Winsham Shop Ltd
Phone: 01460 30225
Shop is the centre of our village life
Stella Abbey, from Winsham in Somerset, explains how the whole village turned around the fortunes of the village shop
Three years ago, our only shop in Winsham looked set to close. Having lived here for 30 years I knew it would be terrible for the village. It really is the centre of our community, and fortunately many of the other villagers felt the same. Meetings about the closure were packed, and we came up with a rescue plan.
About 200 villagers put in money, through a combination of bonds and shares, which started at £10 each.
Whoever helped at the beginning has a vote at the annual meeting - after all the point is to have everyone involved.
It seems hard to believe it was ever in crisis now. The shop is packed with stock from groceries and alcohol to newspapers and stationary and is open from 6.30am to 6.30pm Monday to Friday, with shorter hours at the weekend. Any profits are ploughed straight back into the shop, and it is thriving. Profits have more than doubled since we took over.
Now their are four part-time paid staff and more than 20 volunteers - including me - who put in a few hours every week. We have different rotas for cleaning, shelf stacking, till operations and so on. An unpaid board of directors runs the shop.
It really is the centre of our village, more important I think than a church, school, or pub. This is where people go everyday to catch up and pass on news and gossip. It''s where people offer help to others.
It''s also vital for a village to have somewhere for people to be able to do their shopping, especially the older people who find it more difficult to travel. We also try to offer a real range of products from cheaper basics upwards, with plenty of local produce and some Fairtrade stock.
We have cheese from two farms only a mile away, and Somerset cider, fruit juice and ice-cream.
Two bakers provide locally baked fresh bread. And in the shop is the post office with an excellent post master for people to pick up their pensions.
And I would much rather my money went into the pockets of local producers than a supermarket. We certainly make an effort to ensure that our suppliers are better treated than they would be by a supermarket.
Article from http://www.westpress.co.uk/displayNode.jsp?nodeId=145809&command=displayContent&sourceNode=145792&contentPK=
Village shop helping to attract new residents
The village shop in Winsham, Somerset had been up for sale for two years but there was little interest in anyone taking the shop on. Just over three years ago, the community decided to get together and to buy the shop and run it themselves.
Approximately £20,000 was raised from villagers providing interest free bonds and also 170 people took up the opportunity of becoming shareholders in the show out of 350 households.
Turnover in the newly reopened community shop quickly rose from £2,500 to £4,000 per week.
Additional benefits are that new residents have been attracted to the village by the fact that a community run village shop is a sign of the community working together.
When profits are being made, the price of essential products in the store is reduced. This particularly benefits the members of the community on lower incomes.
Information provided by committee chairman Jeremy Leighton.