THE Kings Arms hotel in Kingsbridge is on the verge of being sold, according to estate agent Bettesworths.

Apparently the sale is yet to be completed, with lawyers insisting that the car park be cleared behind the historic pub before completion, but a decision is expected to be finalised later this week or early next week.

Its our understanding that the new owners plan to reopen the pub and kitchen downstairs, with the upstairs being converted into flats - although this has yet to be confirmed.

On Tuesday afternoon, cars parked behind the historic coaching inn had flyers put under their windscreen wipers, offering them a chance to rent a parking space. And on Wednesday morning, a crudely-drawn banner was erected, declaring the space to be a private car park, with security staff turning up at the entrance to the car park, tasked with securing and clearing the space.

The Kings Arms has been closed since July 2014, when the leaseholders at the time were unable to afford essential maintenance, and the owners, the Wellington Pub Company, refused to pay for the repairs. The roof was leaking, and the hotel needed a considerable amount of money invested into it.

A spokesman for Save the Kings Arms, the group campaigning for its restoration, said: ‘We had a meeting on Tuesday night, because we saw people at the hotel and knew something was going on.

‘We’re very supportive of any purchaser who plans to restore it to its former glory as a pre-eminent feature of Kingsbridge. The place is an eyesore at the moment.

‘It’s important for us to keep the downstairs as a pub for use by the town. But all this depends on the planners. We’re keen for an element of the hotel to be kept, but above all we want to stop the hotel being derelict.

‘We’re very supportive and we want to see the building put back into use.’

SATKA was formed in 2015, and have campaigned extensively, lobbying local politicians to step in and prevent it laying dormant, or being turned into a residential development.

The group organised a petition, signed by more than 700 people in the town, and organised a public meeting calling for the 17th century coaching inn to be restored to its historic role as the centre of public life in the town.

In February, more than 130 people packed into the Crabshell for a public meeting discussing the future of the hotel.

The meeting showed the strength of feeling in Kingsbridge, and sent a clear message that something had to be done.

This was preceded by over a year’s silence from the owners, ignoring several letters from Kingsbridge Town Council calling for essential maintenance to be carried out.

Following pressure from residents in the town, Totnes MP, Sarah Wollaston managed to elicit a response from the owners, and they came down for a meeting with councillors in February.

The hotel was previously owned by a chain of companies and investment groups that trace back to the billionaire Reuben Brothers, who topped the Sunday Times rich list in 2016.

In June, SATKA celebrated after it was announced that the pub had been put up for sale for £400,000. Previously, only a leasehold had been available.