DELI OF THE MONTH The tale of the Lodsworth Larder’s creation could be a storyline from the Archers, but, under the stewardship of an “unlikely partnership” , this eco-friendly village shop is anything but a drama. What’s more, the store’s managers have strengthened its local focus and breathed fresh life into this community enterprise. Interview by Tom Dale
It takes a village “IT HAS BEEN a community project right from the very start,” says Lesley Shaikh, co-manager of Lodsworth Larder, a small, communityled village store in West Sussex. “It’s always been something that has brought the village together.” After an agreement was struck with the landlord of the village pub to build a community shop in its car park, residents rallied to raise £150,000 to fund the traditional wooden structure, and then haul the A-frame structure into place. Two years after a first, tentative committee meeting, the Larder opened in 2009. Then, at the start of the pandemic Shaikh and Melanie Moss, a pair of shop volunteers, stepped up to take over the shop at a crucial time. The former headteacher and veteran retailer took the helm shortly after the public was placed under the first national lockdown and was flooding to the nation’s independents in search of consistent supply
chains and a safer shopping experience. The duo has since set about putting their mark on the business; introducing a wider range and renewing the shop’s local focus, while maintaining the community-led values that launched the shop over a decade earlier. Situated in the heart of the South Downs National Park in the small, bucolic village of Lodsworth – complete with hand-painted sign proudly displaying pastoral scenes found in the parish – the Larder’s origin story is anything but typical. “Everything in the village is done by committee,” says Shaikh. “So naturally, that’s how the shop came to be.” It was decided that the area needed a convenience store to help its ageing residents and as a community hub, and the group called on the help of Ben Law, a traditional builder made famous by Channel 4’s Grand Designs, and local architect Val Hinde.
Chestnut, oak, ash, and larch were sourced locally – the build’s cedar roof shingles travelled the farthest at eight miles – and no concrete or cement was used in the build. The result is small but striking, oozing rustic charm inside and out. Traditional wattle panelling bridges the balustrades of the covered display area in the front, and natural timbers – ageing beautifully – are exposed everywhere. The shop is staffed by around 10 regular volunteers – alongside another 10 ad-hoc helpers – ranging in age from retirees in their 70s to teenagers working towards their Duke of Edinburgh Award. “We try and mix the younger and older volunteers on the rota,” says Shaikh. “It’s nice to create those generational bridges to get people talking and learning from each other.” And that seems to be what Moss and Shaikh have been doing, too.
VITAL STATISTICS
Location: The Street, Lodsworth, West Sussex GU28 9BZ Turnover: £250,000 Average basket spend: £8 Retail space: 500 sq ft Average margin: 25% 64
April 2022 | Vol.23 Issue 3
Lesley Shaikh and Melanie Moss
