The Totnes Pound is dead – killed off by a growing cashless society.

After 12 years the town’s pioneering transition movement has called time on the famous community currency as fewer and fewer people used it.

Now residents will have until June 30 to spend or redeem their Totnes Pounds.

The launch of the currency was one of the most successful and iconic projects initiated by Transition Town Totnes and over the last 12 years more than £30,000 Totnes Pounds have circulated within local businesses - acting as an inspiration to other town and cities which launched their own currency projects.

But this week the transition team announced the currency was being wound up.

"People holding the current Totnes Pound notes have until June 30 to spend or redeem their notes at the three issuing points – Greenlife, Fusion Clothes or Gazebo.

"Holders of electronic currency will have their balance credited to their bank,’’ explained Rob Hopkins, one of the members of the Totnes Pound steering group.

He said the decision to call it a day on the Totnes Pound was the result of fewer and few people dealing in cash – including the community currency.

"I guess it because people use cash less and less," he said. "Now if you go into lots of shops in Totnes you never see any cash anymore. The circulation dropped below a point where the work and effort involved in maintaining it meant it was no longer worth it."

The project, begun by Transition Town Totnes in 2007, was inspired by the discovery of an old bank note from 1810, issued by Totnes Union Bank which demonstrated that Totnes had its own currency before banking became centralised in the 19th century.

At its height, the new Totnes Pound could be used in 150 local businesses.

The electronic Totnes Pound, launched in 2014, could be traded in 30 outlets. Several local people asked to have their salaries paid in part in the local currency.

John Elford explained: "Over time, the scheme was used less, partly because it coincided with the rise of the cashless economy, but also because locals who use the independent shops support them equally well if they use sterling.

"But if we measure its success in terms of the degree to which it put Totnes on the international map, the degree to which it provoked reflection on the importance of the local economy, and the impact on people of being able to live with, as an everyday experience, the opportunity to shop using their money, which told a story about their place, and the sense of possibility that inspired, then we have to say this has been a real success."

Since its first print run in 2007, the Totnes Pound has issued four different sets of notes. The first notes, have become highly desirable among currency collectors, selling for four-figure sums. The most recent was launched in 2014 – after an extensive consultation with local traders – at a packed event at the Civic Hall attended by the musician Ben Howard, star of the t£10 note.

The notes were themed around ’Made in Totnes’ and included a t£21 note that could be bought for £20 in sterling at the launch event.

Other famous Totnesians featured on the Totnes Pounds included Dorothy Elmhirst, Charles Babbage and Mary Wesley.

The t£21 note became an international star when it appeared in the hit French film Demain (Tomorrow) which was released in late 2015.

"Rather than this being a moment of sadness, the scheme’s impact and its legacy will be celebrated with a party in the ballroom of the Royal Seven Stars Hotel on Thursday, April 4, 7pm till late. Entry is free and the evening will feature a variety of entertainment including a talk by Rob Hopkins, a DJ and bar,’’ said Chantelle Norton, a Totnes Pound steering group member.