Berrynarbor Community Shop

As in many villages across the UK, when the owners of Berrynarbor's local shop decided to retire, the residents faced the prospect of seeing their shop and post office disappear. But they were determined not to see this happen, and decided to take ownership of the shop to keep it going. When three active residents in the Devon village sent letters to the 200 households in Berrynarbor asking whether they'd be willing to invest money to help save the shop from closure, there was a tremendous response. So working with Coactive, the Plymouth- based Co-operative Development Agency, they formed Berrynarbor Community Enterprise Limited and within weeks the co-operative raised over £10,000 in £1 shares from the local community. This, in addition to financial support from ViRSA, Devon Renaissance, Leader+ and North Devon District Council, meant they could appoint a full-time manager to run the business once the owners retired.

However, as the owners were seeking planning permission to turn the shop premises into their house, a newsite was needed. The co-operative managed to get a small area of the local Council owned car park at a low rent along with planning permission - and the purpose-built shop, with coffee and IT areas (and free parking!), will open on 31st March 2008. Berrynarbor Community Shop is a shining example of how co-operation can address many of today's problems.

The co-operative shows that with good business sense, high quality support and hard work a community can not only stop their local shop from disappearing but can overcome the potential loss of premises and create a thriving new shop for the community.