Work begins on £200,000 shop (From Wiltshire Times)

Work begins on £200,000 shop

4:30pm Wednesday 21st January 2009 in Search By Victoria Ashford

BUILDING work has begun a £200,000 community shop, post office and cafe for residents of a village near Bradford on Avon.

The long-awaited Galleries shop, named after the field it will be built in, will replace the village shops in Limpley Stoke and Freshford, both of which have closed over the last two years.

Gitte Dawson, 66, chairman of the shop committee for the Freshford and Limpley Stoke Community Association (FLiSCA), said: "We explored many options starting with trying to take on the existing shop.

“In the end, a new-build shop by the village hall (in Freshford) was the most promising option, for both villages, and once we had secured substantial grants from various sources as well as donations from caring villagers we decided we could go ahead."

Building work will last 22 weeks and is expected to be completed by the end of June and the shop is due to open in July.

Home deliveries will be available for those who can't come to the shop, and people will be able to place special orders for items not stocked regularly.

Sue King, who will be serving on the Galleries Shop Management Committee, said: "Our shop will only work if we stock the things people actually want to buy, at prices they can afford.

“Obviously, we can't keep pace with supermarket prices – but then people won't have to drive anywhere, so it won't cost them petrol, and they won't be wasting their time."