Posted on 7th July 2010
Companies including Waitrose, Asda, M&S, Jordans and Countrylife have committed over £1m to date towards the Prince’s Countryside Fund, an initiative by HRH The Prince of Wales, to be launched on 22nd July. Other businesses are invited to participate with the aim of raising millions of pounds for improving the sustainability of rural communities and in particular small family farms.
The fund has two strands – an emergency fund to support rural communities in times of crisis such as the Cumbrian floods in November 2009 and Foot and Mouth Disease in 2001, and a grant-making arm to help existing charities working with rural communities. It will be administered by another of the Prince’s charities, Business in the Community.
Participating businesses will be able to include the Prince’s Countryside Fund logo on their products. Speaking on BBC’s Countryfile, chair of the fund and managing director of Waitrose, Mark Price, said the logo was “the Prince’s endorsement of our drive to get money to support the countryside”.
On the same programme, HRH Prince of Wales, said, “In the countryside and rural communities there is a great deal more hardship than people realise. There are lots of needs that should be met that aren’t always.
“People don’t understand how much work has to go into maintaining the countryside. The important thing is to ensure that rural skills are maintained, and that young people have a chance to take part in rural businesses and skills.”
The scheme has been over a year in the planning, and more information will be available from its website after the official launch.
