Community

Living in a supportive community is an important prerequisite to enjoying a safe, healthy and fulfilling life, but for a variety of reasons not all communities enjoy the same levels of cohesion and integration and some also experience multiple deprivations. 

Herefordshire benefits from having a strong sense of local identity, with close-knit and supportive communities, where people generally get on with, and support, each other.  In surveys, Herefordshire always scores highly for perceptions of community cohesion, resilience and safety, although there are some notably differences between different areas of the county.

Levels of crime are generally low by national standards and there is plenty of access to nature and outdoor leisure opportunities.  However, the rural nature of the county means that there are a lot of relatively isolated rural communities, where combined with a lack of public transport infrastructure, social isolation and access to services can be an issue for some residents.

In addition, within each community there are more vulnerable groups of people who may be more at risk of, for example, loneliness or digital exclusion, and who may need more support to live independent and fulfiling lives. 

In the related documents section of this page you can access the community-related research and analysis that we have published.