RESIDENTS of Hurstbourne Tarrant turned out in force for the grand opening of their refurbished village general store.

The store on the main Andover to Newbury road had previously closed in August and has now reopened as a Family Shopper outlet.

The new owner, Vinothkumar Kandasamy, has worked with his wife, Sathya and assistant, Carla Taylor, to refurbish the store to get it up and running.

He said: “It has not been easy, especially some of the legal aspects, with which Nigel Bull of Bull & Co. has been a great help.

“The support of retail development controller, Steve Hazzard, area manager, John Gibney, and retail development manager, Pawel Burdzey of Booker Wholesale, is much appreciated. We are very proud to be able to be the first general store in the south west region trading under the Family Shopper banner.”

The ribbon to open the store on Thursday last week was cut by local novelist, Lance Greenfield Mitchell.

One of the first shoppers through the door Rupert Conder, said, “It is so essential to have a well-stocked, reasonably-priced, village store, which revitalises the community spirit and encourages residents to stay local. The prices become even more competitive when you start to consider the cost of fuel and parking and the impact on one’s personal stress levels and time when shopping in town.

“The whole village is delighted to see that Mr and Mrs Kandasamy are re-opening our local store, particularly the older residents, who prefer to shop within yards of their homes than to make the arduous journey into Andover or Newbury to collect their provisions.

The new shop is looking splendid and the prices represent great value.”