About us
Cambridgeshire ACRE offers support, resources and specialist advice to communities and partners across a wide range of topics areas connected to rural community life.
We work alongside people in rural communities to make a difference.
The majority of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough’s population lives in rural communities and our vision is to see these communities thrive. We’re proud to work alongside individuals and community groups across the County, helping them make a positive difference in the places in which they live and work.
Standing alongside Cambridgeshire’s rural residents, we seek to bring about social, environmental and economic change for the good of communities. We do this by:
- supporting volunteers so they have the skills and confidence to lead local action by providing advice, support and training on best practice in community ownership of assets including village halls and community-led housing.
- co-ordinating funded projects that are delivered to tackle different issues found in rural communities, such as isolation & poverty, poor access to services, low educational attainment, lack of affordable housing, digital exclusion and declining biodiversity and climate change.
- pioneering new ideas and testing innovations to establish what delivers the best results in rural communities so that good practice can be understood and shared more widely.
Our work is led by an exceptional team of expert staff who work closely with the rural communities we serve and who are driven to improve the lives of those living and working there. The leadership of our specialist team is supported by our committed Board of Trustees and complemented by a network of partners to drive further expertise into the work we do. As rural community experts, we also offer a range of consultancy services to support our charitable aims, with this additional income enabling us to bolster our rural community support activity further.
Our work is also supported by our close association with ACRE, the national charity speaking up for and supporting rural communities. The ACRE Network is England’s largest rural grouping of community support charities, with 37 similar organisations in England as part of this representative body and collectively funded by Defra.
Cambridgeshire ACRE is an independent organisation, registered charity and company limited by guarantee.
By supporting and strengthening rural communities, we can bring about positive change and help local people build strong and resilient places. Let’s talk about how you can get involved.
Our strategy
Cambridgeshire ACRE’s strategy for the period 2019 – 2024, called “Towards our 100th Year: Building stronger rural communities”, was launched by our President at our Annual General Meeting in September 2019.
Our strategy provides an overview of our long-term plans and establishes our priorities for serving the needs of rural communities over a five year period. Our strategy was developed in consultation with our staff, trustees, members and partners.
Each year we produce an annual business plan that sets our annual targets, timescales and the outcome monitoring framework. We use this to report our progress at our Annual General Meeting each year.
Work for us
Tackling the shortage of rural housing
Former team member, Olivia Carr, now working at AECOM, has published a paper on tackling the shortage of rural housing.
Help us promote your community facility via our new HallsForHire website
Cambridgeshire ACRE is re-building its HallsForHire website. We’re inviting you to submit information on your community facility to be included on the new website, which
