AFTER months of hard donkey work volunteers trying to save their popular village store have launched a community share scheme.

The store committee launched the scheme on Sunday, December 1 with the help of the famous Chalford donkeys Chester and Teddy who are used to deliver shopping around the narrow streets of the village.

Chalford Community Stores was forced from its High Street location back in February and since then has been trading from Christ Church in London Road.

This was always going to be a temporary arrangement due to the fact that it was on the edge of the village and because the post office was not able to be run from the church.

After months of searching the committee is now trying to purchase the Seventh Day Advent Hall in the high street which would bring the shop and post office back to the heart of the village.

To complete the purchase the committee needs to raise £50,000.

This will be added to an agreed mortgage and a £14,000 grant from Chalford Parish Council, which was agreed at a meeting on Thursday night.

The scheme invites members of the community to invest in the shop and post office and to have a say in how it is run by buying shares priced at £10 each.

It would only take 25 per cent of the homes in the parish to buy 20 shares each for the committee to reach their target, according to Chalford Community Stores committee chairman Mike Roberts.

“Similar schemes in Arlingham and Uley have been successful and we hope we will attract investors who are keen to see the shop and Post Office in the centre of the village again,” he said.

Investors have until Friday, December 13 to buy shares in the store. For more information contact Mike Roberts on mrob.mrob@gmail.com or Peter Bishop on peter.bishop@tourismconcern.org.uk.