Devon town centre to have 'smart hubs' installed

The hubs will be located in Market Walk and Lowman Green

Tiverton town centre is to get two smart hubs, which display adverts but also allow people to make calls from them and even access a defibrillator, a council has said.

The hubs, which are 2.5m (8ft) high by about 1.3m (4ft) wide, will be located in Market Walk and Lowman Green.

Mid Devon District Council's planning committee heard it had received no objections from residents to the hubs in either location.

The display screens will be turned off between midnight and 0600, but the hubs can still used to make calls and to access the defibrillator 24 hours a day.

They are created by a firm called Pulse, which launched the products in Belfast in 2019.

Ollie Smith, a director of the firm who spoke in favour of the application, said the hubs offered "real benefits to the community".

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, the planning committee unanimously agreed to approve the two smart hubs.