We’re open!
December 2023
As we reach the turn of the year, we wanted to give you a quick update as to where we have got to with the project and the pathway to opening up the shop in the New Year.
It has been another busy year for the Management Committee and as I reflected upon at the AGM a few months ago, a real mixture of progress and frustration as we move towards our goal of opening the shop. I was therefore pleased to see so many of you at the AGM so that we could give a more detailed explanation of the reasons behind the delay with completing the building works and also answer your questions as to what was happening. As I said then, we remain hugely grateful for the ongoing support of our members and the village for the project and also your patience during recent months when we are acutely aware that visible progress on site has been limited.
I am pleased to say, however, that we have now resolved the outstanding matters with building control and it is therefore “full steam ahead” in the New Year to seek to finish the build as quickly as we can. In this regard, you will already have seen that work re-started on the roof in December and there is now a busy schedule of work programmed for January and February which should hopefully see the building completed. This will involve the completion of the cladding and the capping of the roof to complete the exterior of the building and work now beginning on the interior decoration and fit out. We are targeting an opening date around Easter.
As ever, we remain dependent upon and very grateful to our army of volunteers and also the generosity and skill of our local businesses and professionals who continue to provide time, materials or labour to us at a discount or in some cases free of charge. As usual, I would therefore urge you to visit our supporters page at www.oakleyvillagestores.co.uk if you are thinking of undertaking any work yourself to see if they provide a service that might be of use to you. These are all local people who provide a fantastic service. In particular, since my last update I would like to thank Sandy and Greta of Sandy’s Plumbing for their help with the remaining drainage works, Ryan Englefield of Englefield Roofing for his work on the roof, Mike Robertson of Ferndale Landscapes for installing our new fencing and (soon to be added) gate, Neil Goss of SPACE for the excellent job taking off the green roof structure in order to enable us to re-lay the roof and to Brendan Mcdonagh of BMC Services for various jobs he has done for us. I must also thank the group of volunteers, led by Gordon Fennell, who spent two weekends laying the new roof trusses and supports and installing insulation which needed to be in place to enable Ryan to come on site and lay the roof surface so massive thanks to Gordon, Lee Reader, Stephen Hopcroft, Paul Dollah, Rich Cooke, Rich Gee and Jason Pratt for that. As we move to the interior fit out, we have also had some hugely generous support from some other local companies who will be providing materials and equipment for the interior and who I will mention in my next update.
As we approach the completion of the building and opening, attention now reverts back to the other workstreams that had temporarily been placed on hold whilst the building was delayed so the committee will be fully occupied over the next two months re-contacting suppliers and volunteers and dealing with the various other licences and items that need to be resolved to enable us to open. Thankfully with the skillset at my disposal on the committee, I know that these jobs are in good hands! So all that remains is for me to wish you all a very happy New Year and a prosperous 2024 when we look forward to welcoming you all to Oakley Village Stores in person!
August 2023
As the summer passes by with alarming speed, I wanted to send you a further update on where we are with the shop build and the project generally. We on the committee do appreciate that there has been a frustrating lack of visible progress with the build in the last three months (believe me, we very much share that frustration as much hard work has been continuing behind the scenes) and we therefore wanted to provide a short explanation for the delays which are due to the need to agree a number of matters with building control before we proceed to complete the building. This has not been a quick process and whilst we could have continued with some elements of the construction in the meantime, we did not want to risk abortive work or costs if changes are required and so decided to cease work until everything is agreed with the officers at the Council. One of the difficulties is that a container based building is obviously not a conventional construction project and I think is not something that they deal with on a regular basis. Revised plans are now with building control officers in response to queries they have raised/further information they have asked for regarding drainage and insulation and we hope and expect to have these signed off and be back on site with a vengeance early in September. Once we are able to recommence works we will be able to convey to you all the proposed opening date.
As a consequence of our discussions with building control, we are also making some changes to the roof of the building and you will see works to make those changes taking place in September, as well as works to tidy up and landscape the external areas. In short, these changes are required as the green roof structure design made it impossible for us to install damp proofing on the container roof and was also hindering the flow of water off the roof. We will therefore be taking it off, installing a felt roof and then reinstating elements of the green roof on top of that felt roof. This will both increase the longevity of the building but will also make it easier to maintain moving forward. Following negotiations with them, the company who supplied us with the containers and installed the green roof structure have acknowledged the need for us to make these changes and have refunded us a significant sum of money which will cover the cost of the changes needed.
In the meantime, the committee continues to work very hard with a view to opening the shop as soon as we are able to complete the construction works. We have been continuing to line up suppliers, submit applications necessary for licensing/food hygiene etc and have also undertaken promising initial interviews with potential employees.
Our next AGM will be held in October (formal invites with confirmation of the date will be sent to you all soon) and obviously the committee members will be very happy to answer any questions you might have in respect of the above matters, the build generally or indeed any other elements of the project. At least three spots on the committee will also be up for re-election and members have the right to put themselves forward for election should they wish to join the committee. If, therefore, that is something that you are interested in please email us at oakleyvillagestores@gmail.com confirming that you wish to stand.
Your continued support and patience is very much appreciated. Please rest assured that the management committee all remain determined to deliver a shop and a resource for the community to be proud of. There have, as is often the case with projects of this nature, been challenges to overcome but we fully expect to be trading very soon and look forward to welcoming you all.
January 2023
Hi All. Quick update on the build. Most of you have probably seen the activity on site anyway but the groundworks to prepare for the delivery of the containers have now been substantially completed. They will sit on two substantial concrete footings that have been put in place on the upper level you can see on the photos. The lower level has been prepared for the laying of the patio which will overlook the fields. The soil taken out has been used to regrade the adjacent areas (including allowing for the route of the perimeter path) and will be reseeded. Thank you to Derek Pearce and team for the work they have done so far and also to Sandy’s Plumbing who are about to put in the drainage needed for us.
The next major activity will see the containers delivered on Thursday 19th. Notices will be posted nearer the time once we have more info on timings but this is likely to require the car park to be closed temporarily for some of that day to allow for the delivery. We will keep any closure periods to a minimum.
We would like to thank all villagers for their patience so far and apologise for any disruption which hopefully has been minimal.
We remain on the lookout for volunteers and suppliers and are continuing to invite expressions of interest from anyone potentially interested in the salaried managers role(s). We would love this to go to someone (or some people) from our community rather than us have to advertise it more widely so if you are at all interested please do get in touch via out contact us page here. We have an open mind as to how the role(s) might be structured so if you are interested but unsure whether it may be right for you, please do at least speak to us as you never know!
December 2022
As the year draws to a close, I wanted to take the opportunity to wish you all Merry Christmas and provide a quick update on progress. The Management Committee continue to work tirelessly to try and deliver this project. Amongst the good news is that we have secured further grants towards the project from the National Lottery, the Heart of Bucks Community Foundation and the Shanley Foundation. With the cost of everything in life continuing to rise, these additional grants are extremely important.
The containers for the building have now been ordered and are scheduled to arrive in mid-January. Work will therefore start to put in place the groundworks and footings for the building in the first week of January. This will take 2-3 weeks and will require temporary fencing and matting in the area between the village hall and the play area. We thank all members and villagers in advance for their patience and cooperation whilst works are being undertaken. Once the building is in place we will proceed with the fit out as quickly as possible with a view to opening in the Spring. We will also be re-launching our website to reflect our exciting new branding so watch this space!
We are already incredibly fortunate to be supported in this project by so many of our local business and skilled individuals (see below) who are either providing materials or labour or are offering us their services at cost/discounted rates. Their generosity is hugely appreciated and makes a real difference to our ability to deliver this project. If you would like to get involved, we remain on the lookout for people to help with the fit-out or who may have other skills to offer. We are also continuing to collate our list of volunteers willing to work in the shop. The latter is particularly important now as it will dictate the hours we can open. If, therefore, you would like to join our growing list of volunteer workers please contact us here
Finally, ahead of advertising the role more formally in the New Year, we are inviting expressions of interest from anyone in the community who may be interested in the shop manager role. We have an open mind as to whether this should be an individual role or would be better suited to a job share arrangement between two, but it will be a salaried role and as this is a start-up business there is some flexibility available for the right candidate or candidates. So, if this is of interest to you please do contact Pat Pointer via the contact form to register your interest and discuss the role.
October 2022
“Expressions of Interest”
OVSL are interested in receiving “Expressions of Interest” for the role of store manager or part-time joint store manager, for the new Community Shop which will be opening in early 2023. We believe that the role would particularly suit two people in a job-sharing arrangement but are open minded about all possible options.
The role would suit someone with experience in retail management as the manager(s) will be expected to run the store/order stock/deal with cash and cards and obviously customers. However, we will also consider candidates without specific retail experience if they have a range of transferable skills and above all are enthusiastic, community minded and willing to learn.
Hours and salary to be agreed closer to the opening date but as this is a new venture and shop opening hours will also be dependent upon volunteer number/availability there is scope for some flexibility in terms of hours and for the successful candidate to have input into that process.
So, if you think you may be interested in running our new Community Shop and helping us to deliver this key village project then please either:
Email: here or call Pat Pointer on 01844 237067
Spring - Summer 2022
August 2022
As many in the village will be aware (and was reported to our members at the recent AGM) we are pleased to announce that we have made some great progress in recent months, firstly securing planning permission for the shop building and then subsequently receiving confirmation of a £15,000 grant from the Buckinghamshire Council Community Board and a £30,000 grant from the Rothschild Foundation. All of which means that I'm pleased to say we are now in a position to proceed and aim to start building later this summer with the target of opening later in the year. We will continue to update on progress as and when we get more certainty in terms of likely dates.
In the meantime, we need to firm up the list of potential volunteers from the village who are willing and able to either help in the shop and/or with any other part of the next stages of the project (e.g. the build, marketing, potential supplier). If you are such a person, please can I ask that you visit the volunteer page and enter your details. In so doing, you are not formally committing to anything, but it is important for us to have a clear idea of those who are genuinely willing to help as it will inform the services we feel able to provide and also the hours that the shop will be able to open.
Many of you previously indicated an intention to volunteer when we did the initial consultation so I am confident that the community will step up to the mark as it always does!
Typically, we are looking for people who are prepared to do a 2-4 hour shift once a week or once every couple of weeks in the shop but there may be (in fact I am sure there will be) other ways that people can help that we have not even thought of yet! Appropriate training will be given to any volunteers working in the shop.
May 2022
Following much further work behind the scenes, the planning application for the community shop building has now been submitted to Bucks Council and attributed reference number 22/01393/APP. This is an important next step in the project. The application plans and documents can be accessed at the link below and those wishing to comment on the proposals can do so via the “make a comment tab.” It goes without saying that obviously we would be grateful for any support from the community for the application.
Now that the plans have been finalised, we will be re-contacting local individuals or businesses who previously indicated a willingness to help with the construction of the building (with materials, expertise etc.) to see if that remains the case but if you feel you can help in any way then please do get in touch via here.
Finally, a date for the diary for those in the village who are members of the Community Benefit Society. The AGM will be held in the Village Hall on Monday 4th July at 7.30pm. All shareholders will receive a formal invite, agenda and annual report nearer the time.
April 2022
Following the successful share issue in November which raised over £47,000 towards the project and saw more than 190 people become members in Oakley Village Stores Limited, the Management Committee have continued to work hard to move the project forward with the aim of being on site building the shop this summer. Recent workstreams include:
The issuing of share certificates to all members (if you haven’t had yours please let us know);
The submission of multiple grant funding applications to local and national organisations to raise the balance of the start-up funds required. Two further (and by far our most substantial) applications will be lodged in April as soon as we have our first set of annual accounts; and
Finalising the planning application for the building on the site at the rear of the village hall. This should have been submitted by the time you read this article! The planning application reference will be made known to members/villagers via the our website and Facebook along with details of how people can submit comments in support (or otherwise)!
Many thanks once again to all who have invested. The Management Committee continue to meet monthly and the minutes of those meetings along with further updates and information on the project can be viewed here. We will also be in touch with all members in due course with details of our inaugural AGM.
In the meantime, if you have any queries regarding the project, feel you are able to help with the build project in any way or wish to be added to our provisional list of volunteers to work in the shop once it is up and running please don’t hesitate to contact us here.
