Kirdford community-owned village shop in Sussex was opened by actor Julie Walters on 5th June. The shop opening, following hot on the heels of the community-owned shop on Radio 4’s The Archers this week, is the fiftieth new shop to open following the support of a dedicated support programme for communities looking to set up and run a community-owned shop.
Following the closure of their village shop in 2006, the village of Kirdford rallied together to ensure that this valuable village service was not lost. Over the last three years, the village of Kirdford has raised in excess of £200,000 through selling shares and various fundraising events. This has allowed the community to purchase and renovate an old office building to convert into the new community-owned shop. Villagers and local businesses have pulled together to undertake various building jobs and the painting and decorating to create the current light and airy shop premises.
Sue Ransley, Chair of Kirdford Community-Owned Shop committee, said “We firmly believe that this shop will swiftly become the hub of the village activity; somewhere people can meet for coffee, use the internet and of course, shop for their daily needs in a pleasant environment”.
James Alcock, Community Retail Manager at the Plunkett Foundation speaking at the launch, said: “We would like to congratulate everyone involved in setting up such a fantastic community-owned shop in Kirdford. Community-ownership is a proven way of saving a whole range of vital rural services including shops and pubs and it now saves ten percent of village shop closures. Kirdford now has a community-owned shop providing a whole range of services which the entire community can be rightly proud of.”
There are now 238 community-owned shops in the UK with a record 38 opening in 2009 alone. The Village CORE Programme is a partnership between the Plunkett Foundation, the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation and Co-operative and Community Finance and is supported by the LankellyChase Foundation. It offers a financial support package alongside advice and support to communities looking to set up and run a community-owned shop.
For press and media enquiries, please contact Elizabeth of Mar on elizabethofmarpr@yahoo.co.uk or 07870 276375
[ENDS]
NOTES TO EDITORS:
The Plunkett Foundation (www.plunkett.co.uk) is a national organisation based in Woodstock, Oxfordshire that helps rural communities through community-ownership to take control of the issues important to them. The Plunkett Foundation runs a range of projects and services supporting rural communities to set up and successfully run community-owned enterprises including community-owned shops. The Plunkett Foundation hosts an online Community Shops Network (www.plunkett.uk.net) for community-owned shops to share ideas and best practice.
The Village CORE Programme (http://www.plunkett.co.uk/whatwedo/core/Core.cfm) is a three year support programme managed by the Plunkett Foundation in partnership with the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation (http://www.esmeefairbairn.org.uk/) and Co-operative and Community Finance (http://www.co-opandcommunityfinance.coop/) and supported by the LankellyChase Foundation (http://www.lankellychase.org.uk/). It provides financial start-up packages and advisory support to communities looking to set up a community-owned rural shop.