Location: Lodsworth
Contact:
Drawing on the expertise of local residents, including Ben Law of Grand Designs fame, the community of Lodsworth has constructed a sustainable and aesthetically impressive community shop.
Residents raised over £100,000 through grants, fundraising and selling shares, as well as a 'sponsor' a tile scheme (£1 enabled everyone to sponsor a roof tile, which was then engraved with the individual's name).
As well as being constructed from sustainably sourced wood, the shop will generate it's own electricity via photovoltaic panels, with any surplus being sold on to the national grid. The environmental credentials don't end there...waste water from the sink is used to
flush the toiltes, and the shop is well insulated using sheeps wools. The shop committee have also rated the importance of local food very high on the agenda sourcing products from surrounding communities whereever possible.
Lodsworth Larder, a beneficiary of the Plunkett Foundation's Village CORE Funding Programme, has inevitably attracted a high level of media attention, some of which can be viewed below.
http://www.theargus.co.uk/news/4722624.Lodsworth_Larder_shows_The_Archers_how_it_s_done/
http://www.greenwisebusiness.co.uk/news/more-than-just-a-village-shop-lodsworths-sustainable-community-enterprise-806.aspx
http://www.midhurstandpetworth.co.uk/news/Lodsworth-villagers-open-community-store.5795254.jp
