12:21pm Thursday 5th November 2009
The residents of Ambridge, in Radio 4's long-running soap-opera The Archers, are just beginning the process of turning their village shop into a community shop, but the real-life residents of Lodsworth have set up their own eco-friendly community shop from scratch, and are looking forward to the start of trading on Friday.
Lodsworth Larder, in the car park of The Hollist Arms pub on the village green, will be staffed by two paid managers and a team of local volunteers.
It will sell general groceries and locally sourced products, with all profits being reinvested back into village projects.
The West Sussex village has raised more than £100,000 since January through grants, fundraising and selling shares in the shop, both to residents and to visitors from as far afield as London and Edinburgh.
Other fundraising initiatives included the opportunity to buy a cedar shingle tile for £1 so people could add their name forever to the roof of the new building. More than 400 tiles have been sold.
The shop will begin trading on Friday and there will be an official opening ceremony on Saturday at 10am, attended by local dignitaries and representatives from organisations that have awarded grants to the project.
Martin Lester, vice-chairman of the Lodsworth Larder committee, said: "Two years ago there was a survey done to find out what things people would like to have in the village. The first thing people said was that they would like a village shop, so we set up a committee and carried out more surveys to find out what people would like in the shop."
The timber-framed shop building was designed by Valerie Hinde, a local architect, and has been built by Ben Law, who is well known for building his Woodland House which featured on Channel Four's Grand Designs show.
Ben restored the woodland he used for the shop to a productive hazel coppice. By felling the oak trees, he also increased the bio-diversity of the wood to create the ideal habitat for butterflies and wild flowers. The village conservation group have reported that wild primroses, violets, anemone, bluebell and wood spurge are growing there.
Martin added "Ben has built the shop from locally sourced, sustainable materials so it is very eco-friendly. We also generate our own electricity and recycle water. It's a pretty unique building and as it is made from oak and cedar, the smell is wonderful.
"Benefits the shop will bring include reducing the carbon footprint by encouraging people to shop in the village rather than driving to the next town.
"We're employing local people - two as managers and 35 as registered volunteers. We also provide free internet access, as we received a grant for a computer.
"We will be selling general groceries, locally sourced vegetables, wine from a local brewery, chocolates from a nearby chocolate factory that has won awards and products from a host of local producers."
Elizabeth of Mar, from the Plunkett Foundation, one of the organisations that helped to fund the project, said: "We're delighted that the villagers of Ambridge in The Archers are just beginning to discuss the possibility of the community running the village shop. It's no longer commercially viable as a privately run business, and yet there's a very strong sense that Ambridge can't afford to lose it.
"The storyline reflects what's happening in villages throughout the country and we hope it will start to inspire communities in a similar position to the residents of Ambridge."
Grants have been awarded to the project from South Downs Development Fund; West Sussex County Council; Rural Development Programme for England; the Village Core Programme, a joint initiative by The Plunkett Foundation and Co-operative and Community Finance; Chichester District Council and Lodsworth Fete Committee.
Lodsworth Larder is at the Hollist Arms, The Street, Lodsworth, West Sussex, GU28 9BZ. For more information call 01798 861310.
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