Homes & Gardens

Six new brightly coloured council homes set to providing sustainable and low energy housing for some of Exeter’s most vulnerable families.

New eco-friendly homes at Reed Walk, Newport Road will house six local families who have been waiting for a suitable place to live on Exeter’s Housing Register. The new three-bedroom homes, including one fully wheelchair accessible property, were completed in September.

The houses are noticeable due to their bright colouring, which were carefully developed to reflect typical natural building materials of the Exeter area like Devon...

It is also the time of year when the Environment Agency urges people to check their oil tanks to protect the environment and reduce the risk of potentially large financial losses.

Leaked oil can end up in drains, many of which lead directly to rivers, streams, lakes and even garden ponds, having the same effect as pouring it directly into the watercourse.

Oil is poisonous to fish and other wildlife and smothers plants and just 2 litres of oil could seriously pollute the volume of fresh water needed to fill an olympic-size swimming pool.

Senior Environment Officer...

Depending on the structure of your roof and whether or not you have any constraints regarding planning, carrying out a loft conversion is one of the most straightforward ways to add extra room and space to your home. With a bit of basic planning, almost any home can benefit from this extension. If you’re thinking of ways to add more room to your home whether you’re planning to sell or simply want to upgrade your home so that it’s bigger, a loft conversion is a great way to do so. We’ve put together a list of everything that you’ll need to consider when planning to convert your loft. Make...

Acceleration in house price growth in the South West continues with 63% more respondents seeing a rise in prices over the last three months, according to the latest RICS UK Residential Market Survey. This is the highest level since April 2002.

The South West region, along with Yorkshire, is also the most confident of price rises in the near term, with 52% more respondents expecting to see a rise in prices over the next three months. Across the UK, the RICS price indicator reached a 16 month high in August, with a net balance of 53% more respondents reporting price rises and firm...