Shop Front

Welcome To Bradfield Southend Village Stores

& Post Office

6 Lea House, Southend Road, Bradfield Southend, Reading, Berkshire RG7 6EY

(Next To The Village Hall, Free Parking In The Village Hall)

It is our policy to stock as much local produce as we can, including local crafts



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AGM

Annual General Meeting 2025

6:30 pm Monday 16th June 2025, Bradfield Village Hall

The Summary Accounts will be available at the meeting.

During and after the formal business there will be an opportunity for people to ask questions of the current Management Committee. However, our Association rules state that existing committee members have to stand down at the AGM and a new committee is voted in at the meeting. Existing members however are permitted to stand for re-election.

Any shareholder over the age of 18 is eligible to put their names forward for election to the committee by completing a nomination form. Should you be interested, please ensure that it is also signed by a Seconder and Proposer who are shareholders and over 18 years of age.

Nomination forms for committee membership can be left for me at the shop, marked confidential. Please also note that the closing date for submission is 9th June 2025.

We really look forward to seeing as many shareholders as possible. Non-shareholders are also very welcome to attend. Please pass on the details of the meeting to anyone you think might be interested.

Don’t forget, the Stores are set up for the benefit of the community so please get involved.

If you would like to help in the stores, we always need volunteers even if it is only for the odd hour or two during the week; times can be flexible. So if you could assist, in the first instance please contact Kate Brealey the General Manager at the Stores.

THE BRADFIELD SOUTHEND VILLAGE STORES ASSOCIATION LTD

MANAGEMENT REPORT TO THE AGM FOR 2024

The shop has continued to trade well in 2024, making a small profit. Prices have stabilised and we try and keep our prices as competitive as we can and get good deals where possible. Whilst we continue to be able to make a small profit, as in recent years, the shop has to cover the losses the Post Office makes most months – in 2024 this amounted to £1,700 in total. We have discussed ways in which we can reduce the losses but the only consistent way to do this would be reducing opening hours and we feel strongly this is not the way forward to provide the best offer to the customers we serve.

Mainly due to the interest rates being higher over the last couple of years, we decided to distribute some of our profit to local organisations and advertised this with a request for what the money would be used for. In total, 4 organisations benefited from £1,250 in total.

Once again we increased our staff salaries – the continued increase in National Minimum Wage is a challenge for the balance sheet whilst of course being a good thing for those who work so hard for us.

We continue to place a lot of importance in supporting local food businesses where we can and sourcing locally. We also have a number of locally made crafts for sale which are very popular. We also try and be as environmentally friendly as we can – you can recycle blister packs, plastic bottle tops and batteries in the shop.

We support as many charities and local groups as possible including the Charlie Waller Memorial Trust, raising £365 selling their Christmas cards. Hats off to several members of the team who took part in the muddy run and raised an astonishing £1,796 for Breast Cancer. We continue to support the Air Ambulance raising £208 and the Royal British Legion with £575. The sale of Newbury Cancer Care calendars raised £240.

All the activity in the shop would not be possible without our hardworking team of both paid staff and volunteers and we have welcomed a couple of new volunteers to our ranks this year. A big thank you too to the management committee who give up their time to ensure the shop runs smoothly. Particular thanks as always to our main manager Kate, and Phil for the shop and Sam for the post office, who work so hard to keep everything thriving.

Our customers are very generous in their donations to the food bank – we are one of the most consistently generous collection points. In the summer we were delighted to sell produce from the not-for-profit community project Five A Day based in Englefield and customers have also brought in excess home grown produce to share.

And that takes me to our customers. We are so much more than just a shop – we provide a place for locals to come and catch up, often by accident, to pick up local news on events and share a laugh or two with staff. It is a pleasure to serve you – and we simply wouldn’t survive without you and we thank every single one of you for your regular custom and continuing loyalty during 2024. Please continue to support us in 2025, which will be our 20th anniversary year. We are grateful for every sale which allows us to continue to provide you with a village shop I hope we can all be proud of.

Helen Hyde

Chairman, May 2024