Winster Village Shop
Open 356 days/year (shorter opening hours will operate on Christmas Day, etc). Deliveries are available for the housebound and those in need.
''Essential'' shop saved by village action
With a large number of elderly people, and 15 percent of households not having a car, the closure of the local shop would have had a devastating effect on the Derbyshire villages of Winster and Elton. So when the shop owner decided to leave the business after 20 years, the local community immediately began a campaign to buy it.
Eighty residents attended an open meeting chaired by the parish council and a steering group was elected to investigate the possibility of acquiring the Winster shop on behalf of the community. Steering group members included David Mitchell, a retired businessman with experience of running convenience stores, solicitor Rod Shiers, and Parish Council Clerk Veronica Kemble.
Mr Mitchell said: “We wanted to ensure the continuation of a village shop providing the community with essential services. We organised a house-to-house questionnaire which showed overwhelming support from 80 percent, and identified the particular needs of older people and households without cars for whom a village shop was especially important.”
Two years later – early 2006 – the community enterprise is trading successfully, providing a valuable local service, employment for six full or part-time employees, and vital support for local produce suppliers.
Mr Mitchell added: “We now need funding to refurbish a very tired building, for rewiring, an inside staff toilet, a prep kitchen, and up-to-date refrigeration and shelving – a full refit to meet modern standards and current legislation. We can trade profitably, but not to make sufficient profit for these major works. We are therefore viable but not sustainable without further investment – but most importantly we still have a village shop.”
Villager Stan Heathcote who uses the shop every day, says: “It’s fantastic that it’s here. I do all my shopping there and it’s also enjoyable to meet peope there and have a chat. Everyone is so nice.”
Information from http://www.enterprise4inclusion.org.uk/ case studies