Community effort brings shop and café back to village left without for decade

A new shop and café has opened in south-east Wales, restoring services a village had been without and creating a community space.

The project has been made possible through £300,000 from the Welsh Government’s Community Facilities Programme, alongside support from the National Lottery Community Fund.

Built on community-owned land in the centre of Rogiet, the development has been led by local volunteers who set out to tackle loneliness and strengthen community ties.

Rogiet lost its shop in 2014, but the new building will now offer affordable, locally-sourced produce, as well as a café serving meals and takeaways six days a week, a teaching kitchen running cooking classes, and a community garden where people can learn gardening skills and grow food for the café.

The facility is run by a general manager and chef with support from the trustees and around 40 volunteers.

Katherine Close, RCJ Trustee, said: “We are so grateful for the investment and support that we have received from the Welsh Government’s Community Facilities Programme. The need for this project has been evident in the village for a long time and after many years of dreaming and planning we are so pleased to now be open for our community.

“We are a community-powered project, created to be a welcoming, inclusive and sustainable hub of good food and connection in our local area. Without this kind of investment, we wouldn’t have been able to do it. Thank you from the whole team at Rogiet Community Junction.”

The Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice, Jane Hutt, visited the site this week to meet trustees and volunteers. She said: “The project brings back a shop and a café and provides a place where people can learn new skills, meet their neighbours and feel part of village life again.

“Having these services available locally will make a real difference every day, particularly for older residents and for families who rely on community facilities. This is exactly the kind of community-led initiative we are proud to support through the Community Facilities Programme.”

The Community Facilities Programme is now open for new applications, offering smaller grants of up to £25,000 and larger grants of up to £300,000. Since 2015, it has supported almost 500 projects across Wales with more than £70 million of investment.