Community Shop

A Brain surgeon, a wine merchant and a farmer's wife are among the members of the Plymtree community celebrating the opening of a new village shop.

 
Villagers have spent the past seven months raising money and support for a new community store which was finally unveiled to the public yesterday.
 
More than £20,000 was donated towards the project and Christopher Piper, chairman of the Plymtree Village Shop Association Ltd, praised the "full and dynamic support" shown by the entire community.
 
Mr Piper, Plymtree resident and director of Christopher Piper Wines of Ottery St Mary, said: "A brain surgeon, a farmer and his wife, a surveyor and a jewellery manufacturer, a teacher, an electrician and an engineer all had a dream to create a community shop in Plymtree.
 
"This was to replace the soon-to-be-lost village shop and post office and the dream has now come true."
 
Premises landlord John Hussey and Plymtree Primary School pupils James Vickery and Evie Clarke, who designed a poster in a contest to publicise the store opening, declared the store open at 11am.
 
Other pupils from the school performed a maypole dance to mark the occasion.
 
Mr Piper added: "The uniqueness of this is that the whole venture has only taken seven months to come to fruition.
 
"A number of other villages in the South West have gone down this line to preserve a village shop but it has taken them a number of years to achieve their aim."
 
Mr Hussey is leasing a light industrial unit in the heart of the village to the Plymtree Shop Association Ltd, which has been converted into a modern convenience store and off-licence.
 
Devon County Council will provide a grant of £15,000 to the association over the next three years and a further grant of £20,000 has been awarded from the Plunkett Foundation; a charity which aims to promote self-help in rural communities in the UK and worldwide.
 
Loans from the Co-op and Community Finance Bank have also been secured.
 
The shop will provide a range of meats, vegetables, dairy goods and breads from local farms and growers and a variety of other products will be sourced from the across the region.
 
A full-time outreach postal service, newspapers and high-quality wines, beers, ciders and spirits will also be provided.
 
Mr Piper puts the project's success down to a "friendly and supportive landlord", the effective practical and financial support shown by the community and a "committed and eclectic" steering committee.