Fittleworth Community Shop's first newsletter!

Welcome to our Community Shop Newsletter

There will be lots to report on over the next year as we move from planning to applications for grants, our share offer and fundraising through to the build and stocking out of the shop, so we have also launched this monthly shop Newsletter. We plan to focus on issues such as funding, the play areas and volunteering over forthcoming months. If you have any comments or feedback on our Newsletters please do get in touch by email to welterveden@btinternet.com

A Community Effort!

As you know, we have now submitted a planning application for the community shop and café. Thanks to those who have put In comments of support on the application. We hope to have the decision soon.

In order for the shop to be truly successful, the community wlll need to be active participants in the business – whether as customers, suppliers, employees, vounteers, investors or supporters. It is therefore fantastic that we already have many members of the community who are working with the shop team to turn our vision into a reality. We are very grateful to Warwick Dean-Taylor who has been supporting us on finance issues and structure, Paul Middleton who is designing our new logo for the shop (soon to be revealed!), Mike Stanbridge for input on the interaction between the proposals and the sports pitches, Kerry Coughtrey who is working on our social media presence and the design of this Newsletter and David Gilders for his advice on the retail business. And of course, we cant forget the small army of helpers who distribute the village shop questionnaire last year which started the whole process. We hope to involve many more of you as the project progresses!

We are currently setting up a fundraising committee who will be arranging a series of events over the next year to raise some funds for the shop whilst having some fun along the way. If you would be interested in helping out with fundraising or have an idea for a particular fundraising event you might like to help organise please get in contact with Sammi Leese at sammi@theramble.co.uk.

What have the Shop Team been up to this month?

Here are the highlights of some of the activities the Shop Committee have been up to this month. We have:

met with representatives from the West Sussex County Council Leader grant fund programme. Leader funds are available for projects that create jobs within the rural economy. This is the first of a mumber of meetings planned with potential grant providers

met with the Economic Development Office at Chichester District Council. They will help to put us in touch with appropriate sources of grant funding at the Council and, having supported other community shops, will be another useful source of information

received input from the Plunkett Foudation on sources of grant funding, the grants process and our forthcoming share offer in Fittleworth Community Shop Limited

spent a wonderful time with the children at the Village School who gave us their input as to the play equipment they would like to see in the new childrens playground that will be built adjacent to the shop and in the secondary area of play equipment we hope to install behind the Sports Pavilion. Perhaps no surprise that all the children loved the idea of a community shop selling ice cream next door to the new playground!

commissioned surveyors to undertake a topographical survey of the site

been in the media spotlight! Read all about our small shop with a big vision in the West Sussex County Times at http://www.wscountytimes.co.uk/news/community-rally-to-back-village-shop-plan-1-7792521