Making services accessible to communities is a key feature of the Rural Regeneration Zone’s investment programme.
One of the primary ways of improving access to services is through the creation of a network of ‘multi-use facilities’. A Strategic Investment Framework has been developed for the provision of facilities right across the Rural Regeneration Zone that can provide access to a number of services – such as medical, training or community – from a single location. Already, facilities have been funded at Craven Arms, Wem, Cleobury Mortimer, Peterchurch and Dorrington, near Shrewsbury, with many more facilities in the pipeline.
We recognise the need for an effective voluntary and community sector as key deliverers of user-focused services and supporters of communities.
Additionally, the Nexus small grants scheme, which has funded almost 100 projects across the Zone, has contributed significantly to helping communities to enjoy health, training and employment services.
And the Zone plays a key role in the Rural Development Programme for England , which supports land-based industries in rural areas across the West Midlands.