A RENOVATED community store has finally opened its doors to the public, bringing to a close a lengthy saga.
Since October, construction has been underway on the new Gosfield Community Shop, which is now finally complete and opening this week.
Volunteers and locals waged a lengthy campaign to keep the store open, and they are ecstatic that their efforts have been successful.
The store was functioning out of a temporary structure in the parking lot of the local baseball field.
Braintree Council granted planning permission on the condition that the store would operate from a permanent location rather than a transient one.
The shop had previously obtained permission to construct an addition to the adjacent sports pavilion as its permanent home; however, construction had to commence by October of last year or it would have been forced to cease.
A revamped community shop has opened, ending a protracted saga.
It was estimated to cost well over £100,000, so the committee successfully applied for a National Lottery grant.
The chairman of the committee, Brian Payne, was ecstatic to see the hard work eventually pay off.
He stated, “I am pleased to announce that the new store opened on Monday and is looking fantastic.
“When the current volunteer committee took over, we were hit with lockdown and then the enforcement order, so the odds were already stacked against us.”
“It is simply amazing. The store is larger, offers more selection, and is more user-friendly. People are now spending more because there is more space and they stay longer inside.
“It’s pleasant to see the elderly ladies with their strollers having more space to move around.
“The entire undertaking is a fantasy come true. Although I never doubted we would raise the money, I was surprised that we did so in such a brief period of time.
“The first time I saw the completed establishment was awe-inspiring, and now it will be there for future generations, which is what matters most.
We now hope that someone from the National Lottery will be able to attend the upcoming grand inauguration.