A GARDEN symbolising the rural way of life will be officially opened in Okehampton on October 9.

Chairman of Devon County Council Christine Marsh will cut the ribbon to mark the launch of the Growing Our Future project at 10am. The garden has been funded to the tune of £20,000 by the Okehampton United Charities.

The garden, at the junction of Crediton Road and Northfield Road, is situated at an important entrance to the town, providing a viewpoint towards St James' Chapel. It is intended as a place to sit, chat with friends and to reflect and contemplate.

The design was selected after a long consultation period involving the Okehampton United Charities, the town council and the local community. It features a traditional riven chestnut or oak five-bar gate and three converging stone walls, incorporating planting areas containing a hawthorn tree, gorse, heather and bracken.

Gardener and administrator for Growing Our Future Shanti Smallwood said the final planting was being done at the moment and this would include bulbs that would come up in the spring.

Craftsman and artist Jim Hamer's design has come to life using local granite and shillet stone, and stone slab seating areas have been incorporated into the construction of the walls together with a secure steel Dartmoor letter box.

'We have had some very positive feedback about how it is looking,' said Shanti. 'We hope now that people will take a few minutes to sit down and enjoy it as they pass through.

Growing Our Future has been involved with projects at Okehampton College but hopes now to develop more projects in the community.

Shanti said: 'We have learnt a lot from this regarding any future spaces we work on.

'I do feel it is very important to engage with the local community. Certainly, if we create any space where we grow produce it means that we will need more involvement from local people.'

Cllr Christine Marsh, who is also a member of the Okehampton United Charities, said: 'I am very pleased that the project has been finished and that the area will be a big improvement on what it was.'