A few artices on the place taken from the Herald Express newspaper:
October 29 : "
AN OLD turnpike inn which has become a South Devon landmark could be flattened to make way for a pair of modern office blocks.
The Woodpecker Inn beside the A38 near South Brent has been boarded up for months.
Now a firm of Staffordshire-based developers want to knock the old pub down and build two three-storey office blocks across the whole site.
The Dartmoor National Park has acknowledged the old pub as a 'landmark building' and Ugborough parish councillors have said no to the office scheme because it is out of keeping with the area.
But when planners meet today they are being advised to give the go-ahead to the project which officers claims will bring employment through 'prestigious office development'.
The Woodpecker Inn is a former turnpike inn on the road from Exeter to Plymouth which, despite significant extensions and alterations, has managed to retain its 19th century façade.
Most recently it has been run as a restaurant but that too closed some time ago.
Laurie De Mel Property of Elford in Staffordshire wants permission to knock the inn down and build more than 2,000 square metres of offices set on two floors over a 52-space car parking area."
November 6:
"PLANS for industrial-scale offices in the heart of rural South Hams have been refused by planners.
The landmark Woodpecker pub beside the A38 near South Brent was an old turnpike inn which has been boarded up for months and could be flattened to make way for a pair of modern office blocks.
Staffordshire developer Laurie De Mel Property wants to knock the old pub down and build two three-storey office blocks with car parking under and around it.
However South Hams planners overturned their officers' advice because they felt the proposal was too modern and rejected it due to its design and impact on the countryside.
The Woodpecker Inn, formerly the Carew Arms, was a former turnpike inn on the Exeter to Plymouth highway which, despite extensions and alterations, has managed to retain its 19th century facade. Most recently it was run as a restaurant.
Objector Ward Green, for the South Brent Community Action Group, said they were not against the use just the design which would replace a historically-important building: "What is proposed is an unyieldingly modern design, unremittingly urban and cutting edge. We believe a design more locally in keeping and retaining historic features may be achieved."
& this piece:
http://www.closedpubs.co.uk/devon/southbrent_woodpecker.html
