Putting rural communities at the forefront
21st March 2025
As the Essex Rural Fund celebrates its 16th anniversary with us, there is a renewed drive to raise awareness of issues in rural communities and to get more people involved.
Essex is well known for its cities including Chelmsford, Colchester and Southend, as well as its busy ports like Harwich, and urban areas such as Basildon. But Essex has another equally important side to its character, its lovely rural areas.
The Essex Rural Fund, set up 16 years ago, is playing a vital role in helping people in the rural parts of the county, by supporting community groups and charities working in these areas.
The fund, which we manage, was launched in 2009 by the Rural Community Council of Essex (RCCE) to help celebrate its 80th anniversary.
Nick Charrington, who is President of RCCE and is also a panel member for the Essex Rural Fund said: “Around 70 per cent of Essex is rural and about a quarter of the population lives in rural communities. Our coastline is also the longest of any county in England.
Picture: Nick Charrington in the countryside of Lamarsh
“When you drive or walk through rural Essex all looks well, but underneath that picture of tranquility, there is a lot of deprivation. Services such as shops, buses and other local facilities have been cut back and this has had a big effect, making practical issues such as visiting family or getting to work really difficult.
”The Essex Rural Fund is tackling these issues and is making a difference in a lot of areas. Since it was set up it has given grants totalling almost £190,000 to a whole range of projects and initiatives in the county’s rural communities. It has also supported many local assets including village halls, Scout groups, Men’s Sheds, community shops, pubs and post offices.
“With support and encouragement from the Essex Rural Fund people are rising to the challenge and keeping their rural communities alive.
“Sometimes a grant goes to something that might seem to be unglamorous but is actually quite important. An example is a grant given to Rayne village hall which needed some money to replace their very old boilers. Rayne is a small village, and the hall plays an important role in hosting a wide range of activities throughout the week that bring people together. These include dance and exercise classes for children and adults, karate, youth football, carpet bowls and a WI. Without the new boilers, the village hall couldn’t stay open, as it wouldn’t have met the necessary regulations.’
Nick added, “One of the main problems in rural areas is loneliness, and village halls such as the one mentioned are at the heart of the community, helping to bring people together, keeping them active and alert.
“If communities can be helped to keep local facilities alive then isolation is reduced. It also provides people with opportunities for volunteering, which can improve their wellbeing.
The foresight of the Rural Community Council of Essex (RCCE) to set up the Essex Rural Fund 16 years ago has established a strong foundation to improve the lives of thousands of people in the county, now and into the future.
“We want the Essex Rural Fund to keep on growing and, as it is an endowment fund, the bigger it gets the more it can continue giving grants on a long-lasting basis”, said Nick.
As the fund is celebrating its 16th anniversary in 2025, Nick and others are aiming to raise awareness about what the Fund is doing and are encouraging people to get involved.
Join the annual Essex Rural Fund Walk
The Essex Rural Fund annual walk has been a firm fixture of Essex life for several years. This year the walk will be on Saturday 26 April around the Copford area, near Colchester and, as always, the focus will be on gentle exercise, good company, beautiful surroundings and the opportunity to support a good cause.
If you would like to join the walk, please email nicholas@layermarneytower.co.uk
Charities and community groups that have recently benefited from support from the Essex Rural Fund are:
1st Ashingdon Scout Group received £1,000 to help repair and install additional fencing at a community project to restore an area of meadow and woodland.
Ferriers Barn in Bures received £941 to support the running of a Day Centre for adults with a multiple disability.
High Easter Cricket Club needed some help to repair and redecorate the showers in their well-used pavilion and received £970.
Lamarsh Lion Community Pub is a focal point in this rural village and they received £1,600 which helped them with their running costs and enabled them to buy some planters to enhance the outdoor area at the pub.
Local Food (& More!) Co-operative received £2,000 towards building a new shed for carrying out electric and mechanical works and a repair shop in the rural villages of Little Canfield and Dunmow.
Uttlesford Buffy Bus is a mobile play centre in the form of a double decker bus which travels around the rural villages in Uttlesford. A grant of £3,000 is helping them to continue providing play and activities to families with young children.
Wethersfield Community Activities received £4,680 to continue running their Bump, Baby, and Toddler Group.
Rural Community Council of Essex
RCCE has been at the heart of rural Essex for more than 90 years, working as a charity to help local communities build a thriving and sustainable future. Current priorities include improving the provision of affordable housing, sustaining community facilities such as village halls and tackling the problem of social isolation.
In 1929 one man, Arthur Heygate Mackmurdo, had the idea to create the RCCE. A disciple of John Ruskin, Mackmurdo’s work as an architect, designer and writer had influenced the Arts and Crafts movement and helped introduce the ‘art nouveau’ style to England.
Mackmurdo lived latterly in the village of Great Totham, where his work to provide a village hall convinced him of the need for an organisation able to support and sustain rural communities across the whole county.
As part of the celebrations and to mark its 80th birthday in 2009, RCCE decided to establish the Essex Rural Fund as an endowed fund within Essex Community Foundation.
Nick Shuttleworth, Executive Director of RCCE said: ‘We wanted to do something which would have a lasting effect and are delighted that the Essex Rural Fund is proving its worth, providing such valuable support for community groups and charities working in the rural parts of the county.’
Did you know?
- 72% of the surface area of Essex is designated as rural.
- The average house price in rural Essex is £465,207 which can be as much as 12 times average earnings, thus pricing local people out of the market.
- 25% of households in rural Essex are off the mains gas grid