Economic Regeneration in Staffordshire

Rural Regeneration

Rural regeneration is an important element of the work of the Economic Regeneration Business Unit. Staffordshire is a County, which combines significant rural and urban elements - approximately 80% of its land area is rural and some 20% of its population is rural.

Although agriculture in direct terms only accounts for around 1% - 2% of employment and turnover in Staffordshire it has a profound impact on the shape of the County, through the wider economy - especially in the Food and Drink sector and in tourism and leisure.

A series of crises in the agricultural sector have led to significant difficulties, almost to the point where agriculture itself may be thought to be scarcely viable, with farm incomes dropping substantially over recent years.

A number of initiatives have been developed within the County to work towards the regeneration of its rural areas. These include the Staffordshire Rural Forum, and the Taste of Staffordshire initiative, which are detailed below.

Redundant Buildings Grant

The Redundant Building Grant Scheme is part of a comprehensive programme of rural regeneration funded by Advantage West Midlands.

This scheme was launched offering financial assistance to eligible projects and is designed to help bring redundant buildings back into productive use.

For more information, please click the link below:

Redundant Buildings Grant

Staffordshire Rural Forum

In the Autumn of 2001, a number of local partners involved in the regeneration of rural Staffordshire came together to form the 'Staffordshire Rural Forum'. This emerged out of the former Rural Economic Forum and the Foot and Mouth Task Force. 
 
One of the first tasks of the Forum is to prepare a Strategic Action Plan to guide the work of the Forum and to help in coordinating the work of local partners. The preparation of the Action Plan has been divided in to three phases.

Phase I: Audit
Phase I is an audit of existing services, initiatives and actions that are currently being undertaken by partners to regenerate the County's rural areas. The audit has been divided into eleven topic areas, set within the context of the four pillars of the regional economic strategy.

During November and December2003 the Action Plan underwent a period of revision in response to changes in local, regional, national and European policy. The revisions also take into account the findings of the Curry and Haskins Reports.

Phase II: Workshops
The audit has been used as part of the process of preparing an action plan. In addition to this, a series of workshops were held in May 2002 centered around the eleven topic areas, to fully draw on the experience and skills of all its members of the Forum and the wider partnership. The workshops have been the principle mechanism for generating the action plan, and a report on the workshops has been prepared and circulated.

Phase III: The Action Plan
The preparation of a Strategic Action Plan is drawing heavily on the proposals developed through the workshops, and also upon the findings of a research project carried out by the Centre for Economic and Social Regeneration at Staffordshire University. The project entitled "Rural Tourism Futures" looks into the needs of small rural businesses. The format of the action plan is deliberately short and limited to the key priority actions, which the Forum wishes to promote and develop. Is should be read in conjunction with the other strategic regeneration plans for the county, such as Southern Staffordshire Now! which also propose a range of actions to regenerate the local economy, many of which will impact on the rural economy.

Context
The Action Plan has been prepared within the context of the;

• Regional Economic Strategy 'Creating Advantage', and the Agenda for Action, prepared by Advantage West Midlands in Spring 2001. Securing the regeneration of the region's rural economy is a key theme of the strategy.
• The West Midlands Rural Accord.
• Southern Staffordshire Now!, the new sub regional strategy prepared by the Southern Staffordshire Partnership in March 2002. The Action Plan will also contribute to the preparation of a wider North Staffordshire strategy, currently being prepared by the North Staffordshire Partnership.
• The Strategic Action Plan has also taken account of a number of other strategic and local strategies and action plans which aim to contribute to regenerating the County's rural economy.
  

Monitoring and Evaluation

Progress against the actions set out in the plan will be monitored and reviewed at the quarterly meetings of the Forum. An annual report setting out progress towards all the action in the plan will be considered at the Forum's annual meeting.

Documents

Copies of the Audit of Services and Activities, Workshop Report and the Strategic Action Plan are currently available. If you would like a copy, please contact:

Hannah Chadwick
Rural Economic Regeneration Officer
Development Services Department
Staffordshire County Council
Riverway
Stafford
ST16 3TJ

Tel: 01785 277345
Fax: 01785 277727
Email: hannah.chadwick@staffordshire.gov.uk
 

Website

The Staffordshire Rural Forum now has its own website called "GetRural.co.uk", the site contains a searchable version of both the Audit of Services and Activities, and the Strategic Action Plan. Also on the site is a full list of Forum Members, latest news articles and a diary of events.

To visit the Staffordshire Rural Forum website click here 
 

Taste of Staffordshire

A Taste of Staffordshire celebrates the distinctiveness of Staffordshire through the excellence of local food and drink, and the creative use of local products, dishes and recipes.

Staffordshire Good Food Awards

The annual awards for excellence were originated by Stafford Tourism Bureau in partnership with AA Hotel Services. Now in its sixth year the competition is managed by the A Taste of Staffordshire Steering Group of public and private sector representatives from across the County, and is open to dining venues throughout Staffordshire.

Food and Drink from Staffordshire

Staffordshire is renowned as the home of the brewing industry in Britain, and as a producer of fine china. It is also a producer of fine foods and distinctive products, such as the unique Staffordshire oatcake. It is planned to gather information on producers of food and drink in Staffordshire, to help with local sourcing and supply. A Staffordshire Local Food directory of food and drink producers is available to consumers and trade - for a FREE copy, telephone 01889 880151. A business-to-business website will be developed in 2009.

An annual Taste of Staffordshire Eating Out Guide is now produced containing listings of all businesses that entered the Good Food Awards and information about the variety of foods available in Staffordshire.

If you would like a free copy of the Taste of Staffordshire Eating Out Guide, please call 01889 880151.

Please visit: www.tasteofstaffordshire.com for more information.

Last Modified: 23/04/2008 08:55:31
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