The people of Ponsanooth have their shop back after nearly a year’s wait, following a grand opening on Tuesday morning.

Villagers gathered outside the restored Ponsanooth Village Stores, almost 11 months after flooding forced it to close, to watch the ribbon being cut and the first customers enter.

Shop owner Michelle Firminger thanked everyone for turning up before asking Glenys and Jeff Powell, who had let her run a temporary store from a portable building on their land, to officially open the store.

She said: “Thank you all for coming, and a fairly big thank you to Glenys and Jeff for everything they have done over this year.”

The shop was devastated by flooding on December 23 last year, but has since been a rallying point for the village, with residents coming together on Christmas Eve to clear floodwater and detritus, supporting Michelle by providing a place to stay and places to keep her possessions, helping with arrangements for the temporary shop and fundraising towards the refurbishment.

A plaque was unveiled on Tuesday morning at the same time as the opening, showing the handprints of the volunteers who had helped to man the temporary stores over the past ten months.

Michelle said: “It’s a day that seemed a very long time away, it doesn’t seem real quite at the moment.

“The last few weeks have been unreal, with long hours setting up.

“The staff have been an incredible support with everything, and we have gone from four staff to nine.”

The shop did face some challenges during refurbishment, including the collapse of the ceiling which the insurance company refused to cover, meaning Michelle had to increase the mortgage, supported by the Post Office and fundraising from the community.

Michelle said: “It’s been an incredible journey, given the amount of things going wrong, and seeming like they would never be solved.

“It’s just an incredible display of community and care, and the number of people who came out this morning shows that. It’s a place for people to come for a chat and to know it’s safe for children to shop on their own as well.”

She added: “It’s very exciting with all the new things we have got, with the deli counter and local cheese and meats. It’s a far better shop for the kind of village we have; people can do a very sensible whole week’s shop in here now. It’s very exciting and hopefully the villagers have got the shop they deserve.”

Falmouth Packet: