Rural Development

Supporting rural communities is part of Action Hampshire’s DNA

As a Rural Community Council [link to ACRE Network page on ACRE’s website: https://acre.org.uk/the-acre-network/], our role is to keep rural on the agenda across Hampshire, championing the experiences and needs of rural communities. 

We know that often rural communities are more likely to experience digital exclusion and have challenges accessing services due to poor public transportation and distance. Due to smaller population numbers, inequalities and deprivation are often hidden in rural communities. At the same time, communities in rural areas have so much to offer – rural venues are communal hubs, and many have well established informal support networks and a sense of community spirit and togetherness that, if harnessed, can achieve incredible things.

Since our founding in the early 1950s, we’ve done a wide variety of development work in rural Hampshire: 

• Supporting community-led planning
• Working with rural shops and post offices
• Promoting access to services for rural communities
• Running community transport in rural areas
• Digital connectivity and inclusion
• Addressing social exclusion and loneliness
• Helping rural communities adapt and reduce their contribution to climate change
• Secretarial support for the Hampshire Rural Forum 

Whether you’re part of a rural community or want to engage with rural communities, we’re keen to hear from you.

As part of our Rural Community Council role, we can provide some initial guidance and support. Our experienced team are also available to contract for larger pieces of work such as research and advisory services.

You can see some of our current activity across the towns and villages of Hampshire through our work with community halls and centres and our Rural Housing Enabling. We also champion rural communities in everything we do, including our work on fuel poverty, loneliness, and emergency response.

Read more about what being Hampshire’s Rural Community Council means