THE campaign to re-open a border pub has stepped up a gear tonight with the start of a community share scheme to secure the necessary funding.

The eight-and-a-half-year push to bring back The Rising Sun as a focus of village life in Woodcroft near Chepstow reached a milestone when the locals behind the campaign reached agreement with the developers on the sale of the pub. The campaigners are looking to raise between £285,000 and £350,000 in community shares towards buying the pub - which could be the last chance to secure its future. Chair of the Save Our Sun, Michelle Hayes, said: "After an eight and a half year campaign the Rising Sun Woodcroft Community Pub Limited committee are delighted to announce that we have reached an agreement with the owners, Worthy Developments, on the sale of the pub. "We now need to realise the funds to buy the pub and will do this through ’community shares’ - any individual, groups of individuals or local businesses can buy a share in the pub and own a part of the pub." "We’d like to invite members of the community, friends and family and local businesses to invest in The Rising Sun Woodcroft Community Pub Limited - the Rising Sun - a community benefit society which has been set up to secure the long-term future of the Rising Sun public house as a community pub."This isn’t just about buying a pub: it’s about preserving the history and heritage of our village and surrounding area and investing in the future of our community. "Our vision is to provide a pub and a community hub where there is not just good affordable food and drink but a place to meet, also, giving back to the community such as subsidised coffee mornings for the elderly and isolated and job skills clubs for the unemployed and space for various clubs to meet. "If we don’t buy the pub now, it will be lost forever." Those investing will have to buy at least five shares which are priced at £100 each although people will be able to club together to make the minimum purchase. Everyone who buys shares becomes a member of the society, owning a piece of the pub on the Coleford Road, and having a vote at the annual general meeting. A committee will be elected from the shareholders and a manager will be appointed to run the pub. If successful, the Rising Sun will join some 40 others that have been run using this model across the country since 1990. As it’s a community scheme, the project is eligible for grant funding and a match funding grant has been applied for. Ms Hayes said: "The more people that invest in a share, the more people that are likely to use the pub and this is why this model is so successful. "We need as many people to invest as possible and we need both small and large investors, we need you all! "We also realise that not everyone has money to invest, but we will need loads of volunteers to help with the refurbishment and also with projects once the pub is up and running and so we want to hear from you all. "Some people may wish simply to donate." This is not a get-rich-quick scheme, this is about investing in your community - however, there are potential tax benefits to investing too. The share offer is being launched in the pub garden between 6pm and 8pm and tomorrow (Saturday, September 4) from 10am-4pm when people can pick up a prospectus and ask questions. They will also be at Tutshill Memorial Hall in Coleford Road and Tidenham Hall in Rosemary Lane between 7pm and 9pm next Friday (September 10) and Saturday (September 11) between 10.30am and 2.30pm Information is also available on the group’s website, www.therisingsunwoodcroft.co.uk. Ms Hayes added: "In 2018 we were pledged £230,000 in community shares and our recent community consultation showed even stronger support for the pub and so we are confident that together we can do this but we need everyone’s support."