The Green Valley Grocer
Slaithwaite, West Yorkshire has become one of the many villages to open a community-owned shop and thanks to the hard work and dedication of local people, and advice from The Co-operative Enterprise Hub, business at The Green Valley Grocer is booming.
In May 2009, The Artichoke, Slaithwaite's local greengrocers closed its doors for the last time as the owner chose to pursue other interests.
With no-one willing to take over the shop as a going concern, it meant that the one employee would lose their job and local residents would lose a reason to visit the high-street, which would ultimately have a negative knock-on effect on other businesses in the area.
The support from The Co-operative Enterprise Hub was given right at the beginning of the project, when we needed assistance with a constitution, registering the business and establishing how we were able to sell shares to local people.
We only had one month to get the ball rolling, and without the support of Dave Hollings and Gareth Nash from Co-operative Mutual Solutions, a fast turnaround would have been impossible.
A small group of residents promoted the idea of setting up the greengrocers as a community-owned shop, and after receiving the backing of local people, developed a business plan and created a co-operative that would allow the community to purchase shares in the business and have control.
In just 15 weeks, the greengrocers opened as a community-owned shop, having raised in excess of £10,000 in just one week.
Speaking about the support of The Co-operative Enterprise Hub, Chair of the Board of Directors, Graham Mitchell described its help as “critical” and he believes that without its support, the rapid time scale (from concept to launch in about 15 weeks) simply would not have been possible.
Community Spirit
Following the decision to set up the greengrocers in May 2009, shares went on sale in an effort to raise £15,000 to purchase the lease and fixtures and fittings of the shop. Within seven days, the community had reached their target and in just six weeks the new greengrocers, The Green Valley Grocers was open for business.
Chair of the Board of Directors Graham Mitchell said: "We have been amazed at how much the project has brought the community together. Everyone involved wanted the project to be successful and we were all working to one common goal which was to ensure our community continued to thrive. Not only were people investing their money through the purchase of shares, but people volunteered their time and expertise to renovating the shop. We even had local businesses fronting some of our costs which was a huge help.
The whole experience has really pulled our village together and we are looking forward to what the future holds for Slaithwaite."
More Information
Download the full case study [PDF,118kb]
Contact Details
For more information about Slaithwaite, please visit http://www.slaithwaite.coop/