University of Exeter partnership launches HAIRE toolkit to transform the future of Healthy Ageing

Feock Parish Council was invited to take part as well as partner sites from four European countries, including two in the UK. Feock Parish is situated between Falmouth and Truro. The HAIRE project (Healthy Ageing through Innovation in Rural Europe) worked with other partners to design a flexible toolkit which took a place based, person-centred approach to understanding the needs, aspirations, and passions of older people.

Keith Hambly- Staite, Feock Parish Council Lead on HAIRE said, “we were delighted to be invited to take part in this EU Interreg2Seas programme which brought European funding to our work. The title may sound stuffy but the project brought significant funding to help us address on the ground the issues of loneliness and isolation and empower people to work in their communities to help alleviate some of the problems that we identified.” He continued, “we are really looking forward to taking some of the lessons we have learnt to the conference in Ghent and to hearing about the activities of other partners in Belgium, France and the Netherlands.”

Bex Rawbone, Project Co-ordinator said, “ Feock Parish Council should be congratulated on securing a HAIRE Legacy by appointing a member of staff to run their wellbeing service to be called MyFeock. The team over the past three years have created various innovations that have involved the community from supporting local groups and activities to get up and running to holding popular community events using local sites and supported by local people and it is important that this work continues”

“The importance of listening to people became clear early on in the project and one of the big values of HAIRE has been the time we were given to spend with people and listen to their needs”,said Keith Hambly-Staite. He added, “During the project my Council learnt how important it was to support local needs with local solutions and that is why we have agreed to fund a service we are calling MyFeock to be the vehicle through which the Council will continue to support its local community.”

Professor Catherine Leyshon, the project lead based at the University of Exeter has been working on healthy ageing for over ten years. She said “It’s the most pressing social issue facing western economies. In HAIRE we have used place-based, person-centred approaches to create social innovation from the ground up to address the needs of older people. I commend the decision of Feock Parish Council to continue to support and encourage their community as I think it demonstrates the importance of parish councils in developing services that promote the wellbeing of their citizens.”

Some of the social innovations launched in the pilot sites in Europe and the UK as a result of using the HAIRE toolkit include community transport, intergenerational activities, welfare checks and befriending, digital support, local participation working groups and creative activities that align with local interests.

More locally Feock Parish Council have branded their wellbeing services as MyFeock and this is supported well by local volunteers. MyFeock covers the whole Parish including the villages of Carnon Downs, Devoran, Point & Penpol as well as Feock.

Throughout the last 3 years the team have created various innovations from supporting local groups and activities to get up and running, to holding popular community events using local sites. Our ‘Walk & Talk’ group is led by an experienced group leader, held fortnightly, setting off from various locations across Feock Parish, based on the Feock Trails set up by Feock Parish Council. More recently the MyFeock Repair Café, held at The Hub – Carnon Community Methodist Church Hall, Carnon Downs, takes place on the last Tuesday of every month (10-11am). A great way to create a new lease of life to items that may be broken or worn, plus an opportunity to learn a new skill whilst enjoying a cuppa with likeminded people. If you would like to know more about what’s happening in our Parish, how to get involved, plus further opportunities available, check out our new website www.myfeock.co.uk or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

Following the work in Feock Parish, the HAIRE toolkit and findings are now being piloted for use in the UK by the health service as part of anticipatory care planning.

The conference will provide an opportunity for attendees not only to learn about HAIRE and the toolkit, but to problem solve and consider the future of ageing in their communities. If you are interested in attending, please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to find out how you can attend virtually or in person.