THE campaign to bring a village pub back to life has taken a huge step forward.

The White Hart Community Inn campaign at St Dogmaels has had an offer to buy the pub accepted by the current owners.

The popular local called time and closed its doors back in May, 2019 and the community thought they had lost the historic watering hole for good.

But a determined group of villagers came up with a rescue plan through a share offer, fund-raising events and donations to buy the White Hart as a community-run enterprise.

And that hard work now looks like it has finally paid off, though it has been stressed the campaign still needs to raise more funds to get over the finish line.

A statement from the committee said: “The WHCI committee has received some very exciting news. An offer to purchase the White Hart was accepted by the current owners.

“The agreed sale price is £245,000 and this includes all fixtures and fittings along with sundry items associated with a trading public house. Please note that the agreed price is significantly lower than the asking price of £270,000.

“The sale price includes £158,000 of shareholder capital, which equates to 65 per cent of the agreed price. This is tremendous news for the shareholders, the village and most of all for the White Hart itself.

“We now look forward to this much-loved establishment beginning its next chapter at the heart of village life.

“The committee would like to thank all of the shareholders who have invested in the White Hart so far. The offer we were able to make was only made possible due to the generous support we have received from all 356 shareholders that we have to date.

“But - and there is always a but - we have a small but not insurmountable shortfall between the money currently in the bank and the agreed sale price.

“The committee is looking into a number of options to bridge this gap, which would need to be filled by the time we reach completion. We are looking into available grants and low interest loans.

“However, our preferred option would be to bridge the funding gap by obtaining more revenue via the sale of shares. This would increase the community engagement with the pub allowing for a greater level of shareholder control and therefore making the venture more sustainable in the long-run.

“So, if you know of anyone who has not yet bought a share but has shown interest in doing so, or was perhaps waiting until there was a little more certainty regarding the purchase of the pub please give them a nudge. Also, if you already own a share and would like to increase your stake then please contact Wyn at wyn921212@gmail.com”

Committee chairman Justin Walters added: "The fantastic outcome has been an incredible testament to the determination of the community of St Dogmaels, surrounding villages and beyond to save the White Hart.

"With around 360 community shareholders we have demonstrated that retaining the building as a public house is viable as a community pub, owned and run by the community, for the community.

"Fund-raising efforts remain ongoing and the community share offer remains open to new members. The share funds raised will also allow us to release funding grants from social investment sources. We are stil pursuing grant funding from both the Welsh Government and Social Investment Cymru."