SAVE our station campaigners will next month formally launch their bid to raise up �250,000 to create a new community facility for a thriving village.

Network Rail has agreed to give the Trimley Station Community Trust time to see if it can get its plan off the ground – and raise the money needed for the ambitious project.

The trust wants to turn derelict Trimley Station into a coffee shop or caf� with internet access, information centre, offices and meeting room.

It says the proposals have been warmly received by the village with more than 50 per cent of people saying they would use such a facility regularly.

“Responses overall showed considerable support for the concept of bringing the station buildings back into use as a genuine community facility, with the general proviso that this should not rely on public funding initially or become a burden on the public purse thereafter,” said a trust spokesman.

It is reckoned between �225,000 and �250,000 will be needed to repair, convert and equip the 121-year-old Victorian station and brake goods store, the last surviving Great Eastern country station, on the Ipswich to Felixstowe line.

“The trust are under no illusions as to the task before them in seeking to raise such funding, particularly in the current economic climate, but advice has already been taken from a number of specialist funders and support organisations, and the task will be approached positively and with relish,” he said.

To kick-start the fundraising, the group is holding The Big Event on Saturday, July 7, from noon to 5pm at the Welcome Hall, High Road, Trimley St Mary, with a chance to find out more about the proposals, enjoy a model railway lay-out, raffle, wine tasting, and discover more about businesses in the Trimleys.