Popular shelter’s rotting posts replaced in revamp

A century-old shelter in Beer has been given a new lease of life so visitors can enjoy it for years to come.

Parish councillors carried out a report earlier this year and said the posts holding up the structure in Jubilee Memorial Grounds were rotting and becoming a ‘health and safety issue’.

East Devon District Council(EDDC) was contacted and its property services and Countryside team swapped the rotting support posts for eight timber replacements made from material in Holyford Woods, near Colyford.

Councillor Geoff Pook, EDDC ward member for Beer and Branscombe, said: “The new posts have transformed this lovely old shelter, which we believe is around 100 years old. It’s a popular amenity in the Memorial Ground, but the original posts had literally rotted right through. So, before it became a health and safety issue, we wanted to replace the old posts.”

The new posts were installed by the council, which were assisted by a number of East Devon Conservation volunteers.

Last Wednesday, those involved gathered to mark the end of the project.

Cllr Pook added: “The shelter really does look good now as a result of the hard work of the volunteers and our council officers.

“I would like to say a big thank you to everyone concerned – it’s great job you’ve done.”