VILLAGERS have told of their delight after a shop opened in a village near York - as the owners revealed that they are also planning to open a second such shop in another village.

Crockey Hill Farm Shop has launched the new outlet in Naburn's Reading Room after owners Alison Owens and David Martin reached an agreement with Naburn Parish Council to use the premises.

The shop in Front Street sells a range of fruit, vegetables, meats, pies, pastries, dairy products and poultry, mostly grown and produced locally.

A succession of local residents visited the business on its opening day and were impressed with the quality of produce.

Benedict Dance told The Press he planned to shop there weekly. "It's good to be able to buy good food locally and not have to drive to get it," he said, while another said: "I think it's the start of a new era for the village, really."

A resident commented on Facebook's Naburn Village page: "Called in twice today! What a fabulous job you’ve done! It looks amazing and the quality and variety of the produce on offer is just wonderful! Sincerely hoping it’s very successful for you as it’s a great asset to the village."

Another said: "Loved my visit and the pork pie is just the best!" while a third commented: "Looks great! Naburn has a shop again," and a fourth said: "A great asset. Everything fresh and inviting."

Parish chair Laurie Gunson said the Reading Room had been built by public subscription in about 1909 to encourage villagers to read newspapers. A part-time post office had been there for well over 30 years until the end of 2021, when the post mistress retired.

"It was a shame to have a wasted asset so we did some investigations and very kindly David and Alison were willing to take it on and open it as a village shop," he said.

"It means that people will no longer have to drive the eight-mile return trip into York to get their food. We're on a through route to Stillingfleet and on to Cawood and Sherburn so we hope people passing by will use it.

"The initial reaction from the village is extremely positive and we are hoping it will go from strength to strength."

He hoped his parish's experience could prove helpful to other councils elsewhere. "I think that there is a lesson to learn and we can be a bit of a beacon here."

Alison said: "When we were approached  by the parish council, we thought it was a good idea for us to come to the customers rather than the customers to come to us."

David said the original farm shop on the A19 at Crockey Hill would remain open, but revealed he was planning to open a similar, second outlet in another village, Escrick, in coming months.