Lesbury shop reopening plan aims to 'get the buzz back' to village

Since the closure of Lesbury Post Office and Village Store last autumn, community volunteers have been working on plans to reopen the shop.

With the village’s pub also having closed, villagers are eager to get the shop up and running again for the benefit of their community.

The information event informed people that July 29 will be a date for people to come and see the shop, but an official open day for business is yet to be announced.

Volunteers were told that they will all help to share the responsibilities and roles of running the shop, such as managing the till, stocking shelves or delivering papers if that is a service in demand.

And, as it is a new experience for everyone, no person will do it alone, at least two people will be sharing the duties at all times.

A member of the committee said: “The church fair is on the 29th, we are hoping to sign the lease by then so that we can open it for people to go in and have a look to see what it is and see what funding the village has put into it.

“Once we have the lease, there will be a period where we have to fit out and stock the shop. We’re hoping that by the 29th, we will have an idea of when the formal opening will be, but at the moment we can’t say.”

The post office van will still come every Friday.

"For various reasons we couldn’t take it on, mainly being a volunteer cohort and all the regulations that come with it,” the committee member explained

"I think the shop closing and the pub closing will impact on the village, and what we want to do is get that buzz back, we want it to be a place where people not only come to get their papers or get a few groceries to top up things, but people actually come to meet other people and we get that hub going again, but also that people who visit the village hall to attend events, might want to pop over and grab something before they head home.”