Whitby Railway Community Shop Crowdfunder

Aim

Our aim is to help reignite the once thriving community on Fishburn Park by reinstating our local shop and providing a new community hub.

Hi, my name is Briony and I am part of the steering group for Whitby Railway Community Shop. 'The Railway' is how many residents refer to the Fishburn Park area of Whitby which is very close to the Railway tracks and crossing.

Fishburn Park has alway had a strong sense of community, with its own schools, a butcher, a fish & chip shop and its own pub. Unfortunately, just before the first lockdown in March 2020, we lost our local convenience store. It turns out this couldn't have happened at a worse time, as we all discovered when Covid hit. The absence of a local shop got some of us to thinking, "What if we could create a community shop?" 

As messages and ideas flew around we started to focus on the idea of a community hub as well, as we know many residents on the estate who can feel slightly isolated due to the increasing amount of holiday accommodation.

With this in mind, as well as a general store providing a range of essentials and local produce, we also aim (when it is possible!) to create a space for folk to meet over a quick coffee, or to hold community events such as art evenings and book swaps.

The building was once owned by Whitby's renowned bakers, Botham's. In fact it was their original premises and boasted a beautiful stained glass window. Unfortunately due to a recent break-in this window was damaged and needs to be refurbished. 

We really need your help to get the repairs and the shop project off the ground so any donation would be greatly appreciated and put to incredibly good use so please give what you can!

This project successfully funded on 19th March 2021