Our Area
Seeds4Success provides young people with opportunities for personal and social development in South West Wiltshire and specifically the area defined by the South West Wiltshire Area Board (more information about Area Boards can be found below).
The South West Wiltshire Area includes the towns of Mere, Tisbury and Wilton and surrounding villages. The larger Wiltshire towns of Salisbury and Warminster lie outside area to the east and north. Our area borders with Somerset to the north west and with Dorset (including the towns of Gillingham and Shaftesbury) to the west and south.
We are fortunate to live and work in such a beautiful rural area. However, this does provide significant challenges to young people and their families.
Employment can be difficult to find with the majority of people having to commute out of the area for work. Apprenticeships are also in very short supply. Having access to a vehicle is often essential to be able access work as public transport which, if it exists at all, is very limited. This limits opportunities for young people. Local jobs are often low paid which can trap families in relative poverty. The towns and villages in our area can look very affluent, however South West Wiltshire has one of the higher rural poverty rates in Wiltshire with 22% of children living in poverty.
There are over twenty primary schools in the area but no secondary schools. All young people living in South West Wiltshire attend schools out of the area including Salisbury, Warminster and Downton. In the central and western parts of our area, young people attend out of county secondary schools in Dorset. This can cause additional challenges for young people and their families when they require support from additional services or alternative provision, and funding for these. All colleges available for young people to study post-16 courses are out of our area and require lengthy bus journeys at significant cost which limits their opportunities.
Living in rural communities causes additional challenges for young people such as rural isolation due to fewer community resources such as local shops, libraries, sports and leisure facilities etc. This is further impacted by the lack of frequent and reliable public transport, so private transport becomes essential and if not available then isolation from friends and resources mentioned above results. Poor internet and mobile phone signals are also factors affecting our rural areas.
Area Boards
Area Boards are defined by Wiltshire County Council’s as a way of working to bring local decision-making into the heart of the community. There are 18 Area Boards across Wiltshire, with each one holding delegated powers and devolved budgets to facilitate community action at a local level.
Area boards exist to work alongside other organisations, like Seeds4Success, to make things happen in the community. These groups can include town and parish councils, voluntary and community groups, youth organisations, sports clubs and local charities. Area boards wouldn’t be able to achieve what they do without these partners working on the ground with them.
More information about Wiltshire Area Boards can be found at:
https://www.wiltshire.gov.uk/article/6142/Introduction
