Residents of a Hampshire village are this week celebrating the opening of a new community-owned shop.
The Woodgreen Community Shop committee managed to raise more than £300,000 to open the store. Some £120,000 came from donations and fundraising events, with the remainder secured through grants from the Big Lottery Fund and Hampshire County Council, among others.
The store's employees, all of whom are unpaid local volunteers, will celebrate their achievement by holding a party featuring live music, displays showcasing local food producers, and a hog roast.
The custom-made timber and red brick store is the 259th community-owned shop to open in the UK, according to the Plunkett Foundation.
According to Plunkett's most recent report, community ownership saves 10% of all village shop closures, while their "robust legal structure and fair, democratically elected committee leads to a greater social impact, increasing community cohesion and reinvesting the profits back into the community ensuring a vital rural service remains".
The Woodgreen Community Shop committee managed to raise more than £300,000 to open the store. Some £120,000 came from donations and fundraising events, with the remainder secured through grants from the Big Lottery Fund and Hampshire County Council, among others.
The store's employees, all of whom are unpaid local volunteers, will celebrate their achievement by holding a party featuring live music, displays showcasing local food producers, and a hog roast.
The custom-made timber and red brick store is the 259th community-owned shop to open in the UK, according to the Plunkett Foundation.
According to Plunkett's most recent report, community ownership saves 10% of all village shop closures, while their "robust legal structure and fair, democratically elected committee leads to a greater social impact, increasing community cohesion and reinvesting the profits back into the community ensuring a vital rural service remains".
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