Community Resilience in Rugby Borough

What is Community Resilience?

Community resilience means being ready. It’s about local people working together to prepare for, respond to, and recover from emergencies—like flooding, power outages, or extreme weather.

It’s not about replacing emergency services. It’s about complementing them—using local knowledge, skills, and networks to protect each other and reduce risks.

As defined by the UK Government:

“Community resilience is enabled when the public are empowered to harness local resources and expertise to help themselves and their communities to prepare, respond and recover from disruptive challenges... and to plan and adapt to long-term social and environmental changes.”

Why It Matters

Emergencies often hit hardest at the local level. By preparing together, we can:

• Protect vulnerable residents
• Reduce pressure on emergency services
• Strengthen and empower communities
• Build long-term resilience to climate change and other risks
   

What is the Community Resilience Scheme?

Rugby Borough Council’s Community Resilience Scheme supports local communities, such as Parish and Town Councils, in becoming better prepared for emergencies.

Through this scheme, communities can:

• Create or update a Community Response Plan (CRP)
• Receive up to £500 worth of emergency equipment
• Access training, guidance, and ongoing support from the Council’s Safety & Resilience Team

The scheme runs over two years, with four six-month cycles. Each cycle supports a new group of communities, so there are multiple opportunities to get involved.

How Does It Work?

Here’s the step-by-step process:

1. Create or update your Community Response Plan. We’ll provide templates and support to help you identify local risks, key contacts, safe places, and emergency actions.
2. Submit your plan for review. 
3. Once approved, your community will receive the emergency equipment chosen by your community
    

What Kind of Equipment is Provided?

Each participating community can receive up to £500 worth of emergency equipment, selected from a pre-approved list. This may include:

• High-vis vests
• Wind up radios and torches
• Sand bags or hydro-sacks
• Other practical items to support local response efforts
  

This scheme supports Rugby Borough’s Climate Adaptation Plan and aligns with national goals for whole-of-society resilience.

Get Involved

Let's work together to build a more resilient Borough

Register your interest by emailing: BusinessContinuityandEmergencyPlanning@rugby.gov.uk