Ensuring community cohesion is as vital in rural as urban areas, writes Cllr Tim Carroll (Lib Dem), leader of South Somerset district council. Community cohesion – meaning a community that is not only at peace with itself but also knows itself – is a necessity and an imperative for any rural council. It is an issue that South Somerset is paying particular attention to. There are the two sets of fundamental changes that have affected our villages and towns over the last 100 years. There are the organic changes seen in all rural areas: smaller nuclear families with fewer ties to support networks, fewer people actually living and working within any village or town, and the attrition of groups that historically formed the ‘glue’ that kept a community together – such as women’s institutes, parish and church groups, and farming networks. More recent changes affect the dynamics of an area: the introduction of technologies that change the traditional ways of doing things, an influx of people from other countries, and the migration of younger people due to higher education and employment opportunities outside the local area.

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24 September 2008
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