New bid to open village shop

A NEW bid is being made to provide a village shop at Croft near Warrington – probably to be run on a co-operative basis.
The Parish Council has sent a questionnaire to all 1,000 homes in the village to try and establish the level of support from residents.
It asks whether villagers would be prepared to contribute financially towards the cost of buying or leasing a property, whether they would be prepared to serve in the shop on a voluntary basis or whether anyone would be prepared to take over the shop and run it on a commercial basis.
Croft has been without a village shop for six years, after the former post office closed and villagers face a journey to either Culcheth or Winwick.
A previous attempt to set up a community-run shop failed when developers out-bid villagers to buy the old post office building and converted it into apartments. But residents did pledge £200,000 towards the project.
A parish council spokesman said: “We believe many residents of Croft feel the loss of the village shop has had a detrimental effect on the village.
“In an effort to rectify the situation, the parish council is willing to review the possibility of the re-establishment of a village shop, probably on a communal-co-operative basis, should suitable premises become available.
“The approach to be taken would very much depend on the level of practical support and commitment that residents would be willing to provide.”