Rory is calling on Penrith and the Border’s constituents to get involved with the Village SOS initiative – a joint programme of the Big Lottery Fund in collaboration with leaders in the rural enterprise sector such as the Plunkett Foundation, Action with Communities in Rural England (ACRE), Co-operatives UK and Locality – which is funding rural villages and small towns to start community businesses that have the potential to breathe new life into their areas and create jobs.

Village SOS is looking to award grants of between £10,000-£50,000 for enterprising community projects, and any community with less than 3,000 residents is invited to apply. It has already supported many shops, cafes, pubs, transport schemes, community broadband and energy projects, set up by locals who worked together to breathe new life into where they live.

The deadline for the current funding round if September 12th 2012.

Rory said: “This is a fantastic opportunity for any village or small town in the constituency to bid for a tranche of very welcome funding. It’s an initiative that is extremely relevant to our constituency. If your village has an interesting idea for a community enterprise, and has fewer than 3,000 people living in it, please do consider applying to become a member village. Let’s continue to put Cumbria on the map for its extraordinary volunteers and community enterprise. I will of course be happy to personally support any community initiative that is eligible for the Village SOS Competition.”

Applications from voluntary and community groups or organisations such as charities, village hall committees, associations, trusts, co-operatives or social enterprises are welcome, as well as from parish, town or community councils, where it can be evidenced that local residents have clearly shaped the project.

For more information about the Village SOS application process please visit http://www.villagesos.org.uk/

Rory today hosted a constituency visit to the Ministry of Defence Munitions site at Longtown from Peter Luff MP, Minister for Defence Equipment, Support and Technology. The Minister was met by Rory Stewart and his colleagues John Stevenson, MP for Carlisle, and David Mundell, MP for Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale in a three-hour site visit that included lunchtime meetings with staff and Trade Union representatives, County and City Council executives, and local councillors. The meeting was the culmination of the local MPs’ strenuous lobbying efforts, which have been ongoing for over two years. This has involved numerous meetings with staff and Trade Union representatives themselves, the Minister Peter Luff, and officials within both the MoD and the Weapons Inspectorate.

Rory said: “We have one goal, which is the retention of the site at Longtown. It fulfils an invaluable role, not only to our defence systems nationally, but to the local economy, employing a significant proportion of residents in the Longtown, Carlisle and Gretna areas. Three-hundred jobs are at risk which, proportionately, would be a huge loss to our local economy. However, above all, this is an extremely important site logistically, in terms of its capabilities, the expertise deployed by a staff – with a very low turnover – and its important infrastructure links. To close the site seems short-sighted and inflexible; the MoD have operated a successful site here for many years, and it is the backbone of Longtown’s economy. I trust that the Minister has been able to see, today, the clear arguments for its survival, and we are hopeful for a positive outcome. We have certainly done our best today to highlight the site’s benefits, and will not tire in our campaign to see the site stay and thrive in Longtown for many more years.”