AN innovative plan for an underground post office, shop and café in a West Devon village has moved one step closer to reality.

Exbourne and Jacobstowe Community Association, the brains behind the plan, have secured a total of £105,000 towards the underground scheme.

The £400,000 community shop is planned to be set into a steep slope in a field opposite the Red Lion Pub in Exbourne.

The shop and cafe will be open from 8am to 7pm, sell local produce, have a post office, internet capabilities and a book exchange.

The underground shop will also provide a place for under 16s to meet twice a week, a home delivery service for disabled and housebound residents and a prescription collection service.

Devon County Council has agreed to give £50,000 from funds acquired following the sale of Exeter Airport.

Planning permission for the shop was granted in April 2006.

The group hopes the remaining £300,000 needed for the project will come from the Big Lottery Fund local food grant, which Sally Hordern, secretary of the association, was applying for as the Times went to press.

West Devon Borough Council has agreed to put £5,000 towards the scheme.

Cllr Chris Jenkins, chair of West Devon's environment and communities committee, which approved the grant, was highly complimentary about the ambitious proposal to develop a facility.

He said: 'At a time when rural communities are struggling to maintain services and with key facilities being withdrawn, this plan is visionary in its objectives and I hope it sets a precedent for the future.

'Rural communities can be vibrant centres of commerce and trade particularly when they work so closely with local suppliers.

'This is a win-win solution for the community, local suppliers and the environment.

'The temporary shop, which has run for over six years, is an excellent example of the local community working together to help themselves, and they have put together a strong case for the new shop and cafe premises.

'These multi-use facilities are essential to retain the fabric of these rural communities, offering varied services, an outlet for local food producers, and a place for local people of all ages to interact with one another.'

Mrs Hordern said she was delighted that the council had agreed to the funds.

She said: 'We are delighted that we have been awarded these two grants and we are currently in the process of applying for the third grant.

'This is a sustainable and an environmentally friendly project aiming to rejuvenate the community in the area and local producers.'

Exbourne's only shop and post office closed in December 2001.

In 2004, the association opened up a temporary shop, cafe and post office in Exbourne Village Hall, which is open twice a week and run by volunteers.