PEOPLE in Sourton waiting for a bus will be thankful for a new shelter that has been erected in the village.

Devon County Councillor Christine Marsh was given the honour of cutting the tape last week to mark the opening of the facility.

Michael Taylor, the clerk to Sourton Parish Council, said: 'The bus shelter is rather more elaborate, and was certainly more costly, than the one the parish council originally intended to erect, for the lower part is built of natural granite stone and the upper, glazed part has a seasoned oak frame.

'Because the bus shelter is on the Dartmoor National Park side of the A366 road a full planning application had to be made to that authority.

'Its planning department was not prepared to give consent to the simpler wooden bus shelter that the parish council had budgeted for but wanted, instead, a shelter constructed from materials which reflected the local landscape — hence the granite, the wood and the natural slate roof.

'On its own the parish council would not have been able to afford such a shelter. Devon County Council, however, gave a substantial grant towards the project, which enabled the parish council to press ahead.'

Mr Taylor said the parish council was grateful to the county council for its support.

The shelter was designed by Mike Hooper Architects of Tavistock and erected by RM Builders of Tavistock.

ABOVE: Cllr Marsh cuts the tape to declare the new bus shelter open.

Picture by James Bird