The Northamptonshire Acre Story

“Working with rural communities to improve the quality of life for all”

For over 60 years Northamptonshire ACRE has been supporting rural communities in the county. Our focus is and has always been on community development and engagement. If your village or parish wants to carry out any form of community planning, including Neighbourhood Plans, Northamptonshire ACRE is there to help and advise. This includes assisting you with accessing funds for projects.

  • We work with local communities to reduce rural isolation and vulnerability. Help make life more affordable for those living in rural areas. We help to deliver improved services for these communities. This can be through better communications links, strong community facilities or more accessible education and health services.
  • We support and advise rural community groups on a wide range of issues and encourage local action and participation in decision-making.
  • We campaign to ensure that the interests of people living in rural Northamptonshire are taken into account in policy making and strategic planning affecting the County.
  • We are accredited at Level 3 of the ACRE Standards, which are endorsed by the Charity Commission.

Our Chief Executive is Elaine O’Leary and we are based at the Barns at Hunsbury Hill (as known as the Hunsbury Hill Centre), which offers facilities for conferences and social events, including weddings, civil ceremonies and parties, in a delightful and tranquil setting.

How do we help?

  • We facilitate the identification of local needs through community consultation and engagement
  • We support and assist with community planning. Please refer to our CLP page
  • We advise on funding and funding applications
  • We advise on community facilities, rural transport, services and affordable housing
  • We’re a strong voice in fighting fuel poverty through Olive, our Bulk Oil buying scheme and Green Infrastructure work
  • We lobby at local and national level to raise awareness of local issues and campaigns
  • We give training across a range of services
  • We help rural groups to increase co-operation and partnerships across services
  • We keep local authorities up-to-date regarding rural issues
  • We inform rural communities about new legislation that might affect them.

“We were finding all the new rules so hard to understand before we got help from ACRE”

Village Viewpoint

Village Viewpoint is our seasonal magazine that can keep you in contact with the progress of our work. It’s free to members of Northamptonshire ACRE and full of news about current activities. If you would like any back editions of the Village Viewpoint, please contact: [email protected]