ABOUT US

Steeple Ashton Village Shop, which opened in September 2005, is staffed largely by volunteers and is a community shop designed to serve Steeple Ashton and the surrounding villages. The shop has over 200 shareholders in the village and has replaced the previous village shop which closed down in 1999. The venture was launched after a £57,000 rural renaissance grant from the Wiltshire and Swindon Rural Regeneration Partnership, this supplemented the £12,500 which was raised by the villagers’ themselves.

The shop is situated in the converted premises of the old Steeple Ashton Primary School which was closed down in 2004. The duties around the shop are conducted by over 50 volunteers who, over one working week, clock up over 100 hours of work between them.

Declan Walton;
wine expert

In the shop fresh, local, produce is stocked, this includes fresh fruit and vegetables, local meats and homemade cakes and buns. There are also many leading brands stocked. Also, in early 2007, a license to sell alcohol was obtained by the shop. In our line of alcohol we stock various varieties of wines, some local, some not. We are lucky enough to have ex-UN deputy director Declan Walton living in Steeple Ashton, and he is our official wine consultant.

Other volunteers working in the shop on a regular basis include former member of Pan’s People Dee Dee Wilde, shop management committee chairman, Ines, and her husband Malcolm who undertakes much of the maintenance jobs in and around the shop.

In 2006, the shop was named the winner of the community section of the rural business development awards, at the Royal Bath and West Show.

The shop, opened with the help of ViRSA (Village Retail Services Association), has proved extremely popular with both villagers and visitors to the village and will soon be celebrating its one year anniversary in late September 2006.

ARTICLES

Click to see the articles

ViRSA Article

ViRSA Case Study (PDF File)

This is Wiltshire Article

West Wilshire Council Article

Liberal Democrat Article

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