Our projects

Developing skills, capacities and capabilities for the future

Our Young Entrepreneurs Programme demonstrates many key themes within our core values, including working together in parternship with other organisations within our community, and creating local, sustainable opportunities for improved wellbeing. The initiative is a joint venture between RVCP, Ruddington Village Market, and a number of independent Ruddington businesses who give their time and experience for free, offering a 6-month programme for young people aged 16-30 from Nottinghamshire that are wanting to start out in the world of markets. Currently running in two cycles per year, RVCP and our partners deliver a training programme that provides young people with the skills they need to lauch their market stall idea, from branding, accounting and business fundamentals, to stock management, display and social media. Candidates receive up to two months of coaching, followed by a shadowing session with an experienced stallholder, and culminating in a fully supported and subsidised four month run at the market.

Find out more about our Young Entrepreneurs Programme here.

A study of the economic future of Ruddington

Our core aim of Loving Local recognises the important role that our independent business sector plays in the prosperity of our village, underpinning our community's sense of pride in our local area, providing local employment, and contributing to our shared wellbeing. A thriving independent high street, combined with Ruddington's unique heritage, are key factors in the future success and vibrancy of our community.

The Voice of the Village project will gather data to analyse the community's view of economic prosperity in Ruddington, exploring key themes including shopping locally, tourism, and business collaboration, to assess the challenges that our economy faces, and the potential routes to address those challenges. The project will be conducted in three parts:

1. A qualitative research phase, completed in summer 2022, comprising of two focus groups of residents, and five one-to-one's with independent businesses.
2. A quantitative research phase, with a village-wide survey
3. A reporting phase in early 2023

The completed report shall be made available for publication, informing our future projects, supporting our work with strategic partners, and providing valuable evidence for grant funding applications.

Reducing single-use plastics in Ruddington

Inkeeping with our sustainability values, RVCP is working towards Ruddington achieving Plastic Free status, a scheme led by marine conservation charity Surfers Against Sewage, which champions a network of communities across the UK tackling the problems of throw away plastic. We have held Plastic Free markets, and also carried out Litter Picks in our village to work towards the accreditation. We support projects that recycle, re-use, and reduce waste.

Working together for a thriving village

'Working together' is a core value that sits at the heart of RVCP. We recognise that for our independent high street to reach its potential, a spirit of co-operation is essential - the commercial centre of Ruddington is an ecosystem within the community, with interdependence between all businesses and the residents and visitors that use them. One of the first initiatives of RVCP was to find ways that our high street traders can work more closely together. Through monthly meetings, email newsletters and an extensive Whatsapp group, RVCP has built regular channels between all Ruddington businesses from the ground up. It has provided an effective platform for developing more substantial collaborative opportunities with and without RVCP, including Ruddington hampers from multiple businesses, and village-wide high street initiatives such as Fiver Fest, as well as enabling simple day-to-day cooperation such as warning neighbours of potential shoplifting incidents.

Pride in our village

We want Ruddington to be a place to be proud of - not just for the events and initiatives that bring the community together, but also for its public realm. Pride in our community is an important factor in our shared sense of ownership, belonging and wellbeing.

We have worked closely with residents, communty groups and local businesses to develop a Village Improvement Scheme that is sympathetic to Ruddington's Neighbourhood Plan, with ambitions to make small changes that improve our high street space, to make it more beautiful and more enjoyable, either through direct funding from proceeds raised by RVCP, or by working with the relevant authorities.

To date, a number of changes have already been implemented, including new signage to direct visitors at Rushcliffe Country Park to village amenities, and permanent road signage for Ruddington Village Market. We have also been succesful in working with Ruddington Parish Council and Nottinghamshire County Council to install additonal bike racks within the village centre, with a number now in place on the village green, and several more within the high street retail space. We are keen to enourage and facilitate cycling within the village, to improve health, alleviate parking issues, and to reduce carbon emmissions.

Keep an eye on our social media for new projects as part of our Village Improvement Scheme in the future.