It was the £400,000 Dartmouth project they said would never happen – but it's here now.

That's what Dartmouth's deputy mayor Dave Cawley told the crowds as they gathered in the town's market square for the official opening of the revamped complex.

As he cut the ribbon to the new-look, glass-fronted community cafe to declare the major regeneration project complete, Cllr Cawley declared: 'It has been 40 years coming but it's here now.'

And he added: 'We were told that it would probably never happen, but it has.'

Over the last nine months the 183-year-old town council- owned market has been transformed into a complex with a 21st century look, producing a range of new shop units, giving the existing ones a facelift and even produced a brand new set of public loos.

Along with the ribbon-cutting operation, Cllr Cawley also unveiled the new memorial stone which was at the centre of a names row almost right up to the day it was installed.

It only got laid the day before the opening ceremony following a last-minute special council meeting when councillors decided the names of mayor Paul Allen, architects Robert Seymour Associates and builders RC Pillar should be included along with that of Cllr Cawley.

Traders, councillors, representatives from the builders and the architects were among the crowd which gathered to watch the opening ceremony.

Also there was mayor Paul Allen who had originally revealed that he would not be able to attend but decided to cancel the bee-keeping course at Okehampton which he had been due to attend, so he could 'support' his deputy mayor.

Cllr Rufus Gilbert, chairman of South Hams Council which supported the town council's vital bid to the South Devon Coast Local Action Group for £100,000 worth of funding, also addressed the crowd as he described the new-look market as a 'tremendous venue' for both locals and visitors that was now 'contributing to the economy of he area'.

Cllr Cawley revealed the project had taken six years to plan, draw and execute.

'I personally have spent nearly 1,000 hours working with the architects and the planners. Dartmouth is now embracing the new market and people have been telling me how good it is. Kevin Pyne actually wrote me a poem saying how good the market is.

He said he had spoken to the South Hams Council's conservation officer during the planning stage and explained; 'He told me that this market was dying and needed to be regenerated to turn it into the busy market that it used to be 100 years ago. I think we have achieved that.'

The market scheme is the largest single project that the local action group has funded with the £1.3m of Government cash it has been responsible for handing out in South Devon.

Group chairman John Yeoman said it had so far supported some 81 projects across the area and described the market as a 'new hub and new centre' for Dartmouth.

Despite poor weather, Dartmouth was still in the market for a special community day.

Saturday was phase two of the town council market celebrations following the revamp.

Strong winds and showers did not keep the town away as scores of people showed up to look over the market in the wake of Friday's official opening.

Town crier Lez Ellis had a lot to shout about as the farmer's market went ahead, the Dartmouth Volunteer Band played for an hour and the crowds were even entertained by town clerk Chris Horan who teamed up with fellow musician Steve Wiltshire for a trumpet and saxophone programme of easy listening classics. There was also a face painter in action.

Deputy town clerk Tracy Rowe said: 'We are very pleased with the new market.

'It is an asset to the town and a large number of people showed up to see it on the community day which despite the weather was a success.'