St Breward Community Shop Limited – owned and run by you, for you
Keep in touch with Community Shop updates: contact Management Committee Secretary, Dee Fry at secretary.stbcomm.shop@gmail.com follow us on Facebook, subscribe to the Community emails via community@stbreward.net, or visit community noticeboards.
Current Management Committee: Robert (Bob) Kirby-Harris (Chairman), Dee Fry (Secretary), Annie Crichton (Treasurer), Dawn Barrett (Vice Chair), Bonny Bryan (Deputy Secretary), Pat Dowdall (Deputy Treasurer), Andrew Brownlee (Data Administrator) and Debbie Honey (Publicity). Plus Dominic Fairman (Cornwall Councillor) for Council related items.
Frequently asked questions (FAQs)
You can view a copy of our FAQs here: 202309_FAQs
Privacy Policy
Please view our Privacy Policy here: 20230731_STBSG_PrivacyPolicy
29 September 2023 – Newsletter
Legal Status – we are delighted to confirm that ‘St Breward Community Shop Limited’ is officially registered as a Community Benefit Society (CBS) with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
The Steering Group now formally becomes the Management Committee and will be in place until Management Committee elections at the first AGM (by end September 2024). You can view a copy of the FCA letter by clicking here.
Management Committee update – we’re thrilled that Dawn Barrett has accepted the position of Vice-Chair; Dawn has a wealth of experience including currently volunteering at Blisland Community Shop. You can see a list of the current Management Committee and roles at our website (details below).
We are still seeking up to 3 more people to join the current Management Committee. If you’re interested in joining – please get in touch. Anyone in the Community can join and enthusiasm is the most important thing! To help with our team’s knowledge, we’d also really like to hear from people with building/trade skills and those with recent commercial experience.
Premises – we are making steady progress towards hopeful location at the Business Units at Chyryn Drive, Row. As advised previously, this is subject to availability and planning permission / change of use.
Website and Legal Support – can you help? We need support from a practising Solicitor (initially in the area of commercial landlord and tenant law), and also want to explore options for a website. We are hoping that a local person or company may be able to help pro bono. Please do get in touch (contact details below).
Finances – we have now raised nearly £22,500, so a big thank you! Our initial target is £25,000 to ensure that we are ready to open any premises ASAP. We are seeking financial contributions from both individuals and organisations, please as:
• a donation, or
• a loan (loans can be converted into shares at a later date)
You can now pay these via cash, cheque, or bank transfer (BACS) to (please note the new bank account):
Account name: St Breward Community Shop Limited
Sort code: 08-92-99
Account number: 67310089-00
Treasurer: Annie Crichton, Hill Meadow, St Breward, Bodmin, PL30 4LX
Fundraising – fundraising is a vital part of any Community Shop, both for the initial set-up and ongoing to support running costs. If you missed the fundraising kick-off meeting, or can help in any way, please do get in touch. Please also support these upcoming event/s:
• St Breward Women’s Institute invite you to a Tabletop Sale, Saturday 7 October, at the Village Hall 10am-2pm
• …other exciting fundraising events are also in development… so watch this space!
Grants – the dedicated grants team have found some positive grant applications and will be pursuing these.
Car Stickers – St Breward Community Shop car stickers are available for £1 from the Memorial Hall or from Bonny Bryan, our Village Liaison, who will be bringing them along to local events.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) – you can view a list of FAQs here: 202309_FAQs Please continue to get in touch with any questions or suggestions that you may have!
31 August 2023 – status update
We are delighted to confirm that St Breward Community Shop Limited is officially registered as a Community Benefit Society (CBS) with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
You can view a copy of the letter here: https://www.stbreward.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/20230803_CBSLetter2-scaled.jpg
17 August 2023 Newsletter
Steering Group members update – a heartfelt goodbye to Denis Lusby and thank you for all of your help to date. You can see a list of current Steering Group Members and roles at our website (details below).
We have space for up to 3 more Steering Group members. If you’re interested in joining – please get in touch. Anyone in the Community can join the Steering Group and enthusiasm is the most important thing! To help with our Group’s knowledge, we’d also really like to hear from people with building/trade skills and those with recent commercial experience.
Premises – we’re actively exploring premise options within the village, focussing on those that provide permanent or long-term use (2-5 years), to open ASAP. Please do get in touch if you can offer a suitable option.
Finances – we have now raised over £22,000, so a big thank you to everyone who has contributed so far! We’re getting close to our initial target of £25,000 to ensure that we are ready to open any premises ASAP.
We are seeking financial contributions from both individuals and local organisations, please!
If you pledged a financial amount in the community questionnaire, or would now like to provide:
• a donation, or
• a loan (loans can be converted into shares at a later date)
You can now pay these via cash, cheque, or bank transfer (BACS) to:
Account name: St Breward Community Shop
Sort code: 30-99-50
Account number: 72601568
Treasurer: Annie Crichton, Hill Meadow, St Breward, Bodmin, PL30 4LX
Grants – we have established an experienced team to explore the different grant options available. Thank you to Veronica Stansfield, MaryLynne Fyvie-Gauld and our Treasurer, Annie Crichton. We’re looking forward to providing updates about progress.
Fundraising – fundraising is a vital part of any Community Shop, for both the initial set-up and ongoing to support running costs. Community Shops run to very low profit margins to give you best possible value for money, but this means that if something breaks (e.g. a freezer), then we’d look to do a fundraiser to replace it.
We had a great kick-off meeting with willing participants who are kindly organising the following events:
• St Breward’s Carnival team invite you to a Safari Supper, Saturday 30 September. Tickets available from Christine Lusby, 01208 850517, Gwerthji Koth (The Old Shop), Row, St Breward, PL30 4LN
• St Breward Women’s Institute invite you to a Tabletop Sale, Saturday 7 October, at the Village Hall 10am-2pm.
Other exciting fundraising events are also in development… so watch this space! If you missed the fundraising kick-off meeting, or can help in some way, please do get in touch.
Community Shop Car Stickers – we have some fabulous stickers of our new logo, thanks to Andy Thatcher. To help raise funds, these are available for £1 from Bonny Bryan, our Village Liaison, who will be bringing them along to local events, or from the Memorial Hall.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) – our FAQs are being finalised and will be released soon. Please continue to get in touch with any questions or suggestions that you may have!
Debbie Honey, Publicity, 17 August 2023
4 August 2023 – August Newsletter
Steering Group members update – goodbye to Karen Nankivell and thank you for your help. Please view a list of current Steering Group Members and roles at our website (details below).
Interim premises – As highlighted in our previous newsletter, the Band Hall at Row was offered as a temporary premises for 6 months. The Steering Group have assessed costs to make the Hall suitable to open as a temporary shop (a ‘feasibility study’). We also sought advice from Viv Price at the Plunkett Foundation. (Plunkett Foundation is a national charity, supporting people in rural areas to set-up and run businesses owned by local communities, where members have equal and democratic control.)
Even with some volunteered materials and labour, this is likely to cost over £5,000 in ‘sunk costs’ (money which we can’t get back and equipment that can’t be used for the permanent premises).
We have not yet been able to secure permanent premises. So we were unable to guarantee that we’d have premises to move to after 6 months (including stock and equipment). We’d likely need a 3+ month lead-in to a new premises to make it suitable and ensure that the various licenses are in place.
Therefore, the Steering Group have made the difficult decision that using the Band Hall is unfortunately not a sensible investment of the Community’s money and volunteering time (to then do it all again in 6 months). Plunkett Foundation agree that this is the best decision at this time.
What now? We’re actively exploring other options within the village, focussing on those that provide permanent or long-term use (2-5 years), to open ASAP. Please get in touch if you can offer a suitable option.
Finances – we have now raised over £13,000, so a big thank you to everyone who has contributed so far! But we still have some way to go to get to our first target of £25,000, with a substantial portion still needed ASAP to ensure that we are ready to open any premises ASAP.
We are seeking financial contributions from both individuals and local organisations, please!
If you pledged a financial amount in the community questionnaire, or would now like to provide:
• a donation, or
• a loan (loans can be converted into shares at a later date)
You can now pay these via cash, cheque, or bank transfer (BACs) to:
Account name: St Breward Community Shop
Sort code: 30-99-50
Account number: 72601568
Treasurer: Annie Crichton, Hill Meadow, St Breward, Bodmin, PL30 4LX
Grants – to clarify, the £240 grant received from Cornwall Council was awarded from Councillor Domimic Fairman’s Community Chest Fund, which is used to support local not-for-profit projects. This was the amount that we asked for to pay for the Plunkett Foundation registration fee. We will be exploring other Council and Public grants including the current Government Levelling Up Fund, highlighted by Dominic.
Fundraising – we still urgently need fundraising volunteers to form our Fundraising Team, particularly those that can lead a team and events. Come along to our event on Wednesday 9 August, 7pm at the Memorial Hall, or contact us (details below).
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) – we are working on some FAQs and hope to release these soon. Please continue to get in touch with any questions or suggestions that you may have!
Debbie Honey, Publicity, 4 August 2023
3 August 2023 Update
27 July 2023 Update
Come and see us at the Church Fete this Saturday 2-4pm at the Village Hall, to hear first-hand about progress and ask any questions!
“‘Come rain or shine the Church Fete will be held this Saturday 29th July 2-4pm. If the weather is bad the stalls will be held in the Church and the refreshments in the Village Hall. Only the Strictly Come Barking will not go ahead. However we are praying that it will be fine’ Contact Cathy McShee for more information 01208 840435.”
27 July 2023 Newsletter Update
Please view the Event Presentation Slides from 18 and 20 July here: 20230720_PresentationSlides
[ABOVE IMAGE READS]: It’s been a busy month for the Steering Group and good progress for the Community Shop! But we now need your financial help to progress further…
Steering Group members update – A list of current Steering Group Members can be found on our website (details below).
Interim premises – St Breward Silver Band have kindly offered the temporary use of the Band Room at Row to open an interim shop. This is a great starting point, and we are very thankful to their Committee. We are currently determining how to fit it out and developing a business plan. The Village Hall have kindly agreed to the Silver Band using the Village Hall with no hire cost.
Permanent premises – long-term we are hoping to take-on one of the business units at Chyryn Drive, Row. This would be subject to availability, planning permission and change of use. This would give a much-desired central location with parking that the Community has asked for.
Support – over 75 people attended the events on 18 and 20 July. These events were to meet with volunteers, fundraisers, those offering professional services and potential financial contributors. Some volunteers and pledgers of financial contributions didn’t include contact details on the questionnaire, so please get in touch (details below) if you’d still like to help!
Finances – we have now received over £12,000, including £3,000 from St Breward Parish Council, £240 from Cornwall Council, and a £3,000 match-funding loan from Monster Displays, Graphics & Signs. We will be exploring applications for larger grants and setting-up the fundraising group.
But we still need your help, please We need to raise over £25,000 with a substantial portion of this needed ASAP to make our temporary premises suitable. If you pledged a financial amount in the community questionnaire, or would now like to provide:
- a donation, or
- a loan (loans can be converted into shares at a later date)
You can now pay these via cash, cheque, or bank transfer (BACs) to:
Account name: St Breward Community Shop
Sort code: 30-99-50
Account number: 72601568
Treasurer: C/o Denis Lusby, Gwerthji Koth (The Old Shop), Row, St Breward, PL30 4LN
Legal set-up – we applied on 17 July to become a Community Benefit Society (it takes about 4 weeks to be approved) and have joined the Plunkett Foundation who are assisting us.
Events – we will be holding an ‘open event’ soon for anyone to pop along and hear about our progress first-hand and ask any questions.
Debbie Honey, Publicity, July 2023 (updated version 2)
21 July 2023 Media Release
St Breward Community Shop is off to a flying start, with over £9,000 raised so far!
The St Breward Community has united to start a Community Shop, which is off to a brilliant start.
The recently formed Community Shop Steering Group held very successful events on Tuesday 18 July and Thursday 20 July to meet with forthcoming volunteers, fundraisers, those offering professional services, and potential financial contributors. Over 75 people attended the events, with over 30 offering to volunteer in various capacities and £4,200 received at the events – bringing the total raised to over £9,000.
Offers of support and financial pledges were initially received via a community consultation questionnaire, which was hand-delivered to all households in St Breward. This highlighted 98% in-favour of a Community Shop, prompting the events. The questionnaire’s success was followed-up with approaches gaining initial grants from St Breward Parish Council (£3,000) and Cornwall Council (£240). Plus now, a substantial match-funding loan of £3,000 from Monster Display, Graphics & Signs (Andy Thatcher, pictured); Andy has also kindly helped with free professional production of a shop logo. The Steering Group estimate that they need to raise over £25,000, with a substantial portion of this needed now to make their temporary premises suitable, so will be forming a fundraising team. Between these groups they will directly approach other local organisations and businesses, as well explore larger grant funding applications and hold fundraising events.
St Breward Stores & Post Office unfortunately closed at the end of June 2023, due to the financial impact of running a local convenience shop whilst competing with supermarkets, online deliveries and increasing product and running costs. The Community initially came together at an extraordinary Parish Council meeting at the beginning of May 2023, resulting in the formation of the Steering Group. The Steering Group is taking forward the initial set-up of the Community Benefit Society, with the support of Plunkett Foundation. The Community Shop approach has already proven to work in neighbouring villages of Blisland, St Tudy and St Mabyn.
Community Shops are increasing in villages across the UK, replacing small privately owned shops which are struggling to compete against today’s ease of supermarket shopping and online deliveries. A Community Benefit Society is the most common legal structure of community shops, and exists to benefit the wider collective interests of a community; rather than that of its staff, committee members or investors. This structure also emphasises its members and member involvement, and can issue community shares. The Plunkett Foundation state a 92.5% long-term survival rate of Community Shops. [Reference: Plunkett_BB-2020_Shops.pdf] St Breward Community Shop has adopted the tagline ‘Owned and run by you, for you’ which perfectly sums up this new approach to delivering this essential community service.
Can you help? Get in touch with Steering Group Secretary, Dee Fry, secretary.stbcomm.shop@gmail.com
Debbie Honey, Publicity, 21 July 2023
July 2023 Newsletter
ABOVE IMAGE READS: It’s been a busy month for the Steering Group and good progress for the Community Shop!
Steering Group members update – Hello to Andrew Brownlee, a retired solicitor, who joins the Steering Group to help with the initial set-up. Goodbye to Kevin Foster (and previously Hazel and Sara Burrows) and thank you for your help. Thank you also to Darren Wills and Dale Stanley who provided some initial advice and support to the group and have now stepped away.
Interim premises – exciting news that St Breward Silver Band have kindly offered the temporary use of the Band Room at Row to open an interim shop. This is a great starting point, and we are very thankful to their Committee. We are currently determining how to fit it out and developing a business plan so that we can hopefully open at the end of the Summer. The Village Hall have kindly agreed to the Silver Band using the Village Hall for their practice nights with the hire cost waivered.
Permanent premises – long-term we are hoping to take-on one of the business units at Chyryn Drive, Row. This would be subject to availability, planning permission and change of use. This would give a much-desired central location with parking that the Community has asked for.
Volunteers – we are holding events on Tuesday 18 and Thursday 20 July to meet with volunteers, fundraisers, people offering professional services, and potential financial donors. Some volunteers and donors unfortunately didn’t include contact details on the questionnaire, so please get in touch (details below) if you’d still like to help!
Finances – our bank account is up and running, and we are expecting grants of £3,000 from St Breward Parish Council and £240 from Cornwall Council. Monster Displays, Graphics & Signs has also pledged to match-fund the £3,000 Parish Council grant. We will now be exploring applications for larger grants and setting-up the fundraising group.
Legal set-up – we have applied to become a Community Benefit Society and have joined the Plunkett Foundation who are assisting us.
Debbie Honey, Publicity, July 2023
13 July Update
ABOVE IMAGE READS:
| Community Consultation – Questionnaire Summary | |||
| Number | Percentage | ||
| Number of questionnaires returned | 157 | 31% | |
| Q2. Would you support and use a Community Shop being set up in St Breward | |||
| Yes | 154 | 98% | |
| Q5. What do you think would be the main benefits of a Community Shop being set up? | |||
| Community hub | 72 | 46% | |
| Convenient shopping | 52 | 33% | |
| Not having to use transport | 51 | 32% | |
| Needed for elderly people/ those with limited mobility | 18 | 11% | |
| Banking, paying bills | 1 | 1% | |
| Q6. If a new community shop was opened would you or any member of your household use it: | |||
| Daily | 17 | 11% | |
| 2-3 times per week | 86 | 55% | |
| Once a week | 33 | 21% | |
| Once a fortbnight | 4 | 3% | |
| Occasionally | 12 | 8% | |
| Not at all | 3 | 2% | |
| Q8. What services would you be most likely to use? | |||
| Tickets for village/ local events | 82 | 52% | |
| Tea room / coffee shop | 66 | 42% | |
| Advertisement board | 47 | 30% | |
| Prescription collection service | 42 | 27% | |
| Facility for prepayment key meters & E-top ups | 21 | 13% | |
| Home deliveries | 17 | 11% | |
| Q9. Are there any other products or services you would like to see? | |||
| Post Office / banking | 47 | 30% | |
| Q11. On a scale of 1 – 5 (where 1 is not important and 5 is very important), how important do you think it is to have a community shop? | |||
| 1 – not important | 0 | 0% | |
| 2 | 2 | 1% | |
| 3 | 10 | 6% | |
| 4 | 16 | 10% | |
| 5 – very important | 124 | 79% | |
| Q15. When our community shop is up and running, would you be prepared to help by volunteering | |||
| (Only includes people who provided contact details) | 35 | ||
| Q16. Number of individuals/households offering financial support | |||
| 76 | |||
12 July Update
ABOVE IMAGE READS: Volunteers, Fundraisers, Offers of professional services, and Potential financial donors
Thank you for your offers of support! We invite you to find out more (and have a cuppa with us) on:
- Tuesday 18 July, 7pm at the Village Hall – event for volunteers, fundraisers and those that have offered professional services
- Thursday 20 July, 7pm at the Memorial Hall – event for potential financial donors
Didn’t receive the email? Or can’t make the event/s? Please contact us at secretary.stbcomm.shop@gmail.com or message us on Facebook
4 July 2023 Update
Volunteers – did you receive our email?
We recently sent out emails to those that offered to help to get the shop up-and-running and those that volunteered to work in the shop once open – did you receive it?
- Emails have bounced-back from some addresses
- Please check your spam (emails were sent from secretary.stbcomm.shop@gmail.com)
- If not received, please send us your email address again – you can message us on Facebook or email secretary.stbcomm.shop@gmail.com
23 June 2023 Update
Post Office have agreed for Marshgate Shop & Post Office to add a St Breward stop to the North Cornwall Mobile Post Office Van on Mondays from 3pm-4pm. Darren Wills has agreed that the Post Office van can park in its usual parking space at The Old Inn & Restaurant car park, so that it can hook-up to the pub’s internet line. Thank you to Darren, Dale and others, including Cllr Dominic Fairman and MP Scott Mann, that have lobbied for this stop to be added. St Breward Residents please support this stop. It is one hour a week but if it is not used it can be revoked.
June 2023 Newsletter
St Breward Community Shop Steering Group – a shop owned by and for St Breward Community
A warm hello from the recently formed Steering Group: Robert (Bob) Kirby-Harris (Chairman), Dee Fry (Secretary), Annie Crichton (Treasurer), Denis Lusby (Vice Chairman), Bonny Bryan (Deputy Secretary), Dominic Fairman (Cornwall Councillor), Dawn Barrett, Kevin Foster, Pat Dowdall, Karen Nankivell, and Debbie Honey (Publicity).
Questionnaire Results – thank you to everyone who returned the questionnaire. We had a great response, with over 25% returned. This showed overwhelming support for a new shop (98%), with a significant number stating that they would either volunteer to work in the shop (42 people) or contribute financially (74 people). Concerns include finding a centralised, accessible location with parking, and loss of the Post Office and other services currently provided.
Next steps: Our initial focus will be finding a location for an interim solution stocking essentials. A temporary shop will enable us to properly explore and raise funds for a permanent location and set-up. Our hope is to have an interim solution in place by the end of the Summer, but with your support this could be achieved sooner. We will particularly need financial support, volunteers and the support of local trades people, please. Please get in touch (details below) if you can help! In the meantime, for those without transport please don’t forget the community bus visits towns daily. The bus timetable is available at www.stbreward.net
How might it work? The long-term survival rate of a community shop is 92.5%. We are working with Plunkett Foundation, a membership organisation who support the set-up of community shops. The shop would be a ‘Community Benefit Society’, which is the most common legal structure of community shops. A Community Benefit Society exists to benefit the wider collective interests of a community, rather than that of its staff, committee members or investors. This structure also emphasises its members and member involvement, and can issue community shares.
Fundraising, can you help? We need to establish a fundraising team, which will be key to the success of both the temporary and permanent shop. Please get in touch ASAP (contact details below) if you can help!
Post Office – it’s currently unlikely that a new shop will include a post office, due to a) Post Office not looking to open a replacement branch and b) the significant set-up costs (estimated £17k+). We will however explore other services currently serviced by St Breward Stores, such as the prepayment top-up and Amazon collection point. Darren Wills and Dale Stanley have been lobbying Post Office for St Breward to be added to the mobile van route. You can help by lobbying our local MP Scott Mann: scott@scottmann.org.uk 01208 74337, Office of Scott Mann MP, House of Commons, London, SW1A 0AA
Keep in touch with Community Shop updates – contact Steering Group Secretary, Dee Fry at secretary.stbcomm.shop@gmail.com, join the St Breward Community Facebook group, subscribe to the Community emails (community@stbreward.net), or visit www.stbreward.net and community noticeboards for additional updates.
Debbie Honey, Publicity, June 2023
