Village Shop and Post Office come Runner Up

Retailer of the Year AwardsAbbotts Ann & Little Ann Post Office & Shop is the Runner Up in the Best Rural Shop and Post Office.

The team who run the shop in Abbotts Ann went to the House of Lords for the final round of the Best Rural Retailer Competition, having won first place in the regional final at the end of last year. The competition is sponsored by the Countryside Alliance and the Daily Telegraph.

“This year, there were 4000 entries, and they divided these up into four categories. Abbotts Ann was in the Village Shop/Post Office category, which had 2000 entries and they were the National Runner Up. This was a superb result for the village, who entered the competition at a relatively late stage. I was really proud to be invited up with them to receive their award.”

This is the commendation they got when they won the Southern Regional Final

Sara says: “In April 1999 the residents of Abbotts Ann formed The Abbotts Ann Village Shop Association Ltd, whose main objective was to provide and retain a village shop & Post Office for the benefit of the villages and surrounding area, as a community venture. From its Grand Opening in 2002 Abbotts Ann has grown into a thriving community hub which supports the village and surrounding communities. The store is welcoming, well stocked, delivers to the housebound and boasts its own car park! The store hosts special events, promotes local producers and according to locals is so good it is rarely necessary to shop outside of Abbotts Ann. It is an absolute credit to the village and a deserving regional winner”.

Runner up in Retailer of the Year