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Creaton's village shop celebrates fifth birthday

Ollie Conopo/BBC Young man in dark shirt in front of the till of a shopOllie Conopo/BBC
Adam Perrins-May is the manager of the village shop

A popular village shop is celebrating five years of serving local people.

Residents of Creaton thought they would have to get their shopping elsewhere after the owners of the previous village store retired in 2018.

But a survey showed that most villagers wanted to have a shop on their doorstep.

So a group of volunteers came to the rescue by applying for grants and selling shares to get a new store up and running.

Ollie Conopo/BBC Smiling woman wearing light top stands outside village shopOllie Conopo/BBC
Jane Kimberlin, the shop secretary, says more than 140 villagers invested in the venture

Jane Kimberlin, the shop secretary, said: "We managed to get grants, we did a share launch so 140 people invested in the shop.

"We were extremely lucky - our neighbours here let us have this piece of land for a peppercorn rent, and so we started the shop."

The shop also acts as a community where people can share news and arrange support for people who are unwell.

Learning the trade

Adam Perrins-May, who is now the shop manager, said: "When the shop opened in 2018, I signed up as one of the volunteers - I would have been 15 at the time.

"I did that for a few years before I moved away and then, about this time last year, I came back to do my current role.

"At the same time, I'm doing a degree apprenticeship at the University of Northampton, so I have to juggle that between my job, but it's good fun and very useful for when doing the job as well."

James Grant/BBC Small single-storey wooden shop building with flowers outsideJames Grant/BBC
Creaton Village Shop stocks many items that are made locally

The shop has an in-store bakery, with bread from a baker who prepares it in the stockroom at the back of the shop.

Frozen pies are made by one of the volunteers who used to cook for Princess Diana, alongside ice cream made in Kingsthorpe and Spratton. Some of the meat products come from just over the border in South Kilworth.

Jan Craig invested some money in the shop and became a volunteer. She said: "I really enjoy it because you meet lots of people, you get the gossip - good and bad, and there are some people who find it pretty hard to get out of the village so I'm pleased we're supporting people like that."

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