More information on The Parlour Shop, Wellow

The Parlour Shop has been part of village life in Wellow for many years. In 1997, the previous owner had to give up due to personal circumstances but no new buyer appeared on the scene. A group of like minded people felt we had to save our village shop from closure. So, a group of willing investors contacted an organisation called ViRSA (Village Retail Services Association) for information on running a village shop. After a meeting with Virsa, and deciding to proceed, the investors came up with the necessary capital and The Wellow Village Shop Association was formed. The shop was duly registered with the Registrar of Friendly Societies and the new venture took off. We have some 50 members of the Association who have each paid a £10 non-returnable membership. Another organisation that has been of great assistance both financially and morally is Community Action. Community Action is a registered charity, supported by The Countryside Agency, Bath & North East Somerset Council, North Somerset Council and South Gloucestershire Council, that works with local communities to improve the quality of life, primarily in rural areas. They very generously provided £500, through the Village Shop Grant Scheme, towards the purchase of freezers and shelving within the retail area and have provided support through their magazine and office.

The shop is run by a part-time paid Manageress, Mrs. Lorraine Curtis and a band of many hard working Volunteers together with an occasional part-time paid Shop Assistant. The day to day running of the Shop is in the hands of Lorraine and the volunteers but under the guidance of a volunteer Management Committee.

We have been trading since 12th December 1997 and whilst having a shaky start consolidated to achieve a reasonable return up to December 1999. Since then, due to a number of factors, not least of which was a 4 month closure of the through road from Hinton Charterhouse to Peasedown St. John denying us, much relied upon, passing trade we have had a financially disappointing year. This situation cannot be allowed to continue and despite continued requests and disclosure of the advantages in both the short and longer term of using your village shop, the village as a whole continues to lack whole hearted support for your shop. As such the Management Committee is due to meet in early January 2001 to make a strategic review of the viability of The Wellow Village Shop Association. Much depends on the results of the December sales and the overall financial viability. But, it cannot be denied that "the picture is not rosey!" It really depends on the residents of Wellow to make a continued and greater effort to use a service that once gone will not rise again.

So, if you live in the village of Wellow and do not regularly use the shop, for at least part of your weekly shopping, then you are, in part, the cause of its possible demise. Please, think of others when you shop, if this shop closes many will find it extremely difficult to obtain their necessary shopping each day or week. It is not true that it is more expensive to shop locally it just needs us all to think locally first, before we rush off to the Supermarkets and deny others the possible future use of an essential service - to them!

The Management Committee 2012 is as follows:

A bit more History

At the Wellow Parish Council meeting held in the Village Hall on Monday 15th January 2001 a request was made by the Wellow Village Shop Association for the Council to consider providing a precept on the Parish rate of £1200 to help support the Shop. The following submission together with draft end of financial year accounts was given to the Council in support of the request:-

WELLOW VILLAGE SHOP ASSOCIATION - 15/01/2001

Proposal: (Presented to a public forum by Richard Holland on behalf of WVSA to Wellow Parish Council) WVSA wishes to formally request that Wellow PC provides a precept of £1200 to WVSA in accordance with its authority under Parish Council legislation.

Reasons: WVSA lost £2242 overall during the last financial year ended 31/12/2000. Much, if not all of the loss can be directly be attributed to the closure of Hinton Hill between April to July 2000, by BANES Highway Authority. Between April and July the Shop lost £3823 compared to the previous year, when a profit of £1049 was made in the equivalent four-month period. Clearly this is not a coincidence, especially as during the three months prior to the Road closure the turnover was increasing compared to the same Jan to Mar figures for 1999.

We should therefore like the PC to support the WVSA by providing precept money to help mitigate these losses and recognise that the Shop is a necessary amenity, as well as a social benefit to many, particularly those without access to private transport and the elderly population of Wellow. Effectively WVSA has been subsidising the Community to the tune of £2242 during the last year.

Mindful that there may be residents of Wellow who resent a further burden being applied to their rates I should like to draw to those people and the PC's attention, the benefits of supporting the Shop both with moral and financial support.

1. Having a shop materially increases the value of property in the village. Nationally it is considered that the provision of a shop increases the value of property in a village by up to 8%.

2. It gives many that are confined to the village a reason to walk the village and to socially interact with the other residents, as well as actually have access to a shop.

3. Both young and old alike find the availability of a shop within easy walking distance a great benefit to the running of a household. I should like to cite the article that Mr. & Mrs. Watts included in the January 2001 Parish Magazine This clearly demonstrates the worth, even the necessity of a village shop - "When we were not well recently the Shop became our life support system, cheerfully delivering a variety of goods to us and making life so much easier. Do support them: you too may need them one day!"

4. The shop represents another area of local employment and community cohesion that is fragile but in many peoples' eyes part of the very essence of village life.

5. WVSA would like to provide a more efficient shop service, ideally by the employment of more paid staff to provide daily continuity for the shoppers. It is difficult to manage solely on a small band of volunteers as it creates discontinuity as the volunteers only work perhaps one shift a week. Providing a precept will help towards employment costs and therefore contribute towards the efficiency and viability of the Shop.

6. A precept of £1200 is the equivalent of 6.7p per week for each elector in the Parish; not a lot for helping to provide a service that everyone has the benefit of, if they choose to use it!

7. The Shop endeavours to source as many goods as possible from local producers and the fact that using your local shop is more environmentally friendly than travelling a distance by car or public transport is surely worth support?

Conclusion: There are of course other reasons that people may wish to consider but I trust that, in part and for the reasons stated above the PC can see its way to providing a financial support through permitted Village/Parish means for our collective benefit.

(15/01/2001)

It was with great appreciation that we learned at and following the Parish Council meeting that the PC have approved the precept request and therefore given active financial support to our village venture.