Northumberland business up for Countryside Alliance awards

Jan 20 2010 by Brian Daniel, The Journal

The Belsay business has made it a double, winning the best post office and village shop category for the second year running.

The award is particularly poignant for owner Stephanie Jarron, 42, who is selling the business to employee of three years Laura Sym, 21, of nearby Milbourne, at the end of the month.

Stephanie, who lives in Belsay, took over the business after giving up a career as a barrister and became a partner in the post office last year after a community battle failed to sway bosses from withdrawing the counter.

She has had to pay to run that element of the business yet has increased the overall turnover. And she also oversees a 90-mile paper round which also delivers groceries to farms, and missed only two days in the recent snowfall.

Stephanie will work for a month while handing over to Laura but is looking for a new job and may return to law. She said: “We are very happy. It is quite nice, she is coming in on a high.

“It is nice to get it two years running, it seems to have a bit of a life of its own, this shop.”

Foremans at Norham picked up the traditional business award.

David Foreman, 50, is the fourth generation of owners with his family having set up the firm in 1840 and has run the shop his whole working life.

He takes all his meat from a 30-mile radius, with the beef coming from a farm within Norham.

David’s eight staff are also local and one has clocked up 37 years.

A fourth North East winner is Piercebridge Organic Farm, in Darlington, County Durham, which picked up the local food award.