THIS is how the new-look Dolphin Inn should look when renovations are complete.

Now owned by the Kenton Pub and Community Group, the Fore Street pub is set for a new lease of life and this AI image is what it is expected to look like when finished.

Planning permission has been granted planning permission by Teignbridge Council to reinstate the public and part change of use to form a new dwelling.

Members of the community group say it is ‘fantastic news’.

Treasurer Jayne Archer said: ‘Obviously there is a long way to go with legal contracts and renovations, but we are now full steam ahead to get the job done.’

The group has raised £160,000 in pledge offers and is applying for grant funding and other sources of finance to go ahead with the purchase and renovations.

Jayne explained: ‘We have raised enough money to buy the pub with a bit to renovate but we still need to raise more funds.

‘We have a huge long way to go.

‘We are now working to source some pots of money from grants and the Lottery.

‘We can’t give an exact time scale of opening but it won’t be this year, more likely spring next year.’

‘The owner of the pub is on our side and has been very, very kind to us.

‘We have 280 people who have offered pledges of money.’

She said the Dolphin Inn is a ‘focal point’ of the village which everyone has to go past and is looking ‘very dilapidated and very sad’.

Renovating the building will improve the village ‘no end’, she added.

Once the work is complete, the vision is to create a multi-purpose community hub for morning coffee, afternoon tea and in the evening as a pub.

To secure enough money is taking a lot of fund-raising.

As well as a quiz season, there’s been the 5K Dolphin Dash fun run and a pizza night is planned in August.

Many of these events will continue once the pub opens.

There were some hurdles the group had to navigate to get to the planning application stage.

Architects for the project have managed to overcome major issues with a flood strategy for the building which has previously flooded twice.

The Dolphin Inn was rebuilt in its present position in the late 1860s, following the ‘Great Fire of Kenton’ in 1856.

Originally owned by the Powderham Estate, the historic building served the village for more than 170 years before closing in 2020.

Its sale to the community group was agreed in principle, to buy the larger part of the building in Fore Street with the current owner retaining the accommodation section.

Since it was last sold in 2019, it has been left empty, flooded twice, and been damaged by trespassers and as a result, significant restoration work is needed.

The planning statement to Teignbridge Council said: ‘By reinstating the public house and accommodating a dwelling wholly within the existing envelope, the development preserves the character and appearance of the area whilst delivering high-quality residential accommodation that safeguards neighbouring amenity.’