The Plunkett Foundation supports rural communities wanting to set up and run a community owned shop. We offer guidance from the earliest planning stages through to the opening of the shop and then ongoing support as required. We do this by providing practical assistance through a network of community retail advisers, this web site, a national office and various publications.
We promote community ownership as a viable option for villages wishing to retain or introduce a local shop. Currently, there are over 190 community owned shops in the UK. This number is increasing as rural communities find that community ownership is often the only way to have a shop in the village.
We carry out research projects on community owned shops and the social and economic issues that affect them. This work is used to inform government and charities and enables us to provide the best quality advice to individual communities. We also provides expertise to government and other organisations on various rural retail projects.
See publications
We obtain funds from grants, donations and subscriptions. There is no charge to individual communities for our advice and support.
