Monthly Archives: February 2011

‘Facilitators’, not ‘Organisers’…

…suggests Alan Spedding, commenting on my last post, and via Twitter: @ruralise: have responded on the blog – not organisers – facilitators helping the community to get what it needs…and for how long?” perhaps the community will pay for the … Continue reading

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Who Pays the Piper? And for How Long?

The Rural Services Network (RSN) reports that the Government has found some cash to fund an ‘Institute of Community Organising’ to push forward its Big Society agenda – and Norfolk will be one of ten counties where the plan is … Continue reading

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More on Community-Run Shops

Twitter brought me to a piece by Alan Spedding (@RuSource) about community-run shops. I think it’s Alan’s summary of a longer report by the Plunkett Foundation. I did talk a bit about shops – and the Plunkett Foundation in fact … Continue reading

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Here’s one we prepared earlier…

Talking of larders, as we were, I was pointed at this scheme we did at Lucas Hickman Smith a few years ago for a sustainability enthusiast down near Halesworth.

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More thoughts on the Localism Bill…

…in four Tweets, as requested by the Jon Welch at the Eastern Daily Press this week (#EDPBigSoc): #EDPBigSoc It’s not ‘Cameron’s BigSoc’; its always been there, and the public money which volunteer time ‘levers in’ is going to be scarce … Continue reading

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What’s changed?

The opening paragraph of Rob Annable’s post on BD’s Housing blog (see last post) reminded me of one of my all-time favourite architectural quotes – from late-modernist ‘Dutch master’ Aldo van Eyck:

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The Humble ‘Scullery’

I liked this piece by Rob Annable of Axis design Architects, based in Birmingham, which appeared on Building Design Magazine’s new Housing Blog. If you’re stuck outside BD’s

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So it’s not really a ‘Nimby Charter’ after all…

Last week the Department for Communities and Local Government (CLG) published an ‘Impact Asessment’ on Neighbourhood Plans and the Community Right to Build. The document is a normal part of the legislative process, and seeks to quantify the likely impact … Continue reading

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Nice to Meet You, Unit 11.

I had a very enjoyable trip down to ‘the Smoke’ yesterday, courtesy of Unit 11 at the University of East London School of architecture. The Unit, run by Arthur Smart and Jamie Scott-Baxter, is in its second year looking at rural … Continue reading

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Thatch-fest #2

My tweet-pals at HAT Projects have reminded me of Ushida Findlay’s thatched Pool House 2, near Aylesbury Vale. It’s too good to miss out.

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