What makes your rural community a great place to live, and what would make life better?

You don’t need to be involved with Cambridgeshire ACRE to have your say. If you live, work, volunteer or have an interest in rural Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, we want to hear from you. Tell us what matters to your community and help shape our priorities for the next five years.

Cambridgeshire ACRE has launched Future Rural Cambridgeshire: Insight and Opportunity, an initiative to understand how rural life across Cambridgeshire and Peterborough is changing and identify 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.

Your experience is essential. You know what makes your community special, what is difficult and what could improve. Whether you are already involved in local activities or have never taken part in a consultation before, we want to hear from you. By sharing your views, you can help ensure our work over the next five years reflects the realities and ambitions of the communities we serve.

Have your say

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

Taking part is confidential

We will treat your contributions confidentially and report findings anonymously: you will not be named or identified in the published findings. At workshops, everyone will be asked to respect one another’s privacy and not share identifiable comments outside the group. Taking part is voluntary and you can choose what you share.

Help us build a picture of rural life that reflects your community. Complete the survey, book a workshop or do both.

For more information, or if you need support to take part, contact Wray Irwin at wray.irwin-associates@cantab.net.