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Welcome to
the website of the recently opened Titchmarsh Village Shop. The shop is
intended to be a focal part of community in the village and therefore
the website brings together not only the services and produce offered
by the shop but information on the community that supports it.
The impetus to open a village shop in Titchmarsh
came as a direct result of the Titchmarsh Parish Plan,
which concluded at the end of 2005. Some
85% of respondents indicated their need and desire for a village shop.
The Parish Council held a public open meeting, in March 2006 which was
attended by 60 parishioners. Guest
speakers included experts from Village Retail Services Association (ViRSA),
the Shoparound Project, and Enterprise Solutions Northampton. Following
this public meeting there was sufficient interest for a number of enthusiastic
individuals to form a Steering Group to take the project forward. The
expert representatives also expressed the view that a community shop was
an entirely viable proposition in the village.
A management committee
was set up at that meeting which initiated a number of fund raising events,
set in motion steps to take over the lease of the engine house, and initiated
grant applications to a number of bodies. In
August the first draft of the business plan was
issued, and in September 2006 the committee formalised the shop’s corporate
structure by registering it with the Financial Services Authority as an
Industrial and Provident Society. Then in February 2007 a newly formed
youth committee started meeting to give ideas and themes to the management
committee to develop as part of the shop’s opening and trading.
Finally on 8 May 2007 sufficient funding had
been raised to sign a lease with the Parish Council and this was celebrated
by a champagne signing ceremony in the Engine House building attended
by 20 villagers. Immediately building work commenced which completed in
early September 2007. Parallel work was undertaken in paving the
area around the shop and providing disabled access, and in restoring an
adjacent garden known as The Pound which
was undertaken by a team of villagers in the weeks before opening. Finally
the shop was opened for business by Alan Titchmarsh on Friday 21
September 2007.
The shop aims to cater for the needs of the
community supplementing rather than competing with the products and services
provided by local supermarkets. Special emphasis will be placed on fresh
grown produce and the outputs of local suppliers.
A special thanks is due to our sponsors, grant
providers, shareholders and donators without whose support the project
would not have been possible. A special part of the website is dedicated
to these important stakeholders.
We hope you enjoy reading about the shop and
find the web pages useful. | 
