A New Life for the Kingsbridge Inn?

As reported in previously in the Totnes Pulse the future of the Kingsbridge Inn has been hanging in the balance since a planning application was made last year to approve its use as a family home.

The Kingsbridge Inn, the ancient pub at the top of Totnes was closed down in December 2016. Since March 2017 it has been lived in by a family. It is still designated for planning purposes as a pub and consequently its residential use is against the law.

The current owner, supported an application to South Hams Council by Patrick Gillies, a former tenant, for a certificate of lawfulness on the basis that the building has been used for residential purposes for more than four years. If this certificate is granted, the Kingsbridge Inn would never again be a pub and the value of the building is likely to increase significantly.

The application for residential use received 31 objections from local people. 52 people have written in support of the application. The Totnes Heritage Trust became very concerned at the possible loss of the Kingsbridge Inn as a pub and last year made a successful application to South Hams Council for it to be declared an Asset of Community Value.
The Kingsbridge Inn has now been put up for sale. This triggered a process whereby a local community group can bid to buy the pub for the benefit of the community before it goes on to the open market.

Following an appeal by the Totnes Heritage Trust, a group of interested individuals came together and formed the Kingsbridge Inn Community Campaign Group to take forward the idea of community ownership of the Kingsbridge Inn.
The group have since met and become members of the Plunkett Foundation which promotes and advises on all aspects of community ownership, but especially of public houses. The Foundation has its own valuers, and the next step will be to obtain a valuation of the Kingsbridge Inn with a view to negotiating a purchase price with the owner.

The group will also be holding a community consultation in the next couple of weeks, with a daytime and an evening event at a central accessible location.