Printed below is the Executive Summary from the Business Plan.

The full Glenuig Shop Business Plan is downloadable in any of these three forms: select an option by clicking below :

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Executive Summary

Aim
The principle aim of this project is to re-establish Glenuig Shop as a Community Enterprise and to build a new purpose built shop to replace the old dilapidated building. This will enable the community to access basic services and also incorporate new essential facilities. This plan will aid the continued growth and development of the local economy and help sustain the community.

Social Inclusion - "Groups of people particularly at risk of feeling alienation from society include the young, the elderly, those with a disability, carers, those unable to gain or keep paid work, single parents and the low-paid. In remote rural communities these groups are likely to experience the additional barrier of physical isolation. In this plan, our emphasis is on young people, fragile rural areas and communities in need of regeneration."
The Highland Community Plan 2000

The Community
The community served by Glenuig Community Association (G.C.A), is centred around the West Lochaber village of Glenuig. It is a small community (about100 residents in the immediate area), with a generally younger population structure compared with the wider rural area. It is a remote, being 36 miles from Fort William, the nearest town. The economy of the area has been classified as "fragile" by the Scottish Executive and it qualifies for the special social and economic support of the Government initiative "Iomairt aig an Òir / Initiative at the Edge".

Initiative at the Edge
It is eligible for funding under the new European Community Economic Development Initiative. Glenuig is also included in the Ardnamurchan Social Inclusion Partnership (S.I.P.) area, which specifically targets the 14-25 age group.

To help maintain the social fabric and sustainability of the community, the G.C.A. began raising funds for a new village hall in 1983. The community raised £33,000 and the new hall opened in 1995. The level of private funds raised, the architecture and the running of the hall have all attracted nation-wide commendation and Glenuig Hall, as a successful Community Enterprise, is held up as an example of excellence. This is a good example of the strength of community support for local initiatives designed to maintain the community.

The Shop in the Community
The shop was built in 1967, soon after the road network reached Glenuig. It has always traded at a small profit but the building is now so dilapidated that it will soon have to be demolished. The building lacks basic necessities and the fabric is beyond repair. The G.C.A., responding to local concern, commissioned a feasibility study with assistance from Lochaber Ltd. and the Highland Council and later set up a Steering Group to take the project forward. As the investment required to build a new shop is so high and the potential returns so small, no private developer has come forward, leaving the community in danger of losing it's shop and Post Office altogether. The importance of the shop and PO to the community is confirmed by the support received to date from both the Highland Council and Lochaber Limited.

The Glenuig Shop Steering Group has researched community businesses, carried out fund raising events and since July 2000 has operated the old shop, involving volunteers both to raise funds and to gauge the levels of income and support that a new shop might expect. The community has also highlighted the desire of members of the community to avoid the70 mile round trip to Fort William to obtain petrol and diesel. They have also noted a strong need for a daytime location where local people, particularly younger and older residents, can meet in a safe and social environment. Experience has shown (eg Eigg) that a local rural shop serves such a social function as well as providing a souce of supplies and postal services.

Proposals and Progress
The Steering Group saw that the best way forward was to form a Community Enterprise Trading Company, structured as a wholly owned subsidiary of the G.C.A. and limited by share capital. The Directors (a maximum of 12) would be appointed from amongst the residents within the village and it's environs. They would in turn appoint staff, oversee the accounts, direct the policies and management of the shop and monitor and evaluate the shop's performance.

Surplus profit from the Trading Company can be channelled back into other community projects via local charities, thus keeping the funds within and for the benefit of the community. Being a community enterprise, Directors of the Trading Company may not be remunerated except to receive valid expenses. The company will appoint an accountant to audit all financial dealings.

A Shop Manager will be responsible for day to day running and staffing of the shop including the organisation of volunteer staff. Managerial responsibilities will include promoting healthy eating policies while providing a full range of goods to meet the needs of the community. The Manager will also manage the sub post office, craft sales, fuel pumps and a delivery service for elderly, sick and disabled people and those with no private transport. The shop will also act as a collection/delivery point for bus and carrier deliveries to and from Fort William and beyond. The shop is located at the village bus stop, road junction, post box and close to the local Inn, jetty and phone box.

Accountability
Any resident of the area can approach the G.C.A. and subject to approval, can become a Director of the Trading Company, which will run the shop. The manager of the shop is accountable to the shop Directors who will decide on the policies that govern the general running of the shop. The Directors will meet regularly with the shop management and staff who run the shop on a day to day basis, guided by the policies of the shop Directors. Those policies will be formed by identifying the needs of the wider community through informal communications, attendance of the public at shop meetings, through association to the "Friends of Glenuig Shop" and through suggestions passed on via the management and staff. The committee have a number of 'experts' available to advise them. The 'Friends of Glenuig Community Shop' comprises 221 members, of whom 76 are local, including several who have been involved with retail enterprises, and are keen to assist.

Benefits to the Community
(a) The Glenuig Community shop will help to sustain a proven fragile rural community.(I.A.T.E.)

(b) The Shop will provide employment in the area. The jobs created will produce more money for circulation in the local economy

(c) Residents and visitors, as well as younger, older and disabled people, will have readier access to goods and the means of healthy eating and other services. This is especially so for those. without private transport, (who depend on very limited public transport)

(d) The service will be year round and a lifeline service in times when road access is impossible or ill advised

(e) Well-trained and pleasant staff will promote local tourism and encourage return visitors.

(f) Availability of road fuel at a gateway to the Ardnamurchan peninsula will encourage more visitors to the whole of West Lochaber

(g) Local produce and crafts will also be marketed through the shop. This will encourage and sustain local production

(h) Other businesses will benefit because the shop will encourage passing visitors to pull off the main road and use local services. The shop would act as a signpost to the other services and facilities available in the village

(i) The shop will encourage visitors to remain longer in the area thereby helping the local economy and local businesses

(j) A great deal of time and expense will be saved by local individuals and businesses in shopping and obtaining fuel. More of the wealth of the community will stay within it, as any profits left from the shop after reinvestment can be used to help other community projects

(k) It will provide mutual support for the hall, advertising events, services, facilities etc.

(l) It will serve as a community notice board and a H.O.S.T. information point

(m) By limiting extra travel by car the shop will help the community and in a small way, contribute to a reduction in pollution

Capital Costs
The costs of site preparation, construction, professional fees, complete fitting out, a contingency and V.A.T. have been estimated as £180,000. The filling station total costs including V.A.T. have been estimated as £90,000. As the business is a community enterprise, all capital invested in this project will be retained in the community as an asset for the future.

Cashflow and Viability
The experience of the Steering Group since July 2000 in operating the old shop on a limited basis with volunteers, has allowed the Group to gauge potential income. A conservative estimate of income has been made by taking the actual sales and estimating how much they might increase due to better stocking, greater economies of scale, longer opening hours, an attractive building and by fuel sales prompting shop sales. Initial estimates of income made from questionnaires returned by the community were regarded as being unrealistically high. Smaller profits are shown here, using these conservative estimates of income.
Competition and Displacement
The main competition for the shop will be the supermarkets in Fort William. Experience of running the shop with volunteers since July 2000 has shown how much can be achieved despite competition and despite the other limitations in it's current operation. The community specifically requested a community cafe to fulfil a social need for a year round meeting place. Understandably given the concerns of the local hotel owners about displacement affecting their business, the Steering Group has responded by proposing instead to have a community corner. This area will display information on community events and activities, local business information, local and public services and education and training opportunities. Tea and coffee facilities will be provided, so that local people have the opportunity to socialise and exchange information while doing their shopping. The catering and other services offered in the local hotel will be publicised to help encourage visitors to remain in the area.

"Volunteering and community action are again on the increase, with a healthy third sector sharing the response to social and community needs. A renewed spirit of mutual aid, allows skills to be traded and pooled to the common good within the community." The Highland Community Plan 2000

Community Support
The idea to build a new shop and filling station grew in the first place from informal discussion within the community. With support from Highland Council and Lochaber Ltd, two surveys of community support for the project using very different methodologies have been carried out. One survey showed that three quarters of the community were positively supportive and the other that two thirds were positively supportive, provided the shop was stocked well, priced competitively and kept reliable and convenient opening hours. These surveys may have shown higher levels of support had responses not been based on the out of date information contained in the feasibility study provided by Brian Burns Associates. The Shop has been well used by the community since July 2000, despite the limited scope of its operation.

Community support for the project has also been proven by the extent to which shop fund-raising activities have been supported. There has been an extraordinary amount of voluntary work carried out by the community. Volunteers have to date raised £7,000 and have contributed around £20,000 worth of voluntary work.


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