Welcome to the second issue of Regional Insight – the e-newsletter from the Yorkshire and Humber Market Towns Network.

Since the last issue, we have held a very successful study tour to Richmond and will be following this with a similar event in Hebden Bridge in April – see details below.

Sally Robinson, the newly appointed Chair, is keen to see the network develop its roots, with more linkage of partnerships at a local level, working together to be a stronger local voice. Possibilities for cooperation include sharing experiences of making projects
happen, organising local training or working together to bid for resources, whether external or from your local authority. There may be opportunities to work on or promote transport or adult education initiatives together, for example. Sally and I would be interested in your views.

There is plenty of other news in this issue and – as always – I look forward to your feedback and also suggestions for items for the next newsletter.

Camilla Govan
Regional Network Co-ordinator

Following a very successful study tour to Richmond in January, the next study tour will be to Hebden Bridge on 10 April.

Over 40 people came to the Richmond study tour, which explored Richmond’s Heritage Partnership Scheme and the Station Re-development.

The evaluation results indicate that this was a popular format. In particular, people liked seeing the activities on the ground and having the opportunity to hear from those involved in them; getting explanations of how things had been achieved and visiting working examples; and the opportunity for networking with people from other towns.

Encouraged by this positive feedback, the Yorkshire and Humber Market Towns Network is planning a similar format at Hebden Bridge. The town's Walker’s are Welcome entry won Action for Market Towns 2007 Yorkshire and Humber Award for Strategy and Partnership working. Since that award the group has moved ahead and started a Walkers are Welcome movement. Go to weblink:
Walkers are Welcome

Hebden Bridge has also been the subject of major town centre public realm and pedestrianisation works over the last year, which have had a dramatic effect on the visual aspect of the town centre. Both the Walkers and Welcome project and the Town Centre Public Realm improvements will be the subject of the study tour, with those involved from the community and Calderdale Council hosting the day. For more information about Hebden Bridge and the Hebden Bridge Partnership go to weblink:
Hebden Bridge weblink.

For more details of the study tour, go to weblink:

Affordable housing – or the lack of it – is a key issue in many market towns. Many rural communities are faced by a combination of higher than average house prices and lower than average local wages. This can create challenges for individual families, the local economy and the wider sustainability of the community.

The Prime Minister has asked Matthew Taylor, MP for Truro and St Austell, to conduct a review on how land use and planning can better support rural business and deliver affordable housing. He has issued a call for evidence, which needs to be submitted by 7 March. The call for evidence document can be downloaded at weblink:
Matthew Taylor Review

Workshop on delivering affordable housing

'Building Partnerships: A Workshop Event on Delivering Rural Affordable Housing' is being held on 17 March at The Merchant Taylors Hall, York. It is being organised by the Yorkshire and Humber Assembly in partnership with Government Office for Yorkshire and Humber and the I&DeA.

Workshop sessions will give delegates an opportunity to hear about examples from around the region including the I&DeA Rural Excellence work that has been going on in North Yorkshire. For more details go to weblink:
Affordable housing workshop

To book a place, e-mail by Friday 29 February your name, job title, organisation and address to
amanda.johnson@yhassembly.gov.uk

Land trusts secure affordable housing

Providing affordable housing for sale – but ensuring that it stays affordable in the long term is a major problem in many towns. A solution which is being explored in a number of areas is the Community Land Trust, which is a mechanism for the democratic ownership of land by the local community.

One example is the Cornwall Community Land Trust project, which is both developing affordable homes for sale and also negotiating with developers to bring section 106 affordable homes under the Community Land Trust umbrella.

At the Plunkett Foundation social enterprise conference at the end of November, Alan Fox, Cornwall Community Land Trust project manager, outlined the work his Trust is undertaking. His presentation can be seen at weblink:
Community Land Trusts presentation

A leaflet explaining the work of the Trust can be downloaded At weblink:
Land Trusts leaflet

Community Finance Solutions at the University of Salford have developed a useful website devoted to Community Land Trusts at:
Community Land Trusts website

Skipton in North Yorkshire has been chosen to host the Action for Market Towns national convention on 1&2 October 2008.

This is the first time the AMT convention has been hosted in Yorkshire. It follows a strong bid from Skipton Town Council and the Renaissance Market Town partnership and will be supported by Yorkshire Forward, North Yorkshire County Council and Craven District Council.

The AMT Convention is the highlight of the year for market towns, featuring study tours of projects being undertaken in the host town, together with a range of useful workshops and plenary sessions with national speakers. It also the occasion for the presentation to the winner of the National Market Town Awards. This year, it will be at a gala dinner at the impressive Broughton Hall.

Around 250 delegates attend the convention each year. More details will be available when the programme is finalised – but this is one to put in your diary now.

A £2 million, five year programme to help sustain and revitalise market towns has been announced by Action for Market Towns.

Called 'Towns Alive', the programme is supported by a £1 million award from the Big Lottery Fund.
The idea is to support market town partnerships in four ways:

• A Market Towns Academy will develop and run training programmes - including online courses - to help partnerships more effectively organise, plan and manage their resources.

• A Market Towns Think Tank will co-ordinate research and policy studies affecting market towns.

• A Towns-for-Towns programme will help towns share knowledge and good practice with each other.

• A National Voice for Market Towns will help to influence national and regional policy affecting market towns as well as keeping market town partnerships up-to-date with development and opportunities in market town regeneration.

Action for Market Towns Chief Executive Chris Wade said that 'Towns Alive' was an opportunity for market towns to take a major step forward. "Over the past 10 years, many towns have started to get a grip on the problems facing them. The support Action for Market Towns will be able to provide through the 'Towns Alive' programme will help market town partnerships make a step change in their effectiveness as agents of change and progress in their towns."

The 'Towns Alive' programme will be officially launched at the beginning of April, but preparatory work is already under way. As part of the programme, Action for Market Towns will be updating its database of market town community partnerships across Yorkshire and Humber over the coming months.

The Post Office is undertaking a massive network change programme which will mean closures of Post Offices which may cut service levels, particularly in smaller towns and villages.

In East and North Yorkshire the public consultation has finished, with the exception of Richmondshire where the consultation closes on 26 March. Details of decisions can be downloaded from:
Post Office closures

In West Yorkshire, the public consultation begins on 13 May 2008. The area plan proposal will be available from the same website shortly.

What can you do to avoid the worst effects on services if your local Post Office closes? Ruralnet, with support from the Commission for Rural Communities, has set up a free Experts Online question and answer service which is designed to help rural communities work together as one in their transition towards the alternative ways that the service needs of local residents and businesses can be met in the light of decisions on Post Office closures.
The Experts Online service is free – but you need to register. For further information and to register, go to:
Experts Online

Six locations in Yorkshire and Humber have been put forward by developers for new ecotowns. Nationally, 50 proposals have been put forward and the government is expected to announce the successful 10 shortly. It is expected that they will be located in all areas of the country.

In Yorkshire and Humber, the proposed towns are at:
Clifton Gate, near York (5,500 homes),
Mickleford, near the A1 south of Leeds (20,000 homes),
Willow Green, near Eggborough (15,000 homes),
Darringfield, near ther A1 close to Darrington (20,000 homes),
Rossington, near Doncaster (10-15,000 homes)
Orgreave, near Rotherham (3,700 homes)

For local press stories and local comment on ecotowns proposals go to:
Press reports

For details of the government's vision for ecotowns, go to:
Ecotown vision

A CPRE news briefing on ecotowns, including a link to an interactive map showing all their locations and developer details is at:
CPRE briefing

A review of the Yorskhire and Humber Rural Framework has been published. The report is available at weblink:
Rural Framework review

The rural framework was produced following publication of the Government’s Rural Strategy in 2004. It sets out the priorities for action to ensure these are targeted where needed at local level across the region, thus securing sustainable development outcomes.

Ten rural priorities were established in the Rural Framework, including support for market towns as hubs for the rural economy and as service centres, providing locally based employment opportunities.
Details of the framework and the Yorkshire and Humber Rural Affairs Forum are at weblink:
Rural Framework

A ‘Local Links’ project piloted in three West Yorkshire towns and part of Bradford aimed to improve neighbourhood networking, support, skills development and information sharing for local decision-makers and active citizens.

The aim of the project, run by Common Purpose and funded by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, was to assist people to be better informed, empowered and more effective in their community roles.

For many participants the key benefit was meeting others actively involved in the area, taking opportunities for working together and forging stronger links. The programmes built knowledge and improved understanding of the local area and how it works.
For more detail and to download copies of the project findings, go to weblink:

A grant of £90,558 has been made for the major restoration of the Castle Garden, a five acre site in the centre of Malton which has been hidden for years behind high walls, into an area of natural parkland with seating, pathways and shrub borders.

The Derwent Riverside Project has been successful in securing this major funding through the Yorventure Challenge Fund, funded by North Yorkshire based waste management company Yorwaste Ltd.
In recognition of 10 years of funding projects through the Landfill Communities fund, Yorwaste put aside £100,000 for an exceptional project which successfully combined environmental improvements or conservation and also youth involvement.

Derwent Riverside Project Secretary Di Keal said: “We are thrilled to bits that Yorventure is backing the garden with such a significant grant which is a testimony to the value of the project to our community.

“The project group would also like to thank Ryedale District Council for their grant of £60,000 and for the support we have gained from the authority including backing for the restoration of long neglected walls.”

This project has also received £10,000 from Yorkshire Forward, who are currently considering a further £10,000 through the RMT Rural Target Fund.

For a briefing on the Castle Gardens project, go to weblink:
Castle Garden

For more information on Yorventure, go to weblink:

Work has started on an all-weather path around Pickering Castle which will allow year round access to wheelchairs and pushchairs.

Over £30,000 in grants has been awarded for the work including £15,000 from Yorventure who operate the landfill site at Caulklands, £10,000 from Yorkshire Forward’s Rural Target Fund, and further funding from Ryedale District Council, NYCC Aggregates Fund, NYCC Area Committee and Pickering Town Council. The stone being used for the path couldn’t be more local in that it has been generously donated by Cemex UK who operate the quarry near the Castle.

The path has also brought about the formation of the Friends of Pickering Castle, near Scarborough. This group of enthusiastic residents are hoping they will be able to work with English Heritage to promote the Castle and hold events and activities to encourage younger residents to take pride in the Castle.

The path is being officially opened on Thursday 20 March at 1pm by local author and broadcaster Ron Scales and local school children. The opening will also see the launch of the Friends of Pickering Castle and everyone is invited to attend.

For more information on Pickering Castle go to weblink:

If you like 'regional insight', then take a look at the national e-newsletter 'insight' published monthly by Action for Market Towns and mailed exclusively to AMT members.

Click here for a sample issue

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Membership benefits

Back numbers of Regional Insight

Click below to access back issues of Yorkshire and Humber Regional Insight

Back issues

Empowering rural communities workshop

Empowering rural communities is the subject of a free workshop being organised by the Federation for Community Development Learning on 11 March in York. For more information and a booking form go to weblink:

Empowering rural communities workshop

Live/work conference

A conference on sustainable live/work spaces on 16 April at BT headquarters in London. More details at:

Live/work conference

Youth work conference

‘Thinking seriously about youth work’ is taking place in Leeds on the 3-4 March. Topics include school-based youth work, young people’s rights and youth work practice. For more information e-mail:

cyw.conference@googlemail.com