Future Rural Cambridgeshire
About this project
Future Rural Cambridgeshire: Insight and Opportunity is a new Cambridgeshire ACRE initiative exploring how rural life across Cambridgeshire and Peterborough is changing and identifying practical ways to support communities in the years ahead. Wray Irwin Associates is delivering the project on our behalf, giving residents and community organisations an opportunity to help shape our future work.
Rural communities face a changing landscape: new housing and population growth, pressures on transport and local services, changes to public services and local government, and environmental and economic challenges. These changes affect places and people differently. They also bring opportunities to build on local strengths, develop new ideas and strengthen community life.
Running until March 2027, the project will bring together existing research with the experiences and ideas of residents, community groups, and organisations working in rural areas. Through surveys, workshops, and conversations, we will explore what matters now, what may become more important over the next three to five years, and where support is missing or could work better.
The aim is to turn what we learn into practical opportunities for action. The findings will help us decide where Cambridgeshire ACRE can make the greatest difference, who we should work with and which ideas to develop into future projects and funding proposals. We are starting with open questions, so your contributions can influence the priorities and ideas that emerge.
How you can get involved yourself
There are two ways to have your say – you can do one or both!
Complete our survey (open until 4 December) to tell us about your experiences, priorities, and hopes for the future.
https://tinyurl.com/Survey-FutureRuralCambs
Join a workshop to explore the issues in more depth with others and share ideas for positive change. We will be holding workshops in person and online, with welcoming discussions and activities that give everyone an opportunity to contribute. No specialist knowledge is needed, just your experiences and ideas.
Workshops are taking place as follows and will last about 3 hours (except for the online one, which will last 2.5 hours):
- Saturday 21 November, 10am, Newton Village Hall (Fenland)
- Wednesday 25 November, 7pm, Needingworth Village Hall (Hunts)
- Saturday 28 November, 10am, West Wickham Village Hall (South Cambs)
- Tuesday 1 December, 7pm, Abbotsley Village Hall (Hunts)
- Tuesday 8 December, 7pm, Online
To book your place, visit: https://tinyurl.com/Workshops-FutureRuralCambs
Help us promote the opportunity to be involved to others
If you have the means to help us to promote this project to others in your community to encourage them to get involved, then we would very much appreciate your help. The following materials will help you do this:
- Downloadable Flier – designed to be circulated digitally. This provides an overview of the project and ways people can get involved.
- Downloadable Poster – can be printed on A4, limited ink usage. This provides high level information about the project and ways to get involved.
- Downloadable Newsletter Text – a short information piece about the project which you can include in your newsletter, with links for getting involved.
