A village shop will soon be back in business after locals bought in to Fife’s first community share ownership bid.
More than 200 people bought shares totalling £31,770 in Dunshalt Community Shop.
It is hoped renovation of the shop will begin later this year.
The community share ownership model has been used to save rural pubs and shops elsewhere in Scotland but this was the first scheme of its kind in the kingdom.
Dunshalt’s only shop closed two years ago several years after the village had lost its primary school.
Eleanor Porter, chair of Dunshalt Community Shop Steering Group, said: “We are so proud that the people of Dunshalt and supporters from other parts of Fife and even as far away as Cheltenham and Inverness, have got involved with this campaign and have stepped up by investing in the shop.
“We always thought it would be a stretch for such a small village to raise £30,000 but the fact we have beaten that target in just over two months shows how much our village wants and needs a shop.
“Before it closed it was the glue that held the community together.
“There is no pub, school or church in the village and when the shop went, the community lost the only place where people bumped into each other and shared their news.
“Villagers with cars now rely on them to buy basics and those that are dependent on public transport often wait for two hours or more to get back from nearby towns, even if all they need are a few basics.”
Shares bought and grants from the Scottish Land Fund and other funding bodies will get the shop, bought by the community in February, up and running.
Others to benefit from the Community Shares Scotland model have included Uig Community Shop, on Lewis, and the Dig-In community greengrocer in Bruntsfield, Edinburgh, set up amid concerns about a supermarket chain moving into the area.
