Rural towns are very important. They can provide a key focus for their surrounding hinterland of villages and hamlets. They often are centres in which to find work, to buy and sell goods, and to find valued specialist services. But in recent years changes have occurred with some towns experiencing a downturn, especially in their retail position as new patterns of shopping have emerged.

Recognising the vital role played by rural towns SEEDA (South East England Development Agency) has introduced a programme. It has been developed with the South East Rural Towns Partnership and the Countryside Agency. Central to the programme is the Countryside Agency’s “Healthcheck” process which has proved to be extremely successful with over 300 market towns having already completed one. This programme aims to provide direct financial support for eligible towns in Surrey once they have undertaken a Healthcheck. For more information about the healthcheck (Action Plan) process click on the link on the right