Bishop of Lichfield Visits Rural Staffordshire
We were delighted to host part of a day spent by Bishop Jonathan, the Bishop of Lichfield, visiting rural organisations in Staffordshire. Bishop Jonathan was accompanied by Peter Dakin, Rural Chaplain to the Archdeaconry who is a member of Staffordshire Rural Hub committee. They had a very fulfilling visit to Ipstones, talking to the Moorlands Homelink Scheme staff, where the Bishop heard about the scheme’s work in combating rural isolation. He was able to donate £10,000 from the 2009 Lent appeal to their work and enjoyed a hearty moorlands lunch at the Lunch Club. Later in the day Bishop Jonathan heard about the work of Staffordshire Rural Stress Network volunteers.
Hub chairman, Eunice Finney and Coordinator Frances Beatty met up with Bishop Jonathan at Amerton Farm. The discussion ranged over the state of the countryside and rural businesses in Staffordshire and the farming industry in the county. Bishop Jonathan was very interested in succession issues for older and next generation farmers, the numbers of young staying in the industry. Frances, as a governor of Harper Adams, outlined the work that HA is doing, particularly with employer engagement. Amerton provided a good example of a farming family making the most of farm diversification by going into new enterprises. And Frances explained the measures taking place to revitalise Uttoxeter through the Staffordshire Business Consortium, such as office space provision for micro businesses. The Hub’s work in opening access to the European grant regimes, including the Rural Development Programme, very much interested the Bishop, particularly the emphasis on collaboration and there was a lively discussion on the pros and cons of grant to businesses. Frances explained some of the areas of resource efficiency that will be targeted by the grant regime and the emphasis on green energy, including anaerobic digestion and the use of biomass and wood fuels. The visitors were given an account of the different grants on offer and those managed by Natural England.
The conversation ranged over food miles, local sourcing – including the opportunities for schools, hospitals, prisons and other public bodies to buy local – and how widespread was the commitment of businesses like Amerton to Fair Trade purchasing. Eunice explained the work of the Regional Food and Farming Group, which is supported by the government office and has helped many inner city children to visit Midland farms in the last two years. She herself was the region’s Food Champion, with the task of ensuring promotion of regional foods and to support those businesses.
The meeting ended with a tour of the attractions at Amerton. The Bishop was particularly impressed with the wonderful artistic offerings at the Amerton speciality cake shop. Pat, the manager explained to Jonathan and Peter that she had been running the business for seventeen years and had first learned her impressive skills at Staffordshire Young Farmers Club.
