Melmerby and Fellside Village Shop LTD.

Length of commitment and intensity of support

Howard’s involvement began in 2002 and remains ongoing to this day, although recently his support for the enterprise has not been as a representative of Enterprising Communities but simply as an interested individual.  His first contact was with the initial ‘group of six’ back in 2002.  While acknowledging that it was  ‘a long haul’, Howard stresses that length of contact and support he was able to provide is an important and unique feature of the way that Enterprising Communities was financed.  ‘The flexibility of the Phoenix funding received by Enterprising Communities and the “action research” nature of the project allowed me to spend a large amount of time with the group. I supported them all through the development process from initial discussions to trading and beyond.’ 

Asked to describe his role working with the enterprise, Howard states: ‘My role covered a number of development areas and issues and had to be both flexible and wide-ranging.  I needed to be both a gofer and a champion, to offer support and encouragement, to use my wide range of contacts, for example in the co-operative sector, to negotiate and mediate, as well as to assist with funding applications, contracts and personnel work, business planning and organisational and legal issues.’

Howard describes a number of different stages and processes in his work with the Melmerby community to establish the co-operative. The following is his bullet point summary of his work.

  • Initial discussions exploring the various options for the group.
  • A feasibility study carried out with the help of a retail consultant.  To raise the funding needed for this, the group had to formalise itself and to adopt a constitution:  Howard provided a model constitution.  He and other members of the Enterprising Communities team helped the group produce a questionnaire for villagers, and collated and analysed the results.  The findings were  positive and were presented back to the local community at a village meeting.  The villagers decided to go ahead with developing a shop. 
  • A business plan, produced by the group, and co-ordinated by the Treasurer who was also an accountant.  Enterprising Communities produced a model plan, and Howard helped to write a couple of sections on governance and context.  At this stage, the group was also working with Co-operative and Mutual Solutions and Enterprising Communities to identify the most appropriate legal and organisational structure for the business.
  • Incorporation of the business as an Industrial and Provident Society community co-operative. This took place in 2004.
  • Locating funding. Both capital funding and revenue support were needed. The bids put in by the villagers were successful, bringing in about £60,000 of public funding along with additional capital through the sale of shares to members of the local community.  This is often one of the hardest tasks for a community group to achieve, but in this case the process was facilitated by the presence on the committee of people experienced in this area, and Howard assisted.  He also helped to negotiate the support of Penrith Co-operative Society, which subsequently provided much in-kind support. The relationship with Penrith Co-operative Society has now developed into a trading relationship, with Penrith Co-op acting as a major ‘core’ supplier and occasional mentor.
  • Negotiations and contracts. I helped with these, acting as a go-between during complicated lease negotiations, and assisting with the creation of employment contracts and policies.
  • Recruitment of staff.  Enterprising Communities was involved directly with this: Viv Lewis, the co-ordinator of Enterprising Communities, was invited on to the panel interviewing the candidates for the position of manager, and I identified and brought in a co-operative management expert from Co-operative Business Consultants (funded by the Rural Revival programme).
  • Other stages in the development, including the conversion of the premises, carried out by local builders and co-ordinated by the new shop manager and members of the cooperative committee. Once these stages were completed, trading could commence on 1 July 2005.
  • Subsequent general business consolidation.  I have been asked to assist with personnel work, to take minutes at the Co-operative’s committee meetings (since I am perceived to be in a ‘neutral role’), and I continue to offer general support, encouragement and advice.

Howard Long’s involvement with the project through Enterprising Communities required a significant commitment of time.  ‘The support I offered this project was very intensive, much more than I offer most other clients.  I attended about 50 meetings (approximately 100 hours) both formal and informal, sent over 100 emails and letters, and conducted countless phone calls, as well as carrying out a significant amount of desk work – research, writing reports, etc.  The support required by this project was quite different from that required, for example, by Eden Artisans.  A village shop is a highly complicated business to set up, and in this case the extensive involvement of volunteers also necessitated more support than usual.  Since the shop has actually opened for trading, I have had less to do with business development as such, and have been called upon more to help out with specific issues and problems.’

Howard emphasizes that the help offered by a social enterprise business advisor should be structured, and given in a way that builds up the capacity of local people so that they can take control of their situation and make their own decisions.  ‘The Phoenix funding awarded to VAC for the Enterprising Communities project enabled me to put a great many hours into this project, and this has allowed for some significant learning about the support needs of this kind of enterprise.  But I was nevertheless conscious throughout the process of issues of dependency, and I have been wary of becoming more involved than absolutely necessary, though necessity has sometimes meant more involvement than I personally wanted.  I live only three-and-a-half miles from Melmerby, and the shop is my local shop.  Since I am now also a shareholder and member of the co-operative I will inevitably continue to be involved to some degree even though the Enterprising Communities project has ceased.’

Asked to compare his role and enterprise support approach with that of a more traditional business advisor, Howard pointed to the intensive nature of the support offered through Enterprising Communities, and the considerable time and commitment required.  “Due to the nature of Phoenix funding and our action research approach, I could devote large amounts of time to the enterprise and involve other members of the Enterprising Communities team. As with my other (particularly co-operative) clients, I was able to bring my previous practitioner experience to the job, a wide range of contacts, and a flexible and empathetic approach.  Where particular aspects of support were beyond my own expertise, I was able to identify and recruit other experts (some paid for through Enterprising Communities, others via other programmes such as Rural Revival and the Collaborative Solutions project). Living in the enterprise’s “area of benefit”, I was able to contribute local knowledge and was also on-hand for meetings.’  Significant numbers of other organisations became involved through the efforts of Enterprising Communities.  These organisations included Co-operative and Mutual Solutions, who worked on the legal structures; the Collaborative Solutions Project, a group of co-operative business consultants who were approached via the Rural Revival Programme; Jennie Stokell, a retail consultant who undertook the feasibility study; the Penrith Co-operative Society, which provided shop fittings, mentoring, grocery supplies etc; Cumbria Libraries; the Post Office; Co-operatives UK; ViRSA (Village Retail Shop Association); as well as solicitors, and individual members of the local business community.

Howard identifies the high points of his work with the group as: obtaining initial funding for the feasibility phase and later funding for the full project; completing the feasibility study and presenting it back to the community at a village meeting; completing the subsequent business plan after a concerted ‘team effort’; incorporating the new venture; selling the first shares; obtaining the support of Penrith Co-operative Society; and opening the shop for trade.  His low points included the long development period before the shop opened, which was at times disheartening for the group and for him; the funding hold-ups that delayed the development of the business; difficulties in the negotiation of the lease contract for the shop premises; some differences of opinion on the committee (not unexpected); and issues to do with the relationship between staff and the committee.

Howard stressed the time needed to ensure the success of the community-led co-operative – as well as the need to understand how groups work in a community context.  A more traditional business advisor would be less likely to have either the time or skills necessary, because as he explained ‘It takes a considerable amount of time and effort to set up ventures such as community shops, and a high and ongoing commitment is needed from volunteers and staff.  This type of venture requires risk-taking by volunteers drawn from a small ‘pool’ in village communities; and they need the support of the wider community and of a range of advisers.  A good mix of relevant skills and experience on the management board is vital.’  The clear implication here is that business advisors who can be engaged during the long gestation period are needed.

 The group’s former secretary Clare Rankin also stressed the time and effort needed to create the social enterprise and the importance of the understanding and empathy that Howard was able to give to the volunteers undertaking the bulk of the work needed.  ‘A lot of community enterprises would not get off the ground without this intensity of support’ she comments; ‘Enterprising Communities therefore definitely did fill a gap in the market.’  She identifies the practical roles played by Enterprising Communities as the ability to arbitrate through providing an independent voice, insight derived from the fact that Enterprising Communities had experience working with other shops, and useful contacts and introductions. 

The villagers put even more hours than Howard into the project, and as volunteers their hours were unpaid.  The staff in the shop have likewise shown real commitment and enthusiasm, and enabled the villagers to realise their dreams.  But the shop is clearly repaying this commitment: already it is proving to be a ‘social focal point’, the very thing that the villagers feared so much they would lose with the closure of the old shop.  Clare Rankin succinctly captures the effect of the new shop with her comment that ‘Re-opening the shop has changed the way people walk around the village’.