EFFORTS to reboot Upham's village shop will not be shared publicly until Autumn at the earliest.

Volunteers known as the Upham Shop Action Group are working towards a community takeover or relocation of the village's only store after its closure last month.

A new working party is contacting landowners and assessing options for a shop on the Winchester Road site or elsewhere.

Members have agreed to keep details to themselves and declined to speak to the Chronicle. A public consultation is planned but will not take place before autumn, said Gwyn Halfall, the group's spokesman.

However, options discussed at a packed public meeting in April, when the action group was formed, included a new shop in the village hall.

Lower Upham Stores closed last month after owner Gary Dhatt claimed a new traffic island restricted parking and drove him out of business.

Upham Shop Action Group's next meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, July 28.