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We know of post offices being run from church premises, but as far as we
know, the newly opened shop in St. Leonard’s Church in Yarpole, North
Herefordshire, is the most ambitious shop so far.
Yarpole
is not a large community. Like so many small villages, the numbers were
not enough to support the village shop and it closed a few years ago. That
happened one January; by April the community had re-opened a small shop
in a portable building next to the pub car park. This was always going to
be a temporary arrangement. When the Yarpole Community Group started looking
at possible permanent solutions, the church somehow emerged as the only
credible option.
When
you hear of parish churches mired in red tape for years just trying to install
a toilet, it is remarkable that obtaining all the consents needed was not
a massive problem. It is even more so when you realise that St. Leonard’s
is a superb medieval grade II listed building. Bill Bloxsome, Herefordshire
Council’s Conservation Manager, said, “The introduction of new
uses into churches is generally to be welcomed and I consider the principle
here to be very positive in bringing greater use to a building at the heart
of the community.”
The key
to this project is the fact that structurally the shop is a freestanding
unit within the shell of the listed building. The flat roof of this structure
supports a mezzanine floor, which is being developed as a space for use
by the church as a refreshment area. This cost about £250,000 to build,
of which the community raised no less than £35,000 through various
fundraising schemes.
So
what did they get for their money? Make no mistake; this is a proper retail
outlet. You may come in through the churchyard, but once inside the shop walls
there are no compromises, the only clue to the structure around it being an
ecclesiastical window at the end of the chilled and produce aisle. There is
a sub-post office and all the ranges you would expect from a village shop,
with a particular emphasis on local produce from the surrounding area. The
sub postmaster doubles up as a shop manager, whilst much of the day-to-day
work is carried out by the 45 unpaid volunteers.
In medieval
times the nave of the church would have been the village meeting place and
market. It seems strange, but in Yarpole the 21st century has now linked back
full circle to those forgotten times.
Guidance on setting
up a post office or shop in a church can be found at:
http://www.churchcare.co.uk/pdf_view.php?id=31
THE RSA VIEW
The
Plunkett Foundation report a bumper year for the opening of new community-run
shops. This is great news for these communities. We really take our hats off
to the people of Yarpole and others like them who have managed to get an exciting
project like this off the ground. Some community shops we visit would match
the very best commercial shops. But at the same time, the politicians need
to remember that about 400 village shops will have closed in 2009 –
on past form, only about 7% of these communities will be able to pull together
and open a replacement outlet. It would be so much easier to give village
shopkeepers a bit more incentive and a level playing field to keep trading,
so that some of the remaining 93% of places could retain their shop –
even if their building itself is less inspiring than St Leonard’s Church,
Yarpole.
