St Dominick established a Community Shop in November 2020 following a notice of closure of the long-standing Village Post Office and shop. Following extensive local public consultation, it was agreed to set up a new shop that would operate as a Community Benefit Society (CBS) and so operate on a non-commercial basis.
In May 2019, a Steering Group was formed with the aim of getting the new shop established and up and running. It was decided to operate as a Community Benefit Society. This business model was a way of creating a community asset that would be of benefit to the whole community in that every time money was spent in the Shop, customers were contributing to building a surplus that, as a CBS, would be reinvested back into improving the Shop or be donated for other projects that were for the greater benefit of all within the Village.
On 28th November 2020, the Shop opened its door and started trading. Initially the Shop was one cabin. This gallery of photographs shows the work done by the community over the summer and autumn of 2020 to get the cabin up to scratch and fitted out so that it could open for business.
In late 2021 and early 2022, work started on developing the Shop premises and raising the funds needed for a Phase 2 extension to the Shop. In late August 2022, a purpose-fitted cabin arrived providing additional retail space, a stockroom and toilet facilities for the Volunteers. The cabin was lowered into place in front of the existing cabin and work got underway to reconfigure the retail area of the Shop and to fit out with more shelving, fridges & freezers. The Shop was able to stay open and continue providing a service to customers from the existing cabin during the extension activity by safely re-routing people around the works.
On 3rd October 2022, the Shop opened it’s new front door and it’s expanded range and choice of products to its customers. It continues to go from strength to strength thanks to its loyal customers and dedicated team.
Thanks to funding from Cornwall Council’s Community Levelling Up Programme, on behalf of the UK Government through the Shared Prosperity Fund, the Shop was able to finally finish the development of the Shop premises in the summer of 2024. The award of the funding allowed the Shop to install solar panels on the roof, reducing energy costs significantly and reducing our carbon footprint. In addition, we were able to clad the original cabin which improved the look of the Shop premises as well as improving insulation. Floodlights were also installed to improve safety for both volunteers and customers in the darker winter months.
The original vision for the St Dominick Community Shop conceived in 2019 was finally achieved in 2024.
The Shop continues to provide a vital local service to the Village that is located several miles away from a grocery shop and has been well-used and much appreciated by the local community. There are approximately 23,000 transactions each year, largely from local customers but the Shop has also marketed itself to local holiday-makers and passing day visitors.