| County | Wiltshire, South West |
|---|---|
| Postcode | BA12 7HW |
| Opened | 2002 |
| Post Office | Yes |
| Management | Managed plus volunteers |
| Legal | ViRSA IPS model rules |
| Premises | Previous shop |
View a map of where to find us
8am - 6.30pm Monday to Friday
8am - 1pm Saturday
10am - 12 noon on Sunday
The village shop was taken under the wing of the community in 2001 when the then owners decided that they could no longer continue. The villagers decided that they could not do without the shop and after an extensive fund-raising campaign and with assistance and support from various sources, including the Countryside Agency, Virsa and other organisations, the shop re-opened as a community enterprise registered under the provisions of the Industrial and Provident Societies Acts.
The shop employs two full-time staff and a number of volunteers who fill in during busy times and periods of holiday and sickness. Sadly, the volunteer numbers have diminished over the years and it is becoming increasingly difficult to fill the slots required
Turnover has increased steadily over the four to five years the shop has been opened – currently in excess of £3000 per week - but it is a constant struggle to break even and it has to be said that the shop has not really operated at a profit since it opened. Escalating costs have made life very difficult and it is hard to strike a balance between the levels of trade required and the need to keep prices at acceptable levels.
The management committee is about to carry out a re-assessment of its priorities with a view to re-launching the shop and raising its profile in the village. Everything will be up for discussion from stock levels to opening hours and staffing requirements. In order to continue to serve the community some hard decisions will have to be made and that is quite a challenge.
Over the years a number of lessons have been learned. One of the most important is how to maintain the momentum following the first flush of enthusiasm from the community. In the current economic climate, the pressures to maintain a viable village shop are great. People want the convenience, but it is difficult not to price oneself out of the market. Getting the balance right is the secret.
In 2001 the shop was winner of the Salisbury Business Awards for community initiatives.
When sleepy Maiden Bradley nearly lost its store, residents created a plan to save it that could be a model for other rural communities
Maiden Bradley is not a place associated with social revolutions. Much of the Wiltshire village is still owned by the Duke of Somerset, the last meeting of the parish council attracted nobody, the bunting flew loyally for the jubilee, and magazines like Red Pepper, New Statesman and the Ecologist are rare as crocodiles.
But the social slumber in the former farming community was deeply disturbed last year when the village shop started running down its stock and threatening permanent closure. Faced with the demise of the only store for miles around, more than a third of Maiden Bradley''s 300 residents turned up to a crisis meeting, and in a burst of communal enterprise, decided to take it over and run it themselves.
What followed could grace an Archers'' script. Within months, the village had raised £21,000 from the government''s countryside agency, and 150 of its 240 adults had chipped in with sums ranging from £5 to £500 to buy shares in the venture. Today the shop is leased by the village with any proceeds going back into the community.
Maiden Bradley is startled by its own initiative and coming to terms with being a landlord. "It all began with a row," said Carmen Jiminez, who was once engaged to old rocker Georgie Fame but who came to the area as a 1960s refugee from swinging London.
"When I heard the shop was going to close I told Carol Munt, the chairman of the parish council, that it was their responsibility, and she said it wasn''t. I said there was a wider issue at stake and there was a mega-row." In the end, both agreed to do something.
So did others. Vera does the book-keeping, Betty and Edna, Dave, Malcolm, Kevin, and Brenda, along with other volunteers and paid tradesmen, stripped, cleaned, repaired, repainted and refurbished the place. Admiral Wid Graham helped sand the shopfront, and local MP Dr Andrew Murrison was seen painting the ceiling.
When it opened earlier this year, there were some gasps. Instead of a few tins of beans, sliced bread and wilting veg, it boasted wines, choice teas, home-made bread and shelves of local produce, all no more expensive than that sold in the nearest urban supermarkets. It also attracted more than just local residents. Within days of opening there was a burglary and shortly after it was ram-raided. It now boasts two big black bollards outside its steel-reinforced front door.
The shop is open 11 hours a day and turns over £2,600 a week, well over the break-even point and what was expected in the business plan. The home-made bread is sold out every day and it has sold more than 600 bottles of wine in three months. "If anyone wants anything in particular we will try to get it," said Ann Secombe, a former farmer who is the shop manager. Meanwhile, the children pop in for ice cream and sweets and the 80-year-old duchess comes down every few days. "It''s saved my life," she has told the village.
"The majority of people use the shop now," said Ms Secombe. "The village is 100% behind it. People come for a chat. It''s a point of contact for a lot of people. It has a definite social purpose, too."
Maiden Bradley, with 20% of its inhabitants old or without a car, is similar to thousands of villages across Britain that have lost or are in danger of losing their social heart. It still has a village hall and a pub, but it has no school, doctor''s surgery, dentist, creche or police station and its public transport links are meagre. A recent rural development commission survey of 9,000 English parishes found 42% had no shop of any kind, 43% had no post office, almost half had no school and three quarters no daily bus service.
"If this shop had closed, it would probably have never re-opened and would have been [one more statistic in] the breakdown of rural communities," said Adam Hunt, a villager who works for North Dorset district council. "Its closure would have made life for many people here very difficult. This is a service to the community as much as a shop. It helps keep the village together. The model could be used in many other places."
Article by John Vidal, the Guardian http://www.guardian.co.uk/Archive/Article/0,4273,4430289,00.html
Monday June 10, 2002
Maiden Bradley Village Shop, in West Wiltshire is a general store that has been operating as a community enterprose for 10 months. The community took on the running of the shop when the previous proprietor wanted to retire. It is the only shop in a village on 300 people and is an important facility and meeting place for the community. The community received a grant from the Countryside Agency Vital Villages programme towards setting up the shop. Customers are a mix of local residents and tourists who visit popular National Trust and Historic houses in West Wiltshire. The shop is a typical small convenience store, stocking a full range of foods and drink as well as newspapers, cards and stationary. Several local producers now supply the shop regularly with meat, cheese, dairy products, jams and cider forming approximately 15% of food products in the store.
Read more at http://www.localfood.org.uk/library/Village-Shops.pdf
01985 844206
Leslie Mayne
01985 845060 (home)