Selborne Village Stores
Building a not-for-profit community shop in the heart of Selborne
We plan to establish a not-for-profit community shop that is open seven days per week on the Punfle Field in the centre of Selborne village.
The village shop will be housed in a bespoke timber-framed building designed by a leading architect and built with input from local craftspeople to sit sympathetically within the beautiful environment of the village and the wider landscape of the South Downs National Park.
Selborne had a commercially run village shop which closed in 2021. Our new community shop will operate as a not-for-profit enterprise run for community benefit. We are working closely with the Plunkett Foundation who specialise in supporting rural communities to establish successful community businesses. This model has proved very successful in other local villages including Ropley, Preston Candover, and Frensham.
In the context of the current cost-of-living and environmental crises, it is more important than ever to have access to local and affordable amenities. With the recent closure of East Tisted Village Shop, Selborne residents must now travel to Alton, Petersfield, Liss, or Four Marks to buy groceries in person.
The shop will sell local produce, fresh food, vegetables, meat, dairy, dry goods, soft drinks, wine & spirits and newspapers. And at some point in future, we hope to have a Post Office.
It will be run by a professional manager supported by local volunteers.
The project has strong backing from the village. 85% of respondents to our 2024 community survey were in support of a community shop opening on the Punfle site. In an earlier survey, also conducted in 2024, 40 respondents indicated that they would be interested in volunteer for the shop.
Run by the community, for the community.
Our Vision
The community shop will become a welcoming place where residents and visitors to Selborne can shop and chat, local artisans can show their work and volunteers can pick up new skills and be part of a community.
The shop will provide a wide range of goods and local produce and be open from early to late.
We’ll be working with good quality local producers, reducing food miles. Having a local shop will help to reduce car journeys to supermarkets. The shop will also provide a local delivery service to the house-bound.
We envisage the shop becoming a community information hub for the village and the surrounding area.
The shop will be staffed by local volunteers. Any surplus profit the community shop makes will go to improve the shop or be donated to local projects in Selborne and the surrounding areas.
The story so far...
2019
- Selborne Village shop ceases business.
- Parish Council Questionnaire demonstrates very strong support for a community shop in the old Post Office Stores.
- Asset of Community Value status awarded to the village stores by East Hampshire District Council.
2020
- Selborne village shop committee established.
- Registration of Selborne Stores Ltd as a Community Benefit Society with the Financial Conduct Authority.
- Committee begins research into opening a new community shop.
2021
- Post Office and former village shop premises sold to new owner.
2022
- Research continues following which the committee develops a business plan and share offer documents, open a bank account, and launch the website.
- A public meeting demonstrates overwhelming support for a community shop.
- Share offer launched; funding applications developed; donations given by local businesses.
- 85 shareholders invest in the community shop along with donations and pledges from the local community.
- The owner of the Post Office Stores confirms that they will not rent the premises to the community shop.
- The committee shifts their focus to consider alternative premises, but are unable to find any other available or suitable site.
2023
- A local resident, Mark Revell-Smith, offers the Punfle Field site next to the Selborne Arms car park as a potential site for the community shop.
- Initial pre-application meeting held with the planning officer.
- Shareholder meeting is arranged to introduce the concept of the new site, which has to be postponed due to the sudden and unexpected death of Mark Revell-Smith.
- Project is put on hold.
- Shareholders offered the option of a refund of their investment.
- 62 shareholders opted to retain their shares, leaving approximately £20k in funding for the project.
2024
- Discussions begin with Mark’s next-of-kin, Chantal, who is extremely supportive of the project.
- Chantal explains she would like to have a community shop on the Punfle Field in memory of her childhood and family in Selborne. She offers the lower part of the field as a site for the community shop on a long lease with peppercorn rent.
- Initial developer sketches are drawn up and further pre-application meeting with planning officers.
- Possible alternative sites in the village were assessed again.
- Survey questionnaire seeking views on a new community-owned shop distributed to all Selborne residents and businesses, and also to Newton Valence, showed overwhelming support for the initiative.
- Public village meeting held in June 2024 to present the results of the first residents’ survey, explain the reasons for the Punfle site and present initial sketches.
- Second survey distributed to ask if residents are in favour of building a community shop on the Punfle showed strong support for the proposal.
- Architects and solicitors appointed.
- Committee draft a new business plan to launch in 2025.
2025
- Launch of new business plan.
- Planning consultants appointed.
- Ongoing investigations of existing sites within the village, including the Queens and the old Post Office:
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- Lease negotiations conducted with the owner of the old Post Office shop when existing tenant gave their notice in summer 2025.
- Terms of the lease were determined unsuitable and unsustainable for a community-owned business.
- Committee gave their support to a potential new tenant to run the old Post Office as a commercial village shop, following a public meeting they held at the village hall.
- Following the withdrawal of the prospective tenant for the old Post Office, we re-approached the owner of the old Post Office to reopen our discussion about the lease, but have made no progress.
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- Plans for the Punfle site progressing well, with preparations for the planning application nearing completion.
- Public village meeting to be held before Christmas to present the plans, date to be announced.
Our Supporters
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Learn new skills, meet new people and feel being part of a community.
Contact us by email at selbornecommunityshop@gmail.com