Nettleham Co-op reopens
A community food store and post office which shut following a major fire earlier this year have reopened, with local good causes receiving a funding boost to mark the occasion.
Nettleham Food Store and Post Office, which closed back in April, opened its doors yesterday after an extensive period of renovation works.
Lincolnshire Co-op’s Community Champions scheme sees local groups receive a donation when dividend card holders shop in store. The society has donated £250 to kickstart fundraising in Nettleham, with the total collected over the next four months split between Nettleham Football Club, United Lincolnshire Hospitals Charity and Nettleham Woodland Trust.
There’s a food bank collection point in each Lincolnshire Co-op food store and when Nettleham closed, the retailer gave a contribution to Lincoln Community Larder to make up for lost donations. That will be topped up with £100 worth of food to celebrate the opening. A £250 donation has also been made to Nettleham Community Hub as a contribution to the village’s Christmas Market.
Representatives from all the community groups were invited to the store on opening day, and local councillors from Nettleham Parish Council and West Lindsey District Council were invited to tour the store the evening before.
Store Manager Jason Leadbetter said people in the village were delighted to see the store back open.
“When I opened the doors at 7am, there were 20 people outside. We’ve been delighted to see so many familiar faces. Everyone has said how pleased they are to see us back open. They’re all really positive about how the store is looking and the new ranges too,” he said. “It’s also been wonderful for the team of colleagues to come back together on the shop floor and catch up with our customers.”
Extensive work has taken place since the fire, including assessments of the level of damage, work to meet current building regulations and structural repairs to the ceilings and roof. To ensure environmental sustainability, contractors carefully recovered and restored equipment or fixtures that could be reused.
Work continues on the two neighbouring shop units. It’s hoped both local businesses will be back open later in October. Flowers By Design and The Green Turkish Barber are currently trading from nearby units at 22 The Green.
Work will be taking place in the flat above the premises until the end of the year, so there will still be scaffolding on site as well as restrictions in the store’s car park.