A community campaign to buy a village pub has raised tens of thousands of pounds in a matter of days.

The Menter Tafarn y Dyffryn campaign aims to raise £300,000 by Christmas in order to buy the Vale of Aeron pub and run the local as a community enterprise.

On Saturday, 6 November, Menter Tafarn y Dyffryn launched the share offer in the pub car park.

By the end of the first day alone the initiative had raised £41,703 thanks to the support over 70 investors.

The initiative’s offer to buy the pub for £297,500 was recently accepted by the current owners, subject to the success of the fundraising campaign.

The aim over the next five weeks is to raise £330,000 through selling shares, by the deadline of 12 December. That will be enough to buy the building and start the process of reopening the pub, which has been closed for some weeks when the latest lease expired.

“When the Vale of Aeron closed its doors at the beginning of October 2021 it was a huge blow to the area, threatening the future local economy and the community’s infrastructure,” said Ben Lake, the Ceredigion MP who has now settled in the local area.

“I am extremely pleased to learn about the community’s intention to buy the pub as a co-operative venture, and I am confident that this project will bring substantial benefits to Dyffryn Aeron, both economically and socially.”

Felinfach Young Farmers Club is one of the many organisations that have expressed their support for the initiative.

"The pub has been an important social centre, which has helped to maintain the Welsh language, our culture and a sense of belonging in Dyffryn Aeron over the years, and the loss of the pub would be a huge loss to the local community," said the club’s Ianto Jones.

Details of the share offer, along with the investment form, are now on Menter Tafarn y Dyffryn’s website: https://www.tafarn.cymru/

Everyone is welcome to invest £200 or more.