A 10-YEAR-old village shop run by volunteers is seeking planning permission to extend so it can help people who live alone to socialise.
Chittlehamholt Village Shop in North Devon also wants to enlarge its stockroom so it can place bigger orders with wholesalers.
The shop is a social enterprise offering a basic convenience store to 189 village residents plus neighbouring communities, and has a small social area inside, plus outside seating.
The shop’s committee says currently only six people can meet around one table and enjoy drinks and snacks in the social space inside.
A small extension would allow more opportunities for interaction for residents who live alone, it said, and increase the number of people who could use the shop in poor weather.
Larger orders could also be placed with “better-value wholesalers” in the area to improve the efficiency of purchasing.
People have until Friday, December 29 to give their views to North Devon Council on the plans at: https://planning.northdevon.gov.uk/Planning/Display/77608 .
Alison Stephenson
LDRS