A long-harboured plan for Faversham to get its own official Monopoly board has been reignited.

It is hoped the town will have its own version of the world famous game by next autumn, with 2,500 sets hitting the shelves.

It will be following in the footsteps of Canterbury, Margate, Folkestone and Maidstone in getting its landmarks, streets and businesses immortalised.

In order to make the localised board game vision become a reality, organisers need to raise about £70,000 from sponsoring businesses.

The firms will then have their own branded property square and property card - replacing the traditional London locations.

Organiser Liz Jeffrey, who put together a bespoke version of Monopoly for her children back in 2018, has long had ambitions to create a Faversham-focused game.

Following several false starts due to the pandemic, the marketing manager has now kick-started an official bid for the Swale town.

Reaction to the proposal has been strong since being announced last month, and now businesses are invited to secure their place on one of the board's 40 squares.

"It's very exciting to finally start sorting things properly," Mrs Jeffrey said.

"Getting your business there means it will be a board game forever - it'll be part of the town's history.

"It's timeless. We've only just launched the sponsorship but have already got two businesses confirmed.

"It's looking very promising, but we need to raise a lot so we need as much help as we can get.

"About £70,000 is needed. "It's a great opportunity to be involved with something in the community - it'll give businesses a lot better PR than what they likely have at the moment.

"There will be 22 businesses on the board, eight community organisations and then there will be 10 remaining squares for us to play with."

Various events to raise the profile of the town's board game are to be planned for this year, with further details to be released soon.

Residents will be able to take part in competitions to nominate roads and game token ideas, with Park Lane and Oxford Street being swapped for the likes of Love Lane and Middle Row.

Should all go to plan, it is hoped the board will be put into production in early 2023 and will launch in the autumn.

It is not the first time a place in Kent has been granted the honour of featuring in its very own edition of the iconic trading game.

Canterbury was the first in 2014, with Margate following in 2019 and Folkestone a year later.

Maidstone's version hit the shops in October 2021.

However the launch of the game for the cathedral city in 2014 was not without incident, with a picture of Rochester Castle accidentally included on Canterbury’s edition.

Described by organisers as a "once in a lifetime opportunity", any Faversham business interested in getting their name on the board should email hello@favershammonopoly.co.uk.

There are three types of sponsorship available for businesses - a £3,000 pledge, £2,000 or £1,500.

Separate crowdfunding options to help reach the £70,000 target will also be revealed in the coming days.