BASIC Life has opened in Theatre Street in Woodbridge

The BASIC Life charity has opened in Woodbridge after identifying 'areas of need' in the town, despite being a largely affluent place.

The organisation already has two shops in Felixstowe and Walton and decided to expand because of the success of its model, where different types of goods are sold at the same price, such as women's clothes being sold for £2 regardless of the brand.

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The interior of the new BASIC Life charity shop in Woodbridge (Image: Submitted)Graham Denny, the charity's founder, said: "Our model works really well in Felixstowe and Walton because there is hardly anybody in the town who has not had a grandchild helped or people we have given food to and they know that donations are going to a good cause.

"It is not going into a black hole of administration. It is going straight back out to the community and because this model was going so well we decided to expand to a different town and we looked at Ipswich, but the rates were too expensive, so we looked around and found a place in Woodbridge."

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As well as running the shops, the charity also started food banks across Suffolk from March 2013 to provide food to people affected by the economic downturn and these became known as BASIC Community Pop-Up Shops.

Graham Denny, founder of the BASIC Life charity (Image: Submitted)These pop-ups proved popular because there was no means test or referral needed to access the food and the pop-ups have since been taken over by local churches.

As well as providing food support, the charity has donated thousands to schools to pay for new equipment and helped overseas missions, such as the Boxing Day Tsunami appeal in 2004.

In addition to clothes, the shops also sell white goods, books and bric-a-brac among other items.

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Mr Denny added: "Woodbridge is an affluent town, but there are areas of need, as there are in any affluent town and we are sure we will do well with our prices, which are considerably less than many charity shops."

The shop in the former Red Cross building in Theatre Street will be open from 9.30am to 4pm, Monday to Saturday.

Volunteers are also being sought to join the four paid staff running the store, which opened on April 2.

READ MORE: Woodbridge news