Prince Charles to open Uley Community Stores

Uley is expecting a visit by royal appointment this Friday, when the Prince of Wales drops by to officially open the village shop and post office.

Owned and run by volunteers, Uley Community Stores came into existence when, after a decade of running the village shop and post office its owners, Dave and Joy Gayten, decided to retire last year.

Not wanting to lose their village shop, a consortium of local residents got together and hatched a plan to save it - and so the community stores initiative came about.

The consortium managed to raise more than £50,000 by selling £10 shares in the not-for-profit enterpise to those residents of Uley and nearby hamlets wanting a stake in their own community-run shop and post office.

The money raised was then used to fund the building works needed to divide the combined shop and accommodation, make the necessary changes for the shop's re-launch and help tide the project over for its initial year of trading.

Uley Community Stores now rents the premises from Mr and Mrs Gayten and is manned and run by a rota of around 50 volunteers day by day.

Prince Charles can expect a warm welcome from Uley Community Stores volunteers, as well as children from the village school and playgroup, when he drops by to open the shop and post office this Friday lunchtime when, no doubt, he will also deliver his royal seal of approval for the fantastic community initiative.

Uley has a population of only around 1,150, but people from nearby villages such as Nympsfield and Kingscote shop there too.

The shop also picks up a fair amount of passing trade, as it is situated on a well-used route between Stroud and Dursley.

After opening Uley Community Stores the Prince will travel to Quedgeley, where he will meet long-serving employees at his shirtmakers, Turnbull and Asser, which has held the Royal Warrant since 1980.