Appeal to save Totnes community bookshop
The volunteers are hoping to raise £135,000 to buy their building by September
Volunteers who run a community bookshop in Totnes are hoping to raise £135,000 to keep it open.
Castle Books has been based in Castle Street since 1969, but the building is now up for sale, and the team that runs has launched a crowdfunder to buy it.
It started out as a vegetarian café and wholefoods shop run by Belle Collard, who died in 2013.
In 1972, it started selling books on the side, but eventually that side of the business took over.
Since 2016 it's been run by a team of unpaid volunteers as a community enterprise.
"Too many shops like ours are disappearing"
Gill Cartwright is one of them - she told us, "We realise it's a huge ask in these difficult times, but too many shops like ours are disappearing from the high street.
"People often come into the shop for chats, they tell us how much they love having the bookshop there, how much they appreciate the work we do and the donations we make to local causes, and we feel that's really important"
In the last three years the shop has raised £5,500 for Totnes Library, which is run by a charity, and that money's been used for things like new workspaces and a dedicated area for teenagers.
It's also supported The Grove School with donations to enable them to buy more books for their pupils.
It also runs a monthly book group and an open mic poetry group.
You can make a donation here - it runs until the 12th of September