CONCERN over rural services - including a lack of affordable housing and community involvement - is highlighted in a major report.

Conducted by the Suffolk ACRE charity, the Rural Services Review sought views from 413 parish and town councils serving the county's communities with less than 10,000 people.

More self-help initiatives and community owned enterprises could have a large and important role to play in sustaining local villages, the findings suggest.

A response rate of 84% saw almost 350 parish and town councils answer survey questions.

An executive summary and the full report can both be downloaded here.

Some 81% (279) of the responding parishes took the opportunity to raise the three issues that were most important to their community.

Most top issues raised fell under the theme of Community Facilities and Services (37%), illustrating the importance respondents place on local issues that affect local communities.

The top concern under this theme was broadband; followed by bus service issues. The top issue under the Planning theme was affordable homes.

The top concern around Crime was crime as a whole, and the second most frequently mentioned concern was anti-social behaviour.

When it came to Community Issues, the top issue was the lack of community involvement, and in joint second place was concern around the Jubilee and the cost of fuel and heating oil.

Suffolk ACRE chief executive Wil Gibson said: "This evidence base supports our advocacy and influencing work in favour of greater community empowerment and active citizenry."

The charity continued to use its expertise to support and empower communities to develop community enterprises and maintain key services, said Dr Gibson.

"Community owned shops continue to expand with growth in sales rising well above that of major supermarkets," he added.

Other examples of communities getting together to meet local needs included the community-run Punchbowl public house in Battisford.

Meanwhile, different groups in the village of Elmswell had come together to fund and build a community centre extension specifically to benefit younger people in the parish.

Dr Gibson added "We hope partner agencies will make use of the Rural Services Review in their service planning and in considering new models for service delivery."

The Rural Services Review can be downloaded here.