A full share option prospectus is available for download as a PDF document here

Acknowledgements

The interim board of directors at Buth Scalpaigh Limited would like to take this opportunity to thank all those who have supported this development and without whom a Community Shop on Scalpay would not be possible.

	Leader
	Highlands and Islands Enterprise
	Comhairle nan Eilean Siar
	Business Gateway
Harris Development Ltd CIB Services Stornoway Tolsta Community Shop Eriskay Community Shop Ravenspoint Community Shop J & D Macleod (previous owners of Scalpay Shop) Cllr Catherine Macdonald

Introduction

Scalpay is a small island (around 6 square miles) located 300 metres from the neighbouring Isle of Harris although both islands are now adjoined upon the completion of a single span road bridge in 1997

The 2001 census record shows there being 322 people living in Scalpay although that figure is now thought to be around 300. The neighbouring villages of Kyles Scalpay and Carragrich have an additional population of 75

The population, whilst in slow decline, is fairly stable but the percentage proportion of over 60′s is steadily increasing and it is a continuous effort to try and maintain sustainability. The concept of sustainability is the cornerstone of which any community is to survive. Among the key components of a sustainable rural community is the retention of as many local facilities as possible.

The local shop in Scalpay was under the ownership of J&D Macleod who ran a vibrant and successful business until their retiral in December 2004. The subsequent successors to the shop only traded for 2 years before closing the premises in 2007

The loss of this facility has dealt a severe blow to the community and threatens to have a disastrous impact of the future sustainability of the island. Although there was interest from private buyers regarding the purchase of the building, it remained un-sold having being on the market for over a year. It was at this stage that Scalpay residents began examining the possibility of providing a community run shop for the Island.

Overview

At present, the nearest shop to Scalpay is 7 miles away in Tarbert on mainland of Harris. Therefore a visit to the nearest convenience store means a round trip of 14 miles. Avoidance of the need for these trips would substantially reduce vehicular journeys, with there being consequent benefit to the environment, the local economy, and the population.

It is also important to note that Scalpay Shop was very much a focal point for the community where the residents of Scalpay and the nearby communities would inevitably meet in passing and it served significant role is reinforcing a sense of community within the Island.

Since the closure of the shop in 2007 the sole point of contact for the entire community has been lost. Residents no longer have something as simple as a location displaying public notices or advertising for community events. It should also be noted that whilst the lack of a shop on the Island is felt hardest by the community, visitors to the Island currently have nowhere to go where they might be able to get a cup of tea or provisions.

In addition to the loss of the local shop, the imminent closure of Scalpay School has also caused great concern amongst the residents of Scalpay as the very fabric of their community appears to be disintegrating at an alarming rate. It is imperative that a sense of community is returned to the Island before it is too late altogether.

In order to help safeguard a future for the Island, the residents of Scalpay began examining the possibility of purchasing and running their own community shop and formed a steering group to take the project forward.

In order to gauge support for this concept, a questionnaire was devised and sent out to the local community before the findings of the study were collated and analysed

An excerpt of the results of the survey is appended (the full survey and results table are held by Harris Development Ltd.). The responses showed overwhelming public support for the community purchase of the facility. This support is echoed by the councillors for the Harris area.

STEERING GROUP PROFILE

In 2010 a steering group was officially established. The group are made up entirely of local residents

Peter Dickson (Chairman)
Peter works as a joiner and is well experienced in managing building projects. He also has past experience in training and managing small teams of volunteers during his time in the civil service.

Morag Macleod (Secretary)
Morag has held a place on the voluntary board of directors for community development company HDL for 2 years and has played a pivotal role in a great number of successful community projects throughout Scalpay, Harris and the Western Isles. Morag was the secretary of the Scalpay community council from 2006 until resigning in 2009 in order to fully concentrate on the Community Shop Project.

Lorna Wheeler (Treasurer)
Lorna has 22 years experience as a Senior Officer within a local authority, Finance & Operations department, managing over 20 staff. During this time she worked with several Community Partnership Committees on a wide spectrum of community issues. Since moving to Scalpay Lorna now works in a local shop/filling station where she is responsible for the purchasing, book keeping (including invoicing, VAT, wages), stock control and counter service.

Karen Allen
Karen previously worked in the retail sector as a trouble shooter for the Cooperative Group carrying out failure analysis for individual stores before devising and applying corrective action strategies for each site. Karen has settled in Scalpay with her husband and young family.

Murdo MacSween
A lifelong resident of Scalpay, Murdo is married with 3 children. He has lent his support to many successful community projects within the Island with his main focus being in coordinating play schemes and after-schools clubs for local children

Scalpay Shop Premises

The proposed site of the community shop development is within the immediate vicinity of 2 of Scalpay’s working piers and could benefit greatly from the trade provided by the large workforce within the Island engaged in fishing and the fish farming industry. In addition to the commercial workforce operating in Scalpay there are also a great number of visiting tradesmen who travel from Lewis & Harris on a daily basis to carry out work on domestic and commercial buildings. The main pier on the Island is also extremely popular with yachts and pleasure boats as it provides one of the very few deep water berths with fuel and fresh water facilities available to boats arriving in Harris.

As well as marine tourism, a far greater number of visitors arrive in Scalpay by road and the site of the proposed shop is in a prime location for capitalising on passing trade.

A shop operating in Scalpay would benefit immensely from what is currently un-tapped, year round trade provided by the resident population of Scalpay and the surrounding communities (375 people live within a 3 mile radius of the proposed site) as well as from the commercial and domestic workforce in the area. This guaranteed, year round trade also has the capacity to be given a significant boost during the summer months thanks to the increased number of visitors to the Island arriving in the form of self-catering and B&B residents, day visitors and marine tourism

The initiative to progress the possible community purchase option is being led by the Scalpay Community Development Committee borne who at the present are the lead agency furthering the development proposal

The shop property is structurally sound but requires repairs, redecoration and shop fittings for it to be fit for purpose again.

The building currently comprises of

Large Shop area
Tea room
Kitchen
Male and female cloakrooms
Undeveloped upper floor
Car parking
Potential for external cafeteria area

View of shop premises with the North Harbour in the background

Consideration has been given to converting the undeveloped upper floor to form living accommodation but the additional space could also be utilised as a storage and chiller area which would enable bulk buying at more favourable purchasing terms to aid the quality of service, sales and profitability of the shop.

Benefits of Community Ownership

Due to the impact of modern consumer habits, many rural communities have been losing their local facilities and it is often the most vulnerable within the community who are worst effected, particularly those who are aged, disabled, on low income or without vehicle access.

Community ownership/operation is a way of securing these facilities for the long term future and providing a much needed service to everyone within the community

There are many advantages to community ownership such as

Providing a lifeline to community. Especially for the most vulnerable and aging members of the community
Providing a social focal point and meeting place
Enhancing the prevailing sense of community and inclusion
Providing much needed employment to local people and helping to retain money within the community
The facility can provide an outlet for local produce and crafts
It will be beneficial to tourism in the area and encourage more people to visit
There is potentially a negative environmental impact should the shop NOT come back into operation
The success of project such as this can provide a community with the drive to take greater control over their own affairs and for people to become more community orientated

Research and investigative work

The committee have carried out an extensive amount of research and enquiries whilst progressing their aspiration to provide a community shop for the Island

This has involved meeting with representatives from other Community shops in order to gain from their experiences whilst delivering their own projects.

Representatives from the committee visited a well-established and successful community shop in Eriskay and saw what could be achieved in an area with an even lesser population than that of Scalpay. The communities of Eriskay and Scalpay also have the shared experience of having been previously annexed from their neighbouring Island although they have now become connected by road access through major developments in the Islands infrastructure.

Eriskay Community Shop

This sharing of experience has proven invaluable and has given an insight into the correct procedures required to make the project work but it has also provided the added benefit of highlighting how much a small community is capable of achieving

In order to be as competitive as possible, the shop intends to become a corporate member of the Co-op and discussions will be held with them to progress this matter. Discussions are also to be opened with Community Retailing Network in order to gain as much of an advantage as possible relating to the successful operation of a community shop.

The entity which will run the shop will be a company limited by shares, specifically formed for that purpose with membership open to residents of the area and anyone with a connection to it. It will trade and be regulated as a community co-operative.

Tolsta Community Shop

Tolsta Community shop opened in March 2010 and has an estimated population catchment of 375, almost identical to that of the combined population of Scalpay and the neighbouring villages of Carragrich and Kyles.

Ravenspoint Community Shop (Lochs)

Ravenspoint Community Shop

Ravenspoint Tea Room

Having visited Ravenspoint Community Shop, Scalpay representatives began examining the possibility of replicating the existing Co Comumn Na Pairc model by supplementing the shop’s income with a community cafe.

Community Survey

In December 2008 a community survey was carried out which achieved almost 100% participation of the 128 households in Scalpay. (Survey Results Detailed Below)

Scalpay Community Shop Business Plan

(please note that these figures relate to the shop only and they do not account for any income from the proposed Café. A full copy of the business plan is available from Coinneach Morrison at Harris Development Ltd)

Year 1 Projections

Year 2 Projections

Year 3 Projections

(Please refer to the PDF document at the top of the page for all business plan data)

Project Costs

The steering group commissioned survey evaluations to be carried out relating to the purchase and repair of the existing building and arrived at the following

(Please refer to the PDF document at the top of the page for all data relating to costs)

Secured Funding

With assistance from Harris Development Ltd the steering group worked to identify and secure funding streams which would allow the project to go ahead.

(Please refer to the PDF document at the top of the page for all funding data)

Recommended Business Structure

Having sought the advice of solicitors it was recommended that the steering group replicate the working model endorsed by Tolsta Community Shop and form separate not for profit community company who lease the premises to a separate community cooperative responsible for running the shop. This ensures that the community asset (the shop premises) is protected in the unlikely event of the event of the community run business being a failure.

In September 2010 Scalpay Community Development were formed and they are the lead body responsible for the purchase, upgrade and leasing of the shop premises whilst Buth Scalpaigh Limited will be responsible for the day to day running of the shop. This working model is adopted under the pretext that both organisations will work towards the same objective which is to facilitate and run a Community Shop for Scalpay.

Proposed Staff Structure

It’s estimated that at least 2.25 year round, full time equivalent posts will be created via the Community Shop venture which will be supplemented by an additional 2 seasonal staff responsible for running the Cafe

Project Milestones

Sept 2010 Scalpay Community Development formed
Nov 2010 Buth Scalpaigh Formed
Jan 2011 All funding secured
Feb 2011 Bid for Shop submitted
Mar 2011 £50,000 bid accepted and building brought into community ownership

Lorna Wheeler, Morag Macleod, Pete Dickson and Coinneach Morrison (HDL) pictured inside Scalpay Community Shop collecting the keys

Future Works

As much as bringing the shop building into community ownership was a significant milestone for the project, the vast majority of work required is yet to be carried out before the shop will be available to the community. Without the suggested income generated from the share option scheme, the continuation of the project will be in jepordy.

Share Option Scheme
Building Warrant Application
Tendering Process
Completion of Building Works
Shop fitting
Recruit Store Manager
Recruit Staff
Staff Training
Purchase Stock
Begin trading and open Café

Planned Developments and Potential Opportunities

Stock local crafts
Promote Scalpay
Source fresh profuce from local growers
Serve locally made produce in the cafe
Cafe to made available to local community groups off season.
Make venue available for small functions.

Potential Opportunities for future Development

Upstairs Apartment
Fish Mongers
Home Delivery Service
Renewable Energy Development
Development of Scalpay School

Buth Scalpaigh Share Option Scheme

This share option scheme is critical to the development of Scalpay Community Shop and the community’s involvement in its management. The majority of funding secured for this project can only be claimed on a retrospective basis and it is essential that the project builds up a sizeable cash reserve in order to begin work on the building.

The share option scheme also serves the purpose of creating a list of members from which a new list of directors will be formed in order to represent the community and to oversee the management of the shop (the current list of directors for Buth Scalpaigh are only in place on an interim basis for the purposes of registering the cooperative and will be dissolved once a new membership list has been established.

It is essential that the community raise their target of £10,000 from this share option scheme although to raise a greater amount that this would be very much welcomed and serve to benefit the community’s needs further still

• Share option target £10,000

• Minimum Individual Purchase ( x 1 share) £ 25

• Legal maximum individual purchase ( x 800 shares)

Key Points

1 member 1 vote, irrespective of the amount of shares purchase.
No return is expected to be paid out on shares.
Any profit is likely to be reinvested into the community
Any share purchase should be viewed as an investment in the community rather than an investment expectant of financial return.
Those wishing to withdraw shares at a later date will be able to do so within the agreed terms.
It is expected that those who use the shop facilities are likely to benefit financially in the form of reduced fuel costs through a reduction in car mileage as well as being able to purchase cheaper produce
There is no cut-off date for joining Buth Scalpaigh although it is intended to elect a new committee from within the list of members which have subscribed by 30th June 2011.

Social benefits gained from your investment

Although we ask potential investors in this community cooperative not to view their investment as a way of achieving a financial return, we would urge you to consider the many social benefits which your contribution can bring to the Island and we urge you to support this community venture

Buth Scalpaigh

Providing an essential service to the community
Providing a social focal point and meeting place
Enhancing the sense of community and social inclusion
Providing employment
Providing an outlet for local produce and crafts
Benefitting tourism in the area
Providing the community with the confidence to embark upon similar community projects

Anyone wishing to become a member of Buth Scalpaigh Limited by purchasing shares in this community cooperative should request an application form from any of the following.

Web: www.scalpaycommunityshop.co.uk
Email:
Telephone: 01859 502 373

Morag Macleod (Secretary)
Cala Reidh
Bayhead
Scalpay
HS4 3XY
Telephone: 01859 540 212

Share Option Scheme

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