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Agenda item

Sherston Parish Council

John Matthews and Mike Johnson will deliver a presentation about the work of Sherston Parish Council and the village shop.

Minutes:

John Matthews and Mike Johnson gave a presentation on the work of Sherston Parish Council and the village shop.

 

Sherston Parish Council

Cpt Matthews shared some key statistics about the village including its demographics and features of interest. The village had a number of retail outlets as well as a village hall, primary school, GP surgery, church and allotments. The village was well served by local recreational groups and facilities and the village was held an annual boule competition which attracted 128 teams and included a separate youth contest. A parish newsletter, The Cliffhanger, was used to communicate with villagers. Sherston was fortunate in having upwards of 30 local employers which prevented it from becoming a dormitory village and allowed local shops and facilities to be supported. Key issues for the village included parking and traffic, and the development of neighbourhood plan. An emergency plan had also recently been created for the village. The majority of the precept raised by the parish council was spent on employing a parish clerk.

 

Cpt Matthews expressed his gratitude for the considerable amounts of time given by keen and active volunteers to supporting village activity. He concluded by thanking the Area Board for their support and expressing his opinion that despite the change from a district to unitary model, the parish felt closer to the council than in previous years.

 

Village post office and general stores

Mike Johnson gave a talk on the establishment and operation of the village shop, which had opened in 2012 and was run by a Community Interest Company. The building had previously been the primary school which, after a village referendum, the parish council had bought. The operating company was self-financing, employing local people and paying back a community loan which had been taken out to finance the upfront refurbishment costs. After the loan was paid off, the proceeds from the business would go into village projects and facilities. The project had been made possible by local legacies and fundraising activities, and receipt of grants including from the Area Board. Along with work to make the property suitable for use as a shop, a second phase of the project had been undertaken to install office space and toilets which had enabled other units to be opened and let out to local businesses which brought in a regular rental income.

 

In response to questions, Mr Johnson explained that the Community Interest Company was run by a board of annually-elected directors and had around 250 members, mostly from the parish. The post office and store operated as a business, and was not reliant on volunteers of regular charitable or community grants. A suggestion was made that other similar groups in the community area could benefit from networking with one another and could provide support to villages planning similar projects. It was confirmed that Sherston parish council were already involved in doing this, with positive feedback.

 

The Chairman thanked Cpt Matthews and Mr Johnson for their presentations and for their continuing work in the parish.