Appleton Community Shop 2.27

Appleton Community Shop & Post Office was founded in May 2000 when Rod and Tricia Clayton, the then owners of the shop and the adjacent lovely thatched cottage, could not sell the business. The Appleton-with-Eaton Parish Council formed a sub-committee, and this committee considered various alternative strategies. A meeting was then held in the Village Hall and was attended by over 250 villagers, when the alternatives were put to the meeting; the meeting decided that the community would run the shop. It now has a turnover of about £225,000 per annum and has approximately 90 volunteers involved in the running, management and maintenance of the shop. It is a non-profit making Limited Company with a Board of eight Directors. The ethos of the shop is to be a general “convenience” store serving the Community and providing a wide variety of goods (there are about 2000 lines). It is also intended to be a social and community service to the Village and to encourage as much volunteer participation as possible. It is a community shop ‘run by the community, for the community’.