Fed-up neighbors transform derelict bus depot into stunning community landmark

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A rundown bus shelter has been radically transformed — complete with hanging baskets, art, books and chandelier — after a local pub owner couldn’t stand the “ugly and shabby” situation any longer.

Molly Thompson, 27, has owned the600-year-old Woolpack pubin Chilham, Kent, for several years.

For some time, a rundown and disusedbus shelterblighted the street right outside her pub — until she couldn’t take it any longer.

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Thompson secured council permission before raising the funds to turn the shelter from shabby to chic.

“I live here, I’ve gotmy dog Wallace, and every day I’d walk past that bus stop,” Thompson of the United Kingdom told news agency SWNS.

Molly and Sharon Thompson with their dog Wallace.

Molly Thompson is pictured with her mom Sharon and dog Wallace.For years, a rundown bus shelter blighted the street outside her pub — until she decided to take action.(Molly Thompson/SWNS)

“It took me a year since moving here, and I thought it was a derelict building, an ugly and shabby sort of thing.We had some crazy ideas at first, but we also want[ed] to keep an aesthetic for the village.

“We thought of a few ideas,” she went on.“We started fundraising at the Woolpack and asking people for donations, which we did a raffle for.We had to put in ourselves, of course, from the Woolpack — but a lot has been donated from the village,” she said.

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For example, “we had an anonymous envelope delivered with £100,” or about $134 U.S.dollars.

After getting the green light from the local parish council, Thompson, plusher mother and others, got to work renovating the shelter, SWNS reported.

The converted bus shelter in Chilham, Kent, in the United Kingdom, is shown above.A previously “ugly” depot is now completely transformed.(Molly Thompson/SWNS)

Today, the outside of the shelter has been repainted and decorated with hanging baskets.Decorations such as a flower vase have been nailed down in an effort to deter vandalism.

The total cost of the work was around £1,000, or about $1,340 dollars — and took roughly four days of labor, Thompson said.

The bus stop is now completely transformed and has been called a “best” in the U.K., as well as the “cutest.”

“There was graffiti — I’m not going to explain what it was, because it was inappropriate — [plus]plants coming inthrough the roof and chipped paint.It was dirty, suspicious looking, smelly — not very nice,” said Thompson.

A rundown bus shelter has been transformed into a decorated shelter.

The owner of a pub in a local village has transformed a “derelict and shabby” bus shelter into a community library and pleasant waiting place.(Molly Thompson/SWNS)

“We like to be involved with anything, really, that comes up.… Whatever comes up, we like to sponsor things.We like to get involved as much as we can.”

She noted that there’s “another bus shelter in the village, but that’s in working use, so if we’d be allowed to do anything with that one — I’m not sure.”