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Author Topic: Village community shops.  (Read 7724 times)

Crofter

  • Joined Jan 2009
  • Isle of Lewis
  • We'll get there!
    • Ravenstar
Village community shops.
« on: May 30, 2011, 08:29:00 am »
Hi all

It was so nice to see a positive story in the news. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-13568374
We are lucky here with a thriving private local shop, hairdresser, petrol station, garage, gift shop and pharmacy all only 7 miles from Stornoway.  There are several Community Shops on the islands which seem to help their communities.
Do any of you have Community Shops nearby and are they well supported?  Do you still have a traditional village store?

Be interesting to find out as I guess most of us live in rural areas.

Dave
Comfortable B&B on a working Croft on the Isle of Lewis. www.Ravenstar.co.uk

Hilarysmum

  • Joined Oct 2007
Re: Village community shops.
« Reply #1 on: May 30, 2011, 08:39:25 am »
We had a nice epicerie here but the owner retired.  We have a teeth breaking bakers and a butcher who charges a different price depending if you are in his clique or not.  He is quite open about it, never bothering that the ladies before and behind are charged 9 euros per kilo for mince (still very expensive) and us non cliques are charged 12.  It took me ages to work out why he never had a price list.  So I shop in the smallest supermarket in our nearest town where the bread is edible and the prices the same for everyone.

oink

  • Joined Feb 2009
Re: Village community shops.
« Reply #2 on: May 30, 2011, 10:53:09 am »
10 years ago we had 2 shops and a post office.  We now have none!

We do still have two pubs and a working men's club though, i guess it's a matter of priorities :)

Hilarysmum

  • Joined Oct 2007
Re: Village community shops.
« Reply #3 on: May 30, 2011, 06:17:38 pm »
I forgot the 2 churches and the 4 pubs.

ellisr

  • Joined Sep 2009
  • Wales
Re: Village community shops.
« Reply #4 on: May 30, 2011, 07:14:26 pm »
We have a shop in the next vilage and a pub all we have in our hamlet is a church. I expect the shop doesn't get much business from our hamlet as everyone seems to go to the supermarket over 10 miles away they are too posh to grow and barter

waterhouse

  • Guest
Re: Village community shops.
« Reply #5 on: May 30, 2011, 07:34:41 pm »
We're in the prosperous south-east - which means in our town centre I counted five empty shops in a row next to a failing restaurant followed by three charity shops.  The other side of the road is better but gappy.  Rents will fall dramatically without doubt and there's a way to go yet, but we could then see some decent local shops return?

ambriel

  • Joined Jan 2011
  • Kinlochbervie, NW Sutherland, Scotland
  • Mad, bad, and dangerous to know!
    • Harbour Cottage
Re: Village community shops.
« Reply #6 on: May 30, 2011, 08:36:03 pm »

We're just across the Minch from you, in Kinlochbervie.

We've still got a village filling station, post office, small Spar shop and a handful of others, plus the local hotel/bar. The Fishermen's Mission closed a few years ago, sadly.

Sandy

  • Guest
Re: Village community shops.
« Reply #7 on: May 30, 2011, 09:09:57 pm »
Things seem to be looking up a bit, we live in a once thriving area (many years ago) that has lost shop after shop, we have a good Co-Op and Post Office,A chemist, 2 Hairdressers and a couple of corner shops and some take aways!!!!! Apparently there used to be a Bakers, tea room, gift shop etc etc, we can see a def improvement so hope it continues!!!!!

waterhouse

  • Guest
Re: Village community shops.
« Reply #8 on: May 30, 2011, 09:16:23 pm »
The Co-op which spent thirty years as a crap retailer living off its property portfolio has got its act together and is a real competitor to the Sainsburys/Tesco etc.  Thank heavens.

SallyintNorth

  • Joined Feb 2011
  • Cornwall
  • Rarely short of an opinion but I mean well
    • Trelay Cohousing Community
Re: Village community shops.
« Reply #9 on: May 30, 2011, 09:59:32 pm »
We have a traditional village shop, extremely well-supported.  Until a couple of years ago it was the Post Office too, which made it a viable business.  Now the proprietors are retiring and have put it up for sale - with no real hope of anyone buying it as a going concern.  So the expectation is that it will get pp for conversion to residential and another village shop will bite the dust.  Meanwhile of course the bus service gets cut back and back, which makes a mockery of the argument the PO made about shutting our in-shop service - as we all predicted but of course nothing could stop the great God of Cost-Effectiveness.

Currently the youngsters in the villages can pop into the shop and spend some pocket money, hang around on the picnic benches outside how youngsters do, all with the shop's owners kindly eye and ear on them.  When the shop closes the kids will get the bus (such as they are) to town, where no-one will know them, and they'll buy alcohol and hang around in the streets - and some of them will get ASBOs...  Yep, all very cost effective.    ::)

Yes we know we could decide to buy the shop and run a community shop.  Be sure we will think about it if no buyer comes forward.
« Last Edit: May 30, 2011, 10:01:10 pm by SallyintNorth »
Don't listen to the money men - they know the price of everything and the value of nothing

Live in a cohousing community with small farm for our own use.  Dairy cows (rearing their own calves for beef), pigs, sheep for meat and fleece, ducks and hens for eggs, veg and fruit growing

Rosemary

  • Joined Oct 2007
  • Barry, Angus, Scotland
    • The Accidental Smallholder
Re: Village community shops.
« Reply #10 on: May 30, 2011, 10:33:08 pm »
Carnoustie's a nice wee town - Co-op, drycleaners, couple of opticians, millions of hairdressers and beauty salons, takeaways, dentists, two newsagents, a nice art shop, lovely florist, pet shop, butchers, two bakers and others. It has three primary schools and a secondary school, leisure centre, lovely library. (So not that small really). What it lacks is petrol. Apparently there used to be two filling stations, now there are none. I shop there during the week; we all use the library. But I know if I need fuel, I go to Barnhill, which is the other way from Carnoustie from our road end, and go past Tesco in Monifieth, so go there for shopping.

The local Community Council think that a filling station si a good thing and seem prepared to invite in one of the big supermarkets to run it. If they do, it will be the death of the High Street. I think Applecross has a community filling station - that woudl be a better option for here.

Hilarysmum

  • Joined Oct 2007
Re: Village community shops.
« Reply #11 on: May 31, 2011, 07:23:08 am »
SintN has your village considered buying the shop and turning it into a community shop, with volunteers running it. 

sabrina

  • Joined Nov 2008
Re: Village community shops.
« Reply #12 on: May 31, 2011, 08:38:28 am »
All we have now is the Spar shop, it has the petrol station, the baker and butcher who were down by the harbour have both closed. The Post Office is in the Spar on a Tuesday and Thursday morning. Their is a Hotel down past the harbour but i think he only opens in the summer. There are two vans go round the village, one selling veg, the other fish. ;D

Coley

  • Joined Apr 2011
Re: Village community shops.
« Reply #13 on: May 31, 2011, 08:58:37 am »
Yes we know we could decide to buy the shop and run a community shop.  Be sure we will think about it if no buyer comes forward.

Aye, we did that, but as happens cliques arise and now its hardly used as people dont want their business gossiped about, the whole village was behind it at first but once people realised who was going to run it the support dried up.
But it is possible to get support from charities to enable such projects to go forward though it will be more difficult in todays economic climate.

Crofter

  • Joined Jan 2009
  • Isle of Lewis
  • We'll get there!
    • Ravenstar
Re: Village community shops.
« Reply #14 on: May 31, 2011, 11:43:20 am »
Quite a few viable sounding communities around then!
I think that at least two of our community shops on the Island are backed by Comhairle nan Eilean Siar (Western Isles Council) and the local Co-op supermarket sells them stock at wholesale price if they collect it.
Petrol and diesel are always a big issue here, we're currently paying £1.54 for Diesel!

Dave
Comfortable B&B on a working Croft on the Isle of Lewis. www.Ravenstar.co.uk

 

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