History
How The Brockweir and Hewelsfield Village Shop came into being.
For many years Brockweir and Hewelsfield each had a general store. By the millennium both had closed, and arising out of community debate about the needs of the village came the idea of a community shop.
This idea was discussed widely and supported by a majority of the village.
The hard working committee visited existing community shops, drew up initial plans and set about raising funds. They were fortunate to discover a local resident who had a genius at finding funds and making successful applications and from these endeavours the money was raised.
The aims of the new shop were:
- To be not-for-profit and put back any surplus into the community
- To create an outlet for local foods
- To provide through the café a social meeting place
- To offer IT facilities and training
- To be environmentally neutral
Postal Services
Due to the rural situation of the shop and the fact that one by one the local post-offices were closing, it became clear that a postal service was needed.
A full post office within the shop was not possible, but the local community was surveyed to find which postal services were required and a scheme set up with the help of the Post Office.
The Village Shop has proved such a successful model that we have been able to help and advise other community projects to implement similar schemes.
How the shop is run
The Brockweir and Hewelsfield Village Shop Association, BHVSA, is a non-profit making community enterprise.
The project has a Management Committee which is elected from the membership of the association yearly.
No member may be on the committee for more than five years consecutively.
The steering committee decides on the policy and direction of the project which is implemented by the full time paid Business Manager, Alison Macklin.
With a Committee to report to and over 40 volunteers to manage, 2 part time members of staff, as well the day-to day management of the shop, Alison has a formidable task, but one she has managed with great success.
The shop and café are staffed by volunteers of whom there are more than 40. Some work a few times a week, some only once a month
Those that do not want to help out in the shop or café often do deliveries or help with maintenance.
The Current Committee
Chair: Lesley Williams
Treasurer: Michael Bradley
Secretary: Hilary Lee
Other committee members are:
Steve Downes
Jenny Jones
Mike Mackey
Judy Craven
Cath Baker
The latest accounts are published in PDF format here
Future Planning
Every year, the Brockweir and Hewelsfield Village Shop Association updates and publishes its 5 year plan
Click the link below, or right click to download. In PDF format (requires Acrobat reader)
Links with the community
The Village Shop has close ties to other activities and organisations in the village, which it actively supports, including:
Brockweir Youth Club, our local volunteer led youth club for all school ages.
The Mackenzie Hall, our village hall since 1930 and the owner of the land which the Village Shop leases
The playing field, which is next to the Village Shop and has recently been equipped with playground equipment
Brockweir Green Shoots, also known as BUGS, which has re-claimed rocky, unused land behind the shop for allotments.
Knit and Stitch which meets regularly in the cafe