A SHARE issue offering the chance to be a part owner of a community pub has received £170,000 in applications in just a fortnight.

The offer to help fund the re-opening of the Brockweir Country Inn went live on June 1 and the campaigners behind it hope to raise more than £450,000 by the end of the month.

The Wyeside pub closed its doors some five years ago but campaigners hope they can follow in the footsteps of the Rising Sun at Woodcroft which is now a thriving community-owned pub after being shut for more than a decade.

As well as the applications for share, there have been pledges amounting to £300,000, indicating the groundswell of community support.

David Rodney, a member of the campaign. committee said: “After 14 days of the share offer being open we’ve had £170,000 of applications and our target is to get about £450,000. “With a defined period of a month it concentrates the mind.

“If we don’t make it by June 30, we’ll still apply for other grants but we’d rather that the community owns the pub outright before we rely on any grants.

“If the community owns the pub we do not need to rely on outside funding such as grants to complete the first stage of the pub acquisition.

“Then we’ll use other grants that we apply for to fund the renovation.

It is hoped the pub will re-open in summer next year.

For more information about the campaign visit www.thebrockweirinn.com