SCHOOL children and teachers joined East Devon district councillors and staff to celebrate the official opening of the council’s new headquarters, Blackdown House in Honiton.

A special ceremony on February 27 included the installation of two time capsules, which contained a selection of objects, books, magazines, videos and photos of school life, certificates, fashions, future predications and history of the council’s former offices at Knowle in 1978.

A commemorative plaque to mark the opening has been kindly provided by the council’s contractors Interserve, who built Blackdown House.

Following the time capsule ceremony, council chairman, Cllr Andrew Moulding, invited the children to help him raise the east Devon flag to mark the official opening.

Cllr Moulding said: “Congratulations to all concerned with the delivery of our new headquarters in Honiton.

“A particular thank you to Steve Pratten and Simon Allchurch for the building, the fit-out and the furnishing arrangements and to Karen Jenkins for overseeing the smooth transition of our staff.

“We must not forget the patience of our staff throughout the process, I’m sure they are now pleased that the process is over and that they can look forward to a successful relocation.”