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Community Shop and Post Office
(now known as Chalke Valley Stores)

There were Public Meetings on 20th and 26th October 2012 and 19th April 2013 in the village hall regarding the establishment of a new community shop and post office as part of the Community Plan.

The proposal is to create a community shop and post office (now known as Chalke Valley Stores or the Chalke Valley Community Hub) on the ground floor of the URC Chapel as Robert Fry is retiring at the end of May 2013. The existing Worship area will be used as a café during shop hours and also occasionally when the shop is closed. There will also be the existing Fair Trade items for sale, the office used by the police and Church benefice office and Village Archive on the balcony. Contact A Truluck telephone 01722 780562 or the Secretary, Chalke Valley Community Hub, Lodge Farmhouse, Hut & Lodge, Salisbury SP5 5LU. telephone 01725 519242.

The Community Hub website is www.chalkevalleystores.co.uk.

Planning Application Details. Planning permission for a change of use was granted on 15th January 2013.

Planning Application Documentation showing plans and elevations, etc. (all PDF files).

Supporting Documentation including a full description of the proposal with sketches and funding methods (PDF file).

NOTE: A major grant of £91,734 from Sowing Seeds (DEFRA) has now been received and building works started on 25th February 2013 and will continue until the opening date for business on 3rd June. The official opening will be on 22nd June 2013.

Progress photos of conversion of part of the Chapel into a shop

My minutes of the public meeting on 19th April 2013 at 7.00pm regarding a new shop and post office.

The total cost is estimated to be £163,000 and a major grant of £91,734 from Sowing Seeds (DEFRA) has now been received. Pledges for funding from individuals have now been called in.

Building works started on 25th February 2013 and will continue until the estimated opening date for business on 3rd June. The official opening will be on 22nd June 2013.

The Chapel balcony has been extended slightly to give more area for the office and Archive and it allows space underneath for a Vestry and a cupboard for tables and another cupboard for the Knit and Natter Group.

The opening hours will be quite long for a few weeks, such as 7.00am to 6.30pm or 7.00pm to see what times are busy and the hours may be cut later to suit the useage. The post office will be the same opening hours as at present (Monday, Tuesday and Thursday mornings) and will be run by the manager of Fordingbridge post office for about six months until a replacement is found.

There will be two shop managers: Ellen Smets will be front-of-shop Retail Manager and Coffee Shop Manager and Nigel Tinkler will be Hub Manager for back office organisation.

There was a separate meeting for volunteers where the principles of good shop management were explained. Hands-on training sessions of about two hours will follow soon.

My minutes of the public meetings on 20th and 26th October 2012 regarding a new shop and post office.

The current plan is to use the Chapel ground floor office and the adjoining meeting area (currently used for selling Fairtrade items) for a shop and post office area, with a wooden floor instead of the carpet. The dividing screen between the office and the meeting area will be removed but otherwise it will be untouched structurally. Counters and shelving and probably a glazed screen for the post office will be added. If the shop is closed a rear entrance will be used for worship, meetings, teas, Christmas Fairs, etc. in the worship area.

The existing worship area will be used as a café when not used for worship and will have a servery counter where the organ now is and a serving hatch through to the existing kitchen. This area could also be used as a meeting place for teenagers. (Comment: I would be a bit concerned about rowdy or noisy behaviour and also the security aspects being close to the shop, post office and archive when those areas are closed if the teenagers aren't supervised. In April 2012 I saw two children jump on my namesake's grave and they broke off a large chunk from the corner which cost me £240 to repair.)

The benefice and police office will move up onto the balcony and be divided from (or possibly share space with) the Archive.

Parking has been discussed with Wiltshire Council and a layby may be constructed opposite the Chapel. This would also assist bus passengers who presently alight onto soft wet grass.

The estimated cost of the initial alterations is £32,000 plus a grant of £83,000 from DEFRA. The Prince's Countryside Fund may also provide a grant. The stocking and fitting out of the shop and post office will need about £35,000 so the cost to the community will be about £67,000. Four methods of funding were set out:

• Shares at £10 each, only carrying one voting right however many shares are bought. The shares will have no dividend, will not rise in value and be untradeable (and presumably only saleable to the issuer who would resell them).
• A loan without interest for a short term.
• A long term loan at a low rate of interest with a loan guarantee provided by the Cooperative Society.
• Donations.

Estimated shop turnover is £150,000 to £200,000pa (£500 to £600/day for a six day week).

An Industrial Provident Society will be set up to manage the shop which will pay a lower-than-market rent to URC Wessex. The shop will be non-profit making; any profit will be ploughed back into the shop or other local activities. There will be a full time manager and volunteer assistance. The parish council will not contribute to the running costs or rent as there will be no funding increase available from Wiltshire Council.

The Chapel and Church already have a sharing agreement for marriages and funerals so it is not expected that these will conflict with shop opening hours.

The post office is expected to open three mornings a week unless demand warrants an increase. The post office will continue to be managed by the Fordingbridge Post Office as an Outreach Service and Sue Fry may continue to run the post office until soon after the move.

A footpath from the Church path to North Street is also being considered.

Post Office News (2008/2009)

Latest News from the Post Office leaflet in the post office. The Broad Chalke post office will be open on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9.00 am to 1.00 pm with an Outreach Hosted Service. It started this new service on 8th September 2009. In the run-up to Christmas it will be open on Thursday afternoons from 2.00 pm to 5.00 pm and on Saturday mornings from 9.00 am to 1.00 pm.

The same range of services will continue to be available with the addition of DVLA facilities. Customers will still be able to collect benefits in cash using the everyday banking services or the Post Office's card account.

Local Public Consultation to determine the precise services to be provided continued until 20th May 2009 but you could still contact FREEPOST CONSULTATION TEAM (no stamp required) or telephone 08457 223344 or Textphone 08457 223355 or email consultation@postoffice.co.uk to contribute your views.

Sue Fry will continue to be our postmistress.

Previous News from The Broadsheet February 2009:- An Outreach Hosted Service with reduced hours of 11 hours per week operating from the same cubicle in the Village Shop is still The Post Office's preferred option but at the present time two potential Core Sub Postmasters have turned down the opportunity to administer the service. The Post Office agreed to check whether the recent business levels justified more than 11 hours per week. The service will continue as normal until further notice.

November 2008 News from The Broadsheet November 2008:- The Post Office plans to offer a full service (including Motor Vehicle Licences) for three sessions per week at the present post office counter in the shop, starting in the New Year. In essence customers will continue to enjoy the full range of Post Office services but for fewer hours per week. If the level of business justifies longer hours at some point this may be possible. The core Manager at Sixpenny Handley will be in charge but it is not known yet whether Sue Fry will be employed as the person actually operating the service. It will probably be three mornings a week, similar to the Hosted Outreach Service.

Old news:-

Extract from The Post Office's decision 22/02/08 in the West Berkshire and Wiltshire decision booklet:-

Post Office® Broad Chalke branch
Respondents raised a variety of issues during the local public consultation in relation to our proposals for this branch. Respondents raised concerns in relation to the possible impact of closure of this branch on vulnerable customer groups, in particular the elderly, since there is no direct bus service to alternative branches. The additional cost required to travel, the distance involved and risks associated with accessing alternative branches were also concerns raised by respondents. Respondents commented on the environmental impact of car journeys to alternative branches and a petition opposing the proposed closure was also submitted.
Having regard to all comments received during the local public consultation and all other relevant factors, Post Office Ltd has decided to proceed with the closure of this branch and to replace it with an Outreach Service. The proposed outreach service will be subject to a further 6 week period of local public consultation. Details of this consultation will be announced shortly.

Many people in Broad Chalke have received an email from Robert Key MP as follows:-

Yesterday afternoon I was contacted at The House of Commons and informed about all the closure and outreach proposals in our constituency. I immediately spoke by telephone to the Post Office consultation staff to express my grave concern about the Broadchalke proposal. Once again, the business case is secret. However, I was told there is a choice of two alternative ?outreach? locations in Broadchalke. I argued strongly for the status quo ? and I think I convinced the official. Now she must convince the others.

If I may suggest it, the first thing to ensure is that Sue Fry wants to keep the business in the shop. If she does, then we all need to say so, loud and clear, to the PO.

Best wishes from Robert.
Robert Key FSA
Member of Parliament for Salisbury
House of Commons
London SW1A 0AA

Comment:-

The extent of an Outreach Service is subject to consultation but we already know that a Hosted Service cannot be more than 12 hours a week so if the status quo is not maintained then the pressure will be on to persuade a shop, public house or other business to provide a Partner Service with longer hours.
8th March 2008: Essex County Council have offered to buy all the post offices in their area in order to keep them open; I wonder if Wiltshire County Council will offer to do the same?
8th May 2008: The six week extended consultation period has now been exceeded and no decision has been made, but it seems that there are discussions on how the village shop could operate a revised form of Partner Outreach Service which would retain the separate post office within the shop like it is now, rather than have the service operated by the shopkeeper from the shop counter.

Even older news:-

Post Office Ltd has reviewed Wiltshire post offices with the intention to close some of them. The review finished on 10th December and the impending closure was discussed at the Parish Council meeting on 12th December and there was a public meeting on 9th January 2008. See this report in the Salisbury Journal dated 12th December 2007 which states that it is proposed to replace the post office with Outreach services.

Outreach is a means by which Post Office products and services are provided by a 'core' subpostmaster (who already operates a post office branch in a community) to outlying communities.

As part of the Area Plan for West Berkshire and Wiltshire, Post Office Ltd is proposing to close Broad Chalke post office branch on a permanent basis and to mitigate the impact of the proposed closure we propose to put in place an Outreach service point for 11 hours per week.

There are four types of Outreach service: Mobile, Hosted, Partner and Home. Letters commenting on the proposals must be received by Post Office Ltd by 31st January 2008. Consultations will then take place and a final decision will be made about 22nd February 2008. The chosen Outreach service is due to start on 1st April 2008. The Hosted or Partner service is currently proposed by the Post Office.

The Mobile Service is a travelling post office situated within a van operated by the core subpostmaster or his assistants that will visit small communities at set times and days each week to deliver certain Post Office products and services to customers.

The Hosted Service is a fixed site post office from which the core subpostmaster or his assistants transact certain Post Office products and services during restricted hours each week. The premises are owned by a third party, for example, a shop or community centre. Eleven hours per week has been offered, the services will be more restricted than they are now and the "core subpostmaster or his assistants" is unlikely to be the same person as we have now. It is understood that twelve hours a week is the maximum for the Hosted Service. The Partner Service is recommended for more than twelve hours a week.

The Partner Service is a fixed site post office where a local partner (such as a pub landlord) appointed by the core postmaster, transacts certain Post Office products and services from the partner's own premises during the opening hours of the business. In other words a shop or pub owner could provide the services. It would be run from the shop or pub counter as part of the normal shop or pub business. The shop or pub personnel would undergo training and use a simplified Post Office computer on the counter.

The Hosted and Partner Services would both provide cash and paying in services and basic postal services but not special delivery and would not take parcels over 2kg.

The Home Service is a service for very small communities whereby the core subpostmater delivers a range of Post Office products and services which are ordered over the telephone by customers.

Coombe Bissett post office is likely to become a Partner Service in the shop there. Post Offices in Wilton, Tisbury, Fovant, Dinton, Fonthill Bishop and Sixpenny Handley have not been included in the proposed changes but none of these is on a bus route from Broad Chalke and all have difficult narrow roads and steep hills on their routes. Parking will be difficult at Coombe Bissett if that post office has traffic from elsewhere in the Chalke Valley.

See the Save Broad Chalke Post Office website for details and a petition that you can sign.
 
Objections should be sent to
 
Tim Nickolls, Network Development Manager, Post Office Ltd., FREEPOST CONSULTATION TEAM
and/or
POSTWATCH, FREEPOST Postwatch
and/or
Mr Robert Key, MP, 12 Brown Street, Salisbury SP1 1HE
and/or
consultation@postoffice.co.uk

My minutes of the Post Office public meeting on 9th January 2008

A public meeting was held in the Village Hall on 9th January 2008 chaired by Tom Hitchings, chairman of the Parish Council. Tony Deane, our County Councillor, attended and also Anne Carney of Cranborne Chase AONB (the Local Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty). Post Office Ltd did not send a representative and Robert Key MP was unable to attend. Tom said that Post Office Ltd had apparently not received a letter from the Parish Council and as the only contact address available was FREEPOST there appeared to be no way of contacting any specific person or hand-delivering a letter. The hall was full with a few people standing; about 180 people in total. I only saw one person obviously under age 50; the vast majority seemed to be over age 65.

Sue Fry, who runs our post office, outlined the Hosted Outreach Service proposals of eleven hours a week and the possible reduced service including no special delivery and no parcels over 2kg. A Hosted Service could be in a hall or community centre but the shop provides the best location for us.

If the Partner Outreach Service was chosen a shop or pub manager here would be under the supervision of the "core subpostmaster" at Tisbury and need training to use a simplified Post Office computer terminal.

Broad Chalke has about 637 residents and the total population of the Chalke Valley villages excluding Coombe Bissett is about 2000. About 260 people use the post office each week and Sue works 26 hours, an average of six minutes each. If the Hosted Service of eleven hours is forced upon us the average time for each person would be two and a half minutes and there would be no scope for increasing numbers in the future.

Sue said that although three post offices in Yorkshire and Lincolnshire had managed to escape their proposed changes, this did not mean that three others elsewhere would need to be added to the list to maintain the level of cost saving, nor that we had a better chance because three others had managed to escape the change. Each office would be considered on its merits and one of the key considerations was that no one should be more than three miles from a post office.

We need to emphasise to Post Office Ltd the fact that our post office is the only one along over thirteen miles of the valley and travel to others is along narrow roads with steep hills and that there is no bus service to any except Coombe Bissett which would be well over three miles from villages further up the valley.

The representative of AONB said that we should make Post Office Ltd aware of the demographics of our area. We almost certainly have a higher than average proportion of elderly residents who would probably have difficulty travelling to another post office.

It was emphasised that Post Office Ltd is primarily concerned with the financial implications and political, environmental or social aspects will have little weight.

Post Office Ltd have not shown any inclination to consider any options other than the four Outreach Service options. However, as a last resort the Parish Council might offer to reimburse the loss. No figures are available but it is estimated to be about £6,000 per annum. If this was raised on the two thousand residents in the chalke valley via Parish Council tax it would only be about £3 each per annum. Bearing in mind that most people would travel to another post office by car if our post office happened to be closed when they want to use it, spending £3 on petrol each week, the carbon footprint benefits of keeping our post office open 26 hours a week are clear.