednesday 9th November 2005 Road Traffic in Great Britain - Q3 2005 The Department for Transport has today published National Statistics on Traffic in Great Britain, including analyses by vehicle type and road class, for the third quarter of 2005. These provisional figures indicate th...

Monday 7th November 2005 Virtual Learning a Reality in Tynedale The first phase of the new Tynedale Virtual Learning College (TVC), the Construction Training Centre at Low Prudhoe, will be opened on Thursday 10 November at 1.30 pm by the leader of Tynedale Council Cllr John Herron. ...

Thursday 3rd November 2005 The David Knightly Charitable Trust 'Pride Of Place' awards. 2006. Support for voluntary action in urban regeneration. Applications are invited for the David Knightly Charitable Trust's Pride of Place Awards. Awards of £500-£5000 are available to voluntary groups undertaking practica...

Tuesday 1st November 2005 Rural Housing Inquiry - We need your views!! Our rural housing inquiry is visiting the eight regions of England to hear directly from rural communities and businesses about their experiences of rural housing problems, the impact on their communities and their ideas...

Tuesday 1st November 2005 *New Fund* Lottery money building futures in communities (Big Lottery) Village halls and other local venues will benefit from the new Community Buildings programme announced by the Big Lottery Fund today. The programme will be open for business by summer 2006. The Big Lottery Fund wil...

Saturday 29th October 2005 Task force backs transfer of assets as post-SRB solution A government task force is calling for sustained investment in community assets to avert a looming funding crisis in the voluntary sector. New Start has learned the local community sector taskforce met with communitie...

Friday 28th October 2005 2005-2006 Review of the Social Enterprise Strategy The Social Enterprise Unit is undertaking a review of the Government's strategy for Social Enterprise, which was originally launched in July 2002. This process is now underway, and the aim is to announce and publish a...

Thursday 27th October 2005 Fight to Keep Life of Rural Communities By John Le Couteur SOUTH Gloucestershire Council is being urged to support a campaign to stop many of its towns and villages from withering and dying. Conservative councillors have pledged their support for the Sustai...

Tuesday 25th October 2005 Lincolnshire Hosts National Conference of the UK Leader+ Network Lincolnshire Fenlands LEADER+ will host this year's national conference of the UK LEADER+ Network. The conference, which begins on the 26 October at the Belton Woods Hotel in Grantham, aims to give delegates an unders...

Monday 17th October 2005 Seeing is Believing for Tynedale An innovative and exciting new video conferencing scheme for Tynedale residents will be launched in Prudhoe on Monday 17 October to which all press are invited. This new service has been timed to coincide with Local D...

Thursday 13th October 2005 e-Government needs to be reach disadvantaged people - planning is needed Public services need to do even more to help disadvantaged people to turn their lives around says a new report from the Government's Social Exclusion Unit. 'Improving Services, Improving Lives' shows that public service ...

Wednesday 12th October 2005 Gateway Stations: A Partnership story - Report Now Available This is the final report on the two-year pilot programme. The programme was established to help market towns develop integrated transport networks and encourage and promote economic and social prosperity within these ...

Monday 10th October 2005 Thirty Somethings Will Lose Out Unless More Homes Built THIRTY SOMETHINGS WILL LOSE OUT UNLESS MORE HOMES BUILT -- only one in three to afford homes by 2026 on current plans Only three out of ten of today's ten year olds will be able to afford to buy their own homes unless ...

Monday 10th October 2005 Government Establishes 2006 Introduction for Provisions in Housing Act 2004 The Government has announced a detailed timetable for introducing the new health and safety rating system, licensing of houses in multiple occupation, the protection of tenants' deposits and bringing back into use of emp...

Thursday 29th September 2005 Another first for Keswick! Keswick is the first British and Northwest rural town to succeed in setting up a Business Improvement District (BID). BIDs are partnerships between the business community and councils working together to improve busin...

Thursday 29th September 2005 Haslemere Tourism Initiative Captures south East Market Town Award Turning Guidance into Action, a pilot project delivered by the Haslemere Initiative in Surrey has been awarded the South East Regional Market Town Award winner and will compete with other regional winners at the national...

Wednesday 28th September 2005 Managing Radioactive Waste in the UK - your views matter CoRWM, the Committee on Radioactive Waste Management need to understand the public's priorities and concerns about the way the UK manages its radioactive waste in the long term. Groups of people from all over the UK a...

Tuesday 27th September 2005 Changes to the Biffaward Scheme (UK) Biffa Waste Services has announced major changes to its grant making scheme, the Biffawards, funded through the landfill tax credits scheme and administered by the Royal Society of Wildlife Trusts (RSWT) to make grants t...

Thursday 22nd September 2005 Affordable Rural Housing Commission meets, website launched The Affordable Rural Housing Commission (ARHC) met for the first time today (22 September), following finalisation of its membership. The ARHC now has its own web pages – see link under "Further information", below. ...

Wednesday 14th September 2005 New figures show increase in recycling On average every person in the UK produces about seven times their own weight in waste a year Around 20 percent of the food we buy off supermarket shelves goes straight to the bin - this means that every household th...

Wednesday 14th September 2005 Planning - Getting the Community Involved Tynedale Council has been asking for people's views on how it involves people in planning. The Statement of Community Involvement or SCI, which was published in draft form in June, sets out how the Council intends to inv...

Thursday 8th September 2005 First Qualified Neighbourhood Wardens Take to the Streets Twenty-six Neighbourhood Wardens who make the streets cleaner, safer, greener for young and old, have become the first to gain a National Vocational Qualification (NVQ) specifically for wardens, which recognises the skil...

Tuesday 6th September 2005 It Makes Sense to Ask - Woolas Involving local people delivers improved public services and saves money by better targeting local needs, says an independent report published today by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister. The report concludes th...

Thursday 18th August 2005 DEFRA GRANTS ARE MAKING A DIFFERENCE FOR RURAL COMMUNITIES AND THE ENVIRONMENT Rural communities, rural economies and the environment have all benefited from Defra's England Rural Development Programme (ERDP), a report out today shows. The ERDP Annual Report 2004 shows that substantial progress...

Tuesday 9th August 2005 Top retailers commit to tackling packaging and food waste Thirteen top grocery retailers have shown their commitment to waste minimisation in a new initiative to reduce the amount of packaging and food waste thrown away by the British public. Asda, Boots, Budgens, the Co-op...

Tuesday 2nd August 2005 ODPM Newsletter - Summer 2005 See attached.

Monday 1st August 2005 Dynamic Smaller Towns: Identification of Critical Success Factors Prepared by University of the West of England, Bristol (Roger Tym & Partners) Dynamic Smaller Towns: Identification of Critical Success Factors Full report available by clicking on the link at the bottom of this...

Tuesday 26th July 2005 The Deputy Prime Minister's Awards for Sustainable Communities 2005 Following on from the great success of last year's awards, entries are being invited for this year's Deputy Prime Minister's Awards for Sustainable Communities. The awards recognise people, projects and initiatives th...

Saturday 23rd July 2005 Defra consults on new funding for rural sector The Government will provide a flexible package of funding totalling £27m to support the work of voluntary and community organisations and parish councils in rural areas, if proposals for the new Rural Social and Communit...

Friday 22nd July 2005 Delivering Cleaner, Safer, Greener Communities - Two New Guides Launched Two new trouble-shooting guides to help councils and local agencies uncover better ways of creating cleaner, safer, greener communities, were launched today by ODPM Minister, Kay Andrews. The guides are a strand of th...

Friday 22nd July 2005 Next Steps for Local Enterprise Growth Initiative (LEGI) Measures to increase investment and entrepreneurial activity through sustainable growth have been announced by Ministers. Further information on the Government's Local Enterprise Growth Initiative has been published in r...

Thursday 21st July 2005 Government Offers Incentive for Business Creation Final details of a scheme which will give local authorities an incentive to maximise business creation in their areas have been announced today by the Government. At present, income from business rates generated by l...

Wednesday 20th July 2005 Better enforcement and more authorised sites for gypsies says minister Better enforcement and more authorised sites needed to address problem of unauthorised gypsy and traveller sites - says minister Alternative sites and better enforcement are needed to address unauthorised Gypsy and Tr...

Tuesday 19th July 2005 England's Best Parks Named The best parks in England and Wales were named today with the announcement of 322 Green Flag Award winners. The Green Flag Award scheme is the national standard for parks and green spaces. Winners vary from Victorian...

Monday 18th July 2005 Youth Green Paper released The Government has released the Youth Green Paper ‘Youth Matters’. The proposals within the paper build on the principles of the Every Child Matters approach and the legislative framework established by the Children Act...

Thursday 30th June 2005 Minister Presents East Midlands AMT Market Town Awards at EMRAF Conference Lord Bach, Minister for Sustainable Farming and Food, presented certificates to the 2005 winners of the East Midlands Action for Market Towns Market Town Awards at the annual East Midlands Rural Affairs Forum (EMRAF) con...

Thursday 30th June 2005 Statistical release - Sustainable development indicators in your pocket 2005 A free pocket-sized booklet, presenting a new set of sustainable development indicators is published today. Indicators in the booklet were outlined within the UK Government's Sustainable Development Strategy Securing...

Tuesday 28th June 2005 Workshops welcome new sectors at Garstang Delegates for Main Marketing's series of retail workshops have always come from a variety of sectors, but have never been so diverse as the group who attended the latest event in Garstang. Representatives from a boat ma...

Monday 27th June 2005 It's Innovative, It's Delightful and It's in the East Riding of Yorkshire Hornsea, on the east coast of Yorkshire, is a typical English seaside market town - having growing rapidly in Victorian times it faded in popularity with the closure of the railway and the availability of cheap package h...

Wednesday 22nd June 2005 East of England Best Market Town Project - The Winners Background In March 2005, market towns in the East of England were invited to enter for a national award for the best completed project in the fields of • Business • Community • Culture • Environment • Partnersh...

Wednesday 22nd June 2005 Pershore community project scoops coveted award A pioneering community project in Pershore has won the coveted title of Overall Winner at the West Midlands Regional Market Town Awards 2005. The Number 8 Community Arts Centre is a £1.4 million project including a theat...

Tuesday 21st June 2005 Kent to take action to avoid gridlock Kent County Council is going on the offensive in a bid to get key major road improvements underway and help prevent the county’s over-trafficked roads becoming gridlocked. KCC wants to see action from the government i...

Friday 17th June 2005 Action for Surrey Rural Towns - launch of new programme. Action for Surrey Rural Towns is a new programme which will be launched at the Theatre, Leatherhead on Tuesday 5th July at 6.30pm - 8.00pm. This new programme has been designed to help towns become active and sustaina...

Wednesday 15th June 2005 Going4Growth - RURAL Community Enterprise - FREE EVENT - East Midlands Date of Event:Tuesday 19th July 2005 Venue: Genesis Centre, Alfreton; 10am to 4pm Action for Market Towns and the Development Trusts Association bring you this seminar on: 'Planning for the long ...

Tuesday 14th June 2005 What would you do with £50000? Funding with a difference! This is hot off the press! A new lottery programme (from Big Lottery Fund) has been announced. The key details are that application packs will be available from 3 June and the deadline for applications is 11 July. The ...

Thursday 9th June 2005 New village playground created with Rural Enterprise Scheme grant The opening of the new playground A Defra Rural Enterprise Scheme grant of almost £40,000 has enabled the replacement of a 40-year-old playground in Bretforton, Worcestershire. Concerned that there was nowhere...

Thursday 9th June 2005 Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act comes into force The Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act comes into force on Tuesday 7 June, giving local authorities greater powers to tackle fly-tipping and litter. A fly-tipping incident occurs every 35 seconds in the UK. Fro...

Sunday 5th June 2005 People’s millions to fund local community projects Big Lottery Fund and ITV have teamed up to run People's Millions, a competition for 50 grants of up to £50,000. These grants will fund projects that will improve the quality of life of local communities. A shortlist o...

Wednesday 18th May 2005 Haggling in the market Government agencies have won praise for the revival of market towns. But there are fears it may be about to end. Austin Macauley reports What links New York, Toronto and London with a small town in the Lake District? ...

Tuesday 3rd May 2005 East Midlands Market Town Awards 2005 - launched TODAY! Action for Market Towns and it partners wish to recognise the excellent work being undertaken in the country's market towns by looking for the most sustainable and innovative projects in a market town. Applications ar...

Wednesday 27th April 2005 Must try harder It's time for your end of term report on Labour's achievements, and you're less than impressed. Julian Dobson presents your verdict When an opinion poll gives one of our political parties 40%, it’s taken as a sign th...

Monday 18th April 2005 East Midlands Market Towns Awards - 2005 - Notice of Launch Re: Notice of EAST MIDLANDS Launch on Tuesday 3rd May 2005 Action for Market Towns and it partners wish to recognise the excellent work being undertaken in the country's market towns by looking for the most sustainabl...

Sunday 17th April 2005 DEFRA / RDA Joint Newsletter Spring Edition

Wednesday 13th April 2005 Publication: Small Towns and Surrounding Rural Areas Small towns are increasingly being perceived as a possible focus for initiatives that seek to maintain or enhance the rural economy. This study, which was funded by the Scottish Executive Environment and Rural Affairs...

Friday 8th April 2005 BILL TO CLEAN UP OUR NEIGHBOURHOODS BECOMES LAW The Clean Neighbourhoods Act has become law after receiving Royal Assent. The Act was fast-tracked through the remaining stages of the Parliamentary process ahead of the formal dissolution of Parliament before the gen...

Friday 8th April 2005 Civic Trust - Awards for Inspirational Rural Design. Taster - Inspiring buildings that enhance their landscape setting and bring benefits to the community were celebrated at the Civic Trust Awards last night (7 April). The Awards, held in the Brighton Museum & Art Gall...

Wednesday 6th April 2005 New Market Towns Week Guides Launched Today! Market Towns matter. They are the very essence of England offering much joy and interest to both their residents and visitors through the great variety of regional styles and individual distinctiveness. That very distinc...

Monday 4th April 2005 £284m scheme to help cut business waste and improve resource efficiency A new £284 million initiative to help businesses manage resources more efficiently and cut waste has been launched by Environment Minister Elliot Morley. The Business Resource Efficiency and Waste (BREW) programme rec...