Working with the community for the benefit of the community
The start of the formal opening of the Village Post Office on 7th September 2002
| History of the creation of our new shop | Until November 1998, Abbotts Ann had a commercially run Village Shop and Post Office located halfway up the hill in Duck Street. When the shop failed as a business and was sold, the Parish Council was approached by resident Jackie Stanton to see what could be done to preserve this facility for the good of the village. The Parish Council in turn asked Jackie to take on the task of investigating the options, and this in turn led to the eventual formation of the Abbotts Ann Village Shop Association.Meantime, Betty Wheen, the new owner of the old Shop and Post Office site allowed part of the original shop to remain so that the trade could continue on a temporary basis until an alternative location could be found. This continued for nearly 3 years with the assistance of 26 volunteers under the supervision of Jackie. Within a very short time the turnover was increasing to very satisfactory levels, proving that there was hope for the future of the shop. |
| The Abbotts Ann Village Shop Association | With guidance from ViRSA (Village Retail Services Association) a questionnaire went out to every household to get a response on the idea of keeping and supporting a new facility. Each reply was monitored and logged. A new site had to be found, and 4 potential options were thoroughly investigated, and the findings were reported back to the villagers in a meeting at the village hall, which David Fisher from ViRSA and Martin Harvey from Post Offices Limited (POL) attended. The attendance and response were overwhelming.In April 1999 the residents of Abbotts Ann formed The Abbotts Ann Village Shop Association Ltd (AAVSA) a non-profit making organisation registered under the Industrial and Provident Societies Act No 28922R. The main objective was and is to provide and retain a Village Shop & Post Office for the benefit of the villages and surrounding area, to be run as a community venture.
This concept was supported by both county and borough councils, and in 2001/02 the Government pledged to retain rural Post Offices and a Capital Subsidy Grant was implemented to help finance the halt of Post Office closures. |
| The Financial Situation | The total project cost was approx. £350,000. This included the purchase of suitable land, the building of a new Shop and Post Office in keeping with the conservation area in which it was situated, the shop fitting, installation of the Post Office Counter and the stock. Based on the best projections available it was clear, initially, that our borrowing requirement would be approximately £141,000 in order to construct the village shop as desired even after we have sold off the rear building plot. By incorporating a flat above the shop, a rental from the flat would service a £70,000 mortgage over 25 years, but this still left £71,000 to find.Fundraising became a major issue. The AAVSA began by inviting residents to become members of the Association for a fee of £10.00. In return a membership certificate was issued, this was a non-refundable sum but entitled members to vote at the AGM on various issues. We have in excess of 240 members on the register (2023). Test Valley Borough Council (TVBC) Leisure Department was also approached, who awarded the AAVSA £5000 to be matched by both Parish Council and Hampshire County Council donations.
This gave us £15,000. With further donations, interest free loans, fundraising and debentures we were able to raise sufficient funds to purchase our site. This set the ball rolling on a 4-year project: What did we do to achieve our goal? How did we raise the money? See the Diary of Events below |
| Diary of Events | April 1999 – Formed the Abbotts Ann Village Shop Association Ltd June 1999 – Registered as a Limited Company under the Friendly and Provident society Raised £73,000 through a mixture of memberships, grants, donations and loans from the village, to purchase a plot of land (known as the Old Cob Barn) for the new venture September 1999 – Spencer Architecture of Upper Clatford, Hampshire was appointed to design the new shop and Post Office. The plan includes a dwelling at the rear of the site. This will finance most of the project, allowing the association to repay some of the loans. 12th November 1999 – Completion of land purchase took place 14th April 2000 – Submitted Lottery Application for funding towards project cost 18th May 2000 – Planning permission was granted for the new shop with a flat above, the dwelling at the rear and the demolition of the old barn 19th May 2000 – Received Grant from Community Action Hampshire for shop fittings fridge and freezer, in support of our achievements so far 28th June 2000 – Shop fittings replaced bookcases and kitchen table 1st August 2000 – 15 Volunteers came forward to assist in the shop. A structured timetable was formed 2nd September 2000 – Village Fete. Artist’s impression of new Shop and Post Office displayed to the public. Donation received from proceeds of Fete 2nd October 2000 – Lottery Grant Application rejected. A Community Shop is not considered Charitable Philanthropic or Benevolent 7th October 2000 – Volunteers for Saturdays came forward, morning trading began November 2000 – Began fund raising to cover shortfall of £141,000 due the Lottery rejection. Until was raised building could not beginBetween Christmas 2000 and January 2001 the Village raised £27,500 in loan offers and £17,500 in donations |
| Events of 2001 | January 2001 – New site Archaeological dig commences. 21st February 2001 – Discussions with the local Council to support further funding for the project. 23rd February, Local Council Executive Committee awarded a grant of £25,000 subject to an updated business plan March 2001 Tenders prepared to go out and building phase to commence as soon as possible. Jackie Stanton and David Keable visited the Convenience Retailing Show to meet suppliers April 2001 Completion of the Archaeological dig with no relevant findings May 21st – 25th 2001 – Demolition of the old barn and clearance of the site was completed due to the generosity of an anonymous resident. Short list of 5 builders selected. Article in Andover Advertiser and Convenience Store Magazine June 2001 – Tender packages go out to builders with a 4 week turn around period. Suppliers investigated for take-over of existing shop hopefully in September July 2001 Delay on tenders as builders asked for extension. Sudden loss of a dear friend and supporter of the project Mr Basil Hibbert whose wife Susan asked that donations should be made to the Village Shop project. August 2001 – Raised in excess of £16,000 through the silent auction. Agreement reached for the village to take over the Post Office contract and running of the shop as of October. Meeting with shop fitters to finalise interior design as several issues still in hand October 2001 – On the 3rd of October the Village Shop Association took over the total running of the Post Office and Shop. We now beat Tesco prices in some cases. All takings are now for the benefit of the shop and the village. It is a true community venture 30th October – The builder, J Seymour was appointed and a start date of November 19th 2001 was agreed November 2001 – Seymour Builders are now on site with a completion date of 19th August 2002 |
| The Building Process | During the period that lay ahead, poor weather and many hurdles delayed the building programme on more than one occasion. We were very fortunate to have on our committee an Architect Clive Spencer, and a Surveyor, Ray Lucas who put in many hours with the project manager to make sure that everything was being done correctly and to plan. Our Chairman, John Barlow,a Solicitor, was another very valuable member of the team with his legal knowledge. |
| The Grand Opening
Awards |
Took place on Saturday 7th September 2002 at 1pm, by Martyn Lewis (Newsreader) during the Village Fete. Click to view. What fun we all had!!!! Thank you to South Today, Meridian News, Meriden TV and Radio Solent for covering the opening; to Sir George Young for his continued support for rural facilities and to the residents of Abbotts Ann for making it all possible.2006 – Abbotts Ann won Regional Rural Retail Competition 2007 – February-Runners up in the National Best Rural Retailers Competition 2009- May – Won Best Village Shop . Hampshire County Magazine Awards. |
| Key Players in the project | Basil Hibbert: Parish CouncilJackie Stanton: Initial Project lead, First Chair of the AAVSA, First Manager/Baker/ Postmistress.
Jane Storer: Postmistress of Goodworth Clatford John Barlow: Solicitor & Second Chair of the AAVSA (Opening and beyond.) David Fisher: ViRSA (Village Retail Services Association) Martin Harvey: Post Offices Limited (POL) David Keable, Mike Butt, Julie Moon, Tim Lowden (First Committee) Clive Spencer Architect of Upper Clatford, Hampshire Jimmy Seymour: Building Contractor Ray Lucas: Surveyor Sir George Young: MP and supporter of the project |
| The Grand Opening | Took place on Saturday 7th September 2002 at 1pm, by Martyn Lewis (Newsreader) during the Village Fete. Click to view. Many thanks to Sean Arkley of Palmer and Harvey Distributions, Fareham and his colleagues for organising the stock and planning the opening day with so many promotions. What fun we all had!!!! Thank you also to South Today, Meridian News, Meriden TV and Radio Solent for covering the opening. To Sir George Young for his continued support of rural facilities and to the residents of Abbotts Ann for making it all possible. |
A REAL COMMUNITY VENTURE!
OWNED BY THE COMMUNITY
RUN BY THE COMMUNITY FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE COMMUNITY
Abbotts Ann Village Shop and Post Office
Duck Street, Abbotts Ann, Nr Andover
Hampshire, SP11 7AZ
Tel: 01264 710230