Siop Gymunedol Pwllglas celebrates winning top UK award

Siop Gymunedol Pwllglas in Denbighshire has won a prestigious award from the Plunkett Foundation.

The Pwllglas community rallied to save their village shop when it was threatened with closure.

Following a successful community buyout, the community shop opened in March 2013 and now thrives thanks to its volunteer involvement and the contribution it makes to community life.

The community’s efforts have now been recognised by the Plunkett Foundation who has announced it as the winner of the Better Communities category sponsored by Hastoe Housing Association in its first UK Rural Community Ownership Awards, designed to recognise what makes community-owned enterprises great. The winners were announced at a ceremony on Tuesday 2 July in Oxfordshire.

James Alcock, Head of Frontline at Plunkett Foundation said:

“Siop Gymunedol Pwllglas represents a fantastic example of community enterprise. Their award nomination clearly demonstrated a community shop at the top of its game. We wish them every success for the future.”

Community shops and co-operative pubs are sustainable, democratic forms of businesses that succeed where commercial ventures have failed. In a climate that sees around 400 commercial village shops close each year and in the region of 28 pub closures a week, community-owned shops and co-operative pubs not only represent a better form of business, they directly respond to some of the key challenges facing rural communities today such as lack of services and isolation.

The Wales Co-operative Centre provided information and advice on appropriate structures and took the group through the legal incorporation process. Director of Enterprise Glenn Bowen says:

“Excellent leadership, and being an integral part of their community, are amongst the key attributes which have contributed to the success of Siop Gymunedol Pwllglas. We congratulate them on their well-deserved award.”