Stillington Community Association Ltd
Post Offices closes for lunch between 12.30pm and 1.30pm on days when it is open in the afternoons.
A Community Success Story - Press Release
The community-owned village shop at Stillington near Easingwold was recently delighted to welcome Michael Fairclough, Community Relations Manager of United Co-operatives. United Co-operatives supports social enterprise solutions to the challenges facing communities across its trading area, and Michael was visiting Stillington as part of his research into the growing success story of community-owned shops. In particular, he wanted to find out how the village has created a sustainable enterprise in the face of the well-publicised problems encountered by small shops throughout Yorkshire.
Community ownership is often the only viable option for villages which risk losing their shop, as the residents of Stillington discovered when the owners of the local shop and Post Office decided to retire in 2003 and no commercial buyers could be found.
With the help and advice of The Village Retail Services Association (ViRSA, www.virsa.org), the Stillington Community Association was formed and more
than 200 local people bought £10 shares in the shop. Further funds were raised through loans and grants. Incredibly, the day after the owners retired, the shop
and Post Office opened as a community-run venture staffed by a team of enthusiastic volunteers (in the case of the shop), and part-time paid employees (in the case of the Post Office). This was an amazing achievement on the part of everyone involved.
The shop is now nearly three years old, and is very much the heart and soul of Stillington. As it has become increasingly successful, it has evolved to provide additional services and facilities to meet the needs of the community, such as photocopier, fax and internet access, and a small art gallery which showcases art by local artists. The shop has also developed excellent relationships with local producers such as Penny Hodgson of the award-winning Thornhill Dexter Beef, and as a result it has succeeded in benefiting the wider community as well as Stillington itself.
There are currently eight community-owned village shops in Yorkshire, and there are more than 150 nationwide. The community-ownership ''model'' is very
flexible, making it a realistic option for many villages, and details can be found on ViRSA''s website, www.virsa.org
"Great community spirit" shown to reopen village shop
A group of residents have saved their North Yorkshire post office by forming a co-operative to buy and run it.
Residents of Stillington, near Easingwold, decided they were going to save the village facility after postmistress Jenny Nesbitt and her husband Stan announced they were closing the shop.
They set up Stillington Community Association Ltd (SCAL) with more than 100 local people buying shares at £10 a time.
And the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has announced it is providing the villagers with a £49,250 grant to make up the final third of the £135,000 needed.
Brian Handley, a SCAL spokesman said: "The residents of Stillington have pulled together in magnificent fashion.
"They''ve showed great community spirit and a determination that a vital village resource should not be lost."
Defra is giving the grant under its Rural Enterprise Scheme which supports rural economies and communities.
Defra project officer Christine Clark said: "In rural villages the post office and shop is often at the hub of the community.
"We are delighted that Stillington and its residents will benefit not only from the continued existence of the post office but also from any profits it makes."
The community''s fundraising has involved a range of loans, gifts and grants as well as the £10-a-share scheme.
Article from http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/north_yorkshire/3032126.stm
30 June 2003