Trust STFC’s plans to purchase the County Ground freehold continue apace behind the scenes, even though on the face of it things may appear to have gone a bit quiet.

It’s been two months since our last formal communication with fans but that doesn’t mean we’re not still in deep discussions with relevant parties over the possible acquisition of Swindon Town’s stadium.

Trust board members have sat in on more than 40 meetings since April on topics relating to the project, detailed and submitted two proposals to the council for the stadium land and the buildings that sit on it and thoroughly analysed the risks involved in such a considerable project.

In a private meeting last month, the Trust met with local councillors from across all parties. The vast majority showed tremendous support for our plans, which have been boosted by exciting development opportunities generated since the campaign was launched in March.

Fans have continued to back us in numbers and support via the Red Army Fund has been immense. The donations have enabled the Trust to fund a professional financial review of the stadium and club, as well as setting up a due diligence and dilapidations report based on information obtained via the council.

Plans are afoot for various schemes to enable us to raise the money we will need to buy the County Ground - we have met with several potential match-funding partners and continue to discuss community fundraising and possible loan arrangements.

We are very close to confirming a £1 million match-funding arrangement after two years of negotiations. Watch this space.

We saw our £1.1 million initial approach turned down by the council and we can expect that number to more than double when all of the associated taxes and costs are taken into account and before a final offer is accepted.

However, we still believe this figure is a realistic goal for the community, as we strive for a deal that is right for both Swindon Town and the town of Swindon.

As well as the support of a professional video production company, we also have the backing of major Swindon employer, Nationwide, for our community campaign.

The message that we will be spreading is: we can do this if we work together.

We can confirm that Crowdfunder.co.uk will be our fundraising partners - they are leaders in their field having already raised more than £40m for community projects - and we intend to launch our community share scheme in March 2018.

It won’t be cheap - we will be asking for around £500 for a share - but anyone who does contribute will have an equal say in the decisions we make regarding the stadium as and when we are able to purchase the freehold.

You will be buying a share in the future of Swindon Town.

We hope to get a period of exclusivity for fundraising with Swindon Borough Council around the turn of the year.

After that, it’s down to us.

We know £500 is a significant contribution for supporters on top of season tickets, replica shirts and everything else that comes hand in hand with following our club, so if cancelling your existing subscription to the Red Army Fund helps you save the necessary pennies to play a part we encourage you to do so today.

If you are able to continue your monthly donations and buy into our community shares scheme, that would be incredible.

All surplus funds will continue to benefit Swindon Town fans as we move forwards in the future.

Our work won’t stop if and when we get the stadium. We have had some amazing conversations with potential developers that could potentially see huge improvements to the stadium within the next 24 months. However, time is against us and we need to move quickly to finalise these deals.

Ours can be a story of extraordinary fan empowerment at a time where our game is becoming more and more commercialised. It could be the example for others to follow.

There has already been tremendous interest in our story from regional and national media and, as the tale gets told, so the profile of the project grows.