Oxfordshire Rural Forum
This group was set up to act as a collective voice for rural Oxfordshire. It brings together stakeholders to create a loud and strong voice championing rural Oxfordshire.
Introduction
This thematic partnership was formed in 2006 to bring together people from the private, public and voluntary/ community sectors, whose interests span economic, environmental and social issues.
The Rural Forum has a Steering Group whose membership includes representatives from business, environmental groups, social/ community life, health and education. The four rural district local authorities and the county council all have seats at the table too. See the membership page for more details.
Roles and responsibilities
Oxfordshire is the most rural county in the south east, with over half its population living in rural communities. The Rural Forum was designed as a means of Identifying issues of concern to rural Oxfordshire and ways to address them. Its role is to:
- Stimulate debate about the future of rural communities, the countryside and the rural economy
- Represent Oxfordshire's rural interests to local, regional, national and EU bodies
- Provide a networking opportunity between interest groups and organisations
- Promote joint working and good practice
The Steering Group aims to promote joint working between the various member organisations. Having compared its way of working with Rural Forums in neighbouring counties, it may decide to create a complementary, linked body that will act as a 'Hub' specifically for rural businesses.
View the terms of reference of the Oxfordshire Rural Forum.
The Oxfordshire Rural Forum Steering Group meets four times a year. View the dates of meetings, along with copies of the agendas, minutes and reports.
Related information
At the time of writing, the Rural Forum has not yet published any working papers of its own, but hopes to be in a position to do so in the future (subject to resources). The Forum has however, contributed substantially to the Oxfordshire Rural Framework and the Sustainable Community Strategy through the Oxfordshire Partnership.
Interested readers may find the following national documents of interest:
State of the Countryside, 2008, Commission for Rural Communities - available from www.ruralcommunities.gov.uk
Living, Working Countryside, July 2008 - a review by Matthew Taylor MP - from www.communities.gov.uk (the website of the Department for Communities and Local Government.)
