Bury Rural Inequalities ForumAll local Councillors are welcome to attend as and when their timetable permits. The BRIF is nota political forum, but a group of people representing the interests of their villages.BackgroundThe BRIF was formed as a result of research done by the Rural Research Unit (RRU) based atthe Greater Manchester Centre for Voluntary Organisation (GMCVO) which was a Departmentfor Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) funded organistion set up to research life onthe rural edges of predominantly metropolitan borough/urban areas of Greater Manchester. The RRU produced a report entitled 'On the Edge' that showed that life in the rural fringes of Greater Manchester often means that rural villages are often overlooked by councils and otherservice providers leading to an unequal distribution of services. Although life may appear to be‘idyllic’ due to the rural natural surroundings, people living in these rural areas of GreaterManchester are often deprived of services that are taken for granted in the larger urban area.“On the Edge”, a 2007 report by GMCVO’s, DEFRA-funded Rural Resource Unit, highlights thatrural areas in Greater Manchester often feel marginalised and isolated; not only from the mainurban conurbation and its policies but also from each other. The 'On the Edge' report can beaccessed by clicking here. The BRIF is currently chaired by Dr Falmai Binns, from the HolcombeSociety. The issues that have so far been raised at the meetings include the poor public transportservices to the rural areas of Bury. This has resulted in Transport for Greater Manchester(TfGM) agreeing to extend the Local Link Door-to-Door car service to the Affetside andHolcombe areas. See the Transport page on this website for further details of this service.The BRIF has also produced a report on the need for traffic calming measures to be introducedor improved in Affetside and Holcombe. This report was presented to Bury MBC by the BRIF andhas led to Bury Council Executive agreeing to introducing a 20mph speed limit through thecentre of Affetside village with two chicanes being built to slow down drivers do not heed thespeed limit.Where as once, each of the villages used to contact the council / other service providers withtheir individual issues, now we do so as a united voice and as a group that often shares thesame issues and problems which gives us more of a powerful voice. As a result our voice nowseems to be getting heard.if you have any issues affecting you that you think the BRIF can raise for you please contactJoanne Wilcock, Chairman of the Affetside Society by clicking hereBury Rural Inequalities ForumAffetside is a member of the Bury Rural Inequalities Forum. (BRIF) The BRIF was formed in2008 and has representatives from the other rural villages of Bury; namely Holcombe,Hawkshaw, Greenmount, Nangreaves and Ainsworth as well as Affetside. Joanne Wilcock,Chairman of the Affetside Society and Roseanne and Tony Davies, both members of theSociety, regularly attend the BRIF meetings to ensure that any issues that affect Affetside arehigh up on the BRIF agenda.The group meets bi-monthly at Tottington Library. The Bury Council has representation on theForum from many local Councillors. Currently Cllr.Yvonne Wright, Affetside's ward councillorand Cllr. Jacqui Wright who represents Ainsworth, are regular attendees.