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Active Villagers


Residents of a small Welsh-speaking community have clubbed together to buy the post office and shop, ten years after buying the pub.

The people of Llithfaen, Caernarfonshire were determined to prevent their village losing its focal point. Ten years ago they paid £40,000 for the pub, called the Victoria, and now they have helped to keep the shop open. Most of the cost, £19,500, was met by the local council and a European Union grant, but the villagers needed to raise a further £6,000 to buy the shop from the owner who is retiring.

John Jones, chairman of the community committee, said: “We went around every house and came back with £500 more than we needed. The post office and the pub are essential to the life of the village. There are no other amenities.

“We were not prepared to stand by and let the heart and soul be ripped out of our community. No one else was going to help us so we decided to buy them ourselves.” Llithfaen had a population of 600 but that halved when nearby granite quarries were closed. The primary school was shut because of the population decline but the locals turned it into a leisure centre and youth club.

The shop has been leased to Ffion Medi Llywelyn, 24, who lives in the village with her husband, Dillon. She said: “There is a wonderful community spirit here.”

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