Wales Co-operative Centre

On Wednesday August 10th, BBC One will show the first episode of a new series called Village SOS.

The very first episode goes to Talgarth near Brecon, where residents resurrect a water mill that has been out of use since 1946. For the full story, visit the BBC’s programme page – Talgarth.

To turn their village around, the residents formed a community enterprise and applied for a grant from the BIG Lottery fund to renovate the derelict mill. The community’s ambition for the mill is to turn it in to an artisan bakery and cafe.

Traditional industries are in decline and across the land local pubs, shops and farms – the very cornerstones of country life – are closing at an alarming rate.

But what if the locals were able to take matters into their own hands? What if groups of volunteers could be given money to turn their dreams into reality and do something that puts the spirit back into their communities?

Village SOS follows the stories of six villages which were able to do just that with the help of a substantial grant from the Big Lottery Fund (BIG), who joined forces with the BBC in 2009 to create Village SOS, a search for six villages with ideas for a brilliant rural business that would breathe life back into the community.

Entrepreneur and property developer Sarah Beeny offers encouragement as the enormity of the task ahead starts to sink in.

Watch the first episode on BBC One at 8pm this Wednesday.

Village SOS is set to make an impact beyond the six villages featured in the TV series with a major BBC Learning and Big Lottery Fund campaign to promote rural enterprise across the UK.

You can also follow Village SOS on Facebook and Twitter

Village SOS at the Big Lottery Fund.

If your community group is looking to set up an enterprise or save e.g. a pub or local shop, the Social Enterprise Support Project a the Wales Co-operative Centre could be able to help.