Farmborough Community Shop

Supporting our village and local community

Return of Bacon Bap Bonanza and support for Repair Café on Saturday 10 July

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We are three!

To celebrate the third anniversary of the shop, we are opening for extended hours from 9am to 2pm on Saturday 10 July.

Come and visit us to wish us a happy third birthday. Our legendary Bacon Bap Bonanza will be returning.

We are also supporting the first Farmborough Repair Café being held in the Memorial Hall with a BBQ in the garden, cakes, and hot and cold drinks.

A plant sale raising money for the annual seed swap, Seedy Saturday will be held in the garden too.

We look forward to you popping by for a treat to help us celebrate the shop and our fantastic community!

Free WiFi at your Community Shop thanks to Truespeed

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Tony Najdoski (Regional Manager) presents the plaque to Farmborough Community Shop

Truespeed has installed a ‘free for life’ community broadband connection to the shop.

Not only has this improved the internet service required for daily operation, along with reducing our monthly costs, but it also allows us to offer free WiFi to all patrons of the shop and coffee shop during opening hours.

The regional manager of Truespeed, Tony Najdoski, recently presented Chris and a small number of volunteers with a commemorative plaque that will be added to our ‘Wall of Fame’.

We would like to thank Truespeed for this generous contribution to our community shop and we encourage all patrons to make use of this free service via our guest network.

Farmborough Community Shop wins SW Prestige Award

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Chris receiving the SW Prestige Award

We are delighted to have won ‘Community Shop of the Year 2020’ in the South West Prestige Awards.

The awards recognise the important work of small and independent businesses and celebrate those which consistently offer excellent products and services to local people. Osmaan Mahmood, Founder and CEO of Prestige Awards, said, “Although small businesses may not be able to com- pete with multinational companies on their size and scale, there is a personalised service-driven focus that is often void from large organisations.”

Chris Bullock, shop manager, collected the award at a ceremony held in Exeter, and said, “A big thank you goes to all the volun- teers and supporters of the shop who have helped us to grow over the last three years. We look forward to continuing to serve the community for many years to come.”

Annual General Meeting – April 2021

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Thursday 22 April at 7.00pm
via Zoom

We are pleased to give official notice of the Annual General Meeting of Farmborough Community Shop.

The minutes of last year’s AGM are available to view and/or download and the annual report and accounts for 2019-2020 will be available by the AGM.

All members are welcome to join us and should receive details of registration for this online meeting, which should last no more than one hour.

Members are requested to let us know by Wednesday 21 April whether they will be able to attend.

Energy initiative exceeds expectations

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In February 2020, the Farmborough Community Shop Management Committee made the decision to launch an initiative to improve the energy efficiency of the shop, raising the funds needed through community pledges and grant applications.

The aims were to replace inefficient electrical equipment alongside the installation of 14 solar photovoltaic (solar PV) panels. The total investment needed was in excess of £6,000, which would save the shop at least £500 per year. To maximise the saving, the solar PV panels needed to be fitted before the end of March to qualify for preferential Feed-in Tariff (FIT) electricity rates.

The full cost of the project was achieved within weeks of the initiative’s launch, including a grant of £2700 from The Naturesave Trust towards the cost of the solar PV installation, which was installed mid-March, one week before lockdown.

A comparison of energy use between 2019 and 2020 for the six months from April to September has shown a reduction of 3311kWh, which equates to a saving of £511 to the shop and a reduction in the amount of CO2 totalling 117kg.

Phil Gray, Treasurer to Farmborough Community Shop said, “The installation of the solar PV panels, funded through a combination of grant funding from The Naturesave Trust and community pledges, has surpassed our expectations. Our original calculations indicated that we would reduce our annual electricity bill by £550, but the operational figures show that the panels have exceeded this in just over six months of use.

“Farmborough Community Shop is currently using 80% of the total energy being produced by the panels, and this is saving us money which can be spent in other areas of our business and increasing community support. A significant reduction in CO2 is also something we are proud to have achieved, making our business more environmentally sustainable.”

The community shop has been an important hub of the village since 2018, but 2020 has seen a greater need for its services, with over 500 home deliveries made to local vulnerable and shielding villagers throughout the Covid crisis.

The Naturesave Trust is funded by the activities of Naturesave Insurance, the UK’s leading ethical insurance provider for individuals, businesses, charities and community groups.

Our project has been featured in the following local press and media:

Midsomer Norton and Radstock Journal
Keynsham Town Community Radio (KTCRfm)

Radstock Nub News