Villagers will get general store after six-year gap
A SHOP will open in a Weardale village six years after the previous one closed.
Planning permission was granted this week to convert a double garage at the Punch Bowl Inn in Edmundbyers into a convenience store.
Punch Bowl landlord Chris Brown said the shop combined with a coffee room and the main pub would become a hub in the village.
He said: “At the moment, if you run out of milk, it’s an 18-mile round trip to go and get some. There are about 200 people who live in the village not to mention the two caravan parks and youth hostel which attract many people in the summer.
“This is a popular area with walkers and cyclists completing the coast to coast route as well as fishers and visitors to nearby Derwent Reservoir. There is definitely a need for a shop not just for the local residents.”
Chris also hopes the shop, which will sell basic products such as milks and eggs as well as ready meals and ice creams, could prove a vital meeting point for the village’s older residents.
He said: “Older people can have little contact with other people, the social aspect is vital. They now have the excuse to go to the shop and maybe meet friends there for a coffee and a chat. It could become a weekly or daily visit for people.”
The pub is currently partially closed although it is still running as a four-star bed and breakfast. The shop should be open by the end of January and the pub will fully re-open in April.
Durham County Council planning officer Paul Martinson said the new shop would be matched to the conservation area in the centre of the village.
He said a shop would be a good addition to the village and would improve services for the residents as well as tourists.