'We really do need to get our village pub back'

A community group is hoping to reopen a village pub, seven years after it closed.

Jayne Archer is treasurer of the group, which has been set up to raise funds to try to buy The Dolphin Inn, Kenton, Devon, which closed in 2019.

She said the registered community benefit society (CBS) had raised enough funds so far to purchase the pub but said more than £100,000 was still needed for renovation work.

"It's unfortunately falling into disrepair," Archer said. "It needs an awful lot of work." She said a community order meant the site "could only be a pub," adding, "we haven't got a decent pub around so we really do need to get it back".

According to the British Beer and Pub Association, about 15,000 pubs have closed since 2000, with the number down from about 60,000 to about 45,000.

Archer said one of the group's fundraisers included the build of a Lego pub, which involved people paying £1 and using their imaginations to build a small version of The Dolphin Inn.

She said "lots of imaginative" ideas had been brought to life via the Lego pub, which will go on display when the pub opens.

Archer said 400 people had pledged money to purchase the pub, which she hopes will be open by Christmas.

"The planners have been very favourable with what we've put to them," she added.

"Realistically, we're probably going to be looking at the summer of next year to actually get it pristine and right."

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