| County | Hampshire, South East |
|---|---|
| Postcode | SP11 6BE |
| Opened | 2001 |
| Post Office | Yes |
| Management | Managed plus volunteers |
| Legal | ViRSA IPS model rules |
| Premises | New build |
View a map of where to find us
8am - 1pm, 2pm - 6pm Monday to Friday
8.30am - 1pm, 2pm - 4pm Saturday
10am - 1pm Sunday
2pm - 5pm Monday to Friday
8.30am - 12pm Saturday
http://www.stmarybourne-pc.gov.uk/village_shop.asp
After a busy summer of building activity, The Village Shop in St Mary Bourne, near Andover in North Hampshire, opened for business on Monday 3rd September.
Generous gratn support from the Countryside Agency, Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council and Hampshire County Council helped boost subscriptions, donations and fund-raising by villagers themselves to make the shop a reality after several years of hard work.
Built as a community shop to serve the needs and residents in St Mary Bourne, Stoke, Binley, Woodcote and Egbury, the new shop is the only such facility for the area. It also provides a new base for the village post - previously operating from a domestic garage and due o close as it could not be converted to the Horizon electronic system.
Local MP, Sir George Young, lived in the village when he first moved to the constituency and has been a staunch supporter of the scheme. He cut the ribbon to officially declare the shop open on Saturday 8th September 2002 as part of a weekend of fund-raising activities. He was joined by local council representatives and had the chance to enjoy some of the many attractions.
The new shop manager, Jeanette Barton, lives in the village and is looking forward to her new role - despite the long hours and challenges of learning all of the new systems. As the only paid member of staff, she will be helped by a team of volunteers.
Rod Sutcliffe, Chairman of the Shop Association, explained that the Committee already felt it had benefited a great deal from the advice and support of ViRSA and added, "We''ve got off to an excellent start and there''s a great deal of interest and enthusiasm. It''s very much a local shop, run by local people for local people, and I am sure that it will become a vital part of the community".
“The place seemed to be dead” recalled the brigadier. “We missed it so much we started a committee to build a new one.”
But once they had raised enough money for their new state-of-the-art shop (opened five years ago and staffed entirely by volunteers), they couldn’t stop themselves.
They kept on raising tens of thousands of pounds with a never-ending whirl of tennis tournaments, fun runs, dances and fetes. After building the village hall, they went on to create recreation grounds, tennis courts and playgrounds that any large town would die for.
The Village Retail Services Association – a charity that fosters small commercial enterprises in rural areas – says the revival is far wider and that the St Mary Bourne shop, the catalyst for the village’s revival is far from unique.
ViRSA puts the number of ‘community owned’ shops dotted all around England at 150 – and counting. Each year another 20 or so open, and the charity plans to double that before long.
All right, that is not yet nearly enough to compensate for the 300 privately owned village shops that close each year, but it is a heartening start and – what is more – explodes the self-fulfilling myth that rural decline is all pervasive and inevitable.
“Every village needs a few heroes, a few people who will galvanise the others,” said Michael Widen, a member of the village hall committee.
It is exceptional individuals who spark their communities back to life – heroes is not too bold a word for them.
Edited from an article by Sandy Mitchell in the Daily Mail, July 15 2006
In the 1960''s there were at least four shops serving the communities of St Mary Bourne, Stoke, Binley and the local hamlets. They have all closed over the years with the last survivor ceasing trading in 1998. For three years the Post Office was maintained in a resident''s garage at The Mead.
The Parish Council responded to the village''s expressed willingness to use a shop and support it financially. This was confirmed at a public meeting in 1999. Ron Heron was commissioned to design a new shop opposite the Village Centre on Parish Council land. Planning permission was obtained in April 2000 and Bullock Bros were employed to build it.
Building costs were £55,000 and the whole project to opening was budgeted at £90,000. Local people responded massively and £29,000 was given or loaned and almost 200 people became members of the St Mary Bourne Village Shop Association. Finance was secured through a number of grants and construction started in 2001.
In June 2001 Jeanette Barton was appointed shop manager and Sandra Grunsell started recruiting volunteer helpers. By August the building was finished and stock arrived from Londis for the shop to open on Monday 3rd September.
Support for ''The Village Shop'' was magnificent from the start and turnover was near budget. The post office was fully integrated, the alcohol licence was obtained and the fresh baked bread became available. There were many orders for turkeys and meat for Christmas. By then turnover exceeded budget.
In October the Post Office was ram-raided! Nothing was stolen and the shop opened just a little late that morning. A few days later the damage was repaired (thanks to the Bullocks) and, thanks to Bill Noyes, Sub-Postmaster, the Post Office reopened after a week when there were queues.
By April 2002 the shop has many more lines of stock and is trading with a surplus. It supplies a village need and is a social centre for a large number of customers, but more are wanted. The shop is managed by Jeanette Barton and she is helped by two part time employees and a growing number of loyal volunteers.
The business will continue to provide a service to all, being open long hours, seven days a week.
Information from the shop website listed above.
01264 738337