Residents in Redgrave are set to start fundraising to save their village’s last remaining pub from closure and redevelopment.

At the end of March 2017, the current owners of the Cross Keys pub in Redgrave approached villagers with the offer of selling the pub to the village as a community asset for the sum of £300,000.

The overwhelming response to the question was yes – and now The Redgrave Community Society Limited, the legal entity formed to buy The Cross Keys, is about to offer people shares in the venture as a way of raising the funds needed.

The campaign launched yesterday, and copies of the share offer brochure have been distributed to all households in the village and the surrounding area, encouraging everyone to participate in the community purchase if they can.

But the community is working to a tight deadline, as the moratorium on the pub preventing it from being sold elsewhere expires on October 25.

That gives the community just a couple of months to raise the necessary £300,000.

The group behind The Redgrave Community Society Limited is also appealing for anyone who could offer a donation or grant to come forward.

Fiona Kenworthy, member of the management committee, said: “There’s been so much going on behind the scenes and now things are starting to happen for everyone to get involved.

“We’re hugely excited but we’re also working to quite a tight deadline.

“By October 25, we’ve got to demonstrate that there is the community interest.”

The steering group is hoping that the sale of shares, donations and grants will enable them to reach their goal.

It is encouraging anyone who has an interest in the future success of the Cross Keys pub to apply.

Ian Brown, chairman of the steering committee, said: “When the last pub in a village closes, a part of the village dies with it and this is the last thing we want.

“The plan is to buy and refurbish the Cross Keys turning it back into a family-friendly, community pub serving good ales, wines and delicious value-for-money pub grub.”

For more information on the campaign and how you can get involved, visit www.redgravecommunitysociety.com