WORCESTER City’s “survival hopes” will hinge on next month’s general meeting with fans urging shareholders to “vote for change”.

The rallying cry has been made by Worcester City Supporters’ Trust, who are aiming to make the Vanarama National League North outfit a community-owned club.

The trust fear City will go bust within the next three years if 75 per cent of shareholders do not back their plans on Thursday, July 7, when a vote will be cast on the club’s future.

Speaking at an open meeting, trust chairman Dave Wood said it was a “disgrace” they had been forced to call for a general meeting to be held to change the running of the club.

But he insisted it presented shareholders with “one last chance to save the football club”, who have about £530,000 left in the bank.

”What we have got is a plan that allows us to sustain the future of the club,” he said.

“If we stay as we are, it (the club) is going to last two or three years and that’s the end, so we have got to do something.

“If we do change it (the constitution), we have a chance of survival.”

Trust director Rich Widdowson believed the general meeting could be the “end or the making of the club” depending on the shareholders’ decision.

Paul Curtis, who is a trust member, added: “Unless we vote for change, I will not do anything to help the football club.

“But if we do become a supporter-owned club, I would happily help out with fundraising.”

During the meeting at Archdales Club, which was attended by about 50 shareholders, the trust said they wanted to remove a restriction in the club’s constitution on anyone owning more than one per cent of the company, which stands at 3,000 shares.

Wood was confident the move would help bring supporters together and give the club, who have been in exile since 2013, “impetus”.

“There is a lot of talent here and a lot out there,” he said.

“As a collective, with empowerment, we can do a lot of things and more people will get involved and you will see the club fly.”

Trust secretary Rob Crean said he did not feel the club was “fit for purpose” as a private limited company and firmly believed becoming a community benefit society (CBS) was the “best model”.

He said community ownership as a CBS would help raise the capital for the proposed new ground and boost negotiations with Worcester City Council to use the land at Perdiswell Park.

“When we started doing this three or four years ago for Perdiswell, we were looking at funding streams which were 20 or 30 per cent community and 70 or 80 per cent football,” he said.

“In that time it has turned around completely as there is very little money in football. If you want money now, community is the way to go.

“There are people out there who will help you if you have got community aims and objectives.”

Chairman Anthony Hampson and his directors will hold a private meeting with shareholders on Thursday to answer questions ahead of the vote.