A pioneering village shop that is going to offer IT lessons is one of 34 community groups across Cumbria to receive a share of almost £60,000 funding from local broadband provider Fibrus.
Hesket Newmarket Community Shop, in the Northern Fells, has just been bought by local people to save it from closure.
Thanks to a donation of £2,000 from Fibrus’ 2025 Community Fund, the new team are buying laptops and iPads so they can provide IT and after school support alongside the general store, café and Post Office.
A range of local Cumbrian organisations have received funding from the 2025 Fibrus Community Fund including Cumbria Scout Council for laptops and digital projection equipment to improve online learning access for volunteers, Brigham Memorial Hall for projection equipment to expand village hall activities, and Space2Create for digital conferencing technology to help rurally isolated people access health and wellbeing sessions remotely.
Since launching in 2023, the fund has now provided almost £180,000 worth of funding to more than 100 community groups across Cumbria, to support digital inclusion projects.
With community and rural inclusion at the centre of Fibrus’ core values since the company began, this initiative was established to help bridge the digital divide within local communities. It is delivered in partnership with Cumbria Community Foundation.
Linda McMillan, Chief People Officer at Fibrus, said: “Fostering digital inclusion continues to be a priority for Fibrus, and we believe everyone should have access to essential digital services here in Cumbria.
“This year, we were blown away by the number of applications for our Community Fund from so many outstanding local organisations dedicated to helping their communities. We are so proud to support their efforts and look forward to seeing how they use the funding to fuel their development.”
Hesket Newmarket shop was taken into community ownership this summer following a huge fund-raising effort by locals. It had faced closure due to the retirement of the previous owner.
Philippa Groves, chair of the committee which led the buyout, said the IT equipment bought thanks to Fibrus will be made available to the community in a hub at the store.
“We are delighted to receive this grant from Fibrus. It provides another facility for the community which is going to be a huge bonus,” she said.
“Every penny is incredibly tight, and it would have been a luxury we couldn’t have afforded.
“The school bus drops off in the village and for parents that are working it might be nice to facilitate an afterschool club where they can use IT and have something to eat and drink.
“Hesket Newmarket has no village hall so in the event of flooding or major power outages the hub at the shop will be a safe space for people to come and charge their mobiles and have hot food and drinks.”
Simon Hewitt, the committee vice chair, said: “The hub feeds into one of our objectives which is to combat rural isolation and provide a place of refuge.
“It will be open every day. People who are not so IT literate can come for one-to-one tuition and for things like ordering online and email and just to build confidence.”
