A LONG-TERM project to bring a community shop to an Oxfordshire village is now its final stages after years of work.

Villagers have successfully worked to create dedicated premises for the Sandford Talking Shop Ltd to sell local produce and they are now asking residents what should be stocked.

For about 20 years the village of Sandford-on-Thames has been without a shop and villagers felt it was important to provide these facilities as well as a community hub to bring people together.

Sandford Talking Shop Ltd chairwoman Abi Johnson said: “It is really exciting. It is wonderful for everybody to see the results after years of volunteering.

“It started as a volunteer project with a Saturday market, set up as a means to bring people together. Sandford has no shop, no school, no real facilities.

“Over four years we have now built up a team of about 60 volunteers aged from nine to over 80.”

While working towards the shop, the group has been drumming up support through the Saturday Talking Shop’s market and cafe, lunch clubs and several community groups.

The volunteers are based at the village hall which was refurbished earlier in the year and reopened in January thanks to funding from South Oxfordshire District Council, WREN, Oxfordshire County Council, TOE2 and The Four Pillars Hotel.

An extension was added to the building to provide a space for the new shop and cafe area and over the past couple of months the new kitchen has been installed.

Volunteers now hope to complete the kitchen so that cafe sessions can start in November and are asking residents for feedback on the produce they would like in the shop.

Over the next six months the group will work to stock the shop and will include local produce including items sold at the Saturday market.