Bledington Shop and Café Opening
November 29, 2019
On 16th November the long journey by the residents of Bledington to replace their village shop that was lost to the community over a decade ago, came to a successful conclusion. The Bledington Shop and Café was opened by Prue Leith to large crowds.
The Prince’s Countryside Fund awarded a grant on behalf of Players of People’s Postcode Lottery to Bledington and Foscot Community Association in summer 2018. £5,000 was granted towards the internal fitting of the new community shop and café.
Our Ambassador, Alex James, as a local resident was really pleased to be able to attend on behalf of the Fund: “The Fund has been proud to support rural communities across the UK to thrive through funding projects and communities such as this one. I am particularly pleased to see that the efforts and energy of the local community working together in establishing this vital new resource in my own neighbourhood and look forward to it championing local suppliers and services in the future.”
Bledington Shop and Café is run as a community owned enterprise trading primarily for community benefit “in the local community, by the local community, for the local community”. The venture is currently owned by over 300 members from the local community who bought shares. The new shop is looking to introduce a dry-cleaning service and shoe repair, sell cakes made by local volunteers for afternoon teas, host a new community meeting space and sell local fresh produce.
Surplus funds, over those needed to develop the Shop and Cafe, will be distributed to the community to support community projects.
