ORCC and Support for Market Towns
ORCC has been involved in work to promote and support the well-being and vibrancy of Oxfordshire’s market towns since we were asked by the County and District Councils to act as the Accountable Body for the SEEDA-funded Small Rural Towns Programme (SRTP) from 2004 to March 2012.
The SRTP has fitted in well as part of ORCC’s wide-ranging community development work. In particular, the promotion and support of community-led planning (CLP) is at the heart of ORCC’s approach to rural development, as we see inclusive CLP as the foundation of successful social, economic and environmental development initiatives in communities of all sizes.
An important factor in each of 6 market towns’ success in benefiting from the SRTP was the initial completion of a local consultation exercise - a “Healthcheck” - to develop a shared vision for the future. This was required before an application could be made for some of the £700,000 SEEDA funding on offer, which had to be at least matched by funds from elsewhere, including local sources.
Between them Carterton, Kidlington, Wantage & Grove, Wallingford, Faringdon and Thame. brought in other funding to bring the total spend to £2.25m. This has resulted in a fascinating range of local projects designed to benefit their businesses and their communities, of which further details are available from ORCC.
ORCC has also been working with the Oxfordshire Market Towns Network (OMTN) which has promoted and overseen the Programme’s smooth running. Now that the SRTP is at an end we will be maintaining contact with the members of the OMTN by email in order to keep under review any need for joint action to continue to promote the cause of market towns and a thriving rural economy.
ORCC is pleased to be a member of the South East Rural Towns Partnership – visit their website for further details: http://www.setowns.org.uk/
If you live or work in one of our market towns and are interested in promoting meaningful community involvement and/or to tackle the kind of issues which are featured on this website, please contact us: Meryl Smith, Deputy Chief Executive.