SIR
The sad decline of the quality of life in our rural communities over the last decade has been epitomised by the inexorable loss of many invaluable rural services such as pubs and village halls.
And when pubs and village halls are lost, the heart of rural communities is too often lost with them.
This decline must be reversed.
I believe it is time to think outside the box, to allow the very people who use local services to take control of them.
Let's face it, who better to take over the running of threatened pubs and village halls than those who depend upon them and who ultimately suffer most from their passing?
Much has been said about David Cameron's ideas for the 'Big Society'.
There can surely be no better example of this society than allowing people to take control of community assets for the good of the local community.
Just as the internet has revolutionised commerce and business, so the Big Society can transform local services.
The decline can be halted, it can be reversed.
By allowing communities to purchase local assets, such as pubs and village halls, we can give people a far greater say over the services they use, the way their money is spent and how their local area is run.
We can give people control over their own destiny. And for our long suffering rural communities this cannot happen soon enough.
Nick Ramsay AM (Monmouth)