Bishops Frome Community Shop

In January this year the Post Office and village shop in Bishops Frome closed leaving a community without a place to buy provisions.

Local community volunteer Wendy Roberts and her husband had been talking through an idea to save the village shop, but needed someone with business skills to help them. They contacted Clare Foster from Midwest Rural Enterprise CIC who is a Social Enterprise adviser.

Wendy was extremely concerned about the older adults in the community as well as the children and young mums who did not have transport. The nearest shop was 6 miles away and being a rural community the transport links are not good.

Wendy had come up with a plan to use part of the village hall, which could be sectioned off to provide space for a new village shop. Wendy first spoke to the village centre committee who allowed her to set up a pilot in the foyer of the village hall. Wendy’s husband and son are builders and they set to work making the shop fit for purpose.

The shop was set up as a Social Enterprise in the form of a community interest company. Wendy and her team held a meeting to ask the local people for help and were given £2,800 in donations, which allowed them to buy the initial stock and make a first payment on equipment. A local company who supplied recycled shop fittings to help and they gave Wendy 6 months to pay for the equipment she needed.

It took just four weeks to get the shop up and running, which has been open since the end of February. Everyone in the community has been extremely supportive and grateful that they still have a village shop.

Wendy manages the shop with her good friend Eve and she has volunteers who help out too. All start up costs have been paid and the shop is making a profit, which will be used to help community groups such as the Internet Café and Youth Club. 

Many people have commented that it is not just a village shop but also a meeting place where they get the chance to speak to others in the community. Wendy knows and watches out for everyone, especially the children and older adults. Wendy said. “We are very grateful for the support we have had from Clare, there is no way we would have been able to do this without her help and support. She is always there when I need her – she is my Angel”.