Beer's historic shelter gets a makeover

A popular historic wooden shelter in Beer’s Jubilee Memorial Ground has had its old rotten support posts swapped for eight rustic replacements, made from locally grown sustainable timber.

East Devon District Council’s Property Services and Countryside teams, assisted by a number of East Devon Conservation Volunteers (EDCV), painstakingly sourced and stripped the Douglas Fir posts, which came from Holyford Woods.

Once they were ready for use, the posts were then delivered to the shelter, where the officers and volunteers removed and replaced each of the old supports one by one.

Finally, the new timbers were sanded and given a coat of varnish, leaving them shipshape for many years to come.

Councillor Geoff Pook, East Devon District Council’s 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.

“Our Countryside team identified some suitable Douglas Fir trees, which were all grown locally and were the right shape for the job. 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.”