Recently the trust is aware that key services to the parish have been cut, this paired with research from North Somerset county council; suggest that the main issues affecting rural communities are as followed;
• Lack of public transport
• Loss of local shops and café’s
• The closure of local pubs and bars
• Difficulty in accessing village halls/ community area’s
These issues, with an aging population have disastrous effects on rural communities with the main problem being isolation. Age UK’s statistics show that over 800,000 people living in the UK are ‘chronically lonely’. Therefore the Frankie Howerd OBE trust proposes to help tackle the problem of rural isolation by opening a community hub in Loxton, Somerset.
The Frankie Howerd community hub aims to bring these vital services back to the community and relieve social isolation.
What we'll deliver:
- Bringing a mini bus into the parish to make transport between local villages and towns a sustainable entity.
- A shop at the end of the hub will be opened for essential items.
- • A small café will also be opened so that there is a chance for villagers to get together.
- A small bar will be put next to the cafe.
- There will also be a community room where events that are of interest to local people can be held.
Why it's a great idea:
Problems causes by isolation and closure of public services are becoming greater and more critical year on year and they can be heard voiced at any local gathering whether it be a parish council meeting, village lunch or funeral/wedding where large numbers of rural residents are brought together. The loss of these meeting places has also destroyed the important self-monitoring system used in rural communities to keep a watchful eye on each other and in particular the vulnerable. Alarm bells rang when a pension wasn’t collected or a usual customer at the shop hadn’t been seen. . Now hidden, these issues become tragedies only revealing themselves when it’s too late.
The Frankie Howerd Trust therefore identified the above issues as ones to which it should give support.
To confirm the need, in May 2016, the Trust carried out a survey of local residents.The response was unanimously in favour of establishing a community hub as it is 'desperately needed'
Steps to get it done:
- Employment of part time staff and volunteers - 02/09/2018
