A group of Comrie residents have banded together to try to buy a piece of land in the town centre, in defiance of a supermarket which wants to develop the site.
Bumblebee Square has been maintained as a community garden for some time but the Co-op has now submitted a plan to put a store on the site.
The Friends of the Square now hope to raise £100,000 to buy the Drummond Street site and save it for the public.
A public meeting called on July 3 by the landowner, Braemore Estates, and including representatives of Co-operative Food, allowed residents to ask questions in advance of a potential planning application.
The plans include a small garden area, a commercial space intended to be a convenience style Co-op store and seven flats.
Following the meeting, the Friends of the Square received strong feedback from community members that they would prefer the space to remain the community hub that Bumblebee Square has become.
The Friends of the Square Treasurer and Trustee Ted Henderson said: “We begin the campaign with donations and pledges for about half that amount.
“If we can document £100,000 in donations or pledges in the next few weeks, we will know that the community is behind making Bumblebee Square a permanent community feature and we should proceed to secure the further funding required.
“The development proposal shows us that Bumblebee Square’s days are numbered. It’s time to act now or miss out on the chance to secure something really positive for our village that will benefit generations to come.”
Traders are “almost unanimously against” the move to bring the Co-op to Comrie, fearing small independent businesses will lose business.
Deli owner Iain Hansen said: “It would be a real shame if the food store was approved as it would have a real impact on the feel of Comrie. We don’t need a Co-op here Comrie is a thriving village and there are not too many other places like it in the whole of Scotland.”
The square was created on the site of a former garage when the town was loaned the land for an unspecified length of time.