| County | Devon, South West |
|---|---|
| Postcode | EX14 9SA |
| Opened | 2004 |
| Post Office | Yes |
| Management | Managed plus volunteers |
| Legal | ViRSA IPS model rules |
| Premises | Portacabin |
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In July 2002 the small village of Offwell in Devon found out that its post office was to close that September. An open meeting was quickly called to which more than 90 concerned villagers came and an action committee was formed. The committee met during the autumn of 2002 to come up with a business plan for a post office, aware that the existing village shop was also now in jeopardy.
By Christmas 2002 negotiations with Post Office Ltd were underway and the village shop did in fact close. The existing plan to erect a temporary building alongside the village hall was reshaped to incorporate a community shop, but the committee felt it was important to keep the two businesses as separate entities with the post office run by a well-qualified sub-postmaster or mistress and the community shop being run by volunteers.
Fundraising became the main focus of 2003 and the total raised by local people enabled grants of about £28,000 to be secured. A generous donation of shop fittings from the Co-op and support from other local businesses enabled the shop to start trading in January 2004. The people of Offwell are now envisaging a time when they have a permanent home for their venture and a facility that will service their village for many years to come.
Offwell Rural Services Association are a locally formed organisation that has re-opened the post office and shop. The previous shop closed in December 2002 and it was identified there was a community need for this service. Surveys were conducted and the applicant received support. The new post office and store has been located in a Portacabin within the recreation ground.
The service will provide essential supplies and provisions and will be run by a post master/mistress and volunteers will run the shop.
Offwell is a rural village some 3 miles south-south-east of Honiton in Devon. The parish of Offwell lies either side of the A35 but the village is tucked away, 0.5 miles south of the main road. It lies within an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) and within the area of the East Devon coast recently designated as a World Heritage Site. Offwell also sits on the edge of the Blackdown Hills which has an active community partnership promoting the area and its products. Offwell has a 12th century church, a thriving primary school and a community run recreation ground and village hall complex. There are buses three times a day through the village, and the local garage on the A35 sells some grocery/confectionary items, but there is no pedestrian access to the site. In the parish there is a woodland centre and a recycling site which brings people to the village on a daily basis. The surrounding villages of Northleigh, Southleigh, Farway, Wilmington and Cotleigh do not have retail facilities.
Offwell has 334 people on its electoral roll, the majority of whom are over 50. Together with the under 18’s this brings the population to over 400. The local school draws from the surrounding community and also pulls in pupils from the town of Honiton. The current roll is about 100 pupils.
Offwell Post Office and Village Shop had always been located within private premises in the village. In 2000 the bungalow from which the business had recently been operating was sold by the incumbent, who had been there for over ten years, as she had reached retirement age. The premises were bought by a family, and in September 2002 the Post Office closed followed in December 2002 by the closure of the shop. The new owners have retained the building as a private house and the shop has reverted to living accommodation.
On 2nd July 2002, following the notification that the Post Office was to close, an Open Meeting was called by the Parish Council. Despite short notice and the holiday season being underway, over 90 people attended and an action committee was formed with the brief to look at the options for retaining a postal service in the village. This meeting was attended by David Fisher of ViRSA as it was felt that with the Post Office closing the prospects for the village shop were also bleak. Further Open Meetings were held that year, all of which were well attended.
The action committee met during the autumn and looked at ways of accommodating the Post Office business, preferably on neutral/village ground. It was felt that the best option would be to site the office on land owned by the Offwell Recreation Ground & Village Hall Charity (ORG&VHC). To this end a business plan for the Post Office was put forward to the ORG&VHC trustees in October. At this time the shop was still operating from the original premises, but it was agreed that this situation had a limited future. However, as any future Post Office would be staffed, full-time, by a person employed by Pos Office Ltd it was felt advisable to keep the prospective shop as a separate community enterprise run by volunteer staff.
By the time the old shop finally closed, just prior to Christmas 2002, negotiations with the Post Office were well underway. The chosen route was to erect a temporary building alongside the Village Hall, and to join forces with the charity trustees to raise money for a permanent extension is 3-5 years time. The inclusion of a new community shop then dictated the size of the building needed. Planning permission for a 320 sq ft temporary building was applied for and permission granted in April 2003. At the same time an Industrial and Provident Society was formed in February 2003 – Offwell Rural Services Association (ORSA), to manage the project overall. A well qualified candidate for sub-postmistress was selected and proposed to Post Office Ltd.
During 2002/3 a great deal of fundraising was undertaken and over £4,000 was raised by local villagers. This enabled grants in the region of £28,000 to be secured and together with a generous donation of shop fittings from the Co-op and support from local businesses the shop began trading in January 2004. Since then volunteers have been trained and the level and variety if items we can offer, especially local produce, has improved.
We now feel we will have a financially viable operation which can form a sound basis for our future plans. We are proud of what we have done so far and will continue to work to bring the best possible service to our customers with the limited resources available. Whilst we pause to acknowledge what has been achieved and are grateful to Mr Hugo Swire MP for agreeing to officially open the Village Shop and Post Office, we look at the future as well and envisage the time when we can celebrate a permanent home for our venture and a facility that will serve the village of Offwell for many years to come.
Article courtesy of ORSA
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