At present, FCN operates throughout England and Wales. Wherever you live in England or Wales, our Helpline staff can put you in touch with an FCN volunteer or other local farming support group.
For operational purposes, local volunteer groups are separated into five regions, each under the guidance of regional support staff. Groups are led by a Group Coordinator for day to day activities. Please see below for where FCN groups operate.
Local volunteers ‘walk with’ people as they make their way through problems and difficulties so that they don’t have to face them on their own. FCN does not provide advice but can help to guide people as they resolve their problems; with links to sources of professional advice, appropriate help can be brought in when required.
FCN has volunteers throughout England and Wales. The below map shows where FCN volunteers operate. We also work closely with other rural support organisations, such as Lincolnshire Rural Support Network, Shropshire Rural Support Network, Yorkshire Ag Society, Borderlands Rural Chaplaincy and others.
In July 2020, The Prince’s Countryside Fund launched its National Directory of Farm and Rural Support Groups. The directory lists 69 regional, national, and membership organisations who can provide support, advice, and guidance to farming and rural communities.
Regional support staff
- North: Lisa Cardy, Jackie Clegg, Georgina Lamb
- Midlands: Graham Ashford, Andrea Beddows
- South East: Mark Thomas, Kitty Russell, Sally Field
- South West: Stephen Dennis, Richard Sampson, Colin Smallacombe Charmain Dascombe, Roland Nancekivell
- Wales: Linda Jones, Rachael Aka
Group coordinators
North:
Cumbria – Emily Postlethwaite
Lancashire – Marian Rigby
Northumberland – Martyn Johnson
Yorkshire – Lisa Cardy
Cheshire – Sharon Mayer
Midlands:
Derbyshire – Graham Ashford (Regional Support Officer)
Leicestershire & Rutland – Lorna Philips Gray
Nottinghamshire – Andrea Beddows (taking referrals)
Staffordshire – Steve Jackson
Worcestershire – Margaret Herbert
Northamptonshire – Andrea Beddows (taking referrals)
Warwickshire – Heather McCurdie
South East:
Essex – Philip Wilson (taking referrals)
Norfolk – Philip Talbot
Suffolk – Graham Miles
Berkshire, Oxfordshire & Buckinghamshire (BOB) – Mark Thomas
Hampshire – Anthony Matthew
Kent – Sally Field
Surrey / Sussex – John Simpson
Beds, Cambs & Hertfordshire – Brian Burgess
South West
Cornwall – Sue Gillbard
Devon – Colin Smallacombe
Dorset – Barrie Cooper / Rebecca Hill
Somerset – Charmain Dascombe (taking referrals)
Wiltshire – Anthony Matthew
Wales:
North Wales: Ynys Môn, Gwynedd, Conwy, Flintshire, Denbighshire, Wrexham (Richard Hughes)
Mid Wales: Powys (old counties of Brecknockshire, Radnorshire and Montgomeryshire) (Rachael Aka)
West Wales: Ceredigion, Carmarthenshire, Pembrokeshire (Revd Dr Ian Morris)
South Wales: Swansea, Neath Port Talbot, Rhondda Cynon Taf, Merthyr Tydfil, Blaenau Gwent, Monmouthshire, Bridgend, Torfaen, Vale of Glamorgan, Caerphilly, Newport, Cardiff (Rachael Aka)
Other Local Groups
FCN also works in partnership with the following local rural support organisations, including:
Gloucestershire – Gloucestershire Farming Friends
Lincolnshire – Lincolnshire Rural Support Network
Shropshire – Shropshire Rural Support
Herefordshire – We Are Farming Minds
Herefordshire, Shropshire, Eastern Powys – Borderlands Rural Chaplaincy
Yorkshire – Yorkshire Agricultural Society
East Anglia and Worcestershire – YANA
Scotland – Royal Scottish Agricultural Benevolent Institution (RSABI)
Northern Ireland – Rural Support