We were delighted to join Staines Helping Hands to celebrate their official launch last month. Staines Helping Hands is a local charitable organisation set up by volunteers for the help and benefit of those living in the TW18 Staines-upon-Thames area. They provide help with:
Our Good neighbours Scheme Adviser, Vicki Turton has helped the group to get off the ground with plenty of expert advice and support. If you would like to set up a scheme in Surrey, get in touch!
Rural Housing Week (3-7 July), is an annual campaign, ran by the National Housing Federation to highlight the importance of local housing for creating sustainable communities. This year the focus is on ‘building a better future for rural communities’.
This is my first Rural Housing Week as the Rural Housing Enabler for Surrey so I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to introduce myself and you invite you to get in touch should you wish to work together to deliver local, affordable homes in your community. My name is Nicola and I’m Surrey Community Action’s Rural Housing Enabler.
Monday
On Monday 3rd July the focus was on Rural Homelessness. I attended a webinar on the issue which was also attended by by one of the co-writers of the report ‘Homelessness in the Countryside -A hidden Crisis’’, March 2023, Carin Tunaker, from the University of Kent ( Jointly researched by the University of Southampton). This report highlighted that there has been a 24% rise in the levels of rough sleeping in rural areas in just 1 year.
“There are more places to sleep in tents, cars, and vans. We get a lot of people who do not realise they are rough sleeping…People are also much more removed from services by geography. There is a lack of knowledge about what services are where, what they do and how to access them. As a result, more people develop multiple and complex needs, fall victim to gate keeping, and their situations become more entrenched” – survey respondent.
In response to this a ‘Rural Homelessness Counts Coalition’ has been set up. This is a group of rural and homeless organisations, such as English Rural, The National Housing Federation, and the Centre for Homelessness Impact. The ‘Rural Homeless Counts Coalition’ has made a pledge which includes fostering partnerships, raising awareness, encouraging the adoption of evidence-based approaches, and developing and advocating solutions to tackle rural homelessness. The coalition encourages you to join: “Whether you’re an individual passionate about housing equality, a local authority, a rural housing association, or another stakeholder, your support can make a difference. By joining the coalition, you’ll be part of a powerful movement working to ensure that rural homelessness counts”. If you have like to find out more information about the coalition, please contact [email protected]
Wednesday
“Building more affordable homes is crucial for rural communities – to tackle rising homelessness, for people who want to stay in their local area, and to enhance the quality of housing available to residents. However, our planning system often presents significant barriers to this.” National Housing Federation
On Wednesday, the focus was on the planning process for delivering rural housing. Ulrike Maccariello, Development Director of the Hascoe Group, Nick Gallent, Professor of Housing and Planning, The Bartlett School of Planning, University College London (UCL), and Adam Morton, Senior Manager-Affordable Housing Strategy, Homes England, gave presentations on a webinar about planning, opportunities, and obstacles for delivering rural housing. These were very informative and well worth listening to.
If you are interested in how the planning process works, listen to Ulrike explain the process involved including opportunities and obstacles.
Garrent from UCL gave an update on current live research entitled “Delivering Affordable Housing on Rural Exception sites” due to be completed and available to read this autumn. Keep an eye out for this publication. He would like local authorities to share their experiences and data on this matter. You can do this by contacting: [email protected]
In exploring what factors advance or impede the progress of rural housing in exception sites, his preliminary findings indicated that, among other important issues, community support and access to a Rural Housing Enabler, to act an honest broker working with all stakeholders, can be key to helping to drive affordable housing projects in local areas.
Adam Morton, from Homes England, referred to Homes England strategic plan 2023 to 2028 – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) published in May. This relates to both rural and urban planning:
“Our mission- We drive regeneration and housing delivery to create high-quality homes and thriving places. This will support greater social justice, the levelling up of communities across England and the creation of places people are proud to call home”.
He also explained the Affordable Homes Programme 2021 to 2026 – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) This is “programme information, how to apply for funding or become a Homes England investment or strategic partner”.
He cited the promotion of a more holistic and collaborative approach with a focus on a local approach to people and places. Focusing on regeneration, locally defined and led projects, the partnership of both public and private, small and large housing providers, and the importance of design, quality, and sustainability.
If you are interested in learning more about this webinar, the links to two webinars are below.
These are National Housing Federation – Homelessness – the ‘hidden’ rural crisis and National Housing Federation – Planning – opportunities and obstacles for delivering rural housing.
If you would like to find out more about rural housing in Surrey, please get in touch – email me or call 07874 857638.
As well as working for a charity, some of our team volunteer for other charities and not-for-profit organisations too. During Volunteers Week (1-7 June), we thought that we would share some of our volunteer roles.
Jason Gaskell, our CEO
I’m a trustee with Surrey Wildlife Trust. Having previously worked and volunteered for Northumberland Wildlife Trust, I was keen to stay involved in the WT movement when we moved to Surrey, and a Trusteeship allows me to combine personal interest with professional skills from working in the voluntary sector.
I’m also a rugby coach with Guildfordians Rugby Club. I have coached mixed teams from under 6 to under 11, and then move up to coach an amazing team of U14 Girls. Seeing them develop their skills and confidence over the season is fantastic, sharing their joy of the game, the pain of their losses and the euphoria of their (many!) wins. Next season is a whole new challenge as lead coach of the U16 Girls team. As well as seeing the players develop and grow, there is a fantastic network of coaches to work with, bounce ideas off and socialise with, from teams across Surrey and beyond.
Vicky Turton, our Good Neighbour Schemes Co-Ordinator
As well as helping community groups to set up and run good neighbour schemes, I’m a volunteer for my local scheme too.
I have been a volunteer with WEBCare – a good neighbour scheme in Bisley since it launched in 1995. I am on the committee, I answer the phones, and I am a driver with the scheme.
Dianne Roberts, our Community Champions Co-ordinator
I’m a trustee for HomeStart Spelthorne, where I serve as a safeguarding trustee, ensuring the Committee staff and volunteers are up to date with training and are aware of their responsibilities, plus I check our policies and practice re recruitment, supervision etc.
Justine Aldous, our Marketing Manager
I help to promote the activities and events organised by the PTA at my children’s secondary school and I’m also a volunteer moderator for my local community’s Facebook group. Having spent a lot of time promoting the flexibility of volunteering for good neighbour schemes, I have joined Guildford Care as a volunteer driver too.
Our Warmth Matters Project popped up at the Westborough Community Fair on Saturday 20 May.
Hosted by Westborough Church and the University of Surrey, the event offered a day of fun, entertainment, support and advice for the local community in Westborough.
The Fair’s theme was financial resilience and Surrey Community Action joined other charity and not for profit organisations at the event, to give energy saving advice to visitors to the Fair.
I am lucky enough to live in a relatively rural part of Surrey, and to do so reasonably comfortably. Being there has some amazing advantages – countryside, nice walks, peace, bird song (a mixed blessing at 4am) and more – but that doesn’t make me blind to the challenges faced by rural communities.
Rural Surrey has pockets of extreme affluence and areas of significant need that can sometimes be masked by the presence of more affluent neighbours. This was one of the fascinating insights from our recent “Snapshot of Rural Surrey” which I hope to be able to publish very soon, along with things such as: Did you know that rural households have to spend on average 50% more per week on transport than their urban peers, with non-drivers suffering the most?
I look forward to sharing more insight – and things we can do about it very soon, but in the meantime, enjoy our newsletter which is best enjoyed sitting in the sunshine with a glass of something refreshing to hand.
Children at the East Molesey Community hub enjoyed creating Coronation crafts last week thanks to a range of arty materials provided by Dianne Roberts, our Community Champions Coordinator. The session was co-ordinated by one of our volunteer Community Champions, Lisa Tanner.
April has been a very busy month for me, as well as the Surrey Community Action team. A lot of my time has been spent preparing a “Snapshot of Rural Surrey” for Surrey County Council, which we pulled together using the 2021 Census data and some community research which gives us a snapshot of rural Surrey (the clue is in the title!). I hope to publish in the next few weeks, but I wanted to thank you in advance, those of you who forwarded the link to our survey to your networks. I was hoping to get a hundred or so responses, but was blown away by the 526 we received. It gave me a lot of data to pore over, but it was a delight to do and will give us some insights on rural Surrey that we can hopefully use to influence how rural communities are supported in the future. Here’s one little fact out of the many that came through from the research (spoiler alert!): Did you know that more than twice as many households in rural Surrey benefit from renewable energy compared to urban Surrey, the South East or England as a whole? The challenge now is to understand why that might be, and that’s part of the next job – understanding what the data is telling us. Of course, carrying out such detailed research is an important endeavour, but also comes with an added bonus – I have a load new facts and figures if I’m ever called to organise a pub quiz….
I was just about to head out of the door for a long overdue family holiday (voice mail message recorded, out of office notification set up, plate in the dishwasher, keys in hand) when our Communications Manager, Justine reminded me that I needed to do an introduction to this newsletter. I may have grumbled a bit, but she’s right; this is an important one as it will focus on our latest bit of research work, a Snapshot of Rural Surrey.
One of the many strings to our bow is our involvement in the rural consultancy Cirican, which has been commissioned by Surrey County Council to look at the latest census data and apply that to rural Surrey. We know housing is expensive, but how expensive? We know that people commute long distances, but how far and how long does it take? We know that broadband speeds are lower in rural areas, but how long will it take to stream the latest season of Bridgerton (my guilty pleasure, blame my partner for getting me hooked)? This is all fascinating and useful data, but it is just data, it can’t tell a story.
That’s where you come in! As well as the number crunching above, we are carrying out some community research to find out what living, working or relaxing in rural Surrey is actually like. Not what the numbers tell us, but what it feels like to have to travel for however many miles to see the GP. What it is like to live in a small village with fewer amenities that before. How challenging it is to travel across Surrey with a disability. How being surrounded by countryside fills you with pleasure.
When we put the numbers and the words together, we will be able to paint a compelling picture of life in rural Surrey – the good (stunning views!), the bad (potholes!) and the ugly (potholes again!) – that colleagues can use to guide how we account for rurality when we plan services. We want to make sure that the remoteness of a postcode doesn’t cause anyone to get left behind.
My tone is light (I’m in holiday mood after all) but the work is serious. Please help us develop our picture of rural Surrey by completing our 15-minute survey or forwarding it far and wide. Thank you!
Spring is just about to start springing. There are snowdrops and crocuses (croci? Or just crocus?) springing up on the lawn, and if the noise outside my window is any indication, the sparrows are starting to discuss making more sparrows. While that is positive news, it doesn’t mean that the challenges we faced over winter have gone away. Inflation may be dropping slightly, but prices are still going up and more people are struggling, even with the support offered by Surrey County Council, the Districts and Boroughs and our awesome voluntary sector. I’m really pleased that our successful Warmth Matters project will be continuing over the year, and helping people get ready for next Winter. We actually have a vacancy for a second Warmth Matters Project Officer, so if you know someone who is passionate about helping others live a bit better, please spread the word.
I’d also like to remind you all that the Surrey Charities Forum meets online once a month, bringing people together from the voluntary sector, local authorities and health to talk through common issues and opportunities. This month’s meeting was this morning, and covered the cost of living, Your Fund Surrey Small Grants and the Kings Award for Voluntary Service, amongst other things. If you want to get involved in the next meeting, or want to receive the notes form this one, let us know and we’ll add you to the list!
