Newnham Village Hall will shut its doors in less that three months if no-one comes forward to help run it.

And the owner of the village's only shop says he could be forced to close unless business dramatically improves.

The news follows the closure of Newnham post office just two months ago.
Currently Janet Ashwell is both the chairman and secretary of the village hall association.

She said: "I've been standing in as secretary as well as being chairman since January when the secretary stepped down and it's just too much work.

"I'm not prepared to stand again as chairman without someone as a secretary.

"Without a management committee we shouldn't keep the hall open. We should lock the door and turn off the gas.

"I use the hall myself so it was a natural progression to do this, but it's getting harder and harder when we've got less people we can rely on.

"If ever the hall was lost we would never get it back – it would be turned into a house or bulldozed.

"We've just lost our village post office this year and the shop is in trouble – Newnham's heart is dying."

The hall association will now wait until the end of July to see if anyone comes forward to help – if no-one does, the hall will close.

Newnham Stores, based on The Green, has suffered from a loss of trade since it was forced to close the post office part of the business in March as part of Royal Mail cuts.

Owner Barry Pinson said the store will probably close sooner rather than later.

"The takings are down more than 20 per cent so it is unlikely we will be around for much longer," he said.

"It will have an impact on some people in the village as they will now have to travel to get to amenities."

Mr Pinson said he thought the majority of people in the village would only notice the closure of the shop after it had happened.

The village hall is used by various groups including a toddler group, after school and holiday clubs for children, keep fit sessions, upholstery classes and girl guides, as well as
the village WI and parish council.

The hall has struggled to get enough people to fill its executive positions as the number of groups using it has dwindled.

Among the groups that still use it are the after school clubs, which would be particularly hit.

Mary Dugan, acting headteacher of Newnham Primary School, said: "A lot of parents find it an invaluable resource during the school holidays when they have to go to work and it would be a real shame."

One person from the village, who did not want to be named, said: "I use the toddler group and that's built up a lot recently. I also go two times a week for exercise classes as do several other people.

"If it shut it would have a huge impact, especially for the kids. It's a shame."