COUNTRYSIDE Agency chairman Ewen Cameron today called for more "one-stop" rural shops providing multiple services to halt the decline in the quality of rural life.

Speaking at a conference dedicated to "joining-up" rural services, he used as an example a so-called "co-location" project in Shropshire which provides a shop, post office, IT services and training, advice on tax and social security benefits, a homework club and a chiropodist!

Grants for such projects are available under the agency's Vital Villages initiative and Mr Cameron urged: "We hope this conference will encourage more people to come up with innovative ways of providing services to benefit rural communities."