Vital funding for village shops
WESTCOUNTRY villages blighted by closures of vital amenities are being offered funding to set up their own community-owned shops.
Seventeen villages across Devon and Cornwall have already taken decisive action after losing shops, post offices and pubs, with a further three outlets to open in the region this year.
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The Plunkett Foundation, which supports rural communities wanting to set up and run a community-owned rural shop, wants to hear from villages interested in applying for funding of up to £40,000.
The newly extended Plunkett-run Village Core Programme was originally a three-year initiative.
But demand has been so great, particularly in the current economic climate, it has just been extended for a further three years.
The Village Core Programme has so far led to the creation of 36 community-owned shops throughout England.
The Plunkett Foundation, which provides practical assistance through a network of community retail advisers, its website, various publications and a national office, says people power has been "a major success story at a time when many rural services are under threat".
Peter Couchman, chief executive of the Plunkett Foundation, said: "The extension of the Village Core Programme is fantastic news for the growing number of rural communities looking to set up and run a community-owned shop.
"We have seen communities transformed through this process and we look forward to helping more communities to help themselves over the next three years."
Marking the most recent community joining the movement, villagers in Stokeinteignhead, near Teignmouth, South Devon, have brought shares in a shop.
Last year Stokeinteignhead residents backed the plan to find about £15,000 of funding to restock and restart the beleaguered village store. Post Office Ltd withdrew the postal service from the shop at the beginning of August and it failed to survive.
It has just been awarded a grant of £11,000 under the Village Core Programme. There are two more shops opening in Devon over the coming months.
In Broadhempston, near Totnes, South Devon, its shop officially opens this week.
Meanwhile, the shop in Aveton Gifford, South Devon, will move from a temporary office into a new build, which villagers hope will be open early August.
Residents in Ide, a close-knit village a mile from Exeter, earlier this year opened their own shop just as the village's only store was sold for flats.
Staffed by 40 volunteers on a seven-day-a-week rota, the Ide outlet has became the 200th community-owned shop in the country.
The new tranche of funding takes the form of a grant of up to £20,000 from the Esmee Fairbairn Foundation and a loan of up to £20,000 from Co-operative and Community Finance.
The funding package is then matched by equivalent community contributions of up to £20,000.
For details visit www.plunkett.co.uk
3 Comments
by Margaret, US
Thursday, August 20 2009, 6:24AM
“I recently came across your blog and have been reading along. I thought I would leave my first comment. I don't know what to say except that I have enjoyed reading. Nice blog. I will keep visiting this blog very often.
Margaret
http://grantfoundation.net”
by Justin, Cornwall
Monday, July 06 2009, 12:21PM
“Very true AG!. What money does come there way will probably not be enough in the long term. The loss of small shops,pubs and community has been devastating for Britain. All governments have deliberately contributed in the down fall of our social communities right across the country. People need to ask questions about why this has been allowed to happen. The supermarkets are totally unregulated by central government and have been allowed to dominate the shopping culture in Britain. Supermarkets have become ingrained the psyche of every man,woman and child. A one stop shop for everything,but at what cost to our communties and local shops.”
by a g rawlings, truro
Monday, July 06 2009, 9:28AM
“I'm sad to say, this closure of shops of the little man has been a past and present governments push for supermarkets to rule that industry. They do not want a fair trade Brition, they want the small shopkeeper removed, so these money riddled companies can rule with a rod of iron. We have a body called the fair trade, sadly again not for the British and very little support from the everyday person. how does one expect a small shopkeeper to get the same deal as the likes of Tesco and others. It seems better for the people to do away with all our industries including shopowners and have a rope around our neck.”