West Worcestershire MP Harriett Baldwin this week praised villagers in Alfrick after visiting the emerging new community shop and post office. The MP met with local people to discuss returning post office services to the village. The local community has clubbed together to raise funds to site a new village shop in the ground of the village hall and it will offer a café as well as a post office counter service. This follows the closure of the village shop and Post Office when the previous owner retired. The operation will be run by up to 60 volunteers who are planning a seven day a week service. The village has raised £64,000 to return the shop to Alfrick and a national charity – the Plunkett Foundation – has also helped with funding. Local people have bought shares in the new shop. Harriett invited two senior Post Office representatives to visit the shop and discuss how to support the volunteers as they set up the post office service. Harriett said: “Alfrick is a perfect example of a community pulling together to give something back. The loss of the shop and post office was a huge blow for villagers but they have been an example to all of us in the way that they have found this solution. “I was pleased to be able to bring senior Post Office managers to meet with the community and discuss how they can help to ease the processes of re-starting the service. “I have been told that the Post Office is keen to support this venture and I will be doing all I can to promote this great story locally and in Westminster. “I look forward to seeing the shop open and I hope that people from the surrounding areas will support their local shop now and in the future.”