Champions of rural action and support, Cambridgeshire ACRE (Action for Communities in Rural England) is celebrating a centenary of making a grassroots difference for the 260 parishes across Cambridgeshire and Peterborough.

Founded in 1924, Cambridgeshire ACRE, a registered charity, has helped inject an estimated £75 million worth of investment into rural Cambridgeshire communities in its 100-year history. As it plans for a landmark celebration party to be held in the summer, there is plenty for Cambridgeshire ACRE to be proud of. In a period that has seen the county’s population increase three-fold, it is hard to think of any area of rural life that Cambridgeshire ACRE has not touched, from affordable social housing in villages, to offering a leading voice on environmental issues including zero carbon.

Cambridgeshire ACRE has taken a pro-active role as pioneers in the establishment of a network of village halls, the creation and protection of village playing fields, the founding of community organisations and the development of affordable housing schemes. It has also played an influential part in the founding of many social organisations such as Age UK Cambridgeshire & Peterborough and the countryside charity, Campaign for the Protection of Rural England Cambridgeshire and Peterborough.

Champions of planning and housing issues in the countryside, Cambridgeshire ACRE has played a key role in delivering crucial strategic tools to influence development such as Neighbourhood Plans.

Cambridgeshire ACRE has also provided the catalyst for social enterprise initiatives from community shops to cafes and from rural businesses to pubs. More recently, the charity offered an immediate response to the energy and cost-of-living crisis triggering the set-up of 38 warm hubs across the county, 22 of which are still operating as rural community hubs with a broader social scope. Looking ahead, Cambridgeshire ACRE marches into its second centenary as a leading voice on issues around health and wellbeing in rural communities. The charity has launched the recruitment of, what it hopes will be, a new army of Village Agents who will act as grassroots community workers to enable rural communities to better access support services.

“Cambridgeshire ACRE’s success is all about collaboration,” explains Kirsten Bennett, its Chief Executive. “ We are a small organisation with a mighty power to bring people in communities together with the people in the organisations that can help them solve rural issues.” continues Kirsten whose 15-strong Cambridgeshire-based team are currently generating at least £1 million of rural funding annually.

Congratulating Cambridgeshire ACRE on its 100th anniversary in Cambridgeshire, President Julie Spence says: “ The charity’s role, as advocates for rural communities, is just as relevant today as it was when it was founded with similar issues facing countryside dwellers such as a cost- of – living crisis,
housing shortages and rural isolation. “ From a small acorn and those early ideals, a century ago, Cambridgeshire ACRE has grown into a substantial oak tree with many branches representing the significant resource it has become for rural communities in our county.”
“ Well done to everyone who has contributed in some way as we look forward confidently to the future.”

Looking forward, Cambridgeshire ACRE will kick off its next 100 years with the launch of a new Rural Services Survey that will give an up-to-date picture of what living in a rural community looks like in 2024. Those results will be revealed at Rural Conferences later in the year, with topics such as rural services and sustainability as well as targeted practical support for the youth and the elderly, high on the agenda.

Kirsten again: “Cambridgeshire ACRE prides itself in listening to the community and trialling new concepts and ideas that have , time after time, made a positive impact on people living rurally. If we look back on our 100 years you see a similar cycle of the same challenges now facing our rural residents b ut now we have many more avenues of support and communication on our side.”