| County | Somerset, South West |
|---|---|
| Postcode | TA4 4EW |
| Opened | 1995 |
| Post Office | Yes |
| Management | Volunteer |
| Legal | ViRSA IPS model rules |
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Bicknoller village shop has recently celebrated it’s 10th birthday with wine and birthday cake for all customers and a lunch for invited guests who have contributed towards the building and maintaining of the shop in a variety of ways.
Our shop has been going for ten years now and the community spirit that it has engendered is truly amazing. In today’s jargon, we must be the coolest village in Somerset!
In the beginning, there were seven of us. The first hurdle we jumped was to persuade the Parish Council to pass a resolution supporting our endeavours. We also resolved that we would aim to restart the Post Office first, in the hopes that the shop would naturally follow.
On the excellent advice of ViRSA we went for the option of leasing premises. Using this basis, we arrived at a guestimated starting figure. We then went round everyone with a begging bowl and usually, a convincing spiel. We asked for loans repayable after three years with no interest and we were greatly cheered when we reached and exceeded our target within six weeks.
We first tried approaching the Village Hall that had an old barn as an outbuilding. This was refused then after trying a number of other options, the general “pro-shop” feeling percolated into the thoughts of the Village Hall Committee who suddenly voted that the barn should be offered as premises.
Everybody was over the moon. Within six months there was our dream come true – an albeit tiny shop with an even tinier Post Office inside all ready to go.
We had recruited over the years about twenty people and had decided on the opening hours of three hours every morning (excluding Sundays) and two hours in the afternoon on Tuesdays and Thursdays. We decided to have two volunteers on at a time that meant that any stressful situation could be shared and usually laughed at! Furthermore, during quiet periods, it was pleasant to just sit and chat. We found that once this happy message got around, we had no difficulty in finding volunteers.
On the basis that we were a BIF shop (Bother I Forgot) rather than a Total Shopping Experience that supermarkets can offer, we stocked up with essentials and sourced as much as possible from local suppliers. The shop is still going strong after ten years.
If you have read this far, you clearly possess two of the main qualities needed to get a shop going – persistence and patience!
Article edited from information provided by John Lees
Following the closure of the village post office/shop in 1991, the residents of this small Quantock village decided to set up a replacement entirely through their own efforts, both in terms of fundraising and project management. Their approach was extended to the running of the shop, when it opened three years later and whilst it is run in a business-like way, the Bicknoller Post Office/Shop Association does not trade for profit and relies entirely on voluntary help in the running of the business. The project was one of the first completely voluntary co-operative community post office/shops in the UK.
The Post Office was set up to help people without access to private transport, such as elderly or infirm villagers and young people. In a rural area without a well developed public transport system, the only alternative retail and post office facility was two and a half miles away.
Advice, assistance and encouragement were received from the Village Retail Shop Association (ViRSA), the Rural Development Commission (RDC), Bicknoller Parish Council, West Somerset District Council, Post Office Counters Ltd and the local MP.
A privately run post office in the village closed in 1991, prompting a group of village residents to investigate the possibility of replacing the facility by forming a project team, under the leadership of John Lees. Personal canvassing by the team indicated support for the idea and a draft plan was developed and circulated to the villagers. A limited company was formed in 1994 and registered as a Friendly Society. The offer of interest free loans from some members of the community enabled a derelict barn to be leased from the Village Hall, restored, fitted out, stocked and opened for business in April 1995.
As intended, the shop is used by elderly or less mobile members of the community to collect their pensions and supplement weekly or fortnightly visits to a supermarket. There is also a demand from tourists and walkers for postcards, confectionery, ice cream and cold drinks.
The market survey indicated an anticipated turnover of £230 per week, which would, taken together with the subpostmaster’s salary, have covered overheads and allowed repayment of loans within five to seven years. In fact, turnover has been more than double that predicted and all the loans were repaid within three years.
Even more important than the financial success is the social impact. More than ten percent of the adult population in the village are on the rota for serving in the shop and the level of daily social contact in the village has been transformed. People who do not act as volunteers will often find some reason to visit for a chat and exchange of news.
The Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Association has become a major community social event in the village, with attendance of over sixty shareholders at each of the meetings held so far. This is a very much greater level of participation than is achieved by any other village organisation or society.
The project development team comprised eight members and this subsequently became the management committee when the company was formed. There us a pool of about 25 staff for the shop, working to a rota, and the subpostmaster has two assistants. All work is voluntary.
Villagers loaned £11,033, some of which was later converted to gifts, and this was supplemented by a grant of £2,200 from the RDC. The 200 shareholders in the company have contributed £1 each without any dividend rights. The Subpostmaster’s salary is paid to the Post Office/Shop Association.
The money was spent on building work to restore the barn, interior fixing and fitting out with shop fixtures, as well as the administrative costs of establishing the company, negotiating the lease, obtaining planning permission and stocking the shop initially with goods for sale.
The original self-appointed project team was elected by shareholders to form the management committee at the inaugural general meeting and the committee is subject to annual election at the AGM. In the early stages, the committee met about twice a month and then twice a week immediately before the shop opened. There is now a formal quarterly meeting to review policy and the committee reports annually to shareholders at the AGM.
The shop manageress and the subpostmaster are both committee members and are responsible for the daily running of the business.
The greatest success has been the impact on the social life and relationships within the village, which cannot be conventionally measured but is self-evident.
Although the project was not established for financial motives and the Association does not trade for profit, it was decided to run it in a business-like way, using the normal financial controls and measures. Turnover has increased at a faster rate than inflation and margins have remained steady at about 19%, indicating that the stocking and pricing policies were sensible.
Finding suitable premises in the village was the most difficult task and nearly caused the project to be abandoned. Post Office Counters Ltd could not be persuaded to enter into a contract with the Association as a body and a named individual had to be found, which could have led to taxation problems, even though the salary is made over to the Association.
The Post Office safe has been removed twice in burglaries, due to under-estimation of the need for a heavy duty safe and sophisticated alarm system.
The management committee has made a policy decision not to attempt to expand the size or the activities of the Post Office/Shop. The management tasks already impose a significant burden on part time ‘amateur’ staff and the committee are anxious not to lose the essential community spirit which pervades the project. The main task continues to be to maintain the momentum and encourage new participants, particularly newcomers to the village who have not shared the experience of setting up the project from scratch.
01984 656172
Mrs M Pumphrey
Secretary of Bicknoller Post Office/Shop Association Ltd
01984 656394