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Dept for Environment Food and Rural Affairs

Answer

Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many voluntary shops are operating, broken down by local authority area; and what financial or other help the Department has provided in each case. [192339] Alun Michael: There is no accepted definition of what constitutes a `voluntary' shop. Furthermore, there is no one definitive source of information on how many voluntary shops are operating nationally, or therefore broken down by local authority area. The Plunkett Foundation estimates that there are 200 `community owned' rural village shops nationally. This includes 150 that have received support from the Village Retail Services Association over the past 10 years. The Vital Villages programme, which the Countryside Agency ran between April 2001 and April 2004, contained a Community Services Grant. During the programme, £314,020 was granted to a total of 19 projects which involved retail services or facilities and which were owned by non-for-profit organisations, charitable trusts or voluntary groups. This information is broken down in Annex A. The Community Services Grant also funded retail applicants to benefit from retail consultants, who provided business support and advice for these projects. The Rural Enterprise Scheme, which forms part of the England Rural Development Programme, is wide- ranging in its support for projects and offers funding towards the set up costs of community shops. Since the scheme came into force in October 2000 it has assisted eight community shops, amounting to £419,170 grant (a detailed breakdown is at Annex B). Annex A: Retail projects funded by Community Services Grant 2001-04 _________________________________________________________________________________________________. Region/Applicant Project name Parish District Amount (£) East Midlands Voluntary group Witham St. Hugh's Witham St. Hugh's North Kesteven 23,688 Community Hall project Charitable trust Palterton Welfare Shop Scarcliff Bolsover 1,971 East of England Voluntary group Itteringham Community Itteringham North Norfolk 19,754 Shop Not for profit organisation Monks Eleigh Community Monks Eleigh Babergh 23,751 Shop Development Not for profit organisation Langham and Boxted Boxted Colchester 17,189 community shop Charitable trust Pakenham New shop and Pakenham St. Edmundsbury 25,000 Post Office in Village hall North East Charitable trust Kielder Petrol station Kielder Tynedale 25,000 South East Voluntary group St. Mary Bourne village St. Mary Bourne Basingstoke and Deane 24,772 shop Not for profit organisation Winchelsea Little shop Icklesham Rother 18,443 Association Not for profit organisation Buriton Village shop and Buriton East Hampshire 14,620 post office Not for profit organisation The Old village Slinford Horsham 25,000 store--Slinford Not for profit organisation Ascott-under-Wychwood Ascott-under- Wychwood West Oxfordshire 10,000 village shop Charitable trust Tackley Community shop Tackley West Oxfordshire 25,000 South West Voluntary group Blisland Amenity centre Blisland North Cornwall 25,000 shop Voluntary group Exbourne and Jacobstowe Exbourne West Devon 10,844 community enterprise Not for profit organisation Coaley Shop and post Coaley Stroud 10,126 office association West Midlands Voluntary group Hinstock Village stores Hinstock North Shropshire 3,862 and post office Voluntary group Bretforton post office Bretforton Wychavon 10,000 and stores Total number of projects: 19 314,020 _________________________________________________________________________________________________. Annex B: A detailed breakdown of how the Rural Enterprise Scheme has assisted eight community shops _________________________________________________________________________________________________. What it is Where How much RES funding (£) Village Shop and Post Office Melmsby and Fellside, Penrith 22,248 Ditto Longtown 61,763 Village Post Office Milnthorpe 31,350 Village Store/Cafe/Post Office Brockwier and Hewelsfield, Chepstow 230,384 Village shop adjoining Community Hall Newsham, Richmond 37,441 Post Office and village Community Shop Midgely, Halifax 20,587 Village Store Whittlesford 10,216 Post Office East Hendred 5,176 Total 419,165 _________________________________________________________________________________________________. Note: As at 19 October 2004

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

425 c972-4W;425 c970-2W; 192339

Session

2003-04

Subjects

Grants Voluntary organisations Shops Rural areas Rural development programme Vital villages programme

Contains statistics

Yes

Link

View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk