WEBVTT

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Welcome to The Purpose Brief. In this episode

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we're looking at something simple but very powerful.

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What happens when communities work together and

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take ownership of their future? There are some

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brilliant examples across the country of where

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this has been successful and my argument has

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always been that communities can collectively

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create more social good by taking the initiative

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themselves. Across rural Britain, in particular,

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shops, pubs and other community assets are doing

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far more than stocking the shelves. There's a

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growing movement of community -owned cooperatives

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that are unlocking funding, creating jobs, tackling

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loneliness and bringing people together beyond

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the divides. In this episode, you'll hear from

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George Ogier from Plunkett UK about their work

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and ethos. And then we'll go to Colin Pollock

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from Bishop Wilton Community Shop and Cafe in

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the east riding of Yorkshire. He's part of a

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village who proved that with enough determination,

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community spirit and a little bit of northern

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grit, you can build something that really matters.

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First, let's go to George. George, thank you

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for joining us today. Thank you for having me.

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Let's talk about Plunkett UK. So Plunkett UK

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is a member -led charity that has been in operation

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for over 100 years now. It was started by an

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Irish politician, Horace Plunkett, in the early

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1900s. And Horace was obsessed with the idea

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of cooperatives and how people should have more

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agency over the produce they were supplying to

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the wider public. And through that, we've done

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lots of work over the years on cooperatives all

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over the world. And as time's gone on, we've

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sort of shrunk down our overview, if you like,

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to the UK. And now we support rural communities

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up and down the UK to run community -owned businesses

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with a view to creating and helping them create

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thriving, resilient and inclusive. communities

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at a time where services are being stripped away

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and we're seeing sort of migration out of rural

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areas because they're just not sustainable to

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live in in a lot of cases. Talk to me about how

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community -owned businesses work and what are

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the models that you have successfully implemented

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across the UK? So from a Plunkett standpoint,

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community -owned businesses are anything with

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a trade at its heart that operates for the benefit

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of the community. And it can be a community defined

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by the people who are living there, but they

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operate for the benefits of the community. So

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any money made, and we don't talk about profits,

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we talk about surpluses. So any of those surpluses

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either go back into the business or are donated

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to other local causes. It might be the youth

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football club, anything like that. might benefit

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from it. When we talk about community businesses,

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our definition involves that wide democratic

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ownership model. So we want as many people who

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live locally to have a say in the way these businesses

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are run as possible. So primarily, the businesses

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we support incorporate as what we know as community

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benefit societies. We have our own set of model

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rules, a constitution, if you like, that are

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ratified by the Financial Conduct Authority.

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and they're geared towards, as I say, that one

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member, one vote. So regardless of how much money

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you invest as a shareholder, you're only entitled

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to one vote, and that removes... Those barriers

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to entry, you keep the share prices down, and

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that means that everybody can be involved. And

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it doesn't become the preserve of two or three

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local wealthy people, which isn't necessarily

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a bad thing, but it's not the ethos that Plunkett

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adheres to. And as I say, we want as many people

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involved in the running of these businesses as

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possible, because that way they become a reflection

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of the communities in which they sit. What are

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the challenges around rural isolation and rural

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communities? You've just released your... impact

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report for 2026. Just talk us through some of

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the headlines there. I think my biggest takeaway

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is the success of the sector as a whole. It's...

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The biggest thing for me is the short and long

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-term survival rates. So over the first five

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years, the community -owned business model has

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a survival rate of 98%. And if you extrapolate

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that out to 10, 15, 20 years, it only drops to

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94 % survival rate. If you look at privately

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-owned equivalents in the first five years, I

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think that's around sort of 42%, 43 % survival

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rate. So they're twice as successful as privately

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-owned businesses. And it comes back to that

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idea of those businesses meeting needs in their

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community rather than it just being a business

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plan devised by an individual. The challenges

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we have, I think, are we see a lack of opportunity

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for people. paucity of opportunity if you like

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a poverty of services so when we talk about the

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impact report it's based around five key areas

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that we work closely with primarily it's providing

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access to goods and services so it's For example,

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many shops that we work with run post offices

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as well. So it's making sure that people have

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access to cash and things like that. It's investing

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in local people through the creation of jobs,

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volunteering and training opportunities. So thinking

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about how you might upskill your community as

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well. It's that first job for teenagers. It's

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that sort of semi -retirement, retired. group

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of people who are still very, very active and

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still want to be part of something. We look at

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boosting the local economy through localised

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supply chains. So buying your stocks from local

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producers where possible. And that has an impact

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on the next one, which is tackling climate change.

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So you're reducing food miles and things like

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that. So as I say, tackling climate change through

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initiatives. A lot of businesses we work with

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have solar panels on the roof, that kind of thing.

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And finally, it comes to... EDI. And when we

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talk about EDI through community businesses,

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it really is that idea of creating safe and welcoming

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spaces. We want everybody in the community to

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feel that they can be a part of these businesses,

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either as a shareholder, as a volunteer or a

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paid member of staff, or even as a customer.

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We don't want there to be any barriers to involvement

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with that. So I think the business models that

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we look at and the businesses we support. are

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set up to tackle those things, as I say, those

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paucity of services and opportunities and just

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kind of... It's that rising tide floats many

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ships. I think one of the interesting things

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about community businesses, for every pound spent

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with a community business, 56 pence stays within

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the local economy, as opposed to, I think, around

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41, 42p when spent, again, with a privately owned

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equivalent. So it's not just about having a pub

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or just having about a shop. It's what those

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businesses can do over and above the day -to

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-day trading activities that you would expect

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from that model. to deliver more to their communities.

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Part of it's about community shops, and we'll

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come on to that in a little bit. You've funded

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a lot of work with pubs, rural community pubs,

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cafes, farms and woodlands. Do you want to say

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a little bit about some of the examples around

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that? Because I think there's a whole mix of

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things there around rural assets and the purpose

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of them, and they're all quite different. Yeah,

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absolutely. I mean, to be perfectly clear, James,

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what we're talking about in the majority of cases

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is pubs and shops, but there is a diversity of

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business types. We supported a couple of farm

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projects over the years. One that springs to

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mind is Fordall Farm. They've been going for

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a long time now, and it's a really interesting

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project where you get sort of... access to, again,

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opportunities, but open spaces and a chance to

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sort of work on agricultural projects as well

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as anything. We've supported a couple of distilleries

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as well, particularly up in Scotland, and community

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hubs too. It's not just that there might be a

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shop as part of a wider community hub, but one

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of our award winners from our Rural Community

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Business Awards last year was a community hub

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up in Scotland. who add hundreds of thousands

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of pounds to the local economy every year through

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the efforts they're doing in terms of educating

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people and upskilling people, but actually just

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paying a living wage. So yes, when we talk about

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community -owned businesses, I guess our bread

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and butter is shops and pubs, but there is that

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real diversity of business types as well. Not

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to a great degree, but it does exist. There's

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something interesting there about the supply

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chain. but also the local jobs market, which

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we know is a big challenge in rural communities.

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Do you want to say a little bit more about that

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work? I touched on earlier the first job for

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a teenager. I think a third of community -owned

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businesses in the UK represent a young person's

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first paid employment. But if we look at the

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volunteering and training side of things, again,

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33 % of community -owned businesses offer employment

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to people with long -term health conditions or

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disabilities. Again, it might be a volunteering

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opportunity. We see a lot of these, particularly

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shops, offer volunteering opportunities for Duke

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of Edinburgh students. And that often leads into

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paid employment. We worked with a shop in Semley

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in Wiltshire. over the last couple of years and

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they have a scheme called the paid young people

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scheme now you have to have done i think 12 weeks

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of volunteering with them and through that you

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you sort of learn the ropes and you learn how

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to make coffees with with the coffee machine

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and operate the epos the electronic point of

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sale so the tills but yeah it's that it's that

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sort of volunteering into paid paid employment

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but also as we've touched on at the other end

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of the generational scale It's offering sort

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of volunteering opportunities to those retired

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and semi -retired people who still want to be

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part of something and still feel incredibly active.

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Is this about community cohesion for rural communities?

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What we noticed is when we see these communities

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start to lose services, the shop goes, the doctor's

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surgery goes. Basically, you're losing these

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third spaces where people can come and meet.

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And when that happens, particularly if you're

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older and say you've lost a partner or a spouse

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and you find yourself on your own, if we lose

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these third spaces, it's no exaggeration to say

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that some individuals can go weeks without having

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face -to -face conversation with other people.

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we spoke to somebody involved with a shop that

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exists in a church in Amberley in Gloucestershire,

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and they were saying through the shop that operates

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through the sort of community -owned shop. They

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were able to stay in the house that they'd lived

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in for 35 plus years because it was walking distance.

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If there wasn't a shop there, they didn't have

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access to a car. They would have to move to Gloucester,

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where it's a more built up community, where they

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would have access to services. And it is all

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of these things chime in. So we talked to somebody

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again who sadly lost their spouse. I think they'd

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been married for 40, 50 years. That's a huge

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change in anyone's life. You're dealing with

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all kinds of grief. And what these community

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businesses offer is kind of an on -the -hoof

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bereavement service, if you like, because they're

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able to go and in a lot of cases have this space

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where other people will have experienced the

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same grief. And it's a chance for them to navigate

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that together. And so when we talk about more

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than in terms of being more than a pub or more

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than a shop, these are the real tangible things

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that we mean. They represent so much more than

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buying a pint of milk or a loaf of bread or a

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pint of beer. They represent a social lifeline

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and an anchor for so many people. Yeah, 100%.

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And there's a huge piece of... that many communities

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need to think about in their place, which is

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around connecting to individuals beyond social

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media. And I think that at times of hardship

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for people, they just want a friendly conversation.

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And if that space isn't there, that safe space

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isn't there, that's the other thing. And I was

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going to come back to you and talk a little bit

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around... What does inclusion look like in rural

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spaces? Because that's really interesting. My

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role at Plunkett is I am the impact officer.

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So my role revolves around how Plunkett delivers

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a deeper social impact as an organisation, but

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also how the groups we support can deliver deeper

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social impact. And it was a conference we did

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a couple of years ago, and one of the speakers...

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sort of mentioned this phrase of who isn't here.

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And it's something that's really resonated with

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me and something I've tried to take into my work

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as an impact officer. If we're going to talk

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about a community -owned enterprise on any level,

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whether it's trading, whether it's any kind of

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community group, when you have these village

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and small town projects, invariably the people

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involved with them are involved in everything.

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We have this core. All these small communities

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have these cores of people who give up their

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time and they're probably sitting on two or three

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different committees all over the village or

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the town. I know that's certainly the case where

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I live. And so that idea of inclusion is actually

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taking stock when you're in these situations

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and on these committees of looking around the

00:14:09.379 --> 00:14:13.460
room and thinking, I know my community. And if

00:14:13.460 --> 00:14:16.360
you're on these committees, you tend to do know

00:14:16.360 --> 00:14:18.919
who you live around. And you sort of have to

00:14:18.919 --> 00:14:22.080
ask yourself, is everybody represented here?

00:14:22.139 --> 00:14:25.840
Have we made a real effort to think about making

00:14:25.840 --> 00:14:28.919
sure that everyone who should have a seat at

00:14:28.919 --> 00:14:31.580
the table does? They don't have to take that

00:14:31.580 --> 00:14:34.539
offer up, but they should always feel empowered

00:14:34.539 --> 00:14:39.639
to do so. A lot of my work looks at hidden diversity,

00:14:39.980 --> 00:14:42.799
particularly in rural areas. When we talk about

00:14:42.799 --> 00:14:46.399
EDI, I think it puts a lot of people on the back

00:14:46.399 --> 00:14:50.679
foot. And some of the responses we get when we

00:14:50.679 --> 00:14:55.299
talk about EDI to people looking to access Plunkett

00:14:55.299 --> 00:14:58.159
support, quite often we'll hear, oh, well, we

00:14:58.159 --> 00:15:00.600
live in a rural area. EDI doesn't really apply

00:15:00.600 --> 00:15:03.639
to us because ostensibly these communities from

00:15:03.639 --> 00:15:06.389
the outside all look very similar. But we're

00:15:06.389 --> 00:15:09.289
not necessarily talking about race or sexuality

00:15:09.289 --> 00:15:12.909
or gender. All of those things are incredibly

00:15:12.909 --> 00:15:15.629
important and should be a huge part of your inclusivity

00:15:15.629 --> 00:15:18.990
work. But we're also talking about single parent

00:15:18.990 --> 00:15:21.169
families. We're talking about care experience,

00:15:21.450 --> 00:15:24.389
young people who've grown up in the sort of fostering

00:15:24.389 --> 00:15:27.049
system and things like that. We're talking, I'm

00:15:27.049 --> 00:15:29.789
doing some work at the moment around young carers,

00:15:29.789 --> 00:15:31.590
so young people who are responsible for looking

00:15:31.590 --> 00:15:35.700
after older people in their home. And not even

00:15:35.700 --> 00:15:38.659
that, they're just around one of their caregivers

00:15:38.659 --> 00:15:41.200
might need constant care themselves as well.

00:15:41.279 --> 00:15:45.159
So when we talk about diversity and inclusion,

00:15:45.460 --> 00:15:48.379
it means making sure that the ex -armed forces

00:15:48.379 --> 00:15:51.019
personnel who might be dealing with psychological

00:15:51.019 --> 00:15:55.399
issues, having seen action for our armed forces,

00:15:55.620 --> 00:15:58.620
this is what inclusion means. It means knowing

00:15:58.620 --> 00:16:02.240
your community. and offering the opportunity

00:16:02.240 --> 00:16:05.679
for those people, should they wish to, to be

00:16:05.679 --> 00:16:07.980
part of it. Coming back to that idea, either

00:16:07.980 --> 00:16:11.539
as a shareholder, committee member, volunteer,

00:16:11.740 --> 00:16:15.279
staff, or even a customer, it's just removing

00:16:15.279 --> 00:16:18.019
those barriers to entry and making sure that

00:16:18.019 --> 00:16:20.860
whilst on the tin it says community -owned business,

00:16:21.120 --> 00:16:25.250
it's not... a clique of the usual people who

00:16:25.250 --> 00:16:27.049
are involved in these things. And that's not

00:16:27.049 --> 00:16:29.549
to denigrate those people at all. They give up

00:16:29.549 --> 00:16:31.409
their time and they make these projects tick,

00:16:31.509 --> 00:16:34.110
but we have to make sure we have a whole world

00:16:34.110 --> 00:16:36.190
view when it comes to the communities we live

00:16:36.190 --> 00:16:39.970
in. It's those quiet voices which are the most

00:16:39.970 --> 00:16:43.909
important and thinking about how you draw those

00:16:43.909 --> 00:16:47.269
out is one of the biggest challenges around this.

00:16:47.330 --> 00:16:50.340
So it's great. And we've got some... case studies

00:16:50.340 --> 00:16:53.740
of what we're talking to later in the podcast

00:16:53.740 --> 00:16:57.779
around a very clear model of rural community

00:16:57.779 --> 00:17:00.259
and how to run it and how to bring people around

00:17:00.259 --> 00:17:02.940
the table because you always get the doers you

00:17:02.940 --> 00:17:07.059
get the do -gooders you get the quiet voices

00:17:07.059 --> 00:17:09.640
and then you'll get your populists as i call

00:17:09.640 --> 00:17:11.740
them that always have lots of opinions about

00:17:11.740 --> 00:17:15.539
things but it's it's that ability to be active

00:17:15.539 --> 00:17:18.809
and for clear leadership to come through that's

00:17:18.809 --> 00:17:21.970
that's where this comes to life where successful

00:17:21.970 --> 00:17:25.029
models are delivered i would guess may i ask

00:17:25.029 --> 00:17:27.470
you about your your lived experience of this

00:17:27.470 --> 00:17:30.609
because you're from a rural background you based

00:17:30.609 --> 00:17:34.529
there i've lived with cerebral palsy since birth

00:17:34.529 --> 00:17:38.109
so i have some mobility issues they're not immediately

00:17:38.109 --> 00:17:40.829
obvious but if you saw me walking from a to b

00:17:40.829 --> 00:17:45.039
it would become quite obvious but if you ally

00:17:45.039 --> 00:17:47.339
that to living in a rural community it's been

00:17:47.339 --> 00:17:50.279
a very interesting experience for me I think

00:17:50.279 --> 00:17:53.220
when we first moved to where we live now one

00:17:53.220 --> 00:17:55.240
of the reasons we fell in love with the place

00:17:55.240 --> 00:17:57.759
was because of all the amazing things that happened

00:17:57.759 --> 00:18:00.240
and they largely happened because people gave

00:18:00.240 --> 00:18:02.619
up their time to make them happen they weren't

00:18:02.619 --> 00:18:06.400
being paid to do these things and I was lucky

00:18:06.400 --> 00:18:08.440
enough to be a stay -at -home parent at the time

00:18:09.039 --> 00:18:12.440
So I was able to volunteer and get involved with

00:18:12.440 --> 00:18:16.420
that stuff. And there were, from a very personal

00:18:16.420 --> 00:18:19.160
point of view, I ran the parent and toddler group,

00:18:19.200 --> 00:18:21.079
but there were bits I couldn't do within that.

00:18:21.180 --> 00:18:23.039
And so we rallied around as a team and filled

00:18:23.039 --> 00:18:25.700
in the gaps that I couldn't do. And this is what

00:18:25.700 --> 00:18:27.839
we mean when we talk about community -owned businesses

00:18:27.839 --> 00:18:31.529
and removing those barriers. So I think... I'm

00:18:31.529 --> 00:18:35.430
very lucky in that I've lived in a very supportive

00:18:35.430 --> 00:18:39.190
community who, by and large, all want the best

00:18:39.190 --> 00:18:41.529
for the people who live around here. You were

00:18:41.529 --> 00:18:44.670
right when you mentioned sort of the pub populist

00:18:44.670 --> 00:18:47.309
in that when you start a community project of

00:18:47.309 --> 00:18:48.769
this nature, you're always going to have these

00:18:48.769 --> 00:18:51.710
naysayers, oh, this will never work, and kind

00:18:51.710 --> 00:18:53.950
of keeping that transparency and just being as

00:18:53.950 --> 00:18:56.569
open about the project as you can and sort of

00:18:56.569 --> 00:18:59.230
relying on that transparency to sort of back

00:18:59.230 --> 00:19:02.180
up your argument. But as I say, The reason I

00:19:02.180 --> 00:19:04.660
ended up working for Plunkett or applying to

00:19:04.660 --> 00:19:07.880
work for Plunkett, I should say, is because the

00:19:07.880 --> 00:19:10.140
values that we've talked about already in terms

00:19:10.140 --> 00:19:14.140
of how we want our community businesses to succeed,

00:19:14.460 --> 00:19:17.559
those are things that are important to me. It's

00:19:17.559 --> 00:19:21.119
those opportunities for young people. It's making

00:19:21.119 --> 00:19:24.599
sure that older residents in the community are

00:19:24.599 --> 00:19:29.279
thought of and provided for in terms of what

00:19:29.279 --> 00:19:32.609
are we going to do? with the extra time we might

00:19:32.609 --> 00:19:34.809
have once we've retired? Are there things in

00:19:34.809 --> 00:19:38.589
place that are interesting, engaging? And so

00:19:38.589 --> 00:19:41.690
sort of finding myself working for an organisation

00:19:41.690 --> 00:19:45.509
that aligns with so much of my values has been

00:19:45.509 --> 00:19:48.630
one of the most rewarding parts of my life. Yeah,

00:19:48.690 --> 00:19:51.069
the whole thing's been a massive learning curve

00:19:51.069 --> 00:19:55.230
for me, but I think I work in a team that shares

00:19:55.230 --> 00:19:59.210
my values. I spoke recently at our... Impact

00:19:59.210 --> 00:20:02.369
Report launch in London as part of a wider panel.

00:20:02.670 --> 00:20:05.210
And I said at the time, I think Plunkett's the

00:20:05.210 --> 00:20:07.170
first time I've ever worked for an organisation

00:20:07.170 --> 00:20:09.609
where everybody truly believes in our mission

00:20:09.609 --> 00:20:12.009
and what we're trying to do. And it makes it

00:20:12.009 --> 00:20:15.109
really easy to go to work every day. Obviously,

00:20:15.230 --> 00:20:17.329
there's gripes about work, everyone has them.

00:20:17.410 --> 00:20:21.390
But we work in a very supportive, positive team,

00:20:21.490 --> 00:20:24.269
all who sort of share the same ideals. So I've

00:20:24.269 --> 00:20:27.589
been able to take... my experiences of community

00:20:27.589 --> 00:20:32.190
activity and turn that into a career. Very purpose

00:20:32.190 --> 00:20:35.890
-driven, George. I like it. Tell me a little

00:20:35.890 --> 00:20:37.690
bit about what's coming up next for Plunkett.

00:20:37.809 --> 00:20:41.630
I mentioned that we launched our impact report

00:20:41.630 --> 00:20:43.309
last week and you've touched on that as well,

00:20:43.349 --> 00:20:46.970
James. We were really lucky. We were able to

00:20:46.970 --> 00:20:50.289
do it at the Shard in London, which was an amazing

00:20:50.289 --> 00:20:52.750
experience. I'd never been there. And to have

00:20:52.750 --> 00:20:54.890
those views over London and be surrounded by

00:20:54.890 --> 00:20:57.490
all of these amazing community businesses and

00:20:57.490 --> 00:21:00.710
people who really are working hard to make a

00:21:00.710 --> 00:21:02.509
difference. So that was really cool. But in the

00:21:02.509 --> 00:21:05.549
future, in just under two weeks, we have our

00:21:05.549 --> 00:21:08.170
Rural Community Business Awards, which we do

00:21:08.170 --> 00:21:10.940
every year. And for the last few years, We've

00:21:10.940 --> 00:21:13.680
hosted that at the Royal Society of Chemistry.

00:21:13.920 --> 00:21:15.839
One of the plus points about working at Plunkett

00:21:15.839 --> 00:21:17.859
is you get to see the inside of some really interesting

00:21:17.859 --> 00:21:21.259
spaces that you might not do otherwise. So our

00:21:21.259 --> 00:21:24.740
awards are to shine a light on our member businesses

00:21:24.740 --> 00:21:28.440
who are making a difference, really. There's

00:21:28.440 --> 00:21:30.940
lots of different categories around our areas

00:21:30.940 --> 00:21:34.039
of impact and also celebrating those individuals

00:21:34.039 --> 00:21:38.019
who really go the extra mile to make a difference.

00:21:38.640 --> 00:21:41.279
So, yeah, really looking forward to that. We're

00:21:41.279 --> 00:21:43.859
about to enter into our new strategy period.

00:21:44.019 --> 00:21:46.660
This year saw the end of our last strategy period.

00:21:47.000 --> 00:21:49.480
And whilst we're not really – I don't think –

00:21:49.660 --> 00:21:51.940
We're changing a huge amount. There'll be little

00:21:51.940 --> 00:21:54.920
tweaks about what we really focus on. I probably,

00:21:55.119 --> 00:21:56.980
I don't know if I'm meant to be mentioning this,

00:21:57.019 --> 00:21:59.019
so I will keep it as vague as possible, James.

00:21:59.140 --> 00:22:03.700
But yeah, that's what's coming up. So our focus

00:22:03.700 --> 00:22:06.619
is currently on the awards. And personally, I'll

00:22:06.619 --> 00:22:09.440
be up at Glasgow in August for the Development

00:22:09.440 --> 00:22:12.140
Trust Association Scotland Conference, which

00:22:12.140 --> 00:22:15.039
I went to last year. Plug Kit works all over

00:22:15.039 --> 00:22:18.920
the UK and some of my job is working with the

00:22:18.920 --> 00:22:21.380
Devolved Nations. So I love having the opportunity

00:22:21.380 --> 00:22:24.279
to go up to Scotland, spend time there. I'm actually

00:22:24.279 --> 00:22:26.839
going up with my family beforehand as well to

00:22:26.839 --> 00:22:29.079
spend a little bit of time up there and to visit

00:22:29.079 --> 00:22:31.240
a couple of community owned businesses we work

00:22:31.240 --> 00:22:34.599
with too. How can people engage in this if they

00:22:34.599 --> 00:22:37.900
really wanted to take a community shop or pub

00:22:37.900 --> 00:22:41.250
model forward? The amount of work involved in

00:22:41.250 --> 00:22:43.650
setting up a community business can't be understated.

00:22:44.250 --> 00:22:48.089
But we support nearly 900 community -owned businesses

00:22:48.089 --> 00:22:50.690
all over the UK, with another 1 ,000 in the pipeline.

00:22:51.269 --> 00:22:54.170
34 new businesses opened in the last 12 months.

00:22:54.529 --> 00:22:58.049
It is absolutely achievable. And I think that's...

00:22:58.049 --> 00:23:01.029
When you start out on these projects, the thing

00:23:01.029 --> 00:23:05.000
to remember is, it is... achievable we've had

00:23:05.000 --> 00:23:07.059
projects that started in less than six months

00:23:07.059 --> 00:23:10.180
we've had projects that's taken 15 years to open

00:23:10.180 --> 00:23:14.220
you can run the gamut of all kinds of time and

00:23:14.220 --> 00:23:18.680
challenges but if people are really keen on starting

00:23:18.680 --> 00:23:21.099
a project of this nature or getting involved

00:23:21.099 --> 00:23:25.640
in it the key thing to remember is involving

00:23:25.640 --> 00:23:29.319
everybody when you first get in touch with plunkett

00:23:29.319 --> 00:23:32.920
to sort of knock around the idea of a community

00:23:32.920 --> 00:23:34.720
-owned business and have a think about how that

00:23:34.720 --> 00:23:37.779
might work we ask groups to hit evidential markers

00:23:37.779 --> 00:23:41.940
to access our support and the first one is very

00:23:41.940 --> 00:23:44.299
simple it's forming a steering group of no fewer

00:23:44.299 --> 00:23:47.519
than three locally rooted people to take the

00:23:47.519 --> 00:23:50.680
project forward for the first 12 months we ask

00:23:50.680 --> 00:23:53.519
you to consider other organizations and businesses

00:23:53.519 --> 00:23:57.099
that might be impacted by your plans so get out

00:23:57.099 --> 00:23:59.579
there and have a chat with anyone who you think

00:23:59.579 --> 00:24:02.279
might have an influence, well, not an influence

00:24:02.279 --> 00:24:04.440
necessarily, but as I say, might be impacted

00:24:04.440 --> 00:24:06.299
by it. Because one of the things to remember

00:24:06.299 --> 00:24:09.019
is you don't want to be duplicating work. So

00:24:09.019 --> 00:24:11.539
if another organisation is doing X, Y and Z when

00:24:11.539 --> 00:24:14.799
it comes to that idea of more than and offering

00:24:14.799 --> 00:24:17.019
more to a service, there's no point doing it

00:24:17.019 --> 00:24:20.119
twice. So make sure your activities are dovetailing

00:24:20.119 --> 00:24:22.900
with what already exists. But the last one, and

00:24:22.900 --> 00:24:26.279
this is really, really key. And unless Plunkett

00:24:26.279 --> 00:24:28.940
sees evidence that you've done this, we won't

00:24:28.940 --> 00:24:31.579
be able to help you. is the idea of community

00:24:31.579 --> 00:24:34.359
consultation and we can provide all manner of

00:24:34.359 --> 00:24:37.140
resources to assist with this but it's getting

00:24:37.140 --> 00:24:40.819
out putting feet on the ground and going and

00:24:40.819 --> 00:24:44.900
speaking to people in your area about developing

00:24:44.900 --> 00:24:48.420
that appetite for that wide open democratic model

00:24:48.420 --> 00:24:51.460
of ownership if you can demonstrate to us that

00:24:51.460 --> 00:24:53.880
you've done these three things we can give you

00:24:53.880 --> 00:24:57.279
access to early stages planning looking at business

00:24:57.279 --> 00:24:59.880
planning and things like that sort of feasibility

00:24:59.880 --> 00:25:03.809
stuff But yeah, we need to know that the community

00:25:03.809 --> 00:25:06.069
supports it and also that the opportunity is

00:25:06.069 --> 00:25:08.250
realistically there. So if you get in touch with

00:25:08.250 --> 00:25:10.309
us and say, we'd like to take our pub into community

00:25:10.309 --> 00:25:12.750
ownership, but it's not on the market for sale,

00:25:12.910 --> 00:25:14.750
there's not a lot we can really do about that.

00:25:14.789 --> 00:25:18.930
We can't force people to sell pubs. We find that

00:25:18.930 --> 00:25:21.380
a lot of our work starts... through necessity.

00:25:21.579 --> 00:25:23.640
People get in touch, the shop's about to shut,

00:25:23.759 --> 00:25:27.200
the pub's about to close. In some cases, in danger

00:25:27.200 --> 00:25:29.559
of redevelopment. In other cases, it might just

00:25:29.559 --> 00:25:32.680
be the current incumbent wants to retire, wants

00:25:32.680 --> 00:25:36.480
to move away, but actually wants to see the business

00:25:36.480 --> 00:25:39.220
continue, but in community ownership. One of

00:25:39.220 --> 00:25:42.140
the things that our impact report touched on

00:25:42.140 --> 00:25:44.440
as well is the growth of the sector in general.

00:25:44.579 --> 00:25:46.519
People are starting to understand the community

00:25:46.519 --> 00:25:50.000
ownership model more. And with those survival

00:25:50.000 --> 00:25:53.140
rates I touched on earlier, it really is a viable

00:25:53.140 --> 00:25:56.519
model and it has a long -term success rate and

00:25:56.519 --> 00:25:59.319
it does change communities and it changes lives.

00:25:59.660 --> 00:26:01.880
Do you have any favourite, you talked about going

00:26:01.880 --> 00:26:04.019
up to Scotland and taking the family and going

00:26:04.019 --> 00:26:05.819
and dropping in on a few projects, but do you

00:26:05.819 --> 00:26:10.019
have any standout projects which you... close

00:26:10.019 --> 00:26:12.940
to you and your values and you love them very

00:26:12.940 --> 00:26:16.680
much it's a bit like having kids you sort of

00:26:16.680 --> 00:26:19.400
you love them all dearly but sometimes there

00:26:19.400 --> 00:26:22.259
are moments where you do get frustrated and you

00:26:22.259 --> 00:26:25.299
I think if I had to look at community businesses

00:26:25.299 --> 00:26:28.400
that have really stood out to me it tends to

00:26:28.400 --> 00:26:31.960
be a mixture of things it tends to be ones I

00:26:31.960 --> 00:26:34.740
have worked with for a long time so those ones

00:26:34.740 --> 00:26:38.079
I started working with when I began on my Plunkett

00:26:38.079 --> 00:26:41.660
journey if you like and it's those ones who are

00:26:41.660 --> 00:26:44.680
really making a difference in those communities

00:26:44.680 --> 00:26:48.819
so one that touches on both I did some filming

00:26:48.819 --> 00:26:52.039
very early on in my Plunkett career and it was

00:26:52.039 --> 00:26:54.420
around a project called I Will and it was getting

00:26:54.420 --> 00:26:56.660
young people more involved in community -owned

00:26:56.660 --> 00:27:01.279
businesses and It was a pub in Staffordshire

00:27:01.279 --> 00:27:03.839
called the Auctioneer's Arms, and it was managed

00:27:03.839 --> 00:27:07.200
by a gentleman, Terry Rogers, who has a history

00:27:07.200 --> 00:27:10.380
of working in the hospitality industry. And he

00:27:10.380 --> 00:27:13.039
worked very closely with the pub committee and

00:27:13.039 --> 00:27:16.599
has just offered a lot of young people, sometimes

00:27:16.599 --> 00:27:19.579
who have had many, many barriers to get over,

00:27:19.680 --> 00:27:23.200
to just get to a point where they can comfortably

00:27:23.200 --> 00:27:26.160
go to work every day. He's given a lot of young

00:27:26.160 --> 00:27:29.259
people that entry into the hospitality industry.

00:27:29.440 --> 00:27:31.539
There was one young lady, we made a film about

00:27:31.539 --> 00:27:36.400
her, Tilly, who had crippling anxiety. And her

00:27:36.400 --> 00:27:38.700
mum organised a job for her working in the pot

00:27:38.700 --> 00:27:41.119
wash at the auctioneer's arms. And to begin with,

00:27:41.160 --> 00:27:45.059
Tilly would go into work. do her job, never leave

00:27:45.059 --> 00:27:46.960
the pot wash, never speak to anybody, never eat,

00:27:47.039 --> 00:27:49.500
never drink, and then go home again. And as time

00:27:49.500 --> 00:27:51.599
progressed, she came out of her shell and felt

00:27:51.599 --> 00:27:53.720
more comfortable there. Tilly's now the deputy

00:27:53.720 --> 00:27:56.460
manager of the pub. She's got a number of hospitality

00:27:56.460 --> 00:27:59.119
qualifications, all supported by the pub and

00:27:59.119 --> 00:28:01.779
paid for by the pub for her to achieve. She's

00:28:01.779 --> 00:28:04.200
spoken at our national conference, and she's

00:28:04.200 --> 00:28:06.519
spoken at a huge event called Anthropy that happens

00:28:06.519 --> 00:28:09.539
every year down in Cornwall, all in support of

00:28:09.539 --> 00:28:13.829
what Plunkett do. And so that's one that really

00:28:13.829 --> 00:28:17.210
resonates with me. And there is one, and I suspect

00:28:17.210 --> 00:28:19.509
this is going to come up later on, is a shop

00:28:19.509 --> 00:28:22.549
called Bishop Wilton in Yorkshire, not far from

00:28:22.549 --> 00:28:25.750
you. And they have done, in fact, they won our

00:28:25.750 --> 00:28:28.470
Keeping It Local Award last year at the Rural

00:28:28.470 --> 00:28:31.710
Community Business Awards. And their work with

00:28:31.710 --> 00:28:37.259
local suppliers has been exemplary. They are

00:28:37.259 --> 00:28:39.819
always going the extra mile to look for new partnerships.

00:28:40.119 --> 00:28:43.759
The shop manager, Anna, does a lot of that work

00:28:43.759 --> 00:28:46.440
herself. But also what it's done is it's given

00:28:46.440 --> 00:28:48.599
people an opportunity to grow their own businesses.

00:28:48.599 --> 00:28:51.420
I think from memory, there was an individual

00:28:51.420 --> 00:28:54.839
who was baking cakes for the shop who now does

00:28:54.839 --> 00:28:57.779
it as a business in their own right. So something

00:28:57.779 --> 00:29:00.460
that started as a very sort of simple helping

00:29:00.460 --> 00:29:02.339
out has now become a sort of cottage industry,

00:29:02.460 --> 00:29:05.859
if you like. And it's that boosting the local

00:29:05.859 --> 00:29:08.480
economy, again, through localised supply chains.

00:29:08.579 --> 00:29:10.880
Or if we go back to the auctioneer's arms, putting

00:29:10.880 --> 00:29:13.660
money in the pockets of young people who work

00:29:13.660 --> 00:29:16.539
for the pub. And just to touch on the auctioneer's

00:29:16.539 --> 00:29:18.779
arms again, they have a team of 21 people, all

00:29:18.779 --> 00:29:21.220
of whom live within a mile of the pub, which

00:29:21.220 --> 00:29:23.799
I think is an incredible, incredible feat of

00:29:23.799 --> 00:29:26.559
recruitment and just shows the impact these can

00:29:26.559 --> 00:29:28.880
have on a hyper -local level. Thanks for mentioning

00:29:28.880 --> 00:29:30.799
Bishop Milton. We're going to come on to that

00:29:30.799 --> 00:29:33.279
next. But I think that's a really good example

00:29:33.279 --> 00:29:37.440
of somewhere that has worked really hard at a

00:29:37.440 --> 00:29:41.740
time of challenge around the pandemic and COVID

00:29:41.740 --> 00:29:46.099
and what happened to communities where they desperately

00:29:46.099 --> 00:29:49.180
needed that resource and everybody just got behind

00:29:49.180 --> 00:29:52.859
it. It was a really lovely example of how communities

00:29:52.859 --> 00:29:57.069
can just chip away and support each other. and

00:29:57.069 --> 00:29:58.890
create those spaces. So I think it's a great

00:29:58.890 --> 00:30:01.750
project for us to feature here. George, what

00:30:01.750 --> 00:30:04.009
are your thoughts on the future of community

00:30:04.009 --> 00:30:06.509
-owned? Is this something that we need to see

00:30:06.509 --> 00:30:10.670
more of in the UK? I'm quite the evangelist when

00:30:10.670 --> 00:30:13.569
it comes to this as a model. I've seen it work

00:30:13.569 --> 00:30:16.430
and I've seen the difference it makes. I'm at

00:30:16.430 --> 00:30:19.470
pains to point out that this is my view, but

00:30:19.470 --> 00:30:23.789
I think community -owned businesses fill holes

00:30:23.789 --> 00:30:26.759
that should be filled. at a much higher level

00:30:26.759 --> 00:30:29.339
but the fact that those holes need to be filled

00:30:29.339 --> 00:30:31.720
and will continue need to continue to need to

00:30:31.720 --> 00:30:36.339
be filled means that community ownership is vital

00:30:36.339 --> 00:30:39.960
particularly in rural communities it always comes

00:30:39.960 --> 00:30:42.160
back to that thing we touched on that that paucity

00:30:42.160 --> 00:30:45.859
of service paucity of services and sort of poverty

00:30:45.859 --> 00:30:49.759
of opportunity And without community -owned businesses,

00:30:49.980 --> 00:30:53.140
that poverty is only going to increase. There's

00:30:53.140 --> 00:30:55.900
a real misconception that everyone who lives

00:30:55.900 --> 00:30:59.359
in a rural community has some degree of comfort

00:30:59.359 --> 00:31:02.759
in life and a good amount of money. I live in

00:31:02.759 --> 00:31:05.319
a very outwardly affluent area, but there are

00:31:05.319 --> 00:31:08.279
pockets of absolute poverty where I live. But

00:31:08.279 --> 00:31:10.589
because it doesn't look... like it does and it

00:31:10.589 --> 00:31:13.170
looks like quite a quite an affluent place that

00:31:13.170 --> 00:31:15.549
often gets swept under the carpet we see that

00:31:15.549 --> 00:31:18.309
with funding issues i think if we look at we

00:31:18.309 --> 00:31:21.309
look at funds historically they're often and

00:31:21.309 --> 00:31:25.349
understandably so and i i don't it's not it's

00:31:25.349 --> 00:31:28.789
not to denigrate the fact that urban projects

00:31:28.789 --> 00:31:32.470
get more of this funding it's absolutely necessary

00:31:32.470 --> 00:31:36.410
in urban areas But I think rural areas miss out

00:31:36.410 --> 00:31:38.589
on a lot of those opportunities because of the

00:31:38.589 --> 00:31:41.930
misconception I mentioned earlier. It was revealed

00:31:41.930 --> 00:31:44.950
in a study that a person growing up in a rural

00:31:44.950 --> 00:31:47.789
area in poverty is five times less likely to

00:31:47.789 --> 00:31:50.509
go to university than an urban counterpart. And

00:31:50.509 --> 00:31:53.910
that's simply for... that lack of services and

00:31:53.910 --> 00:31:56.569
lack of opportunity. So we're talking about poor

00:31:56.569 --> 00:31:59.650
public transport, poor internet services, poor

00:31:59.650 --> 00:32:02.470
job opportunities. A lot of schemes that support

00:32:02.470 --> 00:32:05.549
young people in poverty are very urban -led.

00:32:06.279 --> 00:32:10.059
And again, to reiterate, they do amazing, amazing

00:32:10.059 --> 00:32:12.960
work, but rural communities are being left behind.

00:32:13.160 --> 00:32:15.180
And that's where community -owned businesses

00:32:15.180 --> 00:32:18.680
come in and sort of fill that void in so many

00:32:18.680 --> 00:32:21.220
cases. So in terms of the future and the importance

00:32:21.220 --> 00:32:23.839
of community -owned businesses, I can't state

00:32:23.839 --> 00:32:28.019
strongly enough how vital the work they do is

00:32:28.019 --> 00:32:31.789
and how... how it's imperative that it continues.

00:32:32.349 --> 00:32:35.430
George, thank you very much for chatting to us

00:32:35.430 --> 00:32:41.170
today. Now, let's go to the micro and talk to

00:32:41.170 --> 00:32:43.609
Colin Pollock from Bishop Wilton Community Shop

00:32:43.609 --> 00:32:46.930
and Cafe. Colin, welcome. We are going to talk

00:32:46.930 --> 00:32:49.890
today about Bishop Wilton Community Shop. So

00:32:49.890 --> 00:32:53.789
tell me about how this came about. What's the

00:32:53.789 --> 00:32:57.380
backstory to it? Bishop Wilton, small village

00:32:57.380 --> 00:33:00.519
at the foot of the East Yorkshire Walls, nearest

00:33:00.519 --> 00:33:02.500
town's Pocklington, about four or five miles

00:33:02.500 --> 00:33:05.680
away, and Stamford Bridge, same distance. About

00:33:05.680 --> 00:33:09.079
500 souls live here, and it's always had a village

00:33:09.079 --> 00:33:12.619
shop in one way or another over the years of

00:33:12.619 --> 00:33:16.559
varying sorts, but 2018, the owner of the current

00:33:16.559 --> 00:33:19.559
village shop at that point was a chap called

00:33:19.559 --> 00:33:23.539
Alec, who'd retired, basically, and he decided...

00:33:24.349 --> 00:33:26.690
that that was his time to close the shop. And

00:33:26.690 --> 00:33:28.410
it kind of hit the village pretty hard in the

00:33:28.410 --> 00:33:30.769
sense that being a small village shop, it was

00:33:30.769 --> 00:33:33.809
missed immediately. And a group of villagers

00:33:33.809 --> 00:33:36.309
got together very soon after the shop closed

00:33:36.309 --> 00:33:39.150
saying, there must be something we can do to

00:33:39.150 --> 00:33:43.930
help replace that void. And so that was 2018.

00:33:44.190 --> 00:33:48.930
And between 2018, 2020, there was a lot of hard

00:33:48.930 --> 00:33:51.309
work from people in the village. Small working

00:33:51.309 --> 00:33:55.079
groups were formed. Villages were canvassed,

00:33:55.079 --> 00:33:58.599
we had open meetings. And once there was a general

00:33:58.599 --> 00:34:02.500
feeling there was enough support, both emotional,

00:34:02.880 --> 00:34:05.759
moral and physical, to see what we could do to

00:34:05.759 --> 00:34:08.460
try and open our own shop, a working group was

00:34:08.460 --> 00:34:12.159
formed and it became clear that there were two

00:34:12.159 --> 00:34:14.579
major things really. One is to find some premises

00:34:14.579 --> 00:34:17.760
and two is to raise some funds. And so that's

00:34:17.760 --> 00:34:20.420
where a lot of the hard work went in in those

00:34:20.420 --> 00:34:24.469
two years. and also with some successful fund

00:34:24.469 --> 00:34:28.929
grant applications, we managed to raise sort

00:34:28.929 --> 00:34:33.170
of £70 ,000 and were able to find a premises

00:34:33.170 --> 00:34:37.309
which, again, totally fortuitously, somebody

00:34:37.309 --> 00:34:38.789
who lived in the village, a member of their family,

00:34:38.849 --> 00:34:42.469
were willing to buy it on our behalf and basically

00:34:42.469 --> 00:34:45.369
charge us a peppercorn rent for the first five

00:34:45.369 --> 00:34:48.750
years. And we could therefore spend... most of

00:34:48.750 --> 00:34:52.170
the funds that we'd raised to refurbish and stock

00:34:52.170 --> 00:34:55.050
the shop. Essentially, in the start of 2020,

00:34:55.289 --> 00:34:58.889
we had a working model, we had a refurbished

00:34:58.889 --> 00:35:02.230
shop, we had a rented property, which wasn't

00:35:02.230 --> 00:35:03.730
going to cost us an awful lot because of the

00:35:03.730 --> 00:35:07.190
peppercorn rent, and we were able to open at

00:35:07.190 --> 00:35:11.429
the end of January 2020. Six years plus on, we're

00:35:11.429 --> 00:35:14.869
still here and thriving. And of course, you were

00:35:14.869 --> 00:35:18.719
hit by a certain... milestone in 2020? Well,

00:35:18.739 --> 00:35:21.059
in that final six to eight weeks over the Christmas

00:35:21.059 --> 00:35:24.760
and the January period, 2019 Christmas, 2020

00:35:24.760 --> 00:35:27.480
January, we're obviously aware of what was going

00:35:27.480 --> 00:35:30.679
on around the world with horror stories about

00:35:30.679 --> 00:35:34.179
COVID. We obviously had that in mind, but we

00:35:34.179 --> 00:35:36.420
just thought we've got to go ahead. The paint's

00:35:36.420 --> 00:35:40.559
wet. We've started buying the stock. And so we

00:35:40.559 --> 00:35:42.099
opened the shop thinking, well, what will be,

00:35:42.159 --> 00:35:44.719
will be. And that was end of January. And then

00:35:44.719 --> 00:35:47.320
within eight weeks, We had the national lockdown.

00:35:48.239 --> 00:35:52.800
So we immediately plunged into operating in a

00:35:52.800 --> 00:35:55.420
totally different business model, if you like.

00:35:55.639 --> 00:36:00.320
We were all naive. Very, very few of us, only

00:36:00.320 --> 00:36:03.019
one person got any kind of experience in retail

00:36:03.019 --> 00:36:07.599
wholesale. And so we were literally flying blind

00:36:07.599 --> 00:36:11.019
as to how we would cope with the whole supply

00:36:11.019 --> 00:36:16.480
chain across the world falling apart. So we learned

00:36:16.480 --> 00:36:20.179
a lot very quickly. We also learned that local

00:36:20.179 --> 00:36:22.820
suppliers are extraordinary. That was one of

00:36:22.820 --> 00:36:24.780
our premises when we first started. We wanted

00:36:24.780 --> 00:36:27.619
to be a local shop with local suppliers. And

00:36:27.619 --> 00:36:31.000
to this day, we pride ourselves in how close

00:36:31.000 --> 00:36:33.539
we keep the number of food miles. And those local

00:36:33.539 --> 00:36:36.960
suppliers, they went above and beyond to try

00:36:36.960 --> 00:36:39.219
and make sure that as a new enterprise, as a

00:36:39.219 --> 00:36:42.039
new local shop, we would keep going with the

00:36:42.039 --> 00:36:44.780
suppliers as best we could. And with the organisation

00:36:44.780 --> 00:36:47.539
being volunteer run, we had a group of volunteers

00:36:47.539 --> 00:36:50.800
who were, A, everybody was scared. Nobody really

00:36:50.800 --> 00:36:53.119
knew what was happening. Because of my medical

00:36:53.119 --> 00:36:55.519
background, I was very involved in trying to

00:36:55.519 --> 00:36:59.639
put together a series of plans and arrangements

00:36:59.639 --> 00:37:01.900
in the shop to protect customers and protect

00:37:01.900 --> 00:37:05.280
volunteers, to make sure you were working within

00:37:05.280 --> 00:37:08.840
the law at all times. It was a bit of a wartime

00:37:08.840 --> 00:37:11.539
mentality. We all said, we'll get through it.

00:37:11.789 --> 00:37:13.829
And we did. I mean, we made mistakes. Things

00:37:13.829 --> 00:37:17.730
were difficult. But what came across very, very

00:37:17.730 --> 00:37:22.070
clearly from the off was that it was so fortuitous,

00:37:22.070 --> 00:37:23.929
particularly for vulnerable people in the community,

00:37:24.210 --> 00:37:28.090
that here we were being able to offer them some

00:37:28.090 --> 00:37:31.269
kind of support service for those who weren't

00:37:31.269 --> 00:37:34.030
able to go out, weren't able to go and do their,

00:37:34.130 --> 00:37:36.650
you know, once a week or whatever it was, twice

00:37:36.650 --> 00:37:39.760
a week shop in a local shop. And we kind of just

00:37:39.760 --> 00:37:42.099
buckled down and tried to do what we could with

00:37:42.099 --> 00:37:45.179
what supplies we could. I mean, ironically, and

00:37:45.179 --> 00:37:47.400
again, this is just down to pure luck and fortune,

00:37:47.460 --> 00:37:52.159
which I think is a theme that I've picked up

00:37:52.159 --> 00:37:54.960
over the last five to six years. One of our core

00:37:54.960 --> 00:37:57.619
members of the original working group committee,

00:37:57.900 --> 00:38:01.079
her family ran one of the country's biggest flower

00:38:01.079 --> 00:38:04.199
suppliers. And ironically, we became one of the

00:38:04.199 --> 00:38:07.219
very few places in Yorkshire. where we had a

00:38:07.219 --> 00:38:10.840
continual supply of flour. So we got known for

00:38:10.840 --> 00:38:12.219
the fact that people could actually come and

00:38:12.219 --> 00:38:14.599
get flour from us when every other shop in the

00:38:14.599 --> 00:38:18.260
area was having to beg, steal and borrow it.

00:38:18.659 --> 00:38:20.239
Do you think there's something interesting there

00:38:20.239 --> 00:38:25.400
about how rural communities respond because you

00:38:25.400 --> 00:38:29.019
realise how isolated individuals or families

00:38:29.019 --> 00:38:32.480
are, even though they feel quite connected when

00:38:32.480 --> 00:38:37.070
not in a wartime setting? Yeah. Yeah, I think

00:38:37.070 --> 00:38:39.010
that is one of the dangers of real communities,

00:38:39.110 --> 00:38:42.809
is that if there aren't cohesive forces to bring

00:38:42.809 --> 00:38:45.489
them together of whatever sort in communities,

00:38:45.650 --> 00:38:48.610
then it's very easy for people to be very lonely

00:38:48.610 --> 00:38:51.329
and isolated and therefore vulnerable in their

00:38:51.329 --> 00:38:55.070
own right. One of the kind of recurrent themes

00:38:55.070 --> 00:38:57.849
you hear people talking about when we get together

00:38:57.849 --> 00:39:00.530
as a community, the usual one is when we have

00:39:00.530 --> 00:39:03.269
our annual members meeting, is people say, I

00:39:03.269 --> 00:39:06.519
just know. so many more people now in this village

00:39:06.519 --> 00:39:09.900
because of the shop. I ever did. I'd lived in

00:39:09.900 --> 00:39:12.360
the village for 10 years and I didn't know this

00:39:12.360 --> 00:39:14.559
person, this person, this person, because it's

00:39:14.559 --> 00:39:16.840
very easy to be within your own small groups

00:39:16.840 --> 00:39:19.980
in a small rural community and not have that

00:39:19.980 --> 00:39:22.719
exposure for whatever reason with the wider community

00:39:22.719 --> 00:39:25.920
in that rural setting. So yes, I agree very much.

00:39:26.059 --> 00:39:28.539
So recently you've had... A couple of awards

00:39:28.539 --> 00:39:31.440
and lots of celebrations for your sixth birthday.

00:39:31.719 --> 00:39:34.139
Do you want to say a bit more about your reflections

00:39:34.139 --> 00:39:36.800
on that and how that makes you feel and what

00:39:36.800 --> 00:39:40.179
you've done collectively? Oh, immense pride.

00:39:40.440 --> 00:39:42.360
You know, when you do see the amount of work

00:39:42.360 --> 00:39:45.480
that people put in selflessly over the years,

00:39:45.559 --> 00:39:49.400
and then to have two awards, the East Raleigh

00:39:49.400 --> 00:39:52.559
and Yorkshire Council Chairman's Awards, 2023,

00:39:53.039 --> 00:39:56.289
we won the Community Group Award. Again, that

00:39:56.289 --> 00:39:58.809
was fantastic. A great time to celebrate and

00:39:58.809 --> 00:40:02.250
to allow people to go to the ceremony and be

00:40:02.250 --> 00:40:06.090
part of that. And then in 2026, we also won the

00:40:06.090 --> 00:40:09.190
same award, but in the Employee Group Under 50

00:40:09.190 --> 00:40:12.150
Award. So they were fantastic because it was,

00:40:12.210 --> 00:40:14.469
you know, we had a lot of support from local

00:40:14.469 --> 00:40:16.670
organisations, including the Israeli Yorkshire

00:40:16.670 --> 00:40:19.829
Council. So that was really nice for us to be

00:40:19.829 --> 00:40:22.670
part of that. We've been a finalist in Farm and

00:40:22.670 --> 00:40:25.949
Food, Farm Shop and Deli Awards nationally. we

00:40:25.949 --> 00:40:29.409
won in 2025 we won the plunkets award for keeping

00:40:29.409 --> 00:40:33.190
it local plunkets being a fantastic support organization

00:40:33.190 --> 00:40:36.369
nationally for all community businesses volunteer

00:40:36.369 --> 00:40:40.070
-run community businesses and i think the plunkets

00:40:40.070 --> 00:40:43.309
award was particularly good because they have

00:40:43.309 --> 00:40:45.809
been one of the main reasons why we're here because

00:40:45.809 --> 00:40:48.869
they've just offered us that sound advice that

00:40:48.869 --> 00:40:52.429
wisdom that guiding hand when we really had no

00:40:52.429 --> 00:40:54.809
idea what we were doing. I can't kind of laud

00:40:54.809 --> 00:40:58.070
them enough for what they do as a national organisation.

00:40:58.769 --> 00:41:01.650
And you did a lot of work on fundraising to get

00:41:01.650 --> 00:41:06.190
that initial pump priming, if you like, together.

00:41:06.730 --> 00:41:09.309
How difficult was that? And I'm also interested,

00:41:09.429 --> 00:41:13.110
how does the shop business model work with community

00:41:13.110 --> 00:41:16.269
shares? One of the very early decisions, again,

00:41:16.389 --> 00:41:18.809
advised by Plunkett at the time, was what was

00:41:18.809 --> 00:41:21.530
the trading model? What was the charitable model,

00:41:21.610 --> 00:41:24.210
if you like, that we would best work under? A

00:41:24.210 --> 00:41:27.849
very important piece of legislation, 2014 Community

00:41:27.849 --> 00:41:30.829
Benefit Societies Act, came into place, which

00:41:30.829 --> 00:41:33.769
essentially allowed a different model of operating

00:41:33.769 --> 00:41:37.710
as a business, but for the... prime purpose of

00:41:37.710 --> 00:41:39.750
supporting the community within which the business

00:41:39.750 --> 00:41:43.409
works so it was quite clear to us we needed to

00:41:43.409 --> 00:41:46.449
be a community benefit society it's not a charity

00:41:46.449 --> 00:41:49.469
we are governed and controlled by the by the

00:41:49.469 --> 00:41:53.269
fca and it allows us to trade as a business it

00:41:53.269 --> 00:41:55.869
allows us and the foundation of it is having

00:41:55.869 --> 00:41:59.090
a sharehold membership and that was the basis

00:41:59.090 --> 00:42:02.650
upon which we went out to villages and to people

00:42:02.650 --> 00:42:05.030
outside the village members of families who people

00:42:05.030 --> 00:42:06.889
lives in the village to say would you like to

00:42:06.889 --> 00:42:09.909
become a member shareholder of the bishop wilton

00:42:09.909 --> 00:42:13.630
community shop community benefits society and

00:42:13.630 --> 00:42:16.989
basically the way it works is you have it's a

00:42:16.989 --> 00:42:20.289
10 pound share offer and people can put in as

00:42:20.289 --> 00:42:23.130
much as they want as little as they want the

00:42:23.130 --> 00:42:25.630
important bit is the numbers of members you have

00:42:25.630 --> 00:42:28.110
we still each year find our membership going

00:42:28.110 --> 00:42:30.880
up and up and up i think last time i Looked at

00:42:30.880 --> 00:42:34.579
the figures, it's 282 members. And every single

00:42:34.579 --> 00:42:37.860
person who's a member gets regular updates on

00:42:37.860 --> 00:42:39.760
how the shop's doing, whether they live locally

00:42:39.760 --> 00:42:43.179
or live in Singapore or wherever they are. It's

00:42:43.179 --> 00:42:45.260
been part of the brand, really, about what the

00:42:45.260 --> 00:42:48.179
shop is all about. That was our main way of raising

00:42:48.179 --> 00:42:51.340
money right at the very start, plus some very

00:42:51.340 --> 00:42:53.840
good funding. We got through a number of different

00:42:53.840 --> 00:42:56.440
grants that we applied for. And any advice for

00:42:56.440 --> 00:42:59.699
people who are thinking about this? Applying

00:42:59.699 --> 00:43:03.019
for grants is one thing. There's mobilising the

00:43:03.019 --> 00:43:06.519
community behind it. Were there any challenges

00:43:06.519 --> 00:43:10.639
there, opportunities? I think when you look back,

00:43:10.739 --> 00:43:13.760
it's very to say, oh, it was fine. We knew the

00:43:13.760 --> 00:43:16.159
money would come in. You've just got to really

00:43:16.159 --> 00:43:18.340
keep saying the message and you've just got to

00:43:18.340 --> 00:43:21.300
keep promoting what you're there about. And whilst

00:43:21.300 --> 00:43:24.199
some grant funding can give you a nice solid

00:43:24.199 --> 00:43:27.440
base, what you're really after is that buy -in

00:43:27.440 --> 00:43:31.739
from local people. And inevitably, I think there

00:43:31.739 --> 00:43:33.400
are people who weren't quite sure what it was

00:43:33.400 --> 00:43:35.940
all about. People who thought, you know, well,

00:43:36.039 --> 00:43:38.719
is this something we can really make work in

00:43:38.719 --> 00:43:41.539
a small village like this? And I think you just

00:43:41.539 --> 00:43:43.800
need a core number of people who just keep saying

00:43:43.800 --> 00:43:46.340
the message and believing in it. Our membership's

00:43:46.340 --> 00:43:49.179
grown since we've opened. We knew we needed a

00:43:49.179 --> 00:43:52.219
core number of shareholders and a core amount

00:43:52.219 --> 00:43:56.260
of membership funding. We knew that some people

00:43:56.260 --> 00:43:58.500
would go above and beyond the £10, and they did.

00:43:59.000 --> 00:44:01.840
You just have to hope that those individuals

00:44:01.840 --> 00:44:04.719
will stand up and be counted. We got a lot of

00:44:04.719 --> 00:44:07.960
support from local businesses as well. Again,

00:44:08.059 --> 00:44:11.460
we are fortunate in having quite a big local

00:44:11.460 --> 00:44:16.400
landowner in the village, a big employer and

00:44:16.400 --> 00:44:19.099
a big business. And they have been terrific in

00:44:19.099 --> 00:44:21.460
supporting us all the way from the start because

00:44:21.460 --> 00:44:23.599
I think they could see it was a win -win for

00:44:23.599 --> 00:44:27.159
them having a thriving shop in the local area.

00:44:27.639 --> 00:44:29.340
for the people who work for the local estate

00:44:29.340 --> 00:44:31.960
to be able to use. That felt like a collaborative,

00:44:32.159 --> 00:44:35.599
cooperative approach to enhancing what the community

00:44:35.599 --> 00:44:39.079
was offering. Are there any memorable stories

00:44:39.079 --> 00:44:42.559
or anecdotes about where you thought we've really

00:44:42.559 --> 00:44:45.260
achieved what we set out to? COVID in its own

00:44:45.260 --> 00:44:47.900
right was amazing. I remember being on shift

00:44:47.900 --> 00:44:50.980
one day, some local teenagers just came in and

00:44:50.980 --> 00:44:53.179
we got, luckily, part of our refurbishment, we

00:44:53.179 --> 00:44:56.340
put a mezzanine in, which we wanted to be a kind

00:44:56.340 --> 00:44:59.369
of... just a sort of breakaway small area people

00:44:59.369 --> 00:45:02.590
could come and sit and talk and meet. And some

00:45:02.590 --> 00:45:04.750
teenagers came in and just sat doing their homework

00:45:04.750 --> 00:45:08.449
and they were chatting away. And it was quite

00:45:08.449 --> 00:45:11.150
clear that that was something that they really

00:45:11.150 --> 00:45:14.289
valued as a local hub. And we keep promoting

00:45:14.289 --> 00:45:17.150
ourselves as not just a shop, but we're a hub

00:45:17.150 --> 00:45:20.190
as well for people to get together. We've got

00:45:20.190 --> 00:45:23.170
groups of men that get together every Tuesday

00:45:23.170 --> 00:45:26.989
and meet for coffee and just sit and talk. Effectually,

00:45:26.989 --> 00:45:28.590
you know, as the grumpy gits, because, you know,

00:45:28.630 --> 00:45:31.230
all men are all grumpy gits. But, you know, but

00:45:31.230 --> 00:45:33.650
I think they get a lot of support from each other.

00:45:33.789 --> 00:45:35.929
And if a cash and carry delivery comes in in

00:45:35.929 --> 00:45:38.210
the middle of them having their coffees, they're

00:45:38.210 --> 00:45:39.829
up and they're helping take it all upstairs,

00:45:40.289 --> 00:45:43.510
things like that. So it's those little, very

00:45:43.510 --> 00:45:45.489
intangible things that you see in the shop. You

00:45:45.489 --> 00:45:49.059
think, that's exactly why we're here. Again,

00:45:49.059 --> 00:45:51.579
speaking very personally, there was a customer

00:45:51.579 --> 00:45:53.679
I was quite concerned about late one night. This

00:45:53.679 --> 00:45:56.179
was the middle of the winter. We shut about half

00:45:56.179 --> 00:45:58.420
five at night and she'd been in the shop from

00:45:58.420 --> 00:46:00.599
about half past four, kind of minding her own

00:46:00.599 --> 00:46:03.039
business. But I was quite worried about her because

00:46:03.039 --> 00:46:06.300
she didn't seem at all herself. And it was very

00:46:06.300 --> 00:46:08.119
clear that she was quite a long way from home.

00:46:09.000 --> 00:46:11.940
Myself and the manager, Anna, we both basically

00:46:11.940 --> 00:46:14.940
ended up calling the police and thankfully managing

00:46:14.940 --> 00:46:17.059
to find out where this lady eventually lived.

00:46:17.679 --> 00:46:20.420
She was very vulnerable without going into details.

00:46:20.880 --> 00:46:23.679
And we were able to make sure she got back home

00:46:23.679 --> 00:46:26.780
safely that night. So, you know, that kind of

00:46:26.780 --> 00:46:29.099
thing, if you were pushing to get the shop shut,

00:46:29.219 --> 00:46:31.179
you'd have just been kicking out the door and

00:46:31.179 --> 00:46:34.119
whatever. So I think things like that, to me,

00:46:34.320 --> 00:46:37.260
are the essence of why that shop is different

00:46:37.260 --> 00:46:39.260
to any other corner shop that you've got. Because

00:46:39.260 --> 00:46:41.840
we do actually quite care about people who come

00:46:41.840 --> 00:46:44.980
into the shop and why they're there. Yeah, absolutely.

00:46:45.929 --> 00:46:48.590
Tell me about what's coming up with the shop.

00:46:48.650 --> 00:46:51.329
Any big plans for the future? One of our strengths

00:46:51.329 --> 00:46:55.250
is that we are in an amazing, it's an old primitive

00:46:55.250 --> 00:46:58.869
Methodist chapel. And it's quite a glorious building.

00:46:59.030 --> 00:47:02.150
It's been refurbished. We opened it all up. We've

00:47:02.150 --> 00:47:05.610
got nice mezzanine windows and velixes. And it's

00:47:05.610 --> 00:47:08.610
a lovely, lovely space. Very welcoming. It's

00:47:08.610 --> 00:47:11.769
also part of our challenge is the building. It's

00:47:11.769 --> 00:47:14.750
old. We are... totally push for space all the

00:47:14.750 --> 00:47:17.989
time. We don't have really any outside storage

00:47:17.989 --> 00:47:20.989
at all. We beg, borrow storage from villagers

00:47:20.989 --> 00:47:24.909
for our coal and logs and things like that. And

00:47:24.909 --> 00:47:27.590
so just practically just getting stuff into the

00:47:27.590 --> 00:47:29.190
shop from where it's sold in the village can

00:47:29.190 --> 00:47:31.929
be difficult. So space is a big problem for us.

00:47:32.010 --> 00:47:35.639
We have the great fortune. The original owners

00:47:35.639 --> 00:47:38.039
of the shop who bought it from the previous shop

00:47:38.039 --> 00:47:40.500
owner let us have it basically peppercorn rent

00:47:40.500 --> 00:47:42.840
free. They were very willing to sell the shop

00:47:42.840 --> 00:47:45.559
to us when we had enough money. And we've luckily

00:47:45.559 --> 00:47:48.760
made enough money in our reserves to be able

00:47:48.760 --> 00:47:51.320
to buy the shop off the previous owner. So now

00:47:51.320 --> 00:47:54.719
the shop is ours. And that is a very important

00:47:54.719 --> 00:47:56.960
symbolic thing for us as a community. It's now

00:47:56.960 --> 00:47:59.920
become a community asset, as well as our village

00:47:59.920 --> 00:48:02.260
hall, the church, obviously things like that,

00:48:02.300 --> 00:48:06.260
and the school. So it adds to our capacity, capital,

00:48:06.460 --> 00:48:09.800
I should say, as a village. The other big practical

00:48:09.800 --> 00:48:12.340
thing it does for us is it means that if we want

00:48:12.340 --> 00:48:14.900
to do any refurbishments in the shop, the money

00:48:14.900 --> 00:48:18.260
that we put in from the members' funds, the shares,

00:48:18.400 --> 00:48:21.500
into refurbishing, it's likely we'll get that

00:48:21.500 --> 00:48:24.159
back because it will enhance the worth of the

00:48:24.159 --> 00:48:26.800
building, which probably wouldn't have been the

00:48:26.800 --> 00:48:30.159
case if we were still renting it. So that's opened

00:48:30.159 --> 00:48:32.940
the door for us to then think about, well, What's

00:48:32.940 --> 00:48:35.000
our next step in terms of refurbishing the shop?

00:48:35.480 --> 00:48:39.320
So there are plans being early stages as to how

00:48:39.320 --> 00:48:41.619
we might be able to do some extra work inside

00:48:41.619 --> 00:48:44.699
to try and help improve storage, which is our

00:48:44.699 --> 00:48:46.659
biggest need, really. I mean, that will probably

00:48:46.659 --> 00:48:49.260
take us maybe a couple of years to get around

00:48:49.260 --> 00:48:52.239
to doing. Inevitably, a big refurbishment of

00:48:52.239 --> 00:48:55.139
a shop internally will require us to shut. We've

00:48:55.139 --> 00:48:57.780
never shut in six years, apart from Christmas

00:48:57.780 --> 00:49:01.320
Day. That's a big mantra for us. And so the occasion

00:49:01.320 --> 00:49:02.980
that we're going to have to shut it to refurbish

00:49:02.980 --> 00:49:05.800
it will be quite a big step and one we won't

00:49:05.800 --> 00:49:08.880
undertake lightly. Tell me about your volunteers

00:49:08.880 --> 00:49:12.860
and what they mean to the organisation. I think

00:49:12.860 --> 00:49:15.519
currently we're looking about 70 plus volunteers

00:49:15.519 --> 00:49:20.420
from eight to 80 is the phrase we use. Volunteer

00:49:20.420 --> 00:49:23.179
run, volunteer powered. I heard the phrase used

00:49:23.179 --> 00:49:26.139
the other day, which I really liked. It is powered

00:49:26.139 --> 00:49:29.639
by volunteers. We are lucky enough in terms of

00:49:29.639 --> 00:49:32.980
the profits we make to be able to afford to employ

00:49:32.980 --> 00:49:36.199
one and a half managers. And even during the

00:49:36.199 --> 00:49:39.199
summertime, we can afford to take on some local

00:49:39.199 --> 00:49:42.400
young people who are looking for work to do some

00:49:42.400 --> 00:49:45.719
extra hours in the shop. But the volunteers are

00:49:45.719 --> 00:49:48.820
the ones that have literally kept the shop open

00:49:48.820 --> 00:49:51.340
every day for six years apart from Christmas

00:49:51.340 --> 00:49:54.320
Day. And the nice thing about it is over the

00:49:54.320 --> 00:49:57.829
years, that volunteer group continually changes

00:49:57.829 --> 00:50:01.150
all the time and the people that made up the

00:50:01.150 --> 00:50:04.010
original cohort of volunteers is gradually shifting

00:50:04.010 --> 00:50:07.610
i think volunteering organizations probably generally

00:50:07.610 --> 00:50:10.809
have an issue about the people who usually have

00:50:10.809 --> 00:50:13.909
time to volunteer are older and obviously older

00:50:13.909 --> 00:50:16.909
volunteer groups tend to get older other duties

00:50:16.909 --> 00:50:19.530
come in like grandparenting and their own health

00:50:19.530 --> 00:50:22.690
and things like that so we try and make sure

00:50:22.690 --> 00:50:26.190
we've got some kind of regular volunteer recruitment

00:50:26.190 --> 00:50:29.309
retention program running which allows us to

00:50:29.309 --> 00:50:31.469
bring new people in and to make sure that that

00:50:31.469 --> 00:50:35.389
volunteer group remains fresh and remains active

00:50:35.389 --> 00:50:38.949
and people learn from the old hands and then

00:50:38.949 --> 00:50:40.929
what other new hands become the old hands you

00:50:40.929 --> 00:50:42.929
know you can see it it's that quite nice transition

00:50:42.929 --> 00:50:45.969
from those who said i never would have thought

00:50:45.969 --> 00:50:49.030
i would have dared to volunteer to becoming today's

00:50:49.030 --> 00:50:52.610
absolutely core volunteer and without whom the

00:50:52.610 --> 00:50:55.079
shop would be difficult to run They're not easy

00:50:55.079 --> 00:50:58.199
to run. You know, you have to be upfront about

00:50:58.199 --> 00:51:03.179
this. People, Colin, people. People. I know,

00:51:03.280 --> 00:51:06.219
it's people. And in some ways, I have to say

00:51:06.219 --> 00:51:08.739
running a village shop and, you know, when you

00:51:08.739 --> 00:51:11.179
do your time on a committee on a volunteer -run

00:51:11.179 --> 00:51:13.550
community organisation. Committee works very

00:51:13.550 --> 00:51:15.929
hard. You're working with people that you live

00:51:15.929 --> 00:51:18.110
next to and you don't always agree on things,

00:51:18.230 --> 00:51:20.670
on the way to do things or what needs doing.

00:51:21.909 --> 00:51:23.949
It's a bit like a family business, but without

00:51:23.949 --> 00:51:27.650
any of the kissing and making up. You've just

00:51:27.650 --> 00:51:30.329
got to acknowledge that people come from different

00:51:30.329 --> 00:51:33.250
stances on things and work your way through it.

00:51:33.659 --> 00:51:35.860
People don't always see eye to eye, and it's

00:51:35.860 --> 00:51:38.679
about creating those spaces where people can

00:51:38.679 --> 00:51:42.340
have those discussions and check each other.

00:51:42.500 --> 00:51:44.579
And I always find when I've done community work

00:51:44.579 --> 00:51:47.940
that people who might be vehemently opposed to

00:51:47.940 --> 00:51:50.420
each other on email or social media, when you

00:51:50.420 --> 00:51:53.500
put them in a room, it's a very different impact.

00:51:53.579 --> 00:51:55.760
So I'd like to see more of that in the world.

00:51:56.579 --> 00:51:59.340
Obviously, we'll pick that vibe up when you come

00:51:59.340 --> 00:52:01.860
in the shop. Everyone gets along, but I've seen

00:52:01.860 --> 00:52:04.820
it. Yeah, I think we should ban texting. It's

00:52:04.820 --> 00:52:06.880
not a good media for communicating differences

00:52:06.880 --> 00:52:10.900
of opinion. No, no, no. Okay, that's a good point

00:52:10.900 --> 00:52:15.920
of feedback. With 70 volunteers. All in all,

00:52:16.119 --> 00:52:19.039
congratulations with the work that you've done

00:52:19.039 --> 00:52:22.780
and you obviously, there's something there. Any

00:52:22.780 --> 00:52:25.500
words of advice for communities who are thinking

00:52:25.500 --> 00:52:28.159
about this and they haven't even got together

00:52:28.159 --> 00:52:31.690
as a group or they maybe thought about it? a

00:52:31.690 --> 00:52:34.130
village meeting and it's come up in conversation

00:52:34.130 --> 00:52:37.750
as they often do for 25 years recurring and nobody

00:52:37.750 --> 00:52:40.309
does anything about it so any kind of words of

00:52:40.309 --> 00:52:44.550
advice from you on on this i think be brave sometimes

00:52:44.550 --> 00:52:46.590
you might feel communities aren't with you on

00:52:46.590 --> 00:52:48.650
things or you'll never get the volunteers or

00:52:48.650 --> 00:52:50.829
you'll never get the support i think it just

00:52:50.829 --> 00:52:54.309
takes a kernel of a group of individuals in a

00:52:54.309 --> 00:52:57.829
village to believe in something and to be brave

00:52:57.829 --> 00:53:01.260
enough to go for it And I think people will follow

00:53:01.260 --> 00:53:05.699
when they see the benefits, when they, you know,

00:53:05.719 --> 00:53:08.500
the tangible benefits that can come out of a

00:53:08.500 --> 00:53:11.460
thriving community organisation in a thriving

00:53:11.460 --> 00:53:15.039
village. It's tenfold, a hundredfold, the benefits

00:53:15.039 --> 00:53:17.739
that you never anticipated. They do get there.

00:53:17.960 --> 00:53:20.820
You just need to have the heart and the bravado

00:53:20.820 --> 00:53:23.780
to push it. I'm convinced people will see the

00:53:23.780 --> 00:53:26.239
benefits over time and it's just worth going

00:53:26.239 --> 00:53:29.550
for it all the time. What does a thriving rural

00:53:29.550 --> 00:53:32.809
community look like? And in a way, Bishop Wilton,

00:53:32.929 --> 00:53:37.409
is that, I would say, argue. I think that the

00:53:37.409 --> 00:53:39.750
thriving bit has got to be continually changing,

00:53:39.969 --> 00:53:44.230
evolving, never being stuck in the old ways of

00:53:44.230 --> 00:53:46.829
doing things. There's always new ways. I mean,

00:53:46.869 --> 00:53:48.690
that's one of the reasons I was quite keen to

00:53:48.690 --> 00:53:52.590
move on as chair, because I think you need new

00:53:52.590 --> 00:53:57.070
ideas, new voices. to constantly just say, well,

00:53:57.170 --> 00:53:58.769
that's not what we've done in the last four or

00:53:58.769 --> 00:54:00.409
five years, but actually there might be a new

00:54:00.409 --> 00:54:02.309
way of doing it now, a new way of thinking about

00:54:02.309 --> 00:54:07.110
it. And I think also by involving different people

00:54:07.110 --> 00:54:09.289
at different times and not holding onto it as

00:54:09.289 --> 00:54:11.469
though it's my precious baby, you've actually

00:54:11.469 --> 00:54:15.550
got to, that brings in a very, a much more eclectic,

00:54:15.550 --> 00:54:19.210
a much more inclusive ownership of that organisation,

00:54:19.630 --> 00:54:23.710
of that rural community, and it becomes infectious.

00:54:24.519 --> 00:54:26.340
And that's what thriving is about. It's about

00:54:26.340 --> 00:54:29.079
change, not for the sake of change, but for the

00:54:29.079 --> 00:54:32.119
sake of, you know, things have to change to evolve,

00:54:32.340 --> 00:54:34.760
to meet the needs of that community as it moves

00:54:34.760 --> 00:54:37.199
through time. And I think this, even over the

00:54:37.199 --> 00:54:40.360
last five or six years, with the COVID times

00:54:40.360 --> 00:54:43.099
and the post -COVID times and the challenges

00:54:43.099 --> 00:54:48.059
of IT and social media and all that now, you

00:54:48.059 --> 00:54:49.900
know, six years ago, we'd never have realised

00:54:49.900 --> 00:54:53.039
how the world is. moving with this new industrial

00:54:53.039 --> 00:54:55.719
or technological revolution that we've got and

00:54:55.719 --> 00:54:58.639
i think all organizations just need to move without

00:54:58.639 --> 00:55:01.400
rural communities rural community organizations

00:55:01.400 --> 00:55:04.280
like this but at the heart of what you do you

00:55:04.280 --> 00:55:08.099
provide the the old way of connecting as a group

00:55:08.099 --> 00:55:10.719
of humans i think that's that's the thing yeah

00:55:10.719 --> 00:55:15.000
talking a place to go a place to share and all

00:55:15.000 --> 00:55:17.860
the different things that all the diverse group

00:55:17.860 --> 00:55:19.619
of people in that village of different ages,

00:55:19.699 --> 00:55:23.079
different backgrounds will get from that. Oh,

00:55:23.079 --> 00:55:25.239
and keep the village politics out of the shot.

00:55:25.340 --> 00:55:28.659
That's the big thing. Is that the golden rule?

00:55:29.019 --> 00:55:31.880
Yeah, there is, yeah. One of the codes of conduct,

00:55:32.019 --> 00:55:34.139
unwritten codes of conduct, is there are certain

00:55:34.139 --> 00:55:36.320
topics you don't talk about. over the counter

00:55:36.320 --> 00:55:39.300
because, yeah, every village has got its politics

00:55:39.300 --> 00:55:42.139
and, you know, you don't want to have those in

00:55:42.139 --> 00:55:45.119
the shop. You have those somewhere else. I couldn't

00:55:45.119 --> 00:55:49.820
possibly comment on that one. I think as individuals

00:55:49.820 --> 00:55:52.159
you have to challenge yourself all the time about,

00:55:52.260 --> 00:55:55.940
well, have I got stuff to learn here? Even though

00:55:55.940 --> 00:55:59.360
a lot of the people involved were very, very

00:55:59.360 --> 00:56:02.579
experienced and skilled, high -powered individuals

00:56:02.579 --> 00:56:05.860
in their own right. I think it's been quite humbling

00:56:05.860 --> 00:56:10.039
at times to recognise getting involved in an

00:56:10.039 --> 00:56:12.019
adventure like this might do to you as an individual.

00:56:12.960 --> 00:56:17.480
I was a doctor for 35, 40 years, and I've seen

00:56:17.480 --> 00:56:19.639
some amazing stuff, and I've been lucky enough

00:56:19.639 --> 00:56:22.579
to do that, but I've learnt more about people

00:56:22.579 --> 00:56:24.380
in some ways in the last five or six years than

00:56:24.380 --> 00:56:27.480
I did doing that job. I'm not big enough to say

00:56:27.480 --> 00:56:29.420
I always made me a better person, but I've certainly

00:56:29.420 --> 00:56:32.820
changed as a person. I'd like to think I'm much

00:56:32.820 --> 00:56:36.030
more... understanding of different people's views

00:56:36.030 --> 00:56:39.849
how people take and what's important in the world

00:56:39.849 --> 00:56:45.170
whatever you put in as a volunteer as a you know

00:56:45.170 --> 00:56:47.469
as a committee person or whatever you're going

00:56:47.469 --> 00:56:50.369
to get back a hundredfold and that that is something

00:56:50.369 --> 00:56:53.369
that until you've done it you just don't realize

00:56:53.369 --> 00:56:58.670
thanks very much colin thank you for listening

00:56:59.210 --> 00:57:01.769
Today, we've heard that thriving communities

00:57:01.769 --> 00:57:04.789
are not built by policymakers or grand ideas

00:57:04.789 --> 00:57:08.150
alone. They're built by communities and are made

00:57:08.150 --> 00:57:10.730
up of people who give their time, look out for

00:57:10.730 --> 00:57:13.829
each other and quietly get on with making things

00:57:13.829 --> 00:57:17.530
happen. From Plunkett UK's remarkable national

00:57:17.530 --> 00:57:21.070
work and impact to the story of Bishop Wilton

00:57:21.070 --> 00:57:23.869
Community Shop and Cafe, there's a common thread

00:57:23.869 --> 00:57:27.619
running through all this. Place matters. People

00:57:27.619 --> 00:57:30.920
matter. And when communities land on a shared

00:57:30.920 --> 00:57:34.800
sense of purpose, remarkable things can happen.

00:57:35.300 --> 00:57:37.820
Maybe not in the short term, but certainly over

00:57:37.820 --> 00:57:41.300
the long term. Perhaps this is a lesson from

00:57:41.300 --> 00:57:44.119
the episode. So thanks for joining us. Until

00:57:44.119 --> 00:57:47.780
next time, keep asking yourself what good in

00:57:47.780 --> 00:57:51.199
your community looks like. And follow the details

00:57:51.199 --> 00:57:54.840
of Blunket UK on our show notes.