Village PO gets global acclaim (From Gazette Series)

Village PO gets global acclaim

VISITORS from Italy and Sweden have been taken to see the village shop in Coaley as an example of best business practice in a rural community.

The Coaley Shop and Post Office Association (CoSPA) was chosen by the University of Gloucestershire as an example of how village shops can be managed successfully.

Visitors from the University of Tuscia, in Viterbo, Italy, and The Swedish Agricultural in Uppsala, were accompanied by Prof Michael Mosley, Prof Bill Slee and senior lecturer Elizabeth Skinner during their visit to Coaley on April 5.

Prof Slee, who arranged the trip, said: "We are in the process of developing a masters course in European Rural development. We were interested in taking visitors from Sweden and Italy into the field to show them some examples of both the challenges and responses to the challenges of business in Gloucestershire today.

"CoSPA came to mind because we knew about it but we had never visited it before. It seemed like a nice example to be able to show good community action in fulfilling an important rural service."

The group of six also visited Dursley to see what was happening to businesses in the town.

Prof Slee continued: "In many ways our visit showed a balance between bigger issues in rural economic changes and the micro responses of a community who do something about it.

"I think our visitors were really impressed. I think the enthusiasm of the volunteers for the project came across to them. They were obviously impressed by both the involvement of the community and how they work together and how it all worked through volunteers."

Chairman of CoSPA Dudley George said: "We were really delighted that our international visitors had heard of our work. The group were going round to see various examples of best business practice in the county. The visit was to show that this is how a village can run a post office and shop."