I hope you have had a wonderful start to 2025, a time of year when we often look to the future. But for this month, I want to take the opportunity to look back, and then hopefully give you a glimpse of things to come.
In April 2024, a meeting of over a hundred local residents was held in Longden Village Hall, where we learned the news that our village shop was due to close in June. At that meeting, it quickly became clear that something had to be done, and two weeks later, a Save our Shop Action Group had been set up, with an idea that we would purchase the shop business, and run it for the benefit of our local community. Within three months, we set up a limited company, opened a bank account, and acquired the business from its then owner, Sarah Ellson. Bev Kerr offered to step into the role of manager, and team of three colleagues (Bev, Caroline and Steve) and eight volunteer committee members, took on the challenge to open for business as Longden Village Stores on 1st August 2024.
Local Support For Village Shop
Since then, we’ve been astounded by the support we have received; over thirty people now regularly contribute to the shop as volunteers, and customers have given us huge encouragement to create a business which builds on the legacy that Sarah established, and allows us to offer even more of what our customers tell us they want.
Many Thanks
Words are not enough for me to thank all the people who have contributed to this success. But, perhaps, actions could be. So, we are hoping that by the end of January, we will have been able to acquire the Tankerville Arms and, if that happens, we plan to run the shop and pub / café as a community hub for the benefit of all residents of, and visitors to, Longden.
That would be quite a story: from April 2024, with the pub closed and the shop due to close, to April 2025, when we hope to be well and truly open for business.
This article from Patrick Woodall first appeared in the Longden Parish Magazine in January 2025
