AMT Public

AMT is keen to support rural services – the market town is often the economic and social hub for a much wider rural hinterland, and is therefore supporting both its own residents and those from further afield.

Access to services

Access to services is vital for the sustainability of all communities whether they are wholly publicly funded, wholly commercial or somewhere between the two.  The loss of such services not only affects the long-term viability of a community, but also directly impacts upon the quality of life of its residents.

Over the past 20 years, service provision has decreased across rural areas and it is not uncommon for rural villages to lack some very basic services.  Many market towns, traditionally the economic, social and cultural centres for their wider rural hinterlands, have seen a reduction in many medium-scale services and often are no longer equipped to serve their residents or the needs of surrounding villages.

Safeguard local services

As the country emerges from recession, but faces public spending cuts, the need to identify innovative ways to safeguard local services is paramount as is the need to deliver an agenda for change.  This includes:

• developing more detailed statistics that highlight disadvantage in seemingly more affluent countryside areas
• exploring the way services are run and lobbying for support to help build capacity in the voluntary and community sector
• finding more efficient ways to deliver core services such as ‘one-stop’ shops where a collection of services are delivered
• maintaining the importance of community leadership in influencing and delivering appropriate local services

Joint working with the Rural Services Network

AMT has been working with the Rural Services Network to explore rural services in the small town setting in further detail, in particular looking at how these towns can better link into the statutory frameworks that exist when developing rural services.

A discussion paper on the trends and policy issues in relation to service provision in market towns – for example, centralisation vs community empowerment and localism – has been written by Tracey Turner of Place Shaping Solutions Ltd.

• Download the Service Provision in Market Towns discussion paper {opens pdf}

Local performance framework
A separate report seeks to explain the local performance framework used by principal local authorities (County, District and Unitary Councils) and local strategic partnerships, and to review and compare the toolkits used by market town initiatives and other bodies seeking to analyse and improve sustainability in rural areas and market towns.

It also identifies useful resources available to Market Town Initiatives and makes recommendations to improve understanding and promote more supportive partnership working between Market Town Initiatives, Local Authorities and Local Strategic Partnerships.

• Download the New Performance Framework and Community Led Planning report {opens pdf}

Rural Services case studies
We have also developed a series of case studies as part of this work.

• Browse the Rural Services Case Studies

What next?

If you would like more information on this work, or feel you have something you would like to contribute, then please contact us as: Alison.Eardley@towns.org.uk

• Go to the Policy Resources library