Local News

Demand from business for commercial property in the South West rose for the eleventh consecutive quarter, while available space in the region fell for the ninth successive period, according to the latest RICS Commercial Market Survey.

As a result, rents are expected to rise at the fastest pace in the South region as a whole since the survey began in 1998 with 44% more respondents forecasting higher, rather than lower, rent rates going forward. Industrials are the segment of the market in the South West where rental expectations are currently most buoyant, while retail in the South...

Exeter's Montgomery Primary School's JM DanceFit Little and Junior Starz* classes ended their Summer term on a Zumba high with performances enjoyed by parents and family.

All of the Little and Junior Starz* were awarded well deserved performance certificates for their creativity and enthusiasm in class this term. Summer Term Star of the Week certificates were awarded to Little Starz Laila-Rose Hutt, Rebecca Hewins and Alfred Woodland and Junior Starz Isabella Buckley and Ella Manley.

The classes which allow children to have fun while improving both their confidence and...

More than 170,000 businesses and households now have access to faster, more reliable broadband due to Connecting Devon and Somerset programme Latest communities to get fibre broadband include (Devon - South Brent, Colyton, Lifton, Buckfastleigh, Cheriton Bishop, East Allington and Exborne) Connecting Devon and Somerset (CDS) has passed the halfway mark in its rollout of superfast fibre broadband. More than 170,000 households and businesses in the two counties now have access to fibre broadband as a result of the CDS programme, of which nearly 150,000 are estimated to be able to get...

Researchers studying wild banded mongooses in Uganda have discovered that these small mammals have either cooperative or selfish personalities which last for their entire lifetime. The findings of the 15-year study are published today in the journal Animal Behaviour.

The researchers investigated the selfish behaviour of mongoose mate-guarding – where dominant males guard particular females – and the cooperative behaviour of ‘babysitting’ and ‘escorting’ the young.

They found that cooperative mongooses that helped out with offspring care did so consistently over their whole...