The role of Rural communities and UK agriculture

Rural communities and UK agriculture must play a vital role in achieving a more sustainable society and economy…More than 400 shops went out of business last year alone, and with them not only post offices, newspapers, food and drink, but also social spaces, places to bump into friends and share news with neighbours. Once at the heart of many rural communities, the double-bypass surgery being carried out by the recession and a ubiquity of superstores has seen pulses slow, and eventually stop. 'Local shops are there not just for people to buy things but to be sociable, to say hello to people,' says Kate Westlake of St Germans in Cornwall, chair of a local committee that is in the process of setting up a community-owned shop. 'Without them, places like this would die.’ At Church Farm, we see a current and future opportunity for rural areas to rediscover their identity and purpose, and to tackle long-standing issues. These include: economic decline, social isolation, poor services and facilities, the cost of living, the lack of affordable housing, threatened wildlife, an ageing population and the numerous difficulties facing UK farmers, trying to produce safe sustainable food.

http://www.theecologist.org/how_to_make_a_difference/culture_change/496546/savin
g_and_rebuilding_community_shops.html