The Tattingstone village shop project

For most villages, a shop is a vital lifeline and for some people, especially those without transport, it is an important connection with the world beyond their front door. It is a meeting place, communication centre and an important lynchpin of village life. Much of the appeal of our village rests on its sense of community. It is the reason many people have moved to Tattingstone and remain here. 

A questionnaire was distributed in June 2021 to all residents of Tattingstone and parents/guardians of the primary school children to determine whether there was a fundamental need for a village shop.

Download the full results of the feasibility survey here.

WHAT DOES THIS ALL MEAN?

The Phase 1 Feasibility has evidenced a strong level of demand - not just desire - for a Community shop in Tattingstone.

Viable spending levels and volunteer support have been indicated.

However, as with all new ventures, it would probably be prudent to pursue a trial site and temporary shop set up for a 6 to 12 month period to establish that indicated levels of demand and support truly exist.

Since 2000, over 300 new community shops have been established across the country – this is not a new concept and there is much more experience to draw on than the last time this was explored.

There appears to be sufficient support and drive in the current community to find a way to make it work.

HOW CAN YOU HELP NEXT?

Over the summer, we hope to move forward on three main fronts:

1. Developing a greater understanding of setting up a community shop

2. Exploring village location options to potentially site a community shop

3. Establishing a wider Steering Group to lead on key aspects such as marketing/comms, location, funding/finance, product/service sourcing, volunteering, legal etc

Thank you to those of you who have already offered to help in the development of a community shop – if you provided contact details we will be in touch. If anybody else would like to become more involved in the next phase or have any thoughts on location, please contact us.

In particular, if anyone owns some land or has a vacant outbuilding in Tattingstone and would be willing to allow a shop to be sited, please get in touch.

Do keep visiting this page as we will be using this platform to provide regular updates on progress.

Useful resources for more information

Plunkett Foundation

Case studies

How to set up a Community shop