COMMUNITY BUYOUTS
Rural communities often depend heavily on small businesses for their services, such as petrol/service stations, hotels and stores. These and other small businesses are critical to the vibrant economic life of country towns.
The closure of these businesses can threaten the viability of rural communities and can act as a stimulus for the community to come together (usually as a co-operative) to purchase and run the service. There are many examples of this occurring in Australia.
The Mercury Centre can assist in such transitions to community ownership.