CHILDREN from St Mabyn Primary School helped local residents celebrate the first birthday of their new village shop on Tuesday, October 1.

It is 12 months to the day that the St Mabyn Community Shop opened its doors to customers for the first time. The shop, housed in a former shipping container, was bought and equipped by the local community itself when the existing village shop closed after serving residents for 100 years.

The birthday celebration was to mark a year of trading — which has demonstrated that vital facilities, owned and managed by local communities, can sometimes succeed when conventional business models fail.

The new St Mabyn shop is a Community Benefit Society, which means that more than 100 local residents own the business through the purchase of shares. They periodically elect a committee to manage the project, and recently appointed two salaried managers.

The St Mabyn Community Shop is open seven days a week, from 8am-6pm Monday-Saturday and 9am-12 noon on Sundays. It sells newspapers, fresh bread and milk, and most of the other essential supplies which would otherwise require a trip to town.

St Mabyn once had no fewer than 14 shops, and two petrol stations. But like many rural communities, the supermarket era — and now online retailing — posed a threat to traditional village life.

About 40 children enjoyed cake, biscuits and orange juice at a party held in the neighbouring village hall. Despite the rain, the shop was decorated with bunting and balloons to mark the occasion.

David Bishop, treasurer of the shop committee, said the project was much more than a demonstration of how a community-owned business could be commercially successful.

He said: “This shop has become a focal point for village life. It has become a hub where people drop in for a chat, as well as to pick up their daily essentials.

“It has been quite amazing to see how the community rallied to get behind this project, and we’re very grateful to the school children for coming to help us celebrate this morning.”