Residents of a Gloucestershire village are hoping to raise over £400,000 to save their pub.

Villagers in Nympsfield have launched a share offer in a bid to raise enough money to buy their local pub.

Nympsfield Community Pub Ltd is hoping to raise between £400,000 and £450,000 through a community share offer to buy the Rose & Crown Inn.

The Rose & Crown Inn is the last remaining pub in Nympsfield and has been at the heart of the community since the mid-1800s.

Sadly, following a sustained period of chronic under-investment in the pub's Grade II listed building, it closed in March 2023 and the fabric of the building has continued to deteriorate rapidly, leaving it in a critical state of disrepair.

In April 2024, a group of Nympsfield residents registered Nympsfield Community Pub Ltd (NCPL) as a community benefit society in order to purchase, refurbish and reopen the Rose & Crown Inn.

NCPL's vision is to recreate a welcoming pub at the heart of the village, owned by and run for the benefit of the community.

As well as a pub serving good quality, locally sourced and reasonably priced food and drink, the Rose & Crown Inn will be a space to meet and connect with others and will provide additional services such as a café and village shop.

NCPL's newly launched Community Share Offer, open until 6 November 2024, is aiming to raise between £400,000 and £450,000 to purchase the Rose & Crown Inn.

The share offer has been awarded the Community Shares Standard Mark, which is awarded to offers that meet national standards of good practice.

Matthew Burke, chair of the interim management committee, said: "The response from the wider community so far has been fantastic. In the lead up to the share offer launch we've already seen the momentum building. There's been an incredible amount of support shown for our plans to reopen the Rose & Crown Inn as a community-owned pub; hundreds of people have attended our fundraising events, participated in our consultation, followed us on social media and signed up to our email updates.

"We're under no illusion that raising the capital required will be easy, but we are confident in the long-term success of the project. The Rose & Crown Inn has a long history of being commercially successful, and we received an independent valuation report in May which concluded it can still be run as a sustainable business.

"Its current closure comes down to the poor state of the building as a consequence of long-term under-investment.

"We invite anyone over the age of 16 to purchase shares. You do not have to live in Nympsfield and you can also purchase shares on behalf of a business or to gift to family and friends. Our £50 minimum shareholding is designed to make it as accessible as possible to the whole community.

"If we don't act now, this historic building, a registered asset of community value, could be lost forever!"

If you are interested in purchasing shares, visit the Nympsfield Community Pub website to read the business plan and share offer prospectus, and to complete the online share application form by 6 November 2024.