Our History...

Bill Irving & Tomi Jones met about 1994 when Bill became responsible for the CARIAD information unit.

Early in 1995 during a conversation Bill told Tomi that he had been looking at the idea of a Shopmobility Scheme in Cardigan. Tomi informed Bill that he had had the
same ideas about Aberystwyth. Both agreed that they thought it too expensive due to the high cost of operating from premises; also both decided they were too busy at present.

In late 1998 Tomi asked Bill if he thought a mobile scheme would work as he had heard of one but could not remember where. Early in 1999, Tomi found out that a mobile Shopmobility Scheme was being operated by Preston Community Transport group covering Lancaster Morcambe and other towns in Lancashire. Through his involvement with the Community Transport Association, Tomi was able to get details of the vehicle. The Mobile Scheme looked like a good idea.

Later in 1999, Bill was on holiday in Blackpool and arranged to go to Lancaster to see their Unit in operation. The Co-ordinator was very helpful and explained the whole operation. When Bill came home he passed all the information to Tomi. They both agreed this looked like the answer to a dream, and it could be made to cover the four main towns in Ceredigion. But where to go from here to make the dream a reality ?

They decided to invite representatives from various disability groups and others to a meeting in Felinfach on the 11th December 1999; about 12 turned up and they all thought this was a good idea that warranted further investigation and discussion. It was agreed that a public meeting should be called at which a presentation would be given about Shopmobility; invites were to be sent to County Council Cabinet members Community & Town Councils and Disability Groups. The meeting was set for the 5th March 2000 and in the meantime, Bill would get quotes for the various pieces of equipment  and work out the running costs for the project. Invites were sent out with help from Trish Lewis from the Volunteer Bureau at CAVO and a presentation was prepared.

The meeting on the 5th March 2000 was attended by about 30 people from different parts of the County. In the absence of Tomi Jones, Doiran Evans kindly volunteered to chair the meeting, Bill gave a presentation about Shopmobility and the way it operated throughout the UK. He also gave information on how he saw a Mobile Shopmobility Scheme operating in Ceredigion. At the end of the meeting it was decided to form a committee of 8 and a meeting would be called in April as soon as a venue could be found.

The first committee meeting was called for the 10th April 2000; 4 people turned up with one apology from Jaci Taylor Mayor elect Aberystwyth Town Council. After some discussion on whether to hold another meeting where the same could happen again, it was proposed that with the agreement of all present to go ahead and form a Company Limited by Guarantee with those present being the first Directors, It was also agreed to ask Jaci Taylor if she would like to be a Director. Application was then made to Companies House for registration with Bill Irving being elected Company Secretary and His address being the Registered Office. On the 16th June 2000 Ceredigion Mobile Shopmobility was incorporated as a Company Limited by Guarantee Registered in Wales No 4016425. At the same time application was made to the Charity Commission to register as a Charity.

The Directors resolved that the best way to get the project up and running was to make an application to the then National Lotteries Charities Board ( now the Big Lottery Fund ) for funding. After a lot of work by all the Directors a bid for £135,000 was prepared, and with as much additional information as possible was posted on the 9th November 2000. The Board held regular meetings and on the 20th March 2001, Tomi and Bill had a telephone interview with an assessor, which lasted from 2pm until 3:40pm. It was not until 26th May that we were informed that we had been successful and that we had been awarded £129,818 to set up and run our project for 3 years.

On hearing the good news the Board met and decided to contact the Charity Commission to become a registered Charity and on the 19th June 2001 we became a registered Charity No 1087060. The Board set tasks for each Director and set the 29th September as the Launch date with the service starting on Monday 1st October 2001. This meant that each Director had to work very hard over the Summer to complete the various tasks they had been given, Many suppliers had to be contacted for up to date prices, orders had to be placed with time limits on receiving goods. The advert had to be placed and interviews conducted so that the selected Driver could be in post by the second week in September, thus allowing time for any required training.

At last everything was ready for the big day. About 50 guests attended the launch in the Feathers Hotel, Aberaeron. The Launch was performed by Cynog Dafis AM. A short video showing the 4 main towns and scenes of Ceredigion and the Mobile Unit and scooters on site in  Lampeter was played throughout the afternoon. All our scooters and equipment were on display.

The Mobile Unit ran 5 days a week from 1st October 2001 until April 2004 when the Portacabin opened in Aberystwyth; it then continued running 3 days per week until the end of March 2007, when we had to stop running it as it was not having the use required. We also had a cut in funding.

Due to the County Council not being able to fund the building of a permanent Shopmobility unit as they had hoped; as part of the traffic management enhancements for Aberystwyth, Ceredigion Mobile Shopmobility were able to purchase a Portacabin with funding from another Charity which had closed.  Ceredigion County Council have given the use of the site, they also paid for the installation of the services for which we are extremely grateful, and also for the help and advice given by the various officers involved.

We are also grateful to Aberystwyth Town Council who have funded a Scooter, a Duel Controlled Electric Wheelchair and a Childs Manual Wheelchair.

The Portacabin started operating 6 days per week from Monday 19th April 2004 and is open from 9am till 4-30pm. It is manned by Kate Bloomer and Leanne Mason.

Our Community Fund Grant finished on the 31st July 2004. We did have a £4000 under spend which we were allowed to utilise into the 4th year. In August we met with Officers of the County Council to put together a bid for a £36,000 grant through theTransportation Services  to run from 1st April 2005.

In the meantime we applied for £4000 from the Ceredigion Community Fund which we were awarded; we also applied for £5000 from the Lloyds TSB Foundation which we also received. This funding was enough to keep us running until 28th February.
On  the 25th February we got confirmation of our bid for the £36,000 However this meant we had no funds to run March. We hastily wrote and explained our predicament to Aberystwyth Town Council who agreed a one off revenue funding grant of £2,000 to see us through till our County Council Grant came through in April. We cannot express our thanks enough to the Town Council for their Support.

We are hopeful that Ceredigion County Council will be able to continue funding us in the future from the Transportation Service Grants, We are also hopeful that in a partnership with the County Council someday we may be able to build premises for Shopmobility.

Updated Membership now stands at 1,004 and continues to grow.

 

Ceredigion Mobile Shopmobility is a Member of the following Organisations

National Federation of Shopmobility UK (NFSUK)
Shopmobility Cymru / Wales
Ceredigion Association of Voluntary Organisations (CAVO)
Wales Council for Voluntary Action (WCVA)
Mobilise  (Disabled Motorists)

Ceredigion Mobile Shopmobility (CMS) works closely with Ceredigion County Council Highways Department advising on safety for those with Disabilities.