Local News

Devon’s new High Sheriff, entrepreneur Mark Ansell, has pledged to put Restorative Justice centre stage during his year in office, championing a system proven to support victims of crime and rehabilitate offenders.

Mark is the latest of three generations of his family to serve as High Sheriff of Devon, proudly following in the footsteps of both his father and grandfather. While the tradition runs deep, his vision is firmly fixed on the future, bringing fresh energy and modern purpose to one of the county’s oldest civic roles.

Mark, 63, who lives near Bideford, currently...

Club Ceilidh, a fast-growing live folk dance night that has quickly built a reputation in Plymouth, returns to Exeter on Friday 1 May following a highly successful debut event at America Hall in Pinhoe earlier this spring.

The Exeter launch on 10 April saw a near sell-out crowd and an enthusiastic response, with organisers bringing the event back for a second night on May Day - one of the traditional high points of the folk calendar.

Club Ceilidh has already gained momentum in Plymouth, where recent events have sold out weeks in advance, with some ticket releases...

Libraries in Devon are working with The Reading Agency to give away 300 books this World Book Night.

Celebrated on April 23rd, World Book Night encourages people to find joy in reading and boost adult literacy. Reading has many health and well-being benefits. Research by the University of Sussex has been found to reduce stress by 68%, yet according to YouGov, 40% of Britons did not read a book in the last 12 months.

On April 23rd, participating libraries will gift local community members copies of The Last Bench by Carmel Harrington. The Last Bench is a title from The...

A keenly-anticipated meeting of a council committee which has overseen a controversial Exeter road closure has been cancelled.

The city’s highways and traffic orders committee (HATOC) had been due to meet on April 28. The committee is a ‘hybrid’ group made up of Devon County Council and Exeter City council members.

The HATOC made the decision to close Dryden Road to traffic during the Covid pandemic more than five years ago, saying it would create a safe and traffic-free route in and out of the city for cyclists and pedestrians.

But over the last year a major...