Market Drayton and Rural Parishes Community Covenant

Since our first meeting in December 2024 we have been joined by 20 community organisations and Parish/Town Councils to form the Market Drayton and Rural Parishes Community Covenant. We are now working collaboratively with Shropshire Council at a neighbourhood-level to share power and make decisions that are rooted in our community, to enhance and improve the lives of the people of Market Drayton and its rural parishes.

The first decision that has been devolved to the Community Covenant is how and where a new Community and Family Hub will be set up within the town. This will involve decisions not just on location, but also in what this Hub offers our community and how it will meet our needs.

We meet in-person every 3-4 weeks. So far, we have written and agreed our Group Charter, which explains how we will work together to ensure we remain fully accountable to our community and that we work truly collaboratively.

The community and family hubs are a key part of the Shropshire Council's Transformation Programme and also part of Shropshire Integrated Place Partnership's Neighbourhood approach. Their overall aim is to create Happier, Healthier and more Connected Rural Communities, taking a more proactive approach to healthcare that builds resilience within our communities - providing help before we get to crisis point.

The focus is taking an integrated approach to delivering services closer to peoples' homes, in local communities, working across health (NHS), care, council services and the voluntary and community sector. The hubs will be there to offer face-to-face assistance and supporting people to help themselves through the digital and other community offers.

Community and Family Hubs are for all-ages, providing a single access point - a "front door" - to universal services for families with children of all ages (0-19) or up to 25 with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), with a Best Start in Life offer at their core.

Beyond Children and Families, the hubs aim to support adults and older people to access the support and activities they need to keep themselves as well as possible, including being able to connect with preventative health services, carer support and other social support.

Hubs provide services and professionals with a shared space to make it easier for people of all ages to access the services they need, at these physical locations, but also offering outreach support. There are currently 5 hubs (and one health and wellbeing centre) across Shropshire, delivering services to the community, the next phase of the project will be to develop mini-hubs in areas of the county dependent on identified needs.

How this looks in Market Drayton will be decided by us.

Shropshire Council have agreed to devolve this decision to us - they are excited about it too. They are trusting us to come together to help make the best decision for us all.

It is important, to be part of the Market Drayton covenant, you need to be able to fulfil the following criteria as a group or organisation (not an individual). If this is you, then please register your interest, we would love to hear from you:

The Market Drayton and Rural Parish Community Covenant have described the definition of their Community and Family Hub to be:

The Market Drayton and Rural Parishes Community and Family Hub will be a welcoming, friendly and supportive place/spaces where our community can share their problems and know that someone will do their best to help.

Our Hub will be accessible and wide reaching in its delivery approach. Whilst we will have our priority areas, our Hub will be a caring space offering guidance and support at whatever stage people are within their life-journey.

Together, we will build a happier, healthier and more connected community.