ANOTHER West Somerset village is facing uncertainty over the future of its local shop and Post Office after the property was put up for sale.

News of the move was broken to residents of Kilve by owners Matt and Charlotte Hirst via the village newsletter.

Earlier this year, the Free Press reported Mr and Mrs Hirst’s call for people to ‘use or lose’ their local stores and Post Offices.

It followed closures in Carhampton and Washford, cuts in opening hours in Watchet and Alcombe, and worries in Stogumber and Wootton Courtenay, although in the latter two cases both stores were able to keep trading.

Now, Mr and Mrs Hirst have decided to sell their Kilve business after nearly 16 years of ‘early morning starts, come rain, sun, or snow’.

Mr Hirst said: “We think it is time for a change.

"We do not really have a firm plan at the moment, we are just testing the water and seeing if there is any interest and go from there.

“Our agents tell us it takes on average 12 months to sell a shop and Post Office, so it is not a quick process.

“We are hoping that whoever buys it will continue to operate it as a shop and Post Office for many more years to come.

“It would be a nice little business for somebody, although it is not for everybody.

“For the time being, everything will remain as usual, and we will continue to run the business to the best of our ability to make it an attractive proposition for any prospective buyers.

“It is very important that everyone continues to support the shop every week to keep the accounts and footfall looking as healthy as possible.”

Mr Hirst said villagers might recall how the shop looked when the couple took over in 2007, with empty shelves and ‘on the brink of bankruptcy and closure’ and the ‘Post Office hanging by a thread’.

He said: “We are very proud to have come in and steadied the ship and built the business back up again and kept the Post Office.

“Although it has been a lot of hard work for us, without the support from everyone in Kilve, Holford, East Quantoxhead, and all the little villages in between, that would not have been possible.”

Mr Hirst said in a worst case scenario where the property did not sell, ‘we would probably close the shop and just continue to live in it and turn it back into a house’.

Parish councillors will discuss the situation at their monthly meeting in September and look at possible options in the event of a worse case scenario.

Council chairman Cllr Steve Collins said although it was concerning, there was still plenty of time to wait and see what happened.

Cllr Collins said: “It is a vital service not just for Kilve but for the villages around and about because the nearest shops otherwise are in Williton.

“Without a shop, there are going to be lots of unhappy people and lots of vulnerable people without access to transport.

“But we are confident somebody will take it over.”