We’ve got the keys!

The purchase of the shop building has now been completed. Peter Marriage is the new owner and Bishop Wilton Community Shop Ltd has entered into an agreement to lease it from him on the favourable terms we communicated earlier.

We would like to formally thank Alek, Wendy and Peter for creating this wonderful opportunity for Bishop Wilton to have a community shop.

Those of you who applied to buy shares now officially own those shares. You are all listed on the Bishop Wilton Community Shop Ltd Share Register. This is a secure document which we are obliged to hold and is proof of your share holding. Share certificates, although not a legal requirement, will be sent to you soon. 

Whilst waiting for the purchase to complete we have been busy progressing other things to try and minimise the delay in opening the shop. Our planning permission application for the change to the shop frontage has already been approved.

We are clearing out fittings from the old shop today and the building work/refurbishment starts tomorrow.

We are currently researching and selecting suppliers and products for the shop which is no small task! We intend to stock the essentials as well as some special ranges from local suppliers. We always welcome any suggestions on this matter both now and once we are open – although we might not be able to please all of the people all of the time – we will do our best!

Considerable progress has also been made with the numerous compliance requirements and putting together a volunteer training schedule. We will be holding a series of volunteer meetings and training sessions starting at the end of September – if you have already volunteered we will let you know the schedule very soon. If you have not already volunteered but would like to do so please let us know.

As well as working on getting the shop up and running we are also hoping to organise some events through the autumn. The first of these is planned for September 28th, when we will be holding an Apple Pressing Event  at the pub in conjunction with one of our potential local suppliers – save the date and watch this space for more info on this.

We intend appointing a part time (probably up to 20 hours paid) Shop Manager who will receive a wage once the shop has opened. If you think you might be interested in this role and would like more information please get in touch no later than Monday  16th September.

This is all very exciting news but there is still a huge amount of work to be done before we can open the shop. Please do not hesitate to let us know if you can help in any way.

Feedback from our 1st Pop Up Bakery

Bishop Wilton residents clearly love their bread & weekend treats and we send huge thanks to everyone who supported our first pop up bakery. We were sold out of all items in less than 20 minutes which was a big success for us but apologies to those who had to leave empty handed. As there is clearly a demand for the pop up bakery, we plan to run the stall for the remaining Saturdays in June from 08.30am until sold out.

To avoid disappointment we recommend that you come down early and for those of you who are bold enough – anyone arriving in their PJ’s or onesies may receive a small prize!

Also a reminder that when the ‘real’ shop is up and running, we will stock the usual standard loaves – sliced, white, wholemeal, granary etc – our pop up’s are to determine the demand for different types of breads and breakfast style items that you would like us to stock/order for the weekends.

See you next Saturday from 08.30am at the same place; follow the signs from the bus stop!

Everest Hill Climb Fundraiser

Keep track of Dave’s progress here: https://www.wahooligan.com

Dave Diston will be raising money to help support building work on the shop premises. He will spend the day cycling up Worsendale Road as many times as he can. He is aiming to aiming to complete 57 ascents, which would mean he’s climbed the equivalent of Mt Everest (8848 metres)!

Please sponsor Dave, either per hill climb or as a one off donation, and of course come along on the day to spur him on (or even ride along)! You can find the sponsor form here: https://docs.google.com/…/1FAIpQLScNTE7duobpPcPLDk…/viewform

Dave is hoping to start cycling around 6am and, legs willing, hopes to finish around 8pm. We will have tea and cakes for sale on the day!

WE NEED MORE VOLUNTEERS

We are keen to have as many volunteers as we can to cover all the shifts in the shop and all eventualities. Shifts are 3:15 hours long for the front-of-house staff in the shop for these opening times:

  • Monday to Friday (excl bank holidays) 0715–1900
  • Saturday 0830–1700
  • Sunday/some Bank Hols (no deliveries) 1000–1600

We need front-of-house shop staff but also anything else you can offer from DIY and building work to computers, cleaning and deliveries. Full training will be given for front-of-house staff so no need to worry about anything, it’s going to be a great place to be! We’ll need a mix of people who can do regular shifts and those who can fill in as and when.

Get in touch with Sally Smith, our friendly volunteer manager on:
volunteers.bishopwiltoncommunityshop@gmail.com or 07971 875 871.

Do you have a van and/or storage space? Would you be able to help us move and/or store shop fixtures whilst the building work is going on? Please let us know if you can help!

OUR LATEST NEWSLETTER

A TASTE OF THINGS TO COME

A huge thank you to everyone who came to our recent event, it was very well attended and we received fabulous feedback from you all. Everyone was particularly interested in the community spirited ideas such as pre ordering breads and cakes and services such as a drop off/pick up of – for example, fish from the weekly fish van. Thank you for completing the ‘Shopping Lists’, they are providing all the essential information that we need. The Bishop Wilton Community Shop will have all the day to day basics plus treats such as those everyone enjoyed at ‘A Taste of Things to Come’.

Thank you again to the community of Bishop Wilton – we are all in this together!

FUNDRAISING

We have now raised £36,000 through share applications with £16,000 still needed to hit the target. Huge thanks to all of you who have already applied for shares. Here are three great reasons to buy shares (or buy some more!)

1. We’ll get a shop for the benefit of the whole community and the environment. The shop will provide convenience and great local produce as well as a place to meet, have a chat or a coffee. As a shareholder you become a member of the Community Benefit Society, Bishop Wilton Community Shop Ltd and will have a say in how the shop is run and what benefits it provides to the community.

2. You should be able to get half of your investment back from the tax man. Our application for Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme status for the share offer was recently approved. This means if you are a UK taxpayer you should be able to claim a tax refund of 50% of the amount invested. Further details about this very generous incentive are available on our website. Alternatively drop us an email or call David Gaskin on 07803 023842 if you have any questions.

3. If you own a house locally, having a shop should increase its value. It is well established that having a local shop along with other local amenities enhances house prices in the area. Some attribute as much as 5% to this.

Now is the time to buy shares or more shares as the share offer closes on 9th June. We have attached an application form for your convenience, but if you want to apply and haven’t already seen our prospectus please take a look at this. If you live in the parish it should have been delivered through your door in April but it is also available on our website.

Advance assurance of SEIS (50%) tax credit on shares now received!

We are delighted to inform you that we have now received advance assurance from HMRC that our share offer qualifies for Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme tax relief.
This is a 50% tax credit so you should, if you pay enough tax, be able to get back half of your investment.
For example, if you have applied for (or are about to apply for!) £1,000 in shares you should be able to reduce your UK income tax bill by £500 (provided you have paid, or will pay, at least that amount of tax in this current tax year and the year before combined) . We expect to be able to issue to you a certificate (SEIS3) a few months after the shop has started trading to enable you to claim the tax credit.

We will provide more guidance on how to claim the tax credit when we issue the SEIS3, but we are unable to provide personal tax advice and each investor is responsible for satisfying themselves as to their eligibility for any tax reliefs. Please also see www.gov.uk for more information on the rules concerning the income tax credit and other SEIS related tax reliefs available.

If you haven’t applied for shares already, hopefully this provides another good reason to do so. If you have already applied, but would like to buy some more based on this news, this is also great – just complete another share application form and we will combine the two applications together.

The share offer remains open until June 9 unless we hit the £52,000 target before then!

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

If you buy shares you become a member of the society and have a say in what we do!

Donations are also very welcome – it would be great if you could specify that your donation is for building work/refurbishment.

Please see this link

The Management Committee has the discretion to pay a small amount of interest on shares. There is no intention to do this in the short term.

Under the rules of the society you must hold your shares for at least three years. If, after that, you need your money back you can apply to withdraw your shares. This will be at the discretion of the Management Committee and it is likely that there will not be sufficient funds available, at least in the medium term, to handle large scale withdrawals.

You get a shop in the village! If you buy shares you also have voting rights and therefore have a say about who is on the committee and what happens to the shop profit. For house owners there is also the increase in house value associated with having a shop in the village.

No. The rules of the society state “1 person 1 vote” however many shares you have bought.

No – only the Treasurer and the Secretary will have access to this information (and, by request, the Financial Conduct Authority).

Your name and share holding will be on an official register of members of the Community Benefit Society (Bishop Wilton Community Shop Ltd) – this is a legal document but it is password protected and cannot be seen except by the Treasurer and the Secretary.

Profits must go back into the shop or the community. If we make more profit than we need to run the shop the extra will be put back into the community and/or used to pay a small amount of interest on shares.

This decision is made by the committee (but, don’t forget, the shareholders vote in the committee). This would always be discussed at the AGM so all shareholders will be able to have their say.

The current management committee will all retire at the first Annual General Meeting of the society. Those who want to stand again for election may do so together with any others who are nominated for election. Shareholders (members of the Community Benefit Society) will be able to nominate, be nominated and vote in this election.

Yes. There is wide range of training to be undertaken by the volunteers eg food handling, Health and Safety, first aid, working the till (EPOS). There will also be some volunteer events to get to know each other and find out what it is all about.

3 ¼ hours is the planned shift length at the moment but you could choose to do two or more shifts in succession.

Yes – you request your shift times and patterns and, if you want to work with someone just tell us. There will be an online rota system which you could access from home IF you wanted to.

Definitely – that makes things easy for everyone, but equally you could have different shifts each week or just be a “stand in” for when people on the rota are unable to work.

That is fine too – just tell us when you are available.

Sometimes it is really useful to have a bank of flexible workers who can step in at short notice.

Right from the start we have adopted a “no blame” culture – we all work together and we are all responsible for our mistakes!

You won’t be! There will be a minimum of two people on every shift.

It is likely that there will be Lead Volunteers who will work with one or two committee members … eventually we may have a part time shop manager who could take on this role.

You – and the lead volunteers/committee/shop manager. We already have the information you gave us when we sent the questionnaires round last August. Some decisions are already starting to be made – the first opportunity to do this is at “A Taste of Things To Come”. This event, on Wednesday May 15th 7pm at the village hall, will showcase many local suppliers and give us the opportunity to sample some of their products. Come along then give us your feedback and any other ideas. If you have ideas NOW about local suppliers let us know -e mail us at bishopwiltonshop@gmail .com If there are specific groceries/other items that you would definitely want to buy from the shop let us know. There will be a “suggestions” book in the shop (and on line as well) which everyone is encouraged to write in – let us know what you would like to see!

  • Everyday basic groceries – plenty of them
  • Fresh fruit and veg
  • Meats/fish from local suppliers
  • Nice bread and bakery items
  • A wide range of items from local producers
  • Stationery/nice cards/gift wrap etc
  • Newspapers
  • Tobacco products
  • Pies/pasties/sandwiches
  • Beers/wines/spirits
  • And MUCH more…

Not to start with! We will stock stamps and we will be a parcel drop off/collection point. We would also like to provide a voluntary PO “run” to Bugthorpe to help people who cannot get to a PO… we need to work out how this might work.

Yes – we intend to sell newspapers.

No – as a shareholder you have limited liability so will not be liable for any such events. We will also have liability insurance to protect the shop.

Cleaning…. PO runs… shopping/cash and carry…   Maintenance…. Book-keeping…. Gardening… if you can think of something we might need please offer your services!

The money is needed for a variety of things: volunteer training, stocking the shop, refurbishment and fitting. A large proportion of the money is for the building costs. By opening out the current premises a much bigger space will be created which will mean that there is a greater opportunity for selling goods and services as well as creating space for the community to use.