Representatives from the Snooks Corner Community Group donated £775 to the campaign to save the Felpham Village Post Office. Huge thanks to them and all their members for this massive support.

We are holding an open day to see the new space and our plans for the post office, which will relocate from 92 Felpham Road in due course…

We will be open from 11AM – 3PM on Sunday 20th October and all are welcome! Tea and refreshments will be served. Thanks to Gatterell’s for the gorgeous stem ginger cake!

1 Grassmere Parade
Felpham PO22 7NT

The Bognor Observer covered the event here

A successful and well-attended gathering took place last night at St. Mary’s Centre to update the community on our latest progress and get feedback and suggestions.

Lizzie Mickery opened the meeting and welcomed all. You can read her introduction here.

Sarah Hodgson followed with this speech and Peter Rollison gave us the financial report and update.

Lizzie then closed the meeting.

(Inbetween, Mike Harding showed some slides and photos of the new premises, highlighting the state they are in and financial investment needed to get them ship-shape.)

We will print out these texts and post them in the window of 1 Grassmere Parade soon.

Thanks to all who not only attended but also sent us good wishes if they couldn’t attend. Its heart-warming to know the community is alongside us.

SAVE FELPHAM VILLAGE POST OFFICE CAMPAIGN – EXCITING NEWS!!

AN OPEN MEETING WILL BE HELD ON TUESDAY AUGUST 13TH 2024, AT 7PM At ST MARY’S CENTRE, GRASSMERE CLOSE, FELPHAM PO22 7NU

THE FRIENDS OF FELPHAM CIC LOOK FORWARD TO WELCOMING ALL THE COMMUNITY TO UPDATE YOU ON THE LATEST DEVELOPMENTS.

Thanks to you the Campaign has raised over £160,000. We were applying for a Government Levelling Up Grant to buy the Post Office Business and the building and believed we had a strong chance to achieve this. Then gloom set in as the grant process was put in ‘purdah’ during the election run up and has now been suspended by the new government. Even the last successful applicants from March ’24 have not been paid, so we realised there was every chance the grant would not be available again.

However, we have good news!! Thanks to a donor, who wishes to remain anonymous, we are now in a position to buy the Post Office Business itself without the building, which the Sub-Postmaster, has kindly agreed to.

Luckily, at the same time, the property on Grassmere Parade that traded as Corals became available to lease and we have first refusal. Grassmere is where the original village post office was located, the post office is coming home! This is a bright, airy space, large enough to house two post office counters, a banking hub and enlarged shop. It is still in the heart of the village with nearby parking and disabled access. The beating heart of the community remains, exactly there – in the centre of the village.

The contributions you have made are as vital as they ever were. They enable us to transform the space, transfer the business and finance the Post Office and shop until it is up and running. Costings suggest that in time, without the overheads of a building that needs constant maintenance, this will increase viability. Obviously, we will have to suspend some of our other plans in the short term – for example, the Community Hub, but we’re working on that. 

We intend to have an open meeting at St Mary’s Centre on Tuesday August 13th at 7pm to explain our plans in greater detail and take questions. All financial details will be available, financial and legal advice has been taken. Hopefully this meeting will be followed by an open day at the new shop at a later date! 

YOUR CONTRIBUTIONS – 

Anyone who contributed a £100 or more will receive one share in the CIC which entitles you to a voice and a vote at the annual AGM. If you wish to make up your contribution to £100, we would be very grateful.

If your contribution is £100 or over, you can now decide whether it is a donation or an interest free loan with the possibility of repayments over time depending on the profits of the business. If you would like more details or to opt for an interest free loan, please let us know at info@friendsoffelpham.org or ring 07788846919 and speak to Mike.

Saving our valuable Post Office for the Community was always the plan and we hope you are as pleased as we are.  We could not be doing this without you, your wonderful support and your contributions.  But of course, if you are unhappy with the new plan and are considering withdrawing your contribution, please contact us on the email address above or ring. As we need to finalise decisions on Grassmere Parade in the next couple of weeks, we would really appreciate it if you could respond before August 12th.

Thank you everyone, now we do have the opportunity to write our own story.

The Directors of Friends of Felpham Community Interest Company

Save Our Village Post Office, July 30^th 2024

We are delighted to confirm that Chris Watson is now presenting “A Journey South” on Saturday 27th July at 7PM (rearranged from 11th June @ St Mary’s Centre)

PLEASE NOTE*** NEW VENUE: The event will now take place at:

THE FELPHAM MEMORIAL VILLAGE HALL, 17-19 Vicarage Lane, Felpham PO22 7DZ

Location & directions

We regret to inform you that A Journey South by Chris Watson, the scheduled event for 7PM Tuesday 11th June 2024 at St Mary’s Centre in Felpham, has to be postponed due to serious injury. Chris presents his sincere apologies. He feels dreadful about letting you all down but is fully committed to honouring his commitment to Felpham and proposes a new date for late August. He will contact me as soon as he has a specific date, and I’ll let you know.

Of course all tickets are valid for the forthcoming date in late August. If you are away at that time or wish a refund, do let us know at by email here., or at the post office itself and we will arrange repayment. Bring your tickets wit you.

Best wishes and many apologies from all of us involved.

Friends of Felpham Campaign

Chris Watson – A Journey South
St Mary’s Centre, Felpham, West Sussex PO22 7NU

On Tuesday June 11th 2024 at 7PM, Chris Watson, the world’s leading wildlife sound recordist, comes to Felpham to present “A Journey South”, the story of his trip to Antarctica with Sir David Attenborough for the BBC TV series “A Frozen Planet” (2016).

Tickets are now available locally at the Post Office or by email here. All proceeds from ticket sales, which cost £12 (£5 for under 18s), go towards the ‘Save Our Felpham Village Post Office Campaign’, which is up for sale and under threat of closure. The community has got together to save this essential and much-loved local post office.

(If you can’t make it, you can still show your support by buying a ticket for a friend or we can donate the ticket to local schools.)

Photos on Ross Island, Antarctica by Jason Roberts

What a sensational evening! A packed host rocked with laughter as Bill Nighy, interviewed by Lizzie Mickery, gave us an hilarious, warm and intimate insight into his life and career.

We were doubly fortunate to have 2 opening acts from The Felpham Community College; Eloise Lyons (keyboard) accompanied by Libby Wood (vocal) who were commended by The Governors at the college’s fantastic talent show in March, followed by Karina Natkinis, the winner of the competition.

Prior to his arrival at St. Mary’s Centre, Bill Nighy was shown around the village, had fish & chips at The Fox, stood on the sea shore and soaked up the atmosphere of the village. He also visited Blake’s Cottage.

Telling stories about his background, life and career, he let us into the secrets of the indignity of playing a squid pirate with a. very wet Scottish accent, a vampire, which he absolutely loved, or a dying man in ‘Living’.

The mood of the audience as they left was one of elation and delight that he had taken time to support this essential campaign.

Look out for our next exciting, not to be missed show – details below!

Press coverage of the event:
The Argus
BBC Radio Sussex

Photo by Ruth Rollison

Photo by Lizzie Mickery

Full update coming soon! [29th July 2024]

Fantastic news! We’ve just passed the £160,000 mark towards buying the post office building and business in Felpham. We are really grateful to everyone who has contributed.

We are through the first round for the Community Levelling Up Fund. Now we are going into the tough, final round and we need your help.

In order to qualify for full funding, we have to reach the target of £200,000 by raising an extra £40,000 by the end of the month..

If you have already donated but know someone who might contribute, please would you let them know. All donations are fully refundable if we don’t succeed in reaching the target. All contributions will be most gratefully received.

Donations can be made via our GoFundMe or direct into our bank account – details here

Today Lizzie Mickery (front centre) was privileged to go and receive on behalf of Friends of Felpham CIC a cheque for £1000 from the proceeds from The Felpham Community College Talent Show.

Lizzie was previously one of the judges at the sold-out sensational show, held on 26th March 2024. The winner, Karina Natkinis, will be performing the winning piece before Bill Nighy’s appearance on May 14th at St Mary’s Centre (see below).