Appleton Community Shop and Post Office

 December 2010 - Appleton Shop helps increase communities resilience against bad winter weather
This “SELF-sufficient” village used its own weather forecasts to predict the heavy snowfall which hit the county in December 2010 and then brought in extra supplies for the community shop. The village of Appleton was snowed in for several days but there were plenty of supplies for the 1,000 residents.
Appleton resident John Evans monitors the weather patterns using data supplied by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administra-tion. His forecast is then placed on the website appletonwitheaton.org.uk every week. Mr Evans, a retired anaesthetist, said: “It’s a very self-sufficient village, so we have our own weather forecast and we were able to see the snow coming.”
Communications consultant Graham Rose, 64, of Park Lane, who runs the village website, said: “Thanks to John’s weather forecast we were able to make sure the village store had extra supplies during the snow.
“I contacted Claire Salmon in her capacity as manager of the shop and chairman of the parish council, and she ensured we were well stocked with basic supplies.
 
“The shop came into its element as the weather did close in and we were cut off for a couple of days.”
Article from http://www.oxfordtimes.co.uk/news/yourtown/abingdon/8809071.Store_proved_worth_when_village_cut_off/
 
 
Shop Refurbishment 2010
 
Nicola Blackwood MP for Oxford West and Abingdon, visited Appleton on Saturday 22nd January 2011 to see for herself the recent refurbishment of the Appleton Community Shop (ACS) and to meet villagers.
Villager Graham Rose said: “It was good to have Nicola visit Appleton and she met some of the key members of the shop management committee and was briefed on the eleven-year history of ACS and the £30,000 refurbishment completed last year.
The £30,000 refurbishment of the shop was undertaken in Autumn 2010 and funded by a combination of self-funding and a couple of generous donations from the local community. The work was carried out by Appleton builders WG Carter and the electrical work by villager Paul Taylor’s firm Advanced Electrical Systems.
 
Information from http://www.appletonwitheaton.org.uk/appleton_shop_nicola_blackwood_jan2011
 
Village store toasts success 2006
A village in Oxfordshire has bucked the "doom and gloom" trend of village store closures and is toasting five years of success today.
 
The shop and post office in Eaton Road, Appleton, near Cumnor, was taken over by villagers in 2000 and has been a success ever since - even though volunteers had little knowledge of the retail business.
 
Jerry Urent, the chairman of the community shop''s management group, said: "To have dreamed in May 2000 that we would build a sustainable business was questioned by many.
 
"Not only did we approach the running of a village shop in an un- usual manner, we did so with little detailed and specific knowledge of the retail trade.
 
"Villagers with different business expertise developed the strategy and through the marvellous efforts of many volunteers over the years, the business has remained at the heart of the community."
 
The phrase ''use it or lose it'' has never had to be used to maintain the shop''s success.
 
"An environment was created in which people actually wanted to use the shop," said Mr Urent.
 
Volunteers help buy and price products, stock shelves, deliver newspapers, compile accounts and serve customers.
 
Margaret Reading, chairman of Appleton-with-Eaton Parish Council, has been a leading member of the management group, but was surprised at the shop''s success.
 
"Although we expected our volunteer numbers would diminish over the years, in the first year we had 60 volunteers and we now have 80," she said. "This represents involvement of about 20 per cent of households in Appleton and Eaton and is a key to our success."
 
Miss Reading added that the shop''s social importance could not be measured.
 
"The shop is the focal point of the village and estate agents usually describe Appleton as a highly desirable and active village," she said. "I''m sure this has much to do with the presence of the shop."
 
The success of the venture is due to the efforts of many - owners Rod and Tricia Clayton, post mistress Kathy White and suppliers, including the Co-op. The Vale of White House District Council and the Oxfordshire Rural Community Council also provided financial support and advice.
Article from http://archive.thisisoxfordshire.co.uk/2005/5/7/3243.html 07 May 2006
 
Bangers and cash
The county's top community-owned store Appleton Community Shop and Post Office has been presented a certificate.
 
The presentations of a winner''s certificate and a bottle of wine donated by the Oxford Wine Company was made by Helen Peacocke, food writer for the Oxford Mail''s sister paper The Oxford Times, and Helen Datson, Village Development Worker for the Oxfordshire Rural Community Council.
 
The competition, started in 2000 by the ORCC, highlights the work and community service put in by the county''s village shopkeepers and sub-postmasters.
 
The Appleton Community Shop and Post Office, which is run by more than 80 volunteers, was named Oxfordshire''s Community Shop of the Year.
 
Helen Peacocke said it was a superb example of what could be done when a community worked together to make something happen.
 
Article from http://archive.thisisoxfordshire.co.uk/2003/1/9/27775.html 9th January 2003


Shop values social aspect of volunteering
This community shop and post office was set up in 2000 in response to the closure of the existing commercial shop.  The shop was set up as a ‘company limited by guarantee’ – this set-up allows all people from the community to become ‘members’ (shareholders) if they want to.  The entry stake was set low (£5) so that most people could afford to become members and therefore ‘own’ the shop.  The shop is run by a paid manager and volunteers and is now performing extremely well, and could arguably afford to pay staff instead of using volunteers.  However, the committee were aware that the social aspect of volunteering in the shop were as important as the presence of the shop itself, to a large proportion of volunteers – particularly older people who lived alone.  They therefore took the decision not to make and volunteer redundant by bringing in other paid staff.


Article from http://www.acre.org.uk/DOCUMENTS/Publications_RCC/breaking_down_barriers.pdf, page 24


Case Study
Appleton Community Shop is a thriving retail business based in the small village of Appleton in Oxfordshire. The shop’s activities are at the heart of village life and its success is due to the involvement of over eighty local people who volunteer their time. The village of Appleton has a strong sense of community thanks to the shop, which provides a vital resource for local people, particularly those without transport, pensioners, mothers with small children and the disabled.
 
A group of villagers set up the shop in 2000 after the former owners of the shop announced that they were closing the business. The Parish Council
 
organised a public meeting and were overwhelmed with the response from local people who offered to donate time and money to retain the services of a village shop. Villagers raised grants and loans to set up the shop and it opened within six weeks of the public meeting. The community-run enterprise is more popular and offers a wider range of goods than its predecessor including fresh meat, fruit and vegetables, freshly baked goods and locally produced wines. Appleton Community Shop also houses a post office and provides a newspaper/magazine delivery service.
 
One of the shop’s customers captures the multi-faceted benefits that the shop provides:
 
"As a place where people can meet those they might not otherwise know at all, the shop fills the gaps that have little to do with retail: loneliness,
 
pension-worries, sales of tickets for village events and catching up on news.  It is a practical godsend for anyone without a car (and those families with only one). It sells a greater variety of goods than it ever did as a private enterprise and anyone can contribute to the suggestion book."
 
Five years on, the shop is a very successful business. It employs one full-time and three part-time staff and has a turnover of £210,000, all of which is generated through shop sales. The shop also builds social capital and provides a social focal point for the village. It is a place where people go to talk to friends and neighbours, hear of village news and support the business.
Case Study from http://www.seeda.co.uk