Villagers have shelved plans to run their own shop after research revealed it would not make enough money.
A team of Wilstone residents got together in a bid to launch a community-run shop after their own village store closed due to government cutbacks.
Owner Jenni Corsby said she could not continue the Tring Road business after the store's in-house po
st office branch was axed.
However, villagers hoped to create their own smaller enterprise offering essentials like milk, bread and newspapers. It would have been particularly useful to those, like the elderly, who find it difficult to leave the village.
Jane Waterhouse, who spearheaded the project, said: "The findings and projections we've done indicate that at the moment the shop is not viable.
"The things that a parish-wide survey suggested people would be buying are items such as papers and perishables like milk and bread where the profit margins are low and we would not be able to employ someone to organise volunteers and the day to day running of the shop."
In total 25 per cent of households in the Wilstone parish replied to the survey. Of these 87 per cent (105 people) said they would use the shop weekly.
She added that research showed that projected profits were not sufficient to maintain a business.
"This is obviously a great disappointment but with the financial climate as it is at the present we felt that to go ahead would be foolish.
"Maybe in the future it could be looked at again as the loss of a shop has rather taken the heart out of the village and is concerning for those who are not able to easily access the shops in Tring," she said.
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