A huge U-turn has been made on the decision to tear down an ‘iconic’ landmark.

Lyme Regis residents are ‘delighted’ that their efforts to save the Chinese Pavilion in Langmoor Gardens have been successful after a petition to save it reached more than 1,800 signatures.

Janette Edmonds, who spearheaded the petition along with Nigel Williams, said on behalf of the pair: “We are delighted that Lyme Regis Town Council have overturned their original decision to demolish the Garden Pavilion which is such an icon in our town.

“We, and everyone else involved in the petition, are amazed by the incredible support we had with an impressive 1,800 signatures between the online and paper petitions. It just goes to show that our community sees the Pavilion as an iconic feature of our magical town.

“We would like to thank the council for listening carefully to the strong opinion of our community.”

The decision was made to remove the landmark due to abuse by yobs - particularly 'drunkenness, signs of drug taking, and the urinating and defecation in public, at times during the day.'

However, Janette explained that although the pavilion has been saved, ‘their work doesn’t stop there.’

The intention now is to work in partnership with the community, councillors, businesses, and voluntary groups to make sure the momentum continues.

She said: “The comments that came from people in support of keeping the pavilion were not just about maintaining it; they were creative too. We received so many marvellous ideas to ensure it is used and appreciated much more and that it makes a contribution to the success and beauty of the pearl of Dorset.”

Lyme Regis Town Council has listened to their community Janette said, and following an ‘overwhelming number of objections’ changed its mind and agreed the gazebo will not be demolished.

Councillors voted unanimously to reverse its earlier decision at a recent meeting and upon this decision, campaigners in the public gallery gave a round of applause.

Town clerk John Wright said: “The town council makes many decisions that affect the community, but it doesn’t always get it right. Although the decision to remove the gazebo was made with the best of intentions, the reaction from local people has shown how passionately they feel about this issue.

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“The members acknowledged the strength of feeling and have listened to the community by overturning their decision.

“The council welcomes engagement of any kind with the community and is happy to find ways of involving local people to achieve positive outcomes for the town.

“The issues with the gazebo remain, including anti-social behaviour, littering, and the condition of the structure, and the members will need to consider how to address this, hopefully working in partnership with the community.

“There have been several interesting ideas put forward by the campaigners about how we can work together, and we look forward to exploring these.”