After 18 months of hard work and preparation, Earlams the community run store, cafe and gallery opened it doors for business and was met with a very enthusiastic level of interest from villagers and visitors.
The store was officially opened by guest of honour Maurice Earlam, who is 89 years old and the son of Harry Earlam, who ran the local shop for 30 years and who the business is named after. Maurice used to deliver papers with Terry Waite when they both lived in the village and he was a keen member of the cricket club, which was chaired by his father. Maurice attended with his son Harry Earlam, daughter Ann Smith and her husband Ian.
Village shareholders, donors and supporters celebrated the launch of the business and all were impressed with the layout and produce on display.
John Novak who issued the original questionnaire canvasing villagers for their support, commented ‘the store and launch, were beyond superlatives, as it had exceeded all his expectations.’
Simon Poyser who developed the brand and business plan commented that ‘ our vision has become a reality and this has only been made possible by the tremendous amount of support given to the project by the village shareholders , donors and the growing band of volunteers who worked tirelessly. ‘
This is without doubt an exciting community project, which will make a significant impact and achieve its aim of improving Styal village as a place to live, work and visit.
After months of preparation, today is a very important day for Earlams community venture, as a team of volunteers start to distribute the prospectus all Styal Village residents, to raise the essential funding. The share offer gives every member of the village the opportunity to purchase and own the village shop and cafe which is be run by the village for the village.
After developing the constitution in accordance with the Plunkett Foundation model and following approval by the Financial Conduct Authority the business was formally incorporated as an industrial provident society for community benefit on 15th April.
Based on the pledges made in January, the aim is to raise the target of £25,000 from the community share offer and this to be supplemented with grants and donations to achieve the total funding requirement of £50,000.
The share offer closes on the 20th June an it is open to individuals and businesses, and not just residents of Styal. It is hoped that extended families and people who have links will Styal will invest and support this very worthwhile course, which whilst essential as a means of support for the elderly will benefit all residents and visitors to the village. By achieving its aim of improving Styal Village as place to live, work and visit.
This is a very exciting and significant project for the village for which there is tremendous support and a large number of volunteer teams are now working on the different aspects of the project.
We look forward to receiving your vital support and welcoming you to the cafe, store and arts and crafts gallery in the very near future.
The Management Committee
30th May 2014
Purchasing shares is relatively easy. You can either buy shares online through the secure platform www.microgenious.co.uk which is backed by the government or you can apply by completing the form below and returning this to the shop.
For more information on the share offer and to invest please consider the following documents:
Styal Village Store and Café Bulletin 3 Public meeting The public meeting on the 15 April was very successful with over 70 residents attending. There was a good discussion about the progress and current development of the shop. The raffle raised £174. A special thank you to all the people who donated prizes and bought tickets Funding We are proposing to launch the share offer in May. Every household will receive a prospectus detailing the business plan and the organisation of the store, the arts and craft and the cafe. You will also receive information on how to purchase shares or make a donation. We are looking to be able to open the shop in the early summer. Volunteers -Would you like to help in the Store, Arts and Craft and Cafe? We have a large group of volunteers, but need to ensure that we can be open 7 days a week. If you are interested and would like to know more, contact one of the volunteers team Eric Wilkins 01625-528431 eric.wilkins@talktalk.net Helen Fowler01625-536187helenfowler@talk21.com Sue McKie01625-528153suemakie@btinternet.com Jan Dixon01625-525452jan50dixon@btinternet.com Ron Dixon01625 525452ron44dxn@btinternet.com Volunteers Meeting Tuesday 13 May at 7-30pm in Styal Methodist Chapel, Farm Fold This is for anyone who wishes to volunteer, whether or not you have signed up already. We look forward to seeing you.
Earlams supported members of our community during lockdown thanks to a dedicated group of volunteers. The hampers we delivered were very welcome and below are some of the comments we received:- “A big thank you from all his family for … Continued
Zoe Ball Breakfast show read postcard sent from Earlams thanking all our volunteers. Richie (travel) liked the wooden postcard showing our local pub, he even spelt out “Styal”