Rural Champions

Our Rural Champions are advocating the needs of the Island's rural areas to a range of local organisations and key individuals. In this way we hope to influence strategies, plans and programmes so that the needs of the rural areas and in particular their communities are included. This also gives us the opportunity to promote the RCC's role in this important work. 

Islandwide strategies and programmes are by their nature seeking to be of benefit to the whole of the Island. Work to regenerate urban areas can also benefit the rural community who may well access healthcare, leisure and business services within our towns.
Social and economic issues can be more acutely visible in urban areas, with certain communities in parts of our towns featuring with low scores for one or a number of the indices of deprivation (income; employment; health deprivation and disability; education skills and training; barriers to housing and services; crime and living environment). This can result in an urban design bias in programmes and strategies seeking to improve on these factors of deprivation, which can create unforeseen barriers to rural communities who may have similar issues but of a more hidden and dispersed nature.

The RCC strongly advocates 'Rural Proofing' as a method of ensuring that rural areas are properly considered and their particular needs and characteristics taken into account. 

Rural Champions – David Langford & John Brownscombe
Contact: rural@iwrcc.org.uk

Ask you Rural Champions

This service allows people to raise general issues, concerns and comments about the Island's rural areas. It does not replace other mechanisms open to people to raise specific concerns with service providers and is not a complaints service. It is seeking to enable us to have a better understanding of the issues affecting rural communities and a direct line of communication with people in the rural area.

Information from people using this service will then be used by the Rural Champions as part of their discussions with partners and will help us to provide examples of people's direct experience of life in the Rural Wight to illustrate the needs of the rural area. The RCC’s newsletter will include an overview of the activities of the Rural Champions and updates on particular issues that have been raised.