latest news

FIVE GREEN LIGHTS FOR OUR  COMMUNITY SHOP

The future for Brent Knoll’s Community Shop has received four green lights to proceed.  A plan to demolish the village’s public toilets and replace them with modern toilets and a permanent shop building required support from the community, Parish Council, planning consent and Government approval.

The public vote

More than 135 residents attended a Public Engagement Event to see plans and seek answers from both the Parish Council and the shop’s Management Committee.  126 people completed survey forms, with 121 in support, 4 against, and one “undecided”.

The council vote

Four days later, Brent Knoll Parish Council met to hear the results of the public event and decided unanimously to proceed with the plan to demolish the public toilets and build new accessible toilets and the shell for the Community Shop to fit out and occupy.  .

The planning vote

The morning after this Parish Council meeting, the news arrived that Sedgemoor District Council had given planning consent for the new building.  

This enabled Brent Knoll Parish Council to launch a competitive tendering process to finalise the cost and appoint contractors, which they have now done

Meanwhile the Community Shop team appointed a shopfitter to advise on the optimum internal layout for the new shop building.

The Government vote:

The Secretary of State has approved the Parish Council's application for an increased loan.

The final vote

The Parish Council has:

- Arranged the re-routing of an 11k volt cable under the public toilets by National Grid (now done), with the start of demolition and building by May;

- Agreed that the Community Shop will lodge £26,000 with them, to cover the costs of basic requirements (eg, wiring, plumbing, solar-panels, etc) for the new shop;

- Agreed for their chosen builder to deliver our new shop-shell by August.

WHAT'S LEFT FOR US TO DO?

Having lodged £26,000 with the Parish Council, to assure them that we are ready to go, the moment they deliver our new shop shell, we now need to raise another £14,000 to do everything that our shop-fitters recommended to produce the ideal fit-out - which is crucial for our determined aim of restoring Post Office services!

So, we're launching a new share-sale appeal.  Most of our 160+ members only bought one or two shares, 'cos that's all we needed at the time to build a membership..  We're now asking those members to buy more shares to help us raise the money we need - and the early signs are that our members are rising to that challenge!

We're also seeking new shareholding members, and arranging fund-raising events - like our family quiz night.

COMMUNITY SHOP SHAREHOLDERS VOTED AGAINST PAYING THEMSELVES, DESPITE STRONG PROFITS.

Last year's (2023) Annual Members' Meeting saw 35 of the 155 shareholders voting unanimously against paying themselves any interest payment, so as to preserve the profits to fund the costs of fitting out a new permanent shop building, planned by the Parish Council.

Those costs are currently estimated to be above £40,000:  but we have already raised all but £14,000 of that sum

This year's Annual Members' Meeting will be held on Wednesday 17th July 2024 in the Parish Hall (630 for a 7pm start).

If you are already one of our 160+  shareholding members, we hope you'll join us at that meeting:  if you are not yet a shareholder, we hope that you'll join us by picking up a share-application form in the shop.

Below is the agenda for this meeting:

BRENT KNOLL COMMUNITY SHOP LIMITED

ANNUAL MEMBERS MEETING, 17TH July 2024

AGENDA

1. Apologies for absence

2. Minutes of the last AMM (26th July 2023)

3. Chairman’s report & plans for the coming year

4. Election of co-opted member, Bob Smith as Treasurer

5. Treasurer’s report

6. Resolution to disapply Section 83 of the Co-Operative and Community Benefit Societies Act 2014 to appoint an auditor for the accounts to 31st January 2025

7. Resolution to agree that the Management Committee appoints a qualified auditor to prepare an independent accountant’s report for the year ending 31st January 2025

8. Questions, suggestions, and any other business.

While we're asking our shareholders to buy more shares, to help close that funding gap of £14,000, we're also eager to persuade our shareholders to join our wonderful team of volunteers - who are the only reason why we are able to flourish as a community shop.

Volunteering is a wonderful way of making more of your life and more of your engagement in our community.

We don't just need volunteers to serve at the till:  if you could spare an hour or two to check on use-by dates or help with weekly orders to our suppliers, that would make a massive difference,

“WE’RE GETTING READY TO MOVE FROM OUR PORTAKABIN”

We're working with the Parish Council to ensure that we're ready to  transfer our operations to the new shop building. 

We've commissioned professional shop-fitters to design everything we need to do in the space being provided by the PC deliver a better shop experience for our customers and our wonderful volunteers,

And we're on-track to pay the £40,000 cost of converting that bare shell into a fully equipped shop.

We just have a funding gap of about £14,000, which we plan to fill by sales of more shares, continued trading profits, and grants.

If you are not yet a shareholder, please go to the share-sale page on this website to apply - or pick up a share-application form in the shop,

We're now working with the Parish Council to finalise the lease agreement for the new shop. We are very lucky that one of the country’s national law firms, Clarke Willmott, has agreed to represent us on a pro-bono basis.

Meanwhile, the shop continues to provide a vital community service to the village, including the monthly "Sausage Sizzler" events on the last Saturday of every month (10am to 12 noon).

The Community Shop’s greatest need, however, is for more volunteers to join our team. This will enable us to expand our opening hours. We need people who can spare an hour or two in the afternoons on Mondays, Tuesdays, or Wednesdays: full training will be provided..

We also need volunteers who’re happy to spend the odd hour in checking the “best-before” dates on the items on our shelves. There is no better way of becoming part of the community.