THE OPERATORS of a Starcross pub where work has forced the closure of the main A379 for several months have apologised for the interruption.

County councillor Alan Connett says he has been in touch with the chief executive of the Stonegate Group which owns the Driftwood Inn.

He says he received a response from the company’s director of property and maintenance who has explained there is a ‘clear plan’ to complete the scaffolding element of the work in the coming weeks.

Cllr Connett said: ‘I was in touch with the chief executive of the Stonegate Group to highlight the impact of the main road closure on the village.

‘They have a clear plan to complete the scaffolding related elements in the coming weeks.

‘They also said “please accept our sincere apologies for the obvious interruption that this work has caused locally and the impact it is having…”

‘I am grateful to Stonegate for their prompt and helpful reply. I will update again as soon as I have further information.’

In the meantime, there were suggestions of stopping through traffic along Courtenay Terrace, Church Street and Royal Way but the majority of feedback was that this would not really work and just cause another set of problems.

Cllr Connett added: ‘I plan to take no further action on this.

‘I have fed back to County Hall the continuing concerns about traffic speed, the damage to roads, the damage to the traffic cones, the need for hedges to be cut back in some places, which would help traffic flow more easily.

‘I have highlighted concerns about the impact on the Spar shop.

'On the A379 itself, I have asked highways to improve signage from the Dawlish side and also to confirm as soon as possible if the road will open, as hoped, on December 12.’

The Driftwood Inn, previously The Globe, was taken over and refurbished in March 2024 .

However, the current ‘urgent’ work has been ongoing for months and required the closure of the main A379 through the village, causing serious knock-on effects with a huge increase in traffic.