COMMUNITY SHOPS

THE HEART OF THE COMMUNITY

Village shops are a dying breed and becoming quite scarce, but community shops are looking to the future. Mary finds out more

THE VILLAGE SHOP traditionally was always the staple part of a village. The shopkeeper knew everyone, knew their business and mainly looked out for them. And the villagers supported the shop buying most of their weekly food there, and if it had a post office, even better.

But those days have long gone. The arrival of supermarkets along with increased car ownership started the death knell and then the closure of many small post offices within the village shops was the final nail in the coffin. Without the footfall of people using the post office (and the income) virtually every village shop could not survive. And this has been the case for many, if not all the villages in our area.

But in many villages, particularly the larger ones, the community has begun to fight back. Like-minded residents realised the damage not having a village shop and a hub for the community was doing to village life and decided to do something about it. Committees and steering groups were set up and community shops in the last ten years or so have begun popping up around the area, and they are very welcome.

A community shop is different to the village shop as it is not owned by an individual but by the village itself, made up of shareholders with a committee and the shop being run mainly by volunteers. This means that the community must pull together, commit itself and work alongside each other; which, let’s be honest can be problematic in some villages so the chairperson needs to be pretty diplomatic.

The Bythams Community shop is one of our area’s newest community shops opening in June 2020. But, as with many of these shops, it took a long time to get to this stage as there’s an awful lot of work, planning and paperwork to do.

Castle Bytham and the surrounding villages of Little Bytham, Holywell, Careby, Clipsham and a few more hamlets had a village shop and post office until it closed in 2013. This meant that the nearest local shop was three miles away and a supermarket ten, so to go and buy a pint of milk meant a six-mile round trip or a twenty-mile round trip if you wanted more choice. And if you didn’t have a car you were stuck in the village with no shop and very little public transport available to get to one.

A steering group was quickly set up in the village to assess the feasibility of a community shop, and where it would be located and then to draft a business plan. The committee quite sensibly decided to work in phases so different committees with different strengths could be brought in at different stages. By 2017 there was an agreement to go ahead and that it was feasible. The village was very much behind the process.

Raising finance, sourcing grants, knowing who to talk to and carrying a village with you is not an easy task. But initial chairman Peter Hinton did a good job of it. And after initially finding a site for the shop, gaining planning and so on, in 2017 the process to raise funding started. This involved applying for grants, organising the architect and managing the build as well. Villagers were offered shares at £20 each, and there are 143 shareholders in total.

In 2019 building work started. The shop is located on the edge of the village on Station Road, purposely so that it is easily accessible by Little Bytham and Holywell as it is a community shop for more than just Castle Bytham. It is also strategically placed as future development is planned for around it. All was going well with building and planning and then of course Covid struck.

This rather set the cat among the pigeons as suddenly volunteers were no longer available and sourcing supplies

became very difficult as many suppliers had stopped production. But they managed to open in June 2020 and the committee handed the role on to another committee as a different skillset was now needed.

The shop was well supported but lessons were quickly learned. Stocking was understandably a bit of trial and error as no one really knew what people would buy and mistakes were made. A community shop is, of course, owned by the community so at a shareholders meeting in summer 2021 questions were asked about the running of the shop and the committee was given a bit of a rough ride. It was no one’s fault as it was new to everyone. This subsequently resulted in the committee resigning so a new band of people were now needed to run the shop. But the shareholders and village had learnt their lesson. They needed a committee with proper retail experience and a qualified accountant. So that is what they went and found.

Steve Barratt is the new chairman who has years of retail and HR experience and is now a director at Curry’s. He then appointed six other committee members. ‘We are made up of a team of individuals who are united to keep the shop open. All have been appointed for their skill, not their enthusiasm.’ So there is an accountant, a brand designer, an ex-military person who knows all about governance, someone with experience of running and training a group of volunteers and someone who is an expert with electronic tills as well as another who has purchasing and buying experience; all live in the village.

The ethos of the Bythams shop, as it is with most community shops, is that local produce and artisanal producers are to be used. Yes, goods such as tins, basics and papers are bought from a wholesaler but everything else is locally produced and made. This reduces the carbon footprint of the shops, supports local businesses and reduces food miles. This is what the community wants. And this is what Bythams shop provides. Bread is from Hambleton, meat from Grasmere, local cheeses and yoghurts as well as flour and porridge are all produced nearby. Visiting the shop four times a week is the post office van which shares their car park; another service which is used by many in the village.

When the new committee took over they shut the shop for two weeks at the end of August this year. This allowed them to take stock, set out a plan, organise the volunteers and set up systems that would enable the shop to run effectively. It also allowed them to redecorate, rearrange and sort out stock and suppliers. Within the shop is a very popular takeaway selling bacon rolls, sausage rolls and the like which was also rejigged.

More volunteers came forward and the shop reopened in September 2021. This time round everyone knows exactly what they are doing and what is expected of them. There is one paid member of staff, the manager, with the rest of the staffing manned by volunteers. Steve is at the shop every morning opening up and greeting the early paper buyers. He also works there on a Sunday.

Volunteers are always welcome and can be added to the roster. At the moment there are 20 of them plus the DofE children who help at the weekends. They are all trained to use the till and man the shop. Men and women volunteer and age range varies. ‘The volunteers know everyone in the community and are very much part of it,’ says Steve. ‘They are also very community driven and want to see the shop do well. It’s also sociable so you get to see plenty of people during the day. In stocking the shop we have catered for the whole community and this is reflected in our sales. We are learning what people like and want and are stocking the shop accordingly. And we are delighted that so many people in the villages are supporting us. We plan to be here for many years to come.’

The heart of the village

Kate meets stalwarts of Barrowden and Wakerley community shop

WHEN THE BARROWDEN postmistress, who was in her nineties, was required to start using a computer, it was understandably a step too far. So unfortunately the post office closed. Then there wasn’t a shop in the village for about five years but when the villagers were formulating their parish plan, many decided it would be good to have one again. In 2005 a steering group was established after a meeting at the village hall. According to resident Gill Coleman, anyone who turned up was roped in. Gill was the only person at the meeting with a pen and pencil so, of course, she became the secretary, later the treasurer. Gill steered the group all the way through and is still the one in charge!

First of all they had to get planning permission for a new building. The site, next to the village hall, was full of brambles and nettles owned by the Burghley estate. The steering committee negotiated a lease, involved a local architect and were subsequently given planning permission. Then building work commenced. According to Gill: ‘If I asked on a Friday night for a work party to turn up to help on the Saturday morning I could usually count on a group from the village to come. I’d bribe them with coffee and a sausage roll.’

Community shops were flavour of the day back then so finding money to fund the build was possible. The committee received grants from various pots and as the shop was serving both Barrowden and Wakerley the committee was able to access funding from Northamptonshire council too. The shop opened in 2009 with a post point, not a full post office, where they process parcels, signed deliveries, and so on.

Bread is from King’s Cliffe, meat is from Grasmere and Nelsons, jam and preserves from Spalding Saints and Sinners and there’s plenty of other local products. ‘We have basics but we also offer extras that are different and more interesting,’ Gill continued. ‘You’ve got to try and cater for demand. There are people with different tastes and budgets, so it’s quite a balancing act.’

Local artists’ work is displayed in the tearoom which offers drinks, cakes and sandwiches. ‘We tried to do lunches but it was so unpredictable,’ said Gill. ‘It’s very hard with just two people if you suddenly get a crowd in so we stick at what we’re good at.’

The village is spread out but in terms of households the committee were always told it wasn’t big enough to support a shop. Thankfully that’s not been the case. ‘Because we’re run by volunteers it’s viable,’ Gill says. ‘ We are able to pay one manager to be on site, but If we had to pay two members of staff it wouldn’t be.’

Helen Coop was a volunteer before taking over as a manager and she shares the role with David Lewis. The shop mostly runs with one manager and one volunteer.

‘Some volunteers like to come two or three times a week,’ says Helen. ‘Others drop in as and when they can fit it in. We have some people who just do the till; others make coffee and tea and some do everything like cleaning down the shelves. Our work experience and DofE students stack shelves and clean, and we have a separate team who do the garden. Basically we can find a job for anyone who wants to help.’

The shop is at the heart of the village and the team of volunteers are what keeps it beating. ‘A lot come in because they want to meet people especially if they live on their own,’ says Helen. ‘It also gives a structure to your week. Occasionally people forget and ring up later absolutely mortified but it’s rare. Recently we’ve had some volunteers who are new to the village as it’s an ideal way to meet other people, and some who are heading for their nineties have just packed up. But we can always count on a good group in the village who will turn their hand to whatever needs doing to keep the shop going.’

www.barrowdenshop.org

Welcome, refreshment and support

Kate met Sue Aspinall, committee management member for the Cottingham village store to find out what goes on behind the scenes

WHEN THE SITE of the former post office in Cottingham went up for auction in 2009 very many villagers made it known to the parish council that they were keen for it to remain as a shop. As we all know, village shops are not just there to buy the basics, they are the hub of village life. Thankfully a not-for-profit Christian organisation led by locals Jeremy Sharman and Jane Gaffney stepped in and bought the property.

They developed two cottages next to and behind the store that bring in income to service the debt and then the management committee, two paid staff and a team of volunteers need to ensure the shop is a viable business.

Sue, who is a retired NHS consultant, is one of six members of the management committee, all with diverse skills. She told me: ‘Initially the shop benefitted from grants. We had money from the European programme LEADER that supports rural developments; some from the National Lottery and some from the Plunkett Foundation which is a charity that supports community businesses, advising them on legal, practical and financial matters.

‘The shop issued two share options which were taken up mainly by villagers, parish councils and copyholders who own land around the village. Local sports clubs and businesses also donated.

‘The shop opened with this motto in mind: We’re “a place of welcome, refreshment and support” for the village and I’d say that’s exactly what we are. We came into our own during Covid, carried on serving at the door, delivered goods and papers to vulnerable people and became an informal meeting place for people socially distancing outside.’

As is always the case with community shops, they rely on volunteers for viability. Sue continues: ‘Initially we opened with four paid staff and 30 volunteers. Many volunteers, often aged over 70, have felt too vulnerable to return after Covid. We are open just mornings at present with two paid staff, Alison and Bernie, who work a total of 45 hours a week, and 12 volunteers who generally do a couple of hours a week in the shop and tearoom. Three other people help with DIY, our accounts, stock taking and pricing. Committee members also do shifts at the shop. Bernie’s husband comes in every morning at 6.30am to sort the newspapers. Some people are initially a bit frightened by the till but it is a learning curve for everyone. Volunteers benefit from the social contact and acquire new skills.

‘The shop doesn’t make a lot of money and the small footprint is challenging. We opened in the afternoons pre-Covid and that’s what we’re aiming for again. We’d like to have another paid person to open three afternoons initially as we get most of our funds from food and drink sales. We have a meeting space upstairs for people to use, and ramblers and cyclists like to sit outside. We can serve paninis, soups, sausage rolls, bacon baps and milkshakes, and our cake makers are amazing. We also sell Hambleton bread and cakes that can be ordered, also Joseph Morris and Grasmere meats which go very well.

‘The shop did sell artisan products as people requested them but then didn’t buy as much as expected. We wasted a lot of food so we went back to basics. People want things they run out of like good branded coffee, poop scoop bags, dishwasher salt, foil, washing up powder. Anyone can make suggestions about stock and the committee then works out if we can make any money on it.

‘I’m very positive about our shop as it does great things for the village but it is vulnerable if people don’t use it. We’ve gone out a few times with a ‘Use it or Lose it’ campaign to encourage every household to volunteer, donate or buy a few extra purchases each week. If everyone came and bought a pint of milk each day we’d be solvent all the time, that’s all it would take.’

01536 770097

Collyweston shop

Mary meets the original founder of this well established, popular little shop

sell as much locally produced stuff as possible. We had funding for the first three years so when the original manager left we cut the role down to part-time with the rest of staffing done by volunteers, and it has worked really well.’

The volunteers in each shop really are the heart of the business and keep it going. They give their time freely and willingly, but they get a lot back as well.

‘It’s the perfect way to get to know people in the village and be at the heart of the community,’ says Sandra. ‘If you are new to the village you get to meet people and even a long term resident like me has met many people I would possibly never have come across. You make new friends, from all walks of life. Some people have time to chat when they come into the shop, some are lonely and enjoy the company, so it’s a really nice way to spend a few hours getting to know people whilst playing your part to keep a business going and supporting the community.’

This sentiment is not just for Collyweston, it’s true for every village with a community shop. These community owned shops have brought the villages together. Community minded people have stepped up and kept a vital amenity going through their hard work and commitment. Why? ‘Because I love the village,’ said everyone we spoke to.

IT HAS BECOME apparent that when a village shop shuts the village stalwarts often come together and work hard to pull the village together to open a community shop. This obviously takes huge commitment and time but everyone we have spoken to has done it for ‘the love of the village and to keep it alive.’

Sandra Johnson is perhaps slightly more committed than some as she can trace her roots back to the 1500s in

Collyweston so when the garage and shop on the A43 closed she knew the village had to do something.

‘Paul and I ran an estate agents in Stamford for many years and we knew that a popular village was one that had a school, pub and village shop. We no longer had a school, now the shop had gone and the post office was teetering on the edge, being only part-time. This meant that people would not necessarily be attracted to the village and those with no transport were stuck as there was only about one bus a day.’

‘Paul was on the parish council who were approached by the Plunkett Foundation to see if the village was interested in setting up a community shop. No-one seemed to want to take it on so Paul and I did. We had lots of help from Ian

Toye who worked for the foundation at the time as well as advice from Barrowden community shop which had opened the year before. We did surveys in the village and once it became apparent there was a desire for a community shop we then had to find a site. We eventually settled on the little shop in the High Street that used to be a butcher’s, not without controversy though.

‘We sourced grants and loans and sold shares to residents and eventually raised enough money to be able to pay for a full time manager, for three years, and the refurbishment.

We were lucky, tradesmen in the village gave their time for nothing so we only had to pay for materials.

‘We opened on July 1 2010 so have just celebrated our 11th birthday. We have championed local businesses and try and

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