SINCE 2009 a community shop has been making a huge difference to people’s lives in Almondsbury thanks to the dedication of its volunteer workforce.

It is a registered Community Benefit Society which has proved very popular and a lifeline to many in the village.

It’s not just a place to buy a loaf and a pint of milk, it’s where the community comes together and supports one another; it’s where friends bump into each other and where friends are made.

Importantly it provides a feeling of well-being in the knowledge that volunteers in the shop are happy to have a chat and will try to help, whatever the problem.

The shop also has had an enviable track record over the past nine years.

A successful business with cumulative sales of over £1m, it has operated profitably every single year since opening and more than half of the profit has been donated to local voluntary or charitable groups and events.

The shop was awarded a Daily Telegraph Rural Oscar in 2012; the Plunkett Foundation UK award for Contribution to the Community in 2013 and was ranked in the UK's top 100 independent stores in 2015.

It has also appeared in a feature article in 'The Grocer' and other publications, most recently 'Retail News'.

Towards the end of 2017 the shop’s landlord, Almondsbury Parochial Church Council, recognised the shop’s benefit to the community and agreed to sell the premises to the society.

A prospectus for a Community Share Offer was made available to the society’s 300 local members and a total of nearly £400,000 was raised over a five week period!

This was an exceptional response from the community and enabled the purchase to be completed earlier this year.

It is one of the most outstanding examples of community based investments in the country and secures the premises for future generations.

A garden party is being held at the shop (and the Old School Hall opposite if wet) to celebrate this historic event, starting at 2.30pm on Saturday 9th June (this Saturday).

You, or your representative, would be welcome to attend and have an opportunity to meet members and volunteers at Almondsbury Community Shop.

Alun Evans

Vice Chair