Rural Community Business Awards 2025

Plunkett’s annual Rural Community Business Awards returns for another year!

We’re celebrating the outstanding achievements of our community business members, and the dedicated and inspiring individuals behind their success.

The 2025 Rural Community Business Awards, sponsored by Lands Improvement, take place on Thursday 3 July at the Royal Society of Chemistry in London.

Nominations have now closed for our 2025 Awards with finalists notified by 22 May and publicly announced on 3 June.

You can see each of the nine categories below.

This category celebrates how community businesses go the extra mile to create safe and welcoming spaces. Whether it’s hosting ‘knit and chat’ or walking groups, or perhaps holding homework clubs or intergenerational gatherings, we want to hear what you’re doing to connect your community.

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This category acknowledges how community businesses are investing in local people through the creation of employment, training and volunteering roles. For many people living in rural areas, accessing mainstream work is difficult, but community businesses are well positioned to provide a range of opportunities that build confidence and skills, and so empower people to expand their career in the future.

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Climate change is something that affects all of us. If your community business is striving to lessen its impact on the environment, we’d love to hear what you’re doing. Perhaps you’re encouraging your community to ‘go green’ through the introduction of environmentally friendly initiatives such as additional recycling facilities or car charging facilities or refill provisions? Or maybe your community business is looking at its own carbon footprint and seeking alternative energy measures to help reduce emissions?

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This category celebrates how community businesses are  supporting the local economy by utilising local supplies and services. Is your community businesses stocking a wide range of local producers? Are you giving them a platform to help them grow their business through dedicated food markets? Has your business committed to using local trade or craft persons to help maintain the building or perhaps you’re striving to support local food services?

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The ‘More Than’ Award wants to hear from community businesses that offer a diverse range of services and amenities for local people. Is your community pub also offering shop facilities, or maybe it hosts a Post Office too? Or perhaps your community shop is not only a place to get a pint of milk, but also somewhere to access homeworking facilities? Or maybe it’s able to support local musical talent through being a live music venue? We want to hear how your business is ‘more than’ what it says on the tin!

This category celebrates the community groups who don’t yet have an open and trading community business but are on the way to creating a thriving and inclusive community space. This is your opportunity to let us know your ambitions for the community business as well as what you’ve achieved so far – tell us why your community business is the One to Watch.

This special award is in memory of our colleague Nina, who was a shining example of teamwork and encouragement, always ready to lend a hand and support others. We want to hear about how your group embodies the same spirit of camaraderie and collaboration. Tell us how you motivate and encourage each other and celebrate success. Or have you pulled together through an illness, fire or flood? Let your personalities shine – we want to celebrate your kindness, friendships and good humour.

This special award celebrates the individual community champions, involved in community businesses, who continually go the extra mile. Perhaps through the business, they’re helping vulnerable residents or they’re a constant source of support in keeping the business going? Or maybe they’re making a difference by creating initiatives to bring the community together? Share their stories with us and they might win this accolade.

This special award acknowledges the young people aged 15 to 25 who are helping to make a difference in their community-owned business. Is their enthusiasm infectious? Do they always step up in times of need or strive to share their skills in order to enhance the business?

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Hear more about last year’s Awards from four of our winners:

Hear from the Cwmdu Inn Shop and Post Office, winners of the Connecting the Community Award at the Rural Community Business Awards 2024. Anika explains what winning this award means to them!

Meet Naomi Dunbar from Newton Stewart Initiative, the proud winner of the Young Person Award at the 2024 Rural Community Business Awards.

Watch Sue from Bathford Village Shop & Café, the proud winners of the ‘More Than’ Award at last month’s Rural Community Business Awards!

Hear from the winners of The One to Watch Award at the Rural Community Business Awards 2024. Kate and Hugo from The Golden Lion at Ashton Hayes explains what winning this award means to them!

Thank you to our sponsors of this year’s Rural Community Business Awards