WHITLEY Stores community shop has closed – but the volunteers who run it have vowed ‘We’ll be back!’
The shop had its last day on Thursday last week as rising costs meant it could no longer continue.
But the shop volunteers say they are hopeful of finding a new venue in the village and in the meantime, they are offering two new services at the Whitley Reading Rooms – teas, coffees and cake on a Saturday morning and a daily newspaper collection service.
“We’re really sad to be closing, but we’re very confident we’ll be back before too long,” said Alison Candlin from Shaw and Whitley Community Hub, who ran Whitley Stores.
“We’ve moved down the road to the Whitley Reading Rooms on Middle Lane to offer teas, coffees and home-made cake on Saturday mornings from 9am to 11am as part of the Reading Rooms’ Warm Spaces scheme.
“If it’s popular, we might be able to extend the hours on Saturdays and also extend it to Friday morning.
“We’re also offering a daily pop-up newspaper service, selling pre-ordered papers for one hour a day in the mornings. People can order their favourite newspaper or magazine and come and pick it up.
“We’re very optimistic we’ll find a new venue for the shop in the not too distant future; we’ve got a couple of possible alternative locations in the village, so watch this space!
“The support in the village for a community shop has been fantastic. We’ve got around 50 volunteers who help regularly, as well as a large number of regular customers. They have really valued the community aspect of the shop, which offered a place to meet and chat and helped people get out of their house.
“The steering group would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to all our volunteers who have worked so hard to create a vibrant community asset, that has quickly become a valued part of village life. Without our volunteers, none of this would have been possible.
“We would also like to express our huge appreciation to our customers and the wider community for their tremendous support and custom. We’ll hopefully see you all again soon!”
- If anyone wants to order newspapers or magazine, just email info@ whitleystores.org
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