A new online network dedicated to community-owned shops is being officially launched on Friday 12 March by the Plunkett Foundation at Thorncombe Community Shop in west Dorset, 11-12.30pm.
Oliver Letwin MP, who in addition to being a Thorncombe’s local MP is a volunteer in Thorncombe community shop, will officially launch the new service.
The Community Shops Network (www.plunkett.uk.net) enables communities to access specialist advisory support on a range of issues and factual information relating to setting up a community-owned shop, including legal, financial and retailing advice and Post Office queries. As well as answering questions, the site provides up-to-date information on funding and support programmes, inspirational case studies and a community-owned shops directory. In recent months 150 members have signed-up to the network.
Oliver Letwin MP for West Dorset says: “I’ve been involved with the Thorncombe Village Shop since the beginning and my family and I very much enjoy participating as volunteers alongside many other people in the village. Part of the point is that we now have a brilliant village shop but equally as important is how the village has been brought together by this joint endeavour. We are building social capital right here in Thorncombe and we need to do the same up and down the country, through community endeavours of every kind."
Peter Couchman, Chief Executive of Plunkett says: “We are extremely proud to have developed the first ever online network dedicated to community-owned shops which we hope will provide an invaluable service. We believe that rural communities have the right to try to set up community-owned shops when they are threatened with closure. The Community Shops Network will help rural communities to learn from and support each other.”
Thorncombe is one of over 50 new community-owned shops which have opening following the support of the Village Core Programme, a dedicated support programme managed by the Plunkett Foundation in partnership with the Esmee Fairbairn Foundation and Co-operative and Community Finance.
In addition, The Plunkett Foundation has been supporting the producers of BBC Radio 4’s soap The Archers, on their storyline which currently involves a community-owned shop being set-up in Ambridge.
...as Susan Boyle might have sung. On SocialEnterpriselive.com this week:
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