POSTPONED from last July – a victim of the pandemic – the 10th birthday celebrations of Spreyton Village Shop finally took place a year later, on Saturday, July 24.

Volunteers, several of whom had been with the shop since it opened in 2010, were treated to a buffet supper in the Tom Cobley Tavern.

The event was a thank you to the volunteers who have ensured the continuity of the shop throughout the years, those who serve behind the counter or deal with admin tasks, as well as members of the management committee.

Shop manager Bella Snook told the “Crediton Courier”: “We have a lot to be thankful for. We’re emerging from a tricky 18 months where although footfall and takings were higher than usual during the months of lockdown, many of our regular volunteers were shielding or isolating.

“This put enormous pressure on our rota and we’re grateful for those who stepped up to take on extra shifts and for members of the community who joined us to help out.

“A community shop like ours is a real partnership between the volunteers who make it feasible for a small village to have a shop at all, and the customers who keep it going. We need each other.”

Spreyton Village shop deserves to be celebrating. Nationally, more than 60 per cent of small enterprises close within the first three years of trading.

The community enterprise business model is different in factoring in volunteer effort instead of labour costs for staffing, and profits are distributed for the benefit of the local community. The success rate for these types of enterprise is generally higher than in the private sector.