Scottish town raises the bread to open bakery

SCOTLAND'S first community-owned bakery is set to open this year – after residents raised more than £50,000 to kick-start the project.

Dunbar Community Bakery Ltd has attracted 230 shareholders, who have contributed an average of 100 each to raise 23,000 in equity investment. Its management committee has also secured pledges of 28,000 in interest-free loans and grants and hopes to identify a premises in the next few months.

This is the first attempt to open a community bakery in Scotland, although the model has been successful in England.

The number of bakeries in Scotland has fallen by half over the past 30 years as the growth of large supermarkets and the proliferation of edge-of-town retail developments have squeezed out independent retailers.

The community bakery project is headed up by retail expert Jane Wood, chair of Scottish Business in the Community, who lives in Dunbar, while Fiona Moriarty of the Scottish Retail Consortium is on the management committee.

Ms Wood said: "The response from people in Dunbar has been amazing. Since the summer, we have raised 51,000. We are working hard to complete the funding package. But we will only be able to apply for some grants and soft loans once we have secured premises. We are appealing to everyone who shops in Dunbar to support the initiative.

"Dunbar's last bakery was still trading profitably when it closed in November 2008. We are confident we can establish a financially viable business producing distinctive high-quality bread and other bakery goods. We hope to attract business from nearby towns such as Haddington and North Berwick, which no longer have a home bakery, as well as from the people of Dunbar and the surrounding villages."

Dunbar High Street still has a butcher, a fishmonger, a greengrocer and a delicatessen, but residents believe a quality bakery is key to securing its future. The number of bakeries in Scotland has fallen by half over the past 30 years as the growth of large supermarkets and the proliferation of edge-of-town retail developments have squeezed out independent retailers.

The initiative is supported by Enterprise Minister Jim Mather – and by Iain Gray, East Lothian MSP and Labour leader.

He said: "In these times of economic challenges we must look at new ways of re-invigorating our high streets using innovative models of business. I support this drive by Dunbar's residential and business community to enrich and diversify the retail offer of the High Street."

Ms Wood said there are clear indications that consumers want to shop local for quality goods and services they cannot get in larger stores – and to support the communities where they live and the businesses which underpin their vitality. DCB aims to join a new generation of successful artisan bakeries that are bucking the decline of the bakery sector as a whole.

Weblink: www.dunbarcommunitybakery.org.uk