A long-empty pub outside Branscombe could finally be redeveloped after the plot of land it stands on was put up for sale.

The historic Three Horseshoes was built as a coaching inn in the 1830s, and drew crowds as the only building on the road – now the A3052 – until 1900.

It featured a skittle alley, tennis court and tea garden, and was popular for parties with Colyton Grammar School students.

The pub closed early in the new millennium and fell into a state of disrepair, much to the disappointment of passers-by on the busy road.

An application to build four affordable and five open market homes on the site was made in 2005, but rejected because there was ‘no justification for overdevelopment of this site in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty’.

Officers said they would rather see the existing building restored than further development.

Another application, for five holiday bungalows on the site, was withdrawn earlier that year.