IMPROVING technology, providing staff facilities and increasing display space are all part of a major facelift currently going on at Okehampton Tourist Information Centre.
In a bid to extend services to visitors and provide a better working environment for staff, the centre, which is set in the courtyard at the Museum of Dartmoor Life, has been temporarily relocated to the offices of West Devon Borough Council in Oaklands Drive for the next four weeks while refurbishment work takes place.
While at the council offices, the TIC will be open Monday to Saturday from 10am to 5pm and continue to offer its usual services, including local and national accommodation bookings, the sale of Eden tickets, O/S map and local books and general tourism information on events, attractions and activities.
The borough council's tourism officer Nadine Trout said she was delighted work was underway:
'The TIC in Okehampton has on average between 15,000 and 20,000 visitors a year and took accommodation bookings worth £21,530 last year, which just shows how important the service is to the area,' she said.
'I am particularly keen to improve facilities for visitors and TIC staff, as well as the local tourism trade.'
The building work, which includes double glazing, incorporating a store at the back of the premises to free up space at the front, a toilet and kitchen for staff and increased display space for local crafts, will cost in the region of £10,000.
On top of this, the way information is displayed will be changed and a computer will be available so visitors can have access to the internet.
The refurbishment follows a public consultation where residents were asked whether they would like to see the TIC in a different location, namely at Fairplace Gardens.
But the general consensus was that it should stay where it is.