| County | Gloucestershire, South West |
|---|---|
| Postcode | GL15 6UQ |
| Opened | 2004 |
| Post Office | No |
| Legal | ViRSA IPS model rules |
| Premises | New build |
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Just before Christmas 2004 the Prince of Wales attended the launch of a remarkable new community shop at Brockweir in Gloucestershire. The guests included all those who had had helped this project to completion. ViRSA’s input was publicly acknowledged and the charity was represented by Chairman Susan Knox. The words of project manager Fred Simpson tell the Brockweir’s story.
In 2000 our sole shop and PO closed like many other things in life we didn''t understand how valuable it was until it had gone. A group of villagers got together to see if they could come up with a plan to replace it. The group turned to ViRSA for advice about organisational structures and constitutions and help drawing up a draft business plan. ViRSA put the group in touch with other similar projects and even attended early public meetings to help persuade local people that it really could be done. As a result the group formed an Association and registered as a ‘not for profit’ Industrial and Provident Society through ViRSA’s model rules with the aim of building and running a community owned village shop.
The total cost of the project turned out to be around £400,000 the money coming from DEFRA''s Rural Enterprise Scheme, The Countryside Agency''s Vital Villages Programme, and The Forest of Dean District Council, with specific funding for the Photo-voltaic roof from Energy Savings Trust, SEED programme and Scottish Power''s Green Energy Trust. The community stumped up the remaining £70,000 in donations, a community bond and contributions in kind.
The project has delivered everything we wanted and more, the cafe is in constant use, the social benefits for the volunteers and the local users go way beyond what we anticipated. The shop is well used and is on track to repay the £20,000 community bond. The IT training is well attended and hugely popular and the project is building up it''s range of local produce on sale in the shop. The renewable energy features have between them saved over 4 metric tonnes of carbon emissions in the first year. Renewable energy promotion is working well with frequent educational tours run with the support of The Severn Wye Energy Agency. The project has involved the whole village and is a wonderful achievement that demonstrates all the key elements that make for a viable and sustainable community.
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Brockweir and Hewelsfield is a rural Gloucestershire parish which has suffered from a decline in local service provision in recent years. The shop and Post Office were both sorely missed and a group of villagers decided that a new shop, owned and run by the community, could fulfil these service needs and become the heart of a more viable and sustainable community. An Industrial and Provident Society was established to realise this vision.
As well as the general store and the Post Office, the facilities also include a popular café, a Gloucestershire Library kiosk, a tourist and local government information point and an IT suite with eight workstations, which provides internet access and IT training courses and is also available for meetings.
The shop sells locally-produced food whenever possible and operates a local delivery service too.
The shop was unable to secure a Post Office contract when it first opened and, in order to be able to best serve customers, set about arranging its own provision. Market research was carried out and the shop provides some post office services independently of any contract. By providing a counter and weighing scales the shop was able to offer a postage and parcel service. In addition, by using a computer terminal, there is access to other post office services and the facility to print out forms as required. Cash is provided through debit card transactions in the shop.
Sustainability is a core value of the project, so the building was designed to have minimal environmental impact. This meant sourcing materials locally and giving preference to reclaimed materials to reduce the overall impact arising from constructions.
Timber was preferred over other building materials because it requires minimal industrial processing and therefore incorporates less embodied energy. Green oak was chosen for the frame of the building because the structure will last longer than it takes to grow replacement trees. All the timber was sourced from sites within 16km of the shop.
Energy efficiency was another prime consideration, so the building is highly insulated. Heating for the building is provided by a ground source heat pump connected to an under-floor heating system. A proportion of the building’s electricity demand is generated by photovoltaic roof shingles, which also function as a roofing material. Being grid connected enables the shop to bring in additional electricity when needed and export any surplus at 10p per unit.
The shop is a great asset for the community in terms of restored services (the village shop) and new services (the café, IT and library facilities). The café has become a social centre for the community and helps to relieve the risk of social isolation amongst the rural elderly and those who cannot travel.
Economic benefit from the project remains within the community as it is not-for-profit – any surplus is fed into a Community Trust. Local food producers also benefit as the shop provides a permanent outlet for their goods.
The main element contributing to the success of the shop has been local people: those who had the vision to find their own solution to the lack of service provision, the committed project team and the involvement and continued support of the community.
The total cost of the shop was around £400,000, of which £65,000 came from local fundraising, donations, community bond issues and contributions in kind. The land on which the shop is built has been leased from the village hall.
The PV array cost approximately £50,000 and the ground source heat pump cost just £2,000 more than a conventional heating system.
£335,000 worth of grant funding was secured from organisarions including DEFRA’s Rural Enterprise Scheme (£230,000), the Countryside Agency (£25,000), Scottish Power Green Energy Trust, Forest of Dean District Council, Energy Savings Trust, SEED programme, Shell Better Britain Campaign and Cheltenham and Gloucester Building Society.
Volunteers from the community contributed time, labour and materials to the value of £35,000, some of which was paid for by grant funding. The shop is staffed by unpaid community volunteers.
As a no-for profit enterprise it has always been intended to reinvest the shop’s profits in the community. A Village Trust will be established to deal with this and there are also plans to explore green transport options in the locality.
The shop was designed for minimal environmental impact and its presence reduces the need for local people to travel to reach essential services.
The heat pump and photovoltaic array combined save approximately 4 tonnes of carbon emissions annually
Article from Severn Wye Energy Agency
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