Campaign to KEEP The Lamb Inn

01/04/2026

We finally have an IMPORTANT UPDATE for you all (we promise no April fools jokes here) that today Mid Devon District Council has officially made a decision to refuse the planning permission submitted by the Lamb Inn - both for change of use, and for the proposed dwellings.

We want to thank everyone for all of their support and hard work throughout this period sharing just how important the Lamb Inn is to our community in Sanford, and all of your amazing memories over the years!

I’m sure you’re asking “what’s next?” - we know it’s been a long wait, but we promise to keep things moving! Our committee will be:

• Meeting ASAP given the published decision to ensure things keep moving
• Continue our discussion and consultation with the community on what they want to see from a community pub
• Keep you updated on our actions

Although this is a big step forwards we are still not yet at our goal- please keep sharing with us how important the Lamb Inn is to you, and all of your amazing memories!

Thank you once again to everyone!

Committee to Keep The Lamb Inn

13/11/2025

💯💯💯💯💯
500 Followers! Thank you, thank you, five hundred times.
Stick with us folks, whilst we fight to keep The Lamb Inn at the heart of Sandford.

29/10/2025

"Against the odds, the five-year survival rate for community businesses remains an outstanding 99% – more than double that of small and medium-sized enterprises, which is 44% according to Office for National Statistics’ data."

Community pubs: the headline grabbers - Plunkett UK

The local and national media’s interest in pubs owned by local communities continues to increase – and it’s a good news story to tell amidst the continuing challenges facing the wider hospitality sector. There’s a growing public interest in community-owned pubs right now. The year is only fo...

27/10/2025

The only way Mid Devon District Council will grant permission to turn The Lamb Inn into houses is if it can be proven to be a non-viable business, including under community ownership.

Let us know if you would support your pub under community ownership.

11/09/2025

159 official objections, and climbing....

Mid Devon District Council have added your recent objection comments to the record. Nobody wants to lose The Lamb Inn, so
KEEP on the pressure, and insist they make a decision.

Our efforts to purchase the pub are blocked until this planning is decided, so email the planning officer and insist they get on with it.

[email protected]

04/09/2025

The Mid Devon District Council Planning decision on Change of Use is hugely overdue. The Lamb Inn Community Society Limited has hundreds of hours and thousands of pounds already invested in Keeping The Lamb Inn at the heart of Sandford, and MDDC's indecision is preventing us from getting on with it.

Tell them what you think.

28/08/2025

It may feel as if there is a lull in our Campaign, but lots has been going on behind the scenes. We are stalled on one specific point though:

The owner wants permission to turn The Lamb Inn into housing, but will not currently offer it for sale.

The Lamb Inn has not been on the market since planning permission was sought in January.

The owner will not allow a valuation* to be carried out until planning is decided by Mid Devon District Council (MDDC).

Mid Devon District Council have still not decided on the planning applications:

It has been 30 weeks since planning applications were submitted
There are 122 public objections to the Change of Use, and none in favour.

The MDDC Conservation Officer opposes the proposals, on multiple grounds.

The last agreed extension of time for the planning expired three weeks ago.

Confidential financial information is “still being discussed”

What can you do?

These planning decisions must be decided. Contact the council and hold them to account and ask them why they are not moving:

Email the MDDC Case Officer:

Mr Andrew Gunn: [email protected]

Or ask your Your Ward Councillors:

Councillor Helen Tuffin: [email protected]
Councillor Mark Jenkins: [email protected]

What are we doing?

Our group’s sole objective is to Keep The Lamb Inn at the heart of Sandford, and operate it for the benefit of the community. We continue to take every step towards that end, with no effort spared to achieve our goal in an open and professional manner.

In total we have put more than 400 man-hours into this work since January.

We have raised nearly £7000 for operational funding.

We are a legally registered Community Benefit Society.

We are members of Plunkett UK.

*The Lamb Inn Community Society Limited has appointed a Chartered Surveyor to do a valuation. The company, Sidney Phillips, established in 1898 and RICS-Registered, have been paid from our funds.

The owner of The Lamb will not allow the valuation.

Thank you

A massive thank you to everyone who has supported us so far and who continue to support us.

15/06/2025

Once we purchase the Lamb Inn it will be run as a community pub - this means that anyone who is a member of our society will have a vote in the running of the pub!

But we are not going to wait until then to ensure that our communities voice is at the heart of our work and business plan!

So, todays Question of the Day is:

What would be your main reason for using the Lamb Inn in the future?

🐑 Eating out
🐑 Socialising with family and friends
🐑 Special occasions and celebrations
🐑 During or after recreation
🐑 Entertainment
🐑 Something else?

Let us know in the comments!

(We are also conducting a full community survey which you can fill in using the link in the comments)

14/06/2025

Help us to keep The Lamb Inn by engaging with this post 🐑

Question of the day:

Share with us in the comments your favourite image that you have taken in the Lamb over the years, and let us know why it's special!

13/06/2025

We want to hear from YOU about how you want to see the Lamb Inn run, and what services you would like to see it offer!

Question of the day:

What is your favourite memory from The Lamb Inn, and how would you feel if it were to close?

Understanding what makes the Lamb special to our community helps us to ensure that we truly listen to all of the wants and needs of the community!

(We are also conducting a full community survey which you can fill in using the link in the comments)

13/06/2025

We are now officially a registered community benefit society: 'The Lamb Inn Community Society Limited'!

This means that we are able to progress with our plans to keep the Lamb Inn, including: accepting donations, being in a position to purchase the Lamb Inn (following fundraising), run further community engagement events and apply for grants to support our mission.

What fundraising events would you like to see? If you have ideas, please put them in the comments.

One quick and easy way you can help us reach our aim of keeping the Lamb Inn is by sharing this post!

Moving forward, we will provide regular updates through this page, as well as via email, Instagram, and TikTok, so keep an eye out for further updates.

21/05/2025

We’re pleased to share that The Lamb Inn is now officially listed as an Asset of Community Value!

Members of our campaign collaborated with the Parish Council to submit the application back in March, and Mid Devon has now accepted our application.

We’d like to extend our thanks to Sandford Parish Council for their support with our application.

This is a great step forward in helping us to Keep The Lamb Inn.