West Worcestershire MP Harriett Baldwin this week officially opened the new community shop in Alfrick at a ceremony in front of hundreds of local people. The MP performed the ribbon cutting ceremony before the store was officially opened for local shoppers on Saturday (September 29). The volunteer-run shop offers a wide range of local produce as well as daily groceries. The store will also be the site of a post office counter service later this year. Harriett told the villagers that the store’s resumption had been marked in a debate in the House of Commons and is now recorded in Hansard - the national record of parliamentary debate. And she congratulated Alan Soper and the host of local volunteers who will now help to run the community store. Harriett commented: “This has been a long journey to return a village store to Alfrick and I pay tribute to the hard work put in by local people. “I am particularly pleased that so many people have agreed to volunteer their time to help out and I look forward to seeing the shop return to its place at the heart of the village community. “I will continue lobbying the Government to assist in the speedy return of postal services but I hope that local people and those from surrounding villages will be able to take advantage of this impressive new local amenity.” Photo: Harriet Baldwin MP opens Alfrick community store with Alan Soper