Nenthead is a small and very rural community with a population of about 400 people. Originally a mining village it is located in the North Pennines, in the far right hand corner of Cumbria, and is close to the borders of County Durham and Northumberland. Historically, it is a working class community that was created to provide workers with local housing and services for the lead mines in the 19th century. As the mining industry declined so the people moved away from the village and the local economy and community suffered. Eventually only one shop remained together with a primary school, a pub, the village hall and the mines museum. It is one of England’s highest villages at 1500 feet and much of the local economy is based round tourism because the local hills attract many visitors, however it can become rather isolated and bleak in the winter months.
In 2006, despite being on the open market for 3 years, the owners of Nenthead Shop and Post Office were unable to find a buyer for the shop, so they decided to close the shop in order to retire. A group of 6 people came together to consider how they could save the shop and they looked into funding, management and potential ways of purchasing the premises with a view to running the business as a community shop.
The group prepared a questionnaire to find out the needs of the local people and they also held a public meeting which was attended by 75 people. The results of the questionnaire indicated that there was a lot of support and therefore the group decided to carry out a feasibility study and appointed SECOD (Social Enterprise & Co-operative Development Ltd) to help them develop a business plan and funding strategy. SECOD also provided the steering group with advice on governance and constitution. This development work was funded by CRISP (Cumbria Rural Infrastructure Support Programme) an initiative set up by Cumbria County Council, with financial support from Rural Regeneration Cumbria, to provide grant funding to a diverse range of approaches by the community to deliver sustainable services.
The next step was to find out who would be prepared to put some money into the project and 70 prospective shareholders signed up over a two-week period and £8,000 was raised. This encouraged the steering group to apply for more funding in order to support the process of purchasing the existing shop. Applications were completed for further funding from CRISP and a grant from the Village CORE Programme, which is managed by the Village Retail Services Association: ViRSA offers support and advice to rural communities across Britain where a village shop or other retail service is threatened.
The Village CORE Programme provides a start-up grant of up to £20,000 per community owned village shop, subject to contributions of at least the same value being obtained from the village and a loan of at least the same value being granted by Co-operative and Community Finance.
The village is required to raise their own funds themselves, which can take the form of share capital, donations raised through community fundraising events and grants obtained from other sources to the same or greater value than the grant requested from the Programme. At least some of the funds raised need to be provided by the community itself and not solely through external grants. All elements of the programme are supported by ViRSA, who provide advice to the village community and manage the assessment procedure. The programme aims to better understand the support needs of community owned village shops.
Co-operative and Community Finance is also required to support the venture with a loan of at least equivalent value to amount of grant requested, thereby ensuring that the business plan is sufficiently robust to qualify for this support.
A 7 year mortgage was secured with Co-operative and Community Finance, other set up costs were obtained from Alston Moor Community Chest and the VAC Community Solutions programme, a project that enables local community groups to find solutions to community challenges through the use of enterprise. Nenthead Community Shop Limited was registered as an Industrial and Provident Society (a Co-operative): it was agreed that the enterprise would be part-financed with shares at a cost of £10 each and the position of Shop Manager was advertised and provisionally appointed.
Purchasing the existing premises did not go quite as planned and in March 2007 the shop closed, however, the steering group was then approached by the Over 60s club who offered the option of purchasing their building, The Old Reading Room. This was a slightly larger building in the middle of the village, occasionally used for public meetings, but because it was registered charity, there were some legal issues to resolve such as planning permission and change of use and the fact that it was a Grade 2 listed building. By June, the Charity Commission replied with certain conditions for the sale of the property and after employing an independent surveyor, the group were able to comply with the Commission’s guidelines. The Post Office also provided advice about security and staffing.
Planning permission was obtained in August, a 99 year lease was signed and further funding was secured from the Strengthening Rural Communities across the North West Programme for the adaptations and building work commenced.
October was a frantic period with builders, security, staff and insurance to organise and the group also kept the village informed by producing a newsletter and using the Parish Council and the community website to update people. The shop opened on 1st November – nearly fully stocked and with a team of new staff – but by 3rd December the Post Office was ready and the official opening took place with the eldest village resident cutting the ribbon and a celebration tea organised in the village hall.
The main beneficiaries of the shop are isolated rural residents, particularly the elderly, young people and those individuals without private transport. In addition, visitors, tourists and passing trade all benefit from the additional facility.
The shop and Post Office services have been retained
Surplus profits will be reinvested in the business and the community
The service will be year round and a lifeline for the community when access is impossible or ill advised.
The shop acts as a signpost to the other services and facilities available in the village
A great deal of time and expense will be saved by local individuals and businesses by shopping locally. More of the wealth of the community will stay within the local economy.
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