Some of the most deprived areas in rural Nottinghamshire were seriously affected by the closure of the coalfields. The village of Selston is a good illustration of how communities can take the initiative to introduce positive changes to enhance and enrich the life of the whole community by using their best local assets – the local people themselves and the open countryside around them.
First they started a walking club to improve general levels of fitness. Gradually membership rose from 3 to 23 walking regularly every week around the surrounding countryside. With grant funding from Nottinghamshire Community Foundation, they then started weekly Line Dancing classes and now over 50 people a week attend regularly. This in turn has led to the formation of Tai Chi gentle exercise classes for the older people of the village.
Suddenly people who were isolated because of mass unemployment, bereavement and poor health have come together through the new clubs and classes. The snowball effect has renewed community spirit and involved scores of local people of all ages, from the young to the isolated, the elderly and the frail. It has completely re-energised a community which had become isolated, deserted and fragmented.