Down Ampney VSA Ltd
Services Offered
Down Ampney Village shop is a community run village shop based on a traditional village shop selling a range of electric goods - foods, cleaning, cards, doorstops, penny sweets, stamps. Local produce such as honey, eggs and in-season fruit and veg is donated by the villagers.
"Tardis" amazes residents
In June 1997 the villagers of Down Ampney, on learning that their only village shop and Post Office was to close in the August, sprang into action. Arrangements were made to continue the Post Office service but establishing a new shop was a more difficult proposition. Premises for a shop, in the shape of an old construction site building, were acquired with help from the local MP, Geoffrey Clifton-Brown and RMG, the company building the new A419. Funds were raised in the village and matched by a community grant from Cotswold District Council. The building was transformed by enthusiastic villagers and in May the new shop was opened next to the village hall.
The shop sells a full range of food and convenience goods, toys, stationary, magazines and cigarettes – everyone is amazed by its “Tardis” appearance – how such a small building can contain so much. It has taken, and continues to take, a lot of hard work to open and run the shop. It is staffed by volunteers with a management committee overseeing things. Unfortunately the Post Office service is run in a temporary structure.
The shop and Post Office are very important to the villagers, there’s no other shop or even a petrol station or pub in the village. The ultimate aim is to raise funds and build a permanent shop and Post Office. This would be leased out at a minimal rent, and the tenant would take over full responsibility for running the shop and Post Office.
Article from "Talking Shop", issue 13, 1998
2010 - Down Ampney Village Shop and Post Office move in to new permanent premises
In the subsequent 13 years, after a tremendous fundraising effort by Villagers, a remarkable £260,000 was raised, which has meant that the retail shop , post office and café were transferred in to an Annex of the Village Hall in the summer of 2010. A strong Parish Plan (2009) and comprehensive business plan, based on successive year on year surpluses achieved by the Down Ampney Shop Society, underwrote the whole project.
The Shop is open seven days a week and is run entirely by volunteers, typifying the dedication and efforts of the past twelve years, and the progressive development of this essential community amenity for the future.
Information from http://www.downampneyvillagehall.co.uk/village-shop.html
To visit the Down Ampney Village Shop website please see http://www.downampneyvillageshop.co.uk/