Chris Pomfret believes passionately in what he does, to the point where he has an almost religious zeal about his business.

He has set up CommunityBuying unLimited (CBL), an organisation that empowers communities by arranging bulk buying of commodities such as heating oil, so reducing its price and delivering a better deal for everyone.

He explained: “Community buying is a political statement bringing people together, a little like activists taking on a corporation.”

Mr Pomfret founded CBL in his home village of Wootton, near Woodstock, where he test drives his community buying schemes on the locals before broadening them across a wider area.

Now, having started two years ago as an idea with the backing of the Oxfordshire Rural Community Council, CBL has moved to offices in Station Lane, Witney, and its influence is spread across 20 counties of the UK.

He said: “It began almost by mistake — the idea is to bring a community together to buy stuff.”

CBL organises community buying deals on a range of items and commodities ranging from solar panels to compost and iPads. But no matter what the item is, the end result is always the same — a better deal for consumers.

But it is the issue of heating oil which has really incensed Mr Pomfret and driven him to try and come up with innovative, fresh thinking to get around the problem of soaring prices.

Many people in rural areas don’t have mains gas and rely on oil for heating. And one of the coldest winters in living memory has brought the issue into sharp focus with demand driving prices still higher.

Mr Pomfret said: “One day I saw three oil tankers from three different companies in the village. It seemed pointless to buy energy on your own.”

As a result, he decided to organise communities so that up to 20 households can receive oil from one delivery.

His biggest group consists of 120 members for whom he reckons he has saved £120,000 collectively in the last three years and CBL has also started working with housing associations such as Cottsway in West Oxfordshire.

Mr Pomfret also works with 40 oil suppliers to obtain the best deal for customers on their particular buying day. He has calculated that he saves the average family up to £200 a year.

He added: “They get the best deal and it saves money, time and worry. Meanwhile, the supplier saves on transport and customer service costs. The only complaint we have had is from drivers not getting a break!”

The environment also benefits from lower carbon emissions as a tanker is driving fewer miles between jobs.

CBL charges £20 a year for membership. It employs four staff, all of whom were previously not in employment, training or education (NEETS), in keeping with the idea of supporting communities.

The organisation is trialling 100 smart meters which allow members to monitor their oil levels remotely on a website so they can order in good time.

Seeing the levels encourages them to save as much oil as possible which is important as 500 litres costs about £350 and Mr Pomfret has known people use that amount in just five weeks.

CBL also monitors members’ levels and can issue reminders in good time. Mr Pomfret said: “We have a ‘smart grid’ and we can instantly tell when people are running out and we tell them when to order.”

The smart meter will cost £245 but Mr Pomfret believes the savings will more than return the investment. “People run out of oil all the time and it is annoying. It just needs a bit of planning in place,” he said.

CBL is also working on green energy alternatives to oil, such as solar thermal to heat hot water and biomass boilers with the group buying principles also applying.