Pub to be demolished over structural defects

A VILLAGE pub will have to be torn down after becoming so derelict that it is being held up by scaffolding and has forced the closure of a key road.

- BRADLEY GERRARD

The Cross Inn, at Copplestone, in Mid Devon, is now derelict, having been closed for several years, and efforts to restore it to its former glory were hampered when major structural weaknesses emerged.

The current owners had been conducting initial works in August last year linked to a planning application for the building when they experienced a bulging wall between the gable end and the left front lower window.

This led to a temporary three-week closure of the A377 through the village while structural scaffolding was erected to enable repair works.

When works began, the south gable had to be removed, and when experts were asked to assess whether repairs could be carried out, they established that demolition was the only course of action.